December is a busy month for me, even without the holidays. My birthday and my oldest daughter's are this month. This will be the first Christmas without my brother, and his birthday was December 24^th. In my business, it's time to finish all those client budgets for 2009 and get ready for tax time. Put that together with cold weather and short daylight hours, and my stress level shoots to the treetops.  

Back in my early 20's, a popular song said "If we make it through December we'll be fine". That has pretty much been my mantra for the past 25 years. So if I look strained when you wish me a happy holiday, don't take it personally. I'm just looking forward to a fresh start. 

This month I grabbed an article from The Book Marketing Expert newsletter. I really like the way they laid things out. It's kind of long, but there is some great information there. 

We only have two guest chats this month, but the first one is a doozy! This will be the first time we've had eight guests in one chat. I'm a bit nervous about moderating that many guests at once, so make sure you show up to see how many chatters it takes to rattle me. 

At the end of the month, we have our ever-popular chat with C. Hope Clark of www.fundsforwriters.com . Hope holds the record for most chatters. Last spring, she brought in 70 chatters in one chat! Glenn Walker moderates Hope's chats, but we had to sign in two other moderators to help handle the crowd.  

Come on...make us do that again! We love challenges. 

Lisa J. Jackson gives us another grammar lesson this month. Are there any particular grammar problems that you would like to have explained? Drop her a line at lisa@writerschatroom.com .  

Don't miss our holiday party on December 14^th. Renee is cooking up lots of fun for everyone. Presents?  Maybe. You have to show up to find out. 

On the 21^st we're having our annual Organization and Goal Setting chat. Unfortunately, Linda isn't able to run it this year. So the challenge will be to see if I can get organized enough to head up the topic. I have my goals set, and I'm gathering background info from former professional organizer (and regular chatter) Faye Stone.  

So let's get rolling!  We have work to do, but the goal is to send you all into the new year happy, healthy, organized and headed for success! 

1) Goals: it's good to have them, but make sure they are realistic. If you're not sure, ask someone who can be objective. (We're here to help, email us at info@amarketingexpert.com if you have nowhere else to turn for an honest answer). Yesterday I was speaking to an author who was really discouraged she hadn't met her sales goal for the year. She had set herself a goal of selling 20,000 books.

Now that's a great number to aspire to, but not a realistic figure. Why? Because it was her first book, because she self-published it and because she didn't have a distributor in place and didn't have a platform. All of these things are factors to consider when setting these types of goals. What's more realistic? Well, it depends on your market, but 2,000 to 5,000 - especially if you're starting out - is a much better target. Keep in mind, though, that if your book has limited distribution, this number could drop drastically.

2) What's your plan? While setting goals is important, it's equally important to have mini-goals or milestones that you can reach and check off your list. I outline my big goal, let's say it's finding a traditional publisher for my book, and then I outline the hundreds of mini-goals I need to reach before I can even be considered by a mainstream house. When you work your goal-setting this way, it will feel like you are accomplishing things because you are. So often the larger scope of what we do is comprised of micro-efforts, things that might go unnoticed and unseen if you don't write them down or somehow keep a log of them. In all the years I've worked in marketing and publicity, the single most discouraging thing is when you do a million pieces of invisible work and don't keep track of it.

Make a roadmap: you would never drive from San Diego to New York and not have a map. Much like a trip from West to East, you'll need a map to keep you on track. It doesn't have to be formal, just a list of things you want to accomplish today, this week, this month and the next six months. Keeping yourself on track will keep you on the right road; if not you could end up being someplace you never planned on. Like Peoria.

3) Am I doing the right thing? No one markets well in a vacuum, so if you have questions, get answers from someone you trust. You might be doing all the right things, but it might just be a matter of timing, patience, effort, and oh, did I mention patience? The important thing is to ask someone in the industry and someone who will give you honest feedback without trying to sell you their stuff.

4) Brainstorm and get creative: again, no one works well in isolation so get out there and brainstorm with people who are in a similar situation. If that's not possible, then start attending classes whether in person or teleclasses (we offer these, they're totally free: authors@amarketingexpert.com). The point is, get out there and start those creative juices flowing or just sit with a speaker you like and get inspired. Re-ignite your campaign.

5) Reevaluate: if you keep hitting a brick wall, it's time to reevaluate your marketing. Are you hitting the right targets? Are you going after your niche market or are you shooting too wide? Are you spending time and money on things that aren't leveraging results? If so, ask yourself, why? Are you doing it because everyone else in your writing group is? Ask yourself some critical questions.

6) Stuff only works if you do a lot of it: whatever you focus on you should plan to do it consistently. If you blog, blog consistently. Radio? Same thing. Get yourself in a social networking site then be social. Don't "dabble" - someone once told me they've dabbled in this and that. Trust me, dabbling doesn't work. Diving headlong into marketing does.

7) Put a lot of lines in the water: I don't fish so I'm not sure where that analogy came from, but you get the idea. Put a lot of stuff out there. Don't just blog and expect that to be your singular source of marketing. Blog, social network, do radio if it's appropriate to your book, do talks, book events, network, and go to conferences.

8) If you do nothing, expect nothing: your book is not the field of dreams, if you write it people won't just beat a path to your door. Get yourself out there, do whatever you need to market the book. Sending postcards to your mailing list might get you a few "Hey, great to hear from you" emails but it won't sell books. Surprisingly enough, most authors don't sell but a few books to their immediate social circle. Break out of that circle. Mom can only buy so many of your books. I queried this on my Facebook page earlier and someone responded by saying that she's frustrated that her clients don't market the books they publish. Hmmmm.

