Before I jump into my weekly blog hop post, I thought I'd give you some insight into my experience at RT. I know I posted a couple of quickie blogs from my mobile app while I was away, but now that I'm home, I'd love to share with you in more detail. I'm thinking I'll do a daily breakdown of the event. We'll see how it goes, lol.
Wednesday was the first full day at the RT Booklovers Convention for me and convention roomies, friends and fellow authors, Killian McRae and Robin DeJarnett. After a quick breakfast of Costco muffins we hot-footed it to a 9:30 session for RT Convention Virgins. We were joined by a room full of RT newbies just like us, and entertained by the wonderful and very talented Sahara Kelly and Amanda McIntyre. It was there we learned we wouldn't be beaten or bloodied if we wanted to attend a different seminar from the one we'd originally signed up for, and that we should make sure to drink plenty of water.
I took a giant leap in session two from RT Virgin to I'll Have What She's Having: Teaching Harry How To Do Sally. This was a panel on erotica led by Sharon Page, Lauren Dane, Kate Pearce and Kayla Perrin. Some points I took away from this particular panel were to keep things real and current, and to not mistake quantity for quality. Shmexy times should be essential to the character's and story's growth, and should move the plot forward. If the sex scenes don't meet those requirements, there's no need for them.
I didn't glean much from the following marketing session I attended, though there was a rather amusing disagreement between the gal speaking and an audience member. The moderator commented she didn't believe book bloggers made a difference in sales for authors. I, of course, do not agree with this, and was happy to see I wasn't the only one. A spunky gal seated in the row behind me had some words for our well meaning speaker, and I have to say, I rather enjoyed the show.
Toward the end of the day, Robin and Killian joined me as I stopped by the spotlight on my newest publisher, Loose Id. I got to meet Treva Harte for the first time. Woot!
Our day ended with a Bollywood party hosted by Ellora's Cave. The ballroom was decorated beautifully, and we enjoyed a wonderful show consisting of some very talented, half-naked Bollywood dancers. Yay!
On to the hop!
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Here's how it works:
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6 comments:
MORE MORE MORE!!!!!!!!! Come on dancing queen, there's more to this story! Dish girlfriend! Hugs, Brenda
Lol, Brenda! You got it, babe! I'll be talking about my RT experience for the next few days :)
BLOGGERS DON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN BOOK SALES??? Wow, I'm glad someone was brave enough to take a stand on that! I can't tell you how many times I see blog readers commenting that they will (or already did) buy a book based on the blogger's review of a book! I think book bloggers are essential for indie authors as well as a very helpful for best-selling authors.
Lisa, PICTURES, we want lots of PICTURES! <3
I'm so glad you ladies had so much fun!
-Lisa
Loved to hear about RT, Lisa! How fun to room with Killian and Robin--that must have made the conference even more enjoyable. Great advice on the sex scenes moving the plot forward. What about sex scenes that deepen the characterization--are those worthy too? Did the presenter on marketing have any statistics about book blogging and sales? Look forward to hearing more about RT. Jen xx
I agree with you book review blogs are great. i do read one that sends me newsletters of the most current books. I read the reviews but they dont sway me. I generally look for the description and author. Without the book reviews, i would have no clue what is out ther.
Also, I pay a bunch of money for advertisingon them I would hate to think I'm wasting my time & money. what did she have to say about advertising on them?
Gabriella
Lisa- I agree that book bloggers make a huge difference. I buy books all the time based on review posts. When the audience member spoke up, the speaker then recanted a bit, saying they believed the reviews didn't show a "marked" increase. Ah well. Everyone has different experiences. Maybe this was the case for these people. And more pictures...got it :) :)
Jenn- Yep, it was a blast. Killian and Robin are so much fun! As far as sex scenes that deepen characterization, yes, those are great and serve to move the book forward. I think the panel was really trying to make the point that copious amounts of sex with no real connection to the plot or characters was unnecessary and should be cut.
Gabriella- The session was short, with several topics being glossed over at a fast pace. Advertising, though, was encouraged. There were several booths set up throughout the conference specifically for advertising as it's essential.
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