Beekeeping Things: Peter and Ariele Catch a Late Swarm [Video Series]

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I'm at it again! Beekeeping videos! This one was taken last year towards the end of August, as I helped my Dad catch a swarm that had been up in a tree long enough to make comb, while simultaneously asking a series of questions that demonstrate my ignorance of beekeeping. Late swarms have decreased chances of surviving the winter, as the colony hasn't had the entire summer to stock up on honey. With the help of a beekeeper, however, their chances jump back up again.

It's this time of year when I miss living close to Dad. This week he's already caught 3 swarms, and who knows how many more are waiting for the beekeeper of their dreams to ride in on a white horse and sweep them off of their tree branch. I could be helping. Instead, I'm writing blog posts about bees. Although, that's fun too.

"So why not get your own hive, Ariele?" you ask.

Simple.

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In the meantime, while I contemplate the best strategy for acquiring my first hives (step 1: move out of downtown, silly), I will share old beekeeping videos with you.

Camp Nano: I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt

In case you all didn't know, I'm doing Camp Nano - July. It's been difficult, I will admit, as you can see from my stats. But this time around, I have an interesting observation.

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Have you ever noticed that what you write is similar to what you read? For example, when I read a lot of Terry Pratchett, a lot more absurdity and eccentric details pour out of my head while I'm writing in big chunks (like for Nano). Or if I read a lot of news articles before I start writing, my writing becomes a little more formal and to the point. Or if I read memes or bad jokes, then my characters end up making an unnecessarily large number of awful puns that I later have to remove.

One day, when I have more time than I currently do, I plan to test this theory with a series specific reading and writing assignments. For now, however, I have to just assume it works because I rarely have time to do enough reading to keep up with my writing goals.

Unfortunately,  today's writing session will be sponsored by: 

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Sometimes weird things just play in my head, over and over and over and over.

All that said, coming up with ideas and knowing how to phrase things are two different concepts, and both equally difficult for different reasons.

Are you struggling with phrasing? Try reading some of these memes. Maybe they'll help (this is mostly just wishful thinking--like all other forms of procrastination). 

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Are you struggling with ideas? Try XKCD's emoji 8-ball and write your whole book using nothing but emoji (also a terrible idea, but an excellent way to procrastinate).

Whatever your preferred method for procrastination (cough cough) I mean writing, there is no doubt about this: 

#campnano #nanowrimo #amwriting #notwriting #mostinterestingmanintheworld

#campnano #nanowrimo #amwriting #notwriting #mostinterestingmanintheworld

The Coworker Sonnet

Today I was chatting online complaining about current coworkers. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE--this is a joke because I don't have any... because I freelance... because I work from home in my living room... ANYWAY, the only coworkers I have are my cats.

And I said, "you have coworkers, I have coworkers, and we all have to deal." Which made my friend online laugh: "hahahahaha."

And that made me think: I bet the things I love about my coworkers are the same things other people love about theirs:

 So I wrote a sonnet. You can read some of my other sonnets, if you're interested, about Cat Feet and Umbrellas. And never fear--there will be many more sonnets!

Coworker Sonnet

Coworkers, I love you more than bagels
Covered with stale cream cheese; I love how you
Stare at me from underneath the table,
And every day beg for bits of my food.

I love you, coworker, when you’re outside
The door, pleading for me to let you in
Because you lost your key; I don’t know why—
You will just want to go back out again.

And when you tap my arm so soft and sweet
I know that something foul is amuck
But still I offer you a fricking treat
Or else I know I’m just a sitting duck.

Coworker, I give your head a nice pat
I know you’re just a needy, hungry cat.

Here are my coworkers having their lunch break. They like to discuss food at lunch.

Here are my coworkers having their lunch break. They like to discuss food at lunch.

The whole team brainstorms how to solve the squirrel problem.

The whole team brainstorms how to solve the squirrel problem.

Rowan stays up late nights guarding the offices from the elusive Mr. Mustache.

Rowan stays up late nights guarding the offices from the elusive Mr. Mustache.

Here, coworker Wilfred and I work on getting the Cuddle Project completed by the deadline.

Here, coworker Wilfred and I work on getting the Cuddle Project completed by the deadline.

