Guest Post: Rachel Thompson

Today, we welcome some honest to goodness heart-warming thoughts from the mind of Rachel Thompson!

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1. So, just to clear it out onto the table, I'm a man reading your book about all of the differences between men and women. Does this worry you about the things I'm going to ask?
Okay 1) Mancode question and 2) Not at all. Should it? J Plus, I had over twenty beta-readers and fifteen were men. In addition, my Twitter following is made up of almost 50% men. Bring it, Cory.

2. Having a dear husband at home, does he ever get mad at some of the jabs you make at mancode humor?
Gosh, not at all. One of the reasons I married him was his sense of humor. He’s a smart, funny, secure dude who constantly comes to me with ideas for essays. Or explains to me why men behave in certain ways. He’s my sounding board for much of what I write. Though he did take a pic of me sweeping yesterday. I guess that would be a jab, right?

3. Have you ever found that your best inspiration can come from somewhere outside of your own home? Is there a "guy paradise" where Mancode is on full display?
Actually yes. I write about this in the forward to both of my books. I had several long-term relationships prior to marriage. I have two sisters who are married. My own folks have been together over fifty years. In addition, I worked in very male-dominated industries for over fifteen, well, almost twenty years: retail, commercial sales, and pharmaceutical sales. Almost every manager I’ve ever had was male. 80% of the physicians I called on were male. So I certainly draw from those experiences.

In my world today, I interact daily with hundreds of people, male and female in both a professional and personal capacity. I write of course, but I also cofounded the Indie Book Collective and I have my own social media clients, interestingly 80% of whom are male. As long as they do what I tell them, we all get along fine.  

4. Have you ever had someone react to your writing in a bad way? Someone who gets retaliatory with their responses? Sometimes, people just can't take jokes.
 Yea, constantly. I receive comments on Twitter or Facebook, my blog, or even reviews on Amazon. I look at it this way: I’ve targeted something in them that has created an emotional response, good or bad. That reaction is terrific for me as a writer. They don’t have to like me. They can slam my work. But that reaction makes me happy.

5. Do you think Mancode and Chickspeak will ever become common vernacular? It seems to be the best description I've heard so far.
Thanks so much. Well, Mancode was something I honestly didn’t realize was already out there in various forms: there’s a Christian man’s handbook, there’s a guy from some Bachelor-ish show that wrote a book, and of course if you search the term on Twitter, some bad words I cannot repeat here show up haha. I was just in my own little blog world at the time, doing my thing and that’s what I called it. It just FIT. As I wrote more essays, the term took on a life of its own as people began requesting more Mancode!

Chickspeak is definitely mine. It’s my term for helping out the guys. What “I’m fine” or “I’m tired” really mean.

6. As far as overcoming DNA, is it strictly nature? Or do you think nurture may provide just as much basis? (strictly non-medical opinion, of course).
It’s a combination of both. Here’s why I say that: I have a six-year old son who is a little imp. Does all the typical boy stuff, is fueled by testosterone, and yet still snuggles with me and tells me he wants to marry me one day (I’ll break it to him when he’s a little older J. I watch daily the struggle of nature vs. nuture and I know the beast can be tamed. And trained to change the toilet paper roll.

7. Have you ever heard any complaints about Chickspeak tendencies? (And if you haven't, please ask, I could provide a few.)
Are you a fly on my wall? Yes. The vernacular is strong in this house. He can’t understand why I can’t get to the point and I can’t understand why he doesn’t want the backstory. Classic ‘women are from journey, men are from destination’ issue. I discuss this in Mancode with my theory that women speak in circles because we have breasts, and men speaks in points because you have…

And why he doesn’t know to pick up or keep chocolate in the house at all times…after nineteen years? He’s gonna get THE LOOK. I mean, come on. But he still gives me a hard time for giving him a hard time. So that’s classic right there.

See, we know we’re being silly and complicated. We accept that. Why can’t you?

8. How do you handle when the particularly frustrating portions of Mancode rear their ugly heads? I know men aren't always sensible. Do you have a response/contingency plan?
Yes. Vodka. And complicated Dot-to-Dots.

9. What can readers expect from future forays into your mind? Are there more essay collections on the way?
 Yes, I’m writing Chickspeak: Uncovered right now. After that, it’s a toss up between Chickspeak vs. Mancode or something entirely different…a Kidcode collection; or even a more serious set of essays. I added a few more poignant essays to A Walk In The Snark (a #1 Kindle Bestseller )and many people still contact me asking for more of that side of me. So there are a lot of different directions to go.

10. Why is Mancode/Chickspeak a source of such inspiration for you? Is it something you've (unofficially) "studied" all of your life? Or is it something that just kind of happened while you were writing?
I started as a psychology major in college before switching to Communication Studies and Journalism. One of the Comm classes was about male/female communication. So I suppose it started with that field of study – combining the psychology of how both sexes think with how we communicate with each other has always fascinated me. I’m constantly looking for explanations for behaviors, whether they’re male or female; but it’s that interplay between us that is most interesting.

