Subject: Yet Another Reason to Start Your Author Newsletter + Questions For You 😍

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Yet Another Reason to Start Your Author Newsletter 
+ Questions For You 😍

April 30, 2022
Oakland, CA

Hi Friend,
Welcome, new Creativity Sparks newsletter subscribers! 
♄
Beth Barany here, your guide and creativity coach for writers. An award-winning novelist with three fiction series and five books for writers published, over the last 15+ years, I've helped hundreds of writers like you find success, peace, and satisfaction.
♄
My passion is helping novelists write, revise, and proudly publish to the delight of their readers.
♄
Here we help you build your successful and sustainable fiction author career on your terms. We also focus on actionable resources to help you create the change you desire.
Over the past few weeks I have been talking about the importance of email newsletters and how to get started on yours even if you are as yet unpublished. 

Yet another reason showed up for all of us this week when it was announced that Elon Musk bought Twitter. 

How will that affect those of us who use Twitter to connect with readers and potential readers? 

I don't know. We are all waiting to find out. We probably won’t know for a few months.

I'll still use Twitter and other social media channels to invite readers into my science fiction mysteries, young adult adventure fantasy, and sweet paranormal romances. And into my writing services and products.

But I don't want to put myself in a position where all my Twitter followers disappear by a tech glitch or because of a new Twitter rule. So I'll make sure I can always reach my fans by using my newsletter as a way to build my community.

That way I can weather the storms of the ever-changing social media landscape. I've built resilience into my book marketing. 

I'll continue to regularly connect with my readers and street team via my newsletter and will find ways to meet new readers, mostly through giveaways on Bookfunnel. (Here's a current example.)

What objections or concerns do you have about starting your author newsletter?

Hit reply and let me know. I'd love to hear.

Questions for You: Food for Thought
I love my work with fiction writers -- through coaching, consulting, editing, and teaching. 

I love to empower writers for their self-defined success. 

And foundational to that success is the mindset shift needed to move from creative writing (inward facing) to marketing (outward facing) to your audience.

I totally get it. This isn't an easy shift to make for some. 

It certainly wasn't for me.

As much as I was already a chatty, gregarious person, I felt so shy about marketing my first novel.

With help, I found my way through to being much more comfortable with marketing my fiction, and now I regularly promote it -- even though I still feel a little shy about it.

So, I give myself pep talks and remind myself about why I want to get my stories out into the world.

What's your why for sharing your books with the world? What deeply motivates you? 

If you find yourself struggling with book marketing at any level, I would like to hear from you. 

I am building some more tools of support for book marketing that I will be rolling out in the next few weeks, and I would love to make sure what I am creating supports you.

If you are here on my list, I am assuming you are a fiction writer, probably working on your first draft of your first novel. 

I know some of you are working on your third draft of your first novel, or of your 10th novel. 

I know some of you have published, and some are daydreaming about publishing but it still feels a long way off. 

No matter what the stage you are in as an author, if you have the dream to be published, whether traditionally published or self published or you're not yet sure how, you'll need to face the fact that book marketing is actually the other side of the coin of writing your stories.

Learn to become familiar with this fact. 

Think of it this way: Book marketing is an undiscovered country.

What are the tools you need to make the journey?
  • A map
  • A guide
  • A guide book
  • A dictionary to learn a new language
  • Stories from people who've been there 
  • Special clothing
How else would you do to prepare to travel to a new land?

As you consider learning more about how to market yourself as an author and your fiction, brainstorm your questions, concerns, issues, complaints, etc.

Hit reply and let me know what they are. All comments are welcome.

I will be rolling out this new offering in a few weeks.

Thanks!

The 8th Annual Bay Area Book Festival

The Bay Area Book Festival (www.baybookfest.org), which takes place Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8 still has a few spots left for Green Room volunteers, particularly (but not exclusively) between the hours of 11:00 and 3:00 on both days. 

I'll be there both days in the afternoon.

Volunteers get FREE ADMISSION to both days of the festival. 

If you are local to the Bay Area and interested in possibly volunteering, please email Matthew at: matthew@baybookfest.org
NEW for 2022, the annual THGM MUSE Scholarship for writing students

I saw this on Twitter and thought I'd spread the word!

NEW for 2022, the annual THGM MUSE Scholarship for writing students.
The THGM MUSE Scholarship will help a first year student focus a little more on their studies and their craft and a little less on paying for breakfast. Our MUSE Scholarship will help you develop fresh ideas and find the right words to express them.

  • Application deadline is May 15, 2022.
  • Recipient will be notified by June 30, 2022.

    • Send this to the high schoolers in your life: 
    In The Media
    Jody Sperling of cre8 collabor8 podcast interviewed me this week on the creative process, author persona, and more. We had a great conversation. Thanks Jody!

    Committing to Your Writer Persona with Genre Novelist, Writing Teacher & Coach Beth Barany

    Enjoy!
    ♄

    Have a happy and creative week! Happy Writing!

    All my best,

    Beth

    PS. The Page Turner Awards closes in under 1 month! 

    Receiving an award for your fiction can validate your efforts, offer you recognition from strangers, and be a great feather in your cap for marketing. 

    I'm a sponsor of this contest (and a former winner!) and am giving away 2 prizes this year: 
    • For published authors: the Branding for Authors course bundle, plus 3 months of one-on-one support 
    • For unpublished authors: Edit Your Novel course, plus 3 months of coaching and manuscript review.

    Get your entries in. The contest closes May 31st.

    All the details and how to enter here: 


    ♄

    Ukrainian Refugee Author Resource Fundraiser

    A fellow writing colleague, Alana Terry, has organized a collection of courses, ebooks, and downloadable trainings by other writing support professionals, including me, to help you scale up your author career AND help Ukrainian refugees right now.
    ​
    The Successful Writer fundraising bundle includes several thousand dollars worth of resources just for you (with more being added every day as word about our fundraiser spreads!) (You can join in if you have something to offer.)

    A bundle of courses, books, resources, and services for authors from experts in the publishing industry. 

    All proceeds will be donated to International Relief Team, a 501(c)3 supporting Ukrainian refugees, so make a difference today with this fundraising bundle!
    • Want to learn Amazon ads? 
    • What about Bookbub ads?
    • Need inspiration for writing your novel or completing your manuscript in the next 90 days? 

    This fundraising bundle is available for a limited time at the price you choose! 

    That's not the best news, though.
    ​
    The best news is that 100% of the proceeds from this collection will be donated to International Relief Team's Ukrainian refugee relief work. 

    Pick your price, buy your bundle, and make your difference today with the Successful Writer fundraiser bundle.

    Please share with your friends. Thank you!

    I stand for peace and for freedom. I stand with the people of the Ukraine. A great great grandmother was from Odessa, a great great grandfather was from Chernivitsi, both immigrating to the United States in the 1880s. I also have a Russian Jewish great grandfather who immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s. And most of my other ancestors were from other parts of Eastern Europe -- the area being most affected by the over 10 million people fleeing the war zone.


    Recent Posts on Writer's Fun Zone blog
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    Ready to talk to a writing coach who understands genre fiction?

    I am here to help you experience clarity, have a clear road map of your next steps, and be that much closer to delighting your readers.

    You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!

    Now in its 16th year, this newsletter is a service of my coaching and consulting business, helping genre fiction writers write, market, and publish their novels to the delight of their readers.

    Through courses, coaching & consulting, NLP sessions, a 12-month group program, and books. 

    You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:

    c. 2006-2022 Beth Barany, Creativity Coach for Writers, www.BethBarany.com

    ABOUT BETH BARANY

    Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker,     who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.

    Beth speaks to groups locally, online, and internationally. For more details and how to book, go here.

    Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment. 

    Along with her husband, Ezra Barany, she offers a year-long group program to help novelists edit and publish their novels. See more here.

    Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here to help you vision, brainstorm, and plan your next novel. Planning for panthers, who want some structure but no too much. A road map to guide you on your way to writing your novel. By the time you're done with this course, you'll be ready to write because you know where you want to go and are excited by it.

    Want to take a class or get a consult, yet aren't sure what is the best option for you? Schedule a no-obligation chat with Beth here to explore your next steps. 

    Beth Barany is also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives. 

    Uncover her Henrietta The Dragon Slayer series here (YA Fantasy),
    her Touchstone series here (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance).


    beth@bethbarany.com

    Barany School of Fiction

    Writer's Fun Zone blog


    Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany

    I sit in the territory of Huichin, part of the stolen land of the Chochenyo Muwekma Ohlone, the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County.
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