9) Realism will keep you sane: the truth is that unless you get a ticket to her show, you'll probably never meet Oprah. That's ok. There are a million other things you can do instead of sitting by the phone waiting for her to call. Realism will not only keep you sane, it'll keep you on target. Having dreams is a great thing, everyone should have a dream, but realism will keep you from being discouraged and keep your marketing momentum on track.

10) Don't throw money at something just to feel like you're doing something: throwing money at a problem isn't always a good thing, in fact, sometimes it's the worst thing. If you're going to invest in your marketing (and you should), make sure you're investing your money wisely. There are great deals out there, but some of them are a waste of your time and certainly, your money. Make investments wisely. I've known authors to blow through a $5,000 marketing budget $99 at a time and still have nothing to show for their efforts. Also, while it's tempting and easy to do, don't place ads. Ads (especially online) don't work. Media blasts aren't recommended either. It's tempting, I know. Blasting thousands of media at one time with your message should result in something, right? Not always. Be smart with your marketing dollars. If you're blasting the media, ask to see the media targets first. You don't want to be pitching your romance novel to Car and Driver.

So what's the solution to all of this? Here are some guidelines to help you navigate this marketing and pr path:

1) Become part of the conversation, wherever that conversation exists. If your book is a New Age topic, go to web sites, blogs, and even consider attending some conferences. If you're following blogs, comment on those blogs, get to know the big bloggers out there. If you have a social networking site, work it, make friends, comment, be helpful.

2) Don't get into the Internet with the idea you'll make a lot of money. Get online and be helpful, the money will follow. If you do it in reverse, you'll have a very short lived time online. Offer tips, link to other blogs or web sites you find helpful. Offer guidance, insight, wisdom, inspiration, whatever works for your market.

3) Want to sell books? Then go for exposure. Repeat after me: marketing and pr doesn't sell books - it gets you exposure. Exposure gets you an audience and an audience gets you book sales. Whatever effort you're going to put into your book, understand it's for the exposure, not for sales. Much like point #2, if you attack your marketing with the idea of selling books, you'll be disappointed. If you tackle it with the idea of gaining exposure, you'll be pleasantly surprised and it's likely that book sales will follow.

4) When you make up your list of things to do to market your book, ask yourself what can give you the best exposure. That's one of the reasons I love the Internet, because the exposure is limitless. Don't go for flash in the pan marketing ideas, go for substance.

5) Having 35 social networking accounts is only a good thing when you use them all. People ask me how many social networking pages should they have, I say: how many can you manage? If you can't keep up 35 pages then start with one and go from there. Better to have one very active page than a bunch of pages that are blank.

6) Do one to five things a day to market yourself and your book. Keep on track with your marketing efforts and stay in the marketing "zone" by crafting a list that lets you chip away at your goals, one goal at a time.

7) Please, please, please get a web site. It's your 24/7 sales tool and should be one of the first things on your list of must-do marketing tasks.

8) Get help from a professional you trust. I know you're loving this "going alone" thing, but let's face it, at some point it might make sense to bring in a professional who can help you, someone you trust who will give you a straight answer and good, solid advice. Stay away from anyone offering guarantees in sales. This is a huge red flag, no one can predict this, nor can anyone predict a bestseller.

The more you can approach your marketing plan with a plan, a dash of realistic expectations and a lot of hard work, the more successful you'll be. The truth is there are hundreds of thousands of books that get published each year that end up dying a quiet death due to lack of focus, goals, and exposure. Get yourself on a path, and then find a manageable plan that will work with you, not against you!

I like finding ways to remember the 'rules' and hope you can find something helpful. It's my hope the monthly grammar techniques and usage examples will make grammar a lot less frightening and potentially enjoyable (can you imagine?) for you. 

This month I thought we'd talk about gerunds, those identifiable words with -ing tails. The recipe for a gerund is simple: take a verb, attach -ing and then use it as a noun. Baking is not required. Did you catch that? Baking is not required. A gerund is born! 

How simple was that? And that's all there is to it. Okay, well, not so much. The rule is: every gerund ends in -ing, but not every word that ends in -ing is a gerund. 

A gerund always functions as a noun, so you'll find them as subjects, objects, and subject complements. 

Examples are always great, with some details, so here you go: 

As the object of a preposition:

   Before brushing her teeth, she washed her face.

   After reading the details, he could make a decision.

Object of a verb:

   She loves playing in the mud.

   He enjoys climbing up the tree.

Subject of a verb:

   Writing is difficult.

   Winning is fun.

   Since she was four, dancing has been her passion.

Subject complement with a linking verb:

   Her complaints were making him crazy.

   His favorite hobby is drawing landscapes.

After a preposition (a verb after a preposition must be a gerund):

   Please water the plant before leaving.

   Wash your hands before eating.

   We are sharing information about writing. 

This month's recommended grammar book is: The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. 

BIO: Lisa J. Jackson is a freelance writer/editor. Her published works include NH-based articles for online and print newspapers and magazines, business guides, business profiles, profiles of community residents, and technical writing. A lifelong NH resident, she enjoys intelligent conversation, delicious iced coffee, cycling, Sudoku, reading, and b&w film photography. Stop by her site at http://lisajjackson.tripod.com. She's also established in fiction and known on the TWC staff as Lisa Haselton. 

Audrey Shaffer    Renee Barnes    Kim Richards      Lisa Haselton