Enter an Anthology with Proceeds for Pet Charities

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm here to talk with you about an amazing opportunity you may want to take advantage of. If you're ready, let's get rolling!

So, if you didn't already hear about it on my radio show, Ozarks Indie Book Fest is happening in Springfield, MO, October 19-22, 2017. They're donating any and all proceeds from the conference to two charities:

Companions for Heroes

and
Loving Paws Rescue

But the organizers wanted to do even MORE for these two charities. They put their heads together and came up with the idea of producing an anthology with ALL proceeds going to the charities above.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Want to know how you can get involved? Well, here you go:




Fill it out now, later, or whenever! If you write a compelling beginning, there's a great chance of being chosen. No one will know who you are until the stories are chosen. Classy, eh?

Winners will also be announced on the Facebook event page. You can join in the fun here.

You have a few months before your full story will be due. Why not?

Will you be entering?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Author Rachael Brownell on the Air TONIGHT to Discuss GLBB 2017

EEEEEK! Happy Friday, everyone! Tonight, I have the very great pleasure of interviewing author Rachael Brownell on A Daily Cup of Jo. Please join us, LIVE, at 5:30EST. Would you like a link? Here ya go!

Linky

Here's a breakdown of the show:

Your hostess with the mostest, Jo Michaels, of the Jo Michaels blog, interviews author Rachael Brownell about her book convention, Great Lakes Book Bash, happening in Kalamazoo, MI, October 27-28, 2017.
We'll be discussing why she holds GLBB, what inspired her to do the first one in 2015, and what plans she has for the fun in 2017! Conventions are popping up all over the United States, but so many authors have been duped out of their money. Know where to go and who to trust. Only the most trusted conventions and signings are talked about on A Daily Cup of Jo.

Follow Rachael on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/RachaelBrownellAuthor  and  https://twitter.com/HoldingOn2013

Check out the conference website: https://greatlakesbookbash.com/

Hope you find the time today!

If you were there, what did you think? Any questions for Rachael or me?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Your Author Banner - One Time Investment, or Break the Bank Recurring Charge?

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm talking about author banners. You know, those things you put up behind your table at conferences. I get a lot of questions about mine when I put it up because of the way I created it. Because it's come to my attention that several authors might like to do something like this, I figured I'd share here. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

So, my author banner is 2.5' x 6' Vertical and looks like this:

I got it at VistaPrint for $100 with a stand. If you wait on a sale, you can get them cheaper (from what I hear), but I needed one in a hurry for RAI this past April.

I know what you're thinking: That's so plain! There are no book covers or anything on there!

You're right. There aren't. But keep reading!

So, $100 is a significant investment, right? I thought: How can I do this just one time, and NEVER have to do it again (unless my clumsy self damages the actual vinyl)?

I went to this site: MPIX and ordered all my covers (8 of them) at 8X12 on single weight matboard and E-surface paper for a little over $60 with shipping. They were around $7 each.

If you're keeping up, that's a $160 investment so far.

Well, I needed a way to make those images interchangeable on the banner (and a way to make them stick). I headed to Amazon and snagged a roll of 75 5/8" white Velcro dots for about $10.

Now comes the fun part!

I designed my layout on the banner with nothing sticky (this step is very important). Then, I flipped the prints over and put the dots on the four corners (the soft side, not the hook side), and then I stuck the hooked side to the soft and removed the covering from the adhesive.

Keep up, this is the MOST important part.

Very carefully, I flipped the first print over and stuck it to the banner where I wanted it.

Then, I detached the dots from one another and removed the image.

I then attached new hook dots to the soft dots ON THAT IMAGE and repeated the process twice, putting it where I had the other two laid out.

Now, my banner has dots that will hold that image in three places, but I want to be able to stick any of the images anywhere.

I then attached soft dots to ONE of the patterns on the banner and removed the adhesive cover. After lining up a new image and gently pressing it down, I had a second image that would fit ALL THREE places on my banner. I repeated this action until all my images had soft dots on the corners.

I used the soft dots on the images so I can stack them and not worry about them scratching one another.

*****IMPORTANT: I know it's time consuming to do it this way, but if you just stick dots on willy-nilly, there's a chance they won't line up with the ones on the banner. Take the time to do it right.

My banner can now display ANY of my covers, and I don't have to spend another $50 (banner with no stand) each time I want to update it, just $7. Here's a picture:

Total investment: $170

If I ever change my branding (colors or WriteJoMichaels), I'm screwed, but I like it enough that I plan to stick with it forever.

You can leave space at the top, bottom, or wherever! It's your design. Do with it what you will.

I'll get into those nifty little stands that are holding my books next week. They're my favorite EVER!

What do you think? Will you try it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Branding Yourself - A Whole New Level

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I'm back to the grind and feeling good about it. It's been a heck of a last month or so, getting moved, attending UtopYA Con, and going on vacation, but routine is something I thrive on. Blogging is part of my routine. It helps to wake my creativity, gets me writing something, and is my little contribution to the writing world. As you can see from the number of posts under recent months, I've been slacking. It wasn't because I didn't have a desire to blog or was out of topics, but because I had to let something give (hey, you were warned). So, today, I'm gonna talk about something unexpected that happened at the con, but threw me a bone in the process. Ready? Grab your coffee and let's get going!

Day one, I'm meandering around the hotel lobby with the fabulous Tia Silverthorne Bach. We pretended to be regular people, and didn't tell anyone there we were authors until later.

I never thought about it at the time, but I was wearing my hat (see blurry as hell photo). This hat almost didn't make it. I had to run back into the house and grab it from its spot on the floor of my room. I'd put it there so I wouldn't forget it.

Why was I taking my hat?

Well, cowboy hats and Nashville, Tennessee, go together like peas and carrots or peanut butter and jelly, if you will. I was born in Tennessee and will always have a deep affection for my birthplace. Besides that, my husband is the one who bought me that hat, and I wanted to have a little something he gave me along for the ride. I digress. Let me get back to the main idea.

When I finally introduced myself as Jo Michaels, everyone commented on my hat. Once I got my name tag, my hat became more of a branding thing because I put that tag on the brim of my hat (you can see the edge of it).

Was this branding intentional?

No.

But it worked. Every time I saw someone, they knew who I was at a glance. If you've perused the UtopYA photos, you'll see my hat on my head in almost every one.

Saturday, I showed up without my hat on.

People told me they didn't know who I was, and to stop trying to trick them. Even though I had on my Jo Michaels t-shirt, people didn't recognize me without my unintentional brand of a cowboy hat.

There were a lot of people there with something unique going on. Misty Provencher had the prettiest face paint I've ever seen, making her look rather like a fantastical fairy. Bella Roccaforte had fire-engine red hair. N. L. Greene had a pretty pink streak in her blonde locks, and Sarah Ashley Jones had her signature purple, blue, and white bob. Yeah, you knew who they were at a glance.

This is what I'm talking about. You need a strong brand so people will recognize you at one of these events. Remember, they're meeting a ton of people. What makes you special/unique?

Find something and go for it.

Be your brand. Embrace your difference.

Will I be wearing my hat next year?

You bet.

Have you ever unintentionally branded yourself with something? What was it, and how did it work out?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo