Monday, April 11, 2011

Kate Lord Brown and The Beauty Chorus

I'm thrilled to have author Kate Lord Brown here today, to discuss five simple steps authors can take to get their book noticed. Yes, I know it's 'I' day on the A-Z Challenge and I'm going to file this one under 'information'! Here's a bit more about Kate's book, The Beauty Chorus.

Romance, glamour and adventure in the skies: an enthralling debut inspired by female pilots in World War Two. 166 women signed up to fly Spitfires and bombers from factories to airfields across the country. It was an adventure that would cost many their lives.

New Year’s Eve 1940: Evie Chase, the beautiful debutante daughter of an RAF commander, listens wistfully to the swing music drifting out from the ballroom. With bombs falling nightly in London, she is determined to make a difference to the war effort. Evie joins the ATA – the civilian pilots who ferry fighter planes to bases across war-torn Britain. Two other women wait nervously to join up with her – Stella Grainger, a forlorn young mother from Singapore, and Megan Jones, an idealistic teenager who has never left her Welsh village before. Billeted together in a tiny cottage, Stella, Megan and Evie learn to live and work together as they find romance, confront loss and forge friendships that last a lifetime.

Kate writes:

As a parent, you get to enjoy those ‘firsts’ in life all over again watching your children experience them. First steps, first snow, first day at school, first love. As an author, it is hard not to feel the same mix of joy and trepidation seeing your first book going out into the world. Will any one care about it as much as you do?

To be published, to see your words bound beautifully and up on the shelves alongside books by authors you have admired your whole life is a dream come true for many writers. It goes without saying that most writers are readers first, and book lovers in the broadest sense. I can honestly say that when I opened the DHL boxes yesterday and held the hardback of ‘The Beauty Chorus’ for the first time it was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

So once the book is born, how can you ensure people hear about its arrival? Perhaps the most amusing advice for début authors is in Douglas Gibson’s famously cynical memo. The former editor of Macmillan Canada titled it ‘Don’t Look for Your Book in Bookstores’. Carole Blake helpfully quotes the memo in her Bible for new authors ‘From Pitch to Publication’ (which I highly recommend): prepare yourself for publication day (no one will notice it), reviews (there will either be none or they will appear too early or late to be useful), and friends (who will give you a list of typos in your book).

The number of first novels this year is heartening. It remains to be seen for how many this will be the first step in a long career. Perhaps as they prepare for their newborn books to fly the nest, authors should enjoy the moment and remember Martin Luther King Jr’s advice: ‘You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.’

If you are close to taking that first step, why not think about these five simple steps to help your debut:

• If you have a blog, make sure it is up to date with information about your new book, links to online stores etc
• Create a Facebook page for the book
• Contact local media (‘local’ can be where you live, places where the book is set, where you went to school etc)
• Talk to your local library – reach as many reading groups in your area as possible
• Consider making a video ‘book trailer’ for your book using some of the amazing free software online, and creative commons images from sites like Flickr

Kate Lord Brown’s début ‘The Beauty Chorus’ is being published by Corvus Atlantic 1/4/11
Amazon link here.

About Kate:
Kate worked as an art consultant, curating collections for palaces and embassies in Europe and the Middle East, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was a finalist in ITV’s the People’s Author competition in 2009, and has written for magazines including Condé Nast Traveller and Blueprint. Her debut novel ‘The Beauty Chorus’ is being published by Corvus Atlantic in 2011. She currently lives in the Middle East with her husband who is an airline pilot, and their young family.www.katelordbrown.com

37 comments:

  1. Beautiful post, Kate. I especially liked how you captured the heart of what it means to have our words bound and on the shelves for all the share. I'm looking forward to that day, that feeling.

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  2. Hi Kate, Welcome!

    Thanks for all these new author tips and advice.

    All the best for your upcoming new release, The Beauty Chorus!

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  3. Great advise...and wow! Curating collections for palaces and embassies? Double impressed!

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  4. Thank you for sharing this. I can relate to Kate's experience when she first held her first book in her hands. Getting a copy of my first published book was indeed one of the most amazing moments in my life. ( Coming close to holding my first child...minus the blood, sweat, tears and epidural of course!)
    Enjoying yr blog.

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  5. Wonderful post Kate, mande impressive reading,
    Thanks also to Talli for hosting you.

    Yvonne.

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  6. That first book is always special. Really like the cover for Kate's book.

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  7. Best of luck with your 'baby'!

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  8. Terrific advice! The book sounds terrific - thanks for the tip! :)

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  9. just have to get it written! Thanks for the tips.

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  10. I for incredible information and introduction to this scrummy book by a lovely author!!

    Thank you lovely Talli and all the best to Ms Kate Lord Brown - may she fly high!!! Take care
    x

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  11. Nice post Kate. Thanks for sharing Talli!

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  12. Good article, Kate. I love WWII stories, especially around what women were doing at the time.

    "If you have a blog, make sure it is up to date with information about your new book, links to online stores etc."

    Very important Kate and I would add, ditto for your website. And add an excerpt for your book. Give them a taste. ESPECIALLY if you are a debut author. Great promotion tip.

    As a Blog owner who features authors, I can tell you how important having an excerpt and an up-to-date web/blog site is. I look at hundreds of author websites and blogs a month. When I feature an author, part of my job is to make the book look good and draw the reader to your website where you have goodies to entertain and inform.

    If you're smart, you'll have an up to date one listing where you're blogging when on tour, what coming next, short little comments on researched bits of interest you found, or even out takes of the books. Those things from the editors floor, or a chapter you decided not to include. Maybe a snippet from one your characters.

    Websites tell me a lot about the author and their attitude towards writing. Good ones are easy to navigate, eye catching, give a taste of the author behind the books, and shows whether they're professional or haphazard.

    Your blog and Facebook is a tool that can go a long way in build anticipation for your release date. If no one cares or knows, the author hasn't done their pre-release job correctly--building excitement for their release several months before the book is due out.

    Now, I want to find out more about your book. It's one I'm gonna read.

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  13. This is wonderful. Congrats to Kate and thanks for the great tips!

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  14. beautiful, Kate,

    you are blessed, Happy Monday.

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  15. Great advice on promotion. Thanks!

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  16. A great post and valuable information. Thanks for hosting, Kate, Talli!

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  17. Wonderful post. Thank you for the tips from Kate. Since there is a young writer in our family, I'll definitely send this to her. It's great that you, Talli, host different writers on your blog.

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  18. This was a wonderful "I" post for the challenge.

    Have a great day!

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  19. i reeeeeally want to read this! i love anything WW2 related x

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  20. Thanks Kate for these excellent tips. I'm bookmarking this for when the time comes. Thank you Talli for bringing us her interview!

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  21. Hi Kate!
    thanks for these awesome tips. While I'm still in the process of trying to get published, it helps to be well-informed, and to prepare for a possible future as a published author. Your book sounds like an interesting read:P
    Thanks for the Information Talli! I'll look forward to your next post.
    nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  22. Thanks, everyone -- and thanks to Kate for writing such an interesting post!

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  23. This book sounds great, I'm definitely going to check it out. Thanks for the advice!

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  24. Ahh The Beauty Chorus sounds like such a good book! Thank you, Kate, for these fantastic tips and suggestions. And this post was incredible...it is like you were speaking the very thoughts that are in my mind--in OUR minds--as writers. I think one of the biggest worries we have, especially as new writers, is that we are afraid people won't enjoy and treasure our books as much as we do.

    ~TRA

    http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com

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  25. Top post and very interesting. Kate's debut sounds great and ties in nicely, as it's the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in just a few years' time. Get that book out there for all to see Kate, big things might come of it!

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  26. Great post and useful advice too. I can't wait to read this book.

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  27. such great advice. I never thought about a FB page for your book. Interesting... Thanks, guys! :o) <3

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  28. Thank you for a helpful and inspiring post
    xx

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  29. I love the title of this book! It sounds interesting, I think I'll be checking it out. Thanks so much for the info. :)

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  30. Thanks Talli for introducing us to Kate! I will have to add this to my wish list ;D

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  31. Great advice and Kate's book sounds interesting too!
    I'm 2 months away from my first novel's publication and frantically trying to create a social media presence.
    I want to create a book trailer too but I'm not sure where to start? If anyone has any suggestions please shoot them through.

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  32. Great tips - thanks Talli and Kate!

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  33. Looks like a fascinating book, and I enjoyed the post, especially the advice to just take the first step and enjoy.

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  34. The book sounds fantastic. Congratulations. And the advice is very appreciated.

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  35. some great tips and advice. I downloaded the beauty chorus from Amazon yesterday after reading a review on Misssy M Misssives and am really enjoying it.

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  36. Looking forward to having a read of this one :) Great tips - and what an incredible girl Kate sounds!
    Lx

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Coffee and wine for all!