People get frustrated with me for stereotyping (part of why I titled one section in Mancode:Exposed ‘DNA and Stereotypes’ – to discuss it head on), but as a group, we’re not very original in our actions from a communications point of view—male or female. My husband teaches communications skills to sales corporations (his program is based on Harvard studies blah blah) and each of us falls into one of four categories. How we communicate (now I’m not talking behavior here) is not rocket science. We are a fairly predictable species.

Not all men are incapable of changing the toilet paper roll. Not all women love chocolate and get upset when there isn’t any to be found anywhere in the whole house cause she’s PMSing and OMG where is that husband of hers cause she’s gonna wring his neck! Those are behaviors.

So long answer: yes, I’ve studied it but I’m not an expert and in no way make a claim to be. I’m no ologist, as I say in the book. I’m just a girl, asking the world to drink martinis with her. And hopefully laugh.
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Thanks Rachel for stopping by The Ink Puddle! That was quite possibly one of my favorite interviews I've ever hosted.
If you're interested in our review in The Mancode: Exposed, click here.

Guest Post: Ashley Dawn

Today we welcome Ashley Dawn, on tour with Virtual Blog Tour Cafe and author of the Shadows series. She has prepared a guest post for us to talk about important marketing tips that help authors out along the way to success. 

Without further ado...

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Marketing Tips
With so much going on with books on the internet, there are a lot of options for authors to promote their work.  I’ve used several of these…some worked and some didn’t.  For me it was trial and error type work so I thought I would share what has worked best for me:

1. A Blog.  This can be FREE or there are some places where you pay for the blog, either way it is useful.  I have a review blog where I read and review other author’s work.  It gets my name out there and I have a page on my blog dedicated just to my books.  That way, when authors are out there promoting their book and send people to my blog, I have the possibility to have them check out my books as well.  It isn’t a guarantee but it has worked for me.
2. Help other authors.  This one sort of goes along with the blog idea.  If you review an author’s book for them, you have made a contact that in the future (or now if you agree to do a swap with them) can do a review for you.  If you help other authors with reviews and promotion, they will help you.
3. Facebook page.  It is a wonderful and FREE.  You can post what is going on in your writing life, upcoming releases, book covers, etc.  People click ‘like’ on your page and immediately see your feed.  You have to post on there for it to be useful but there is a whole lot of people on facebook that can be reached through this and it doesn’t tie up your personal account.
4. Blog Tour.  On this, you set up a time frame (either by yourself or hire someone to do it) where on certain days you are on certain blogs either doing reviews, guestblogs, giveaways, excerpts…the possibilities are almost endless!  This way, you reach a completely new audience through the blogger’s followers and at the same time, you are helping them promote their blog by promoting your book!
5. Twitter.  It works a lot like facebook only with more limited character space.  I admit I don’t utilize this one like I should but it is there as a promotion tool for us authors and once again it is FREE.  You can promote yourself, gain followers, announce release dates, or just talk about what you are working on to keep people interested.

All 5 of these can be used together to help you market and promote your work.  Make sure to have fun with your marketing.  I know it is work and you so bad want to get all the exposure you can but remember to take time to stop and see what you are accomplishing along the way.  I hope this helps or at least gives a few ideas!

- Ashley Dawn

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Thank you so much Ashley for coming by! Make sure you check out her book series. Here's a summary of Book 3, Shadows of Pain!

"Revenge is sweet…unless you are on the receiving end of it.
“Do you know of anyone who would want…you dead?”
Officer Daniel Jenkins was no stranger to the dangers his job posed but usually he knew who was trying to kill him. Being stalked was a completely different ball game, and he wasn’t sure there were any rules…
“…I need you.”
Terrified didn’t even begin to describe how Kami felt with the stalker targeting her. As an FBI agent you were trained to handle stressful situations, but being the victim put the whole process in a different light.
As the killer gets closer, so do Kami and Daniel, but will they live long enough to see their love bloom?
Only God can save them from this unknown killer…"

Guest Post: Aurora Lightborne

Today I am very happy to welcome Aurora Lightbourne to The Ink Puddle. She is the author of Brass Hearts, a book described as a "Classic romantic tale, set in a picturesque steampunk world". (Seems like steampunk is the thing these days!) Here's a small summary:

"All Dulcy Spry wants in life is to inherit her father's small, family business, and help run it while she waits. But after a fateful encounter with the snobbish Mr Pridget on the roadside Dulcy's best friend, Alise, and younger sister, Rosa, drag the reluctant Miss Spry into high society, where lies, manipulations and family secrets threaten to ruin her peaceful life and cast her into the dismal prison of an unwanted marriage.

Brass Hearts is a Cinderella-esque type story. It is a sweet, old fashioned romance, complete with bad impressions, lies, misunderstandings and social divide."

Without further ado... please welcome Aurora!

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Will readers continue to buy only 'Brand Name' books?

With all the new technology, full service printers and small publishing houses available as options, many talented authors are turning to 'alternative' means of publishing instead of the 'traditional' big companies. The question remains though, will the majority of readers remain 'brand name' book shoppers or will they give the indies a chance?

So far it seems independent authors have an uphill battle in proving they are not rejects that can't take a hint or sub-par writers with no marketable skills