Here Goblin works on what we like to call the "Fur Rug Project" or FRP for short.

Here Goblin works on what we like to call the "Fur Rug Project" or FRP for short.

Here, coworker Goblin gets some very important filing done.

Here, coworker Goblin gets some very important filing done.

Goblin and I discuss priorities for moving into the next quarter.

Goblin and I discuss priorities for moving into the next quarter.

My coworker, Wilfred, does his best thinking upside down.

My coworker, Wilfred, does his best thinking upside down.

Do You Always Look This Good Or Did You Planet?

In case anyone didn't already know this, I love puns. I also love space. So today seems like a good day to write about Pluto and the #PlutoFlyBy.

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The New Horizons Spacecraft has been on course for Pluto for 9 years. That is a long time. I already wrote a little bit about what that means for us less-than-scientific folk, so today I'm going to focus more on celebrating how awesome this is.

 Today, a momentous day in history, New Horizons has arrived at the long-awaited Pluto and has shut down communications with Earth while it photographs the momentous occasion.

Today is a first in many ways. It is the first time humans have explored a world so far away. It is the first time we have had a spacecraft get so close to Pluto. And the US is the first country to reach Pluto. 

I think the NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said it nicely: 

"The exploration of Pluto and its moons by New Horizons represents the capstone event to 50 years of planetary exploration by NASA and the United States. Once again we have achieved a historic first. The United States is the first nation to reach Pluto, and with this mission has completed the initial survey of our solar system, a remarkable accomplishment that no other nation can match."

I, for one, am thrilled to see what data New Horizons starts sending back in a few hours. 

In celebration of this momentous occasion, this a capella genius (Tim) redid Uptown Funk much, much, much better. It is amazing and dance-worthy. Check it out, and don't forget to tell everyone you know: New Horizons has finally reached Pluto!

How People Are Trying To Sell Stuff [With Numbers]

Selling stuff is hard. Ever tried setting up your own Etsy site for hand-knitted underwear? Ever tried to get a booth at a Farmer's Market to sell your handmade wooden shoes? Ever tried to get people to visit your blog or stop by your farm stand to buy duck eggs?

The reason it's hard is because before you can sell anything, you have to make it. You have to spend hours and hours and hours knitting or carving or writing or taking care of ducks. Then, once your project is done (or started at least), you have to tell people it's there. And you can't just put on a chicken (or duck) costume and stand by the side of the road. People will laugh, but probably not buy anything.

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Every week I read a couple of newsletters that dump author interviews into your inbox. The interviews ask authors a few different things: who are you? What have  you written? What are you reading? What advice do you have for other authors? 

But one of the newsletters asks one question I particularly like: "What is your best method or website for promoting your books?"

You can scroll through some of these interviews on your own if you'd like to, but over the months I've begun to notice a pattern of responses, and I thought I would draw out a four "strategies," some of which might work, and others of which... definitely won't. Then I'll go into a few of the numbers.

The Patterns

1. Careful evasion of the question.
Either they write something profound that they learned ("you have to find a way for marketing to bring you joy in order to be successful!" or "Is there a best method? I try to write good books!") or they just leave the question blank. 

2. Saying, "I'm new to this and don't know what works!"
While that may be the truth, you don't have to admit it, and what "works" is all relative based on where you are in the process. When I first started out, selling stuff to my friends and family worked best. (Spoiler: this is not a good long-term strategy.) Now, I have a marketing strategy that utilizes a wide variety of methods, all designed to bring value to readers.

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3. Listing a social media site as being successful.
Now, this may the most successful marketing some people have done. But I think most people would measure this based solely on the engagement they get on Facebook or Twitter or the amount of time they themselves personally spend on the site, and not how well this translates into sales. (It's also possible they haven't actually tried anything else.) The problem with a marketing strategy consisting solely of social media is that the best way to sell books (or anything else) through social media is to yell louder than everybody else, and that just mostly annoys people/customers.

4. Listing actual sites or strategies.
This was more of a random smattering of people than a pattern. I appreciate this, because then I go check the sites out on my own and maybe find something that works.

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The Numbers

Now let's look at the less-than-accurate numbers. I would love it if someone did a real count on these, but here is my half hour scan.

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I read through approximately 120 author interviews, with the HUGE caveat being that I have no idea how most of these people are measuring "success". I would measure it in sales, but those are hard to track. Others might measure in engagement, # of page likes or followers, or simply based on whatever they happen to spend the most time doing.

Here's what I found: 

  • At least 36/120 authors listed social media as their primary marketing strategy (there were others that listed it as one out of many strategies):
    • 20 listed Facebook (1 person specifically mentioned Facebook Ad Campaigns and 1 person specifically mentioned the Facebook Call to Action button)
    • 13 listed Twitter
    • 6 listed Goodreads
    • 2 listed Google+
    • 1 listed Tumblr
    • 1 listed Instagram
    • 1 listed LinkedIn
    • 1 listed Pinterest
  • 29 people said "I'm new and don't know what works!" or "I don't market" or "I have no idea what I'm doing." Good news, folks: you're probably selling more than they are.
  • 19 people listed the site hosting the interview (Awesomegang.com) as the most effective tool--this note is extraordinarily helpful to the people reading the interviews (*sarcasm alert), even if it is true.
  • 15 people listed their own personal website, which only works as a marketing tool if they are somehow attracting people to their site--which is a different marketing strategy all in itself.
  • 11 people said "putting yourself out there" as the best strategy, or "doing all the strategies!!!"
  • 7 people listed Amazon as their primary marketing strategy. I have to be honest, I don't really understand what they mean by this. Amazon is a distribution platform, not a marketing platform. Your goal as a marketer is to drive traffic to Amazon. Two people mentioned KDP, which could be considered marketing, but I'm not sure about the others.
  • 4 people mentioned "word of mouth"
  • 3 people listed book signings or live appearances, and one person just said "face to face"
  • 3 people mentioned a newsletter
  • 3 people mentioned hiring someone to do your promotion or getting a publisher
  • 3 people mentioned getting reviews
  • 3 people mentioned writing the next book or co-writing a book
  • 2 people mentioned free giveaways
  • 1 person mentioned press releases, and 2 people mentioned printing bookmarks
  • Several people listed one or two sites that they use. These are by far the most helpful responses, because at least you can go check them out for your own edification. I bolded the ones I've used, and italicized the ones I decided not to use for one reason or another: 
    • Ereader News Today
    • Rave Reviews Book Club
    • Bublish
    • Bargain Booksy
    • eNovel Authors At Work
    • Books Go Social
    • BookGoodies
    • Freebooksy
    • EReader Cafe
    • Fussy Librarian
    • Bknights on Fiverr
    • Ebooksoda
    • Fussy Librarian
    • CHBB/Vamptasy

The best advice I found out of the interviews I read was this: 

"I don’t think there’s just one method or website that works best for promoting my books. I use a mixture of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as my website in general by blogging about my books and helping other authors promote theirs. I also really like Goodreads...  I think interacting with readers and book bloggers and just being present in the realm of social media is one of the best things an author can do to promote themselves. When a reader messages me, I message them back as soon as I can. I also try to post updates on my website enough so that my subscribers are interested in said updates but not enough to where they’re deleting every email from me instead of checking out the post." --Steph Nuss, romance author

For those of you who are curious, this is what my author interview said: 

Well, I think my website is pretty slick (www.arielesieling.com), but I get most of my sales by doing promotions all over the place. Email blasts, blog tours, and social media are extremely helpful tools. I have also been doing a lot of in-person events; my favorite is going to different Comic Cons. At the next one I will dressed as Kailee from Firefly, and my two colleagues will be Mal and Jayne. It’s going to be fun.

So what's the magical formula? 'Tisn't one. So what's my primary strategy?

Doing something marketing every day.

It might be little--posting on Facebook or Twitter; it might be medium--writing a blog post or paying for an online promotion; or it might be big--sitting for 12 hours with a booth at an outdoor festival or writing another book to sell the first few--but I do at least one thing every single day. 

Now, I'm no Hugh Howey, and right now I am dumping every cent I make back into selling more, but the sales continue to climb. And I wish the best for my fellow authors who are out there working to climb Mt. Everest one treacherous foothold at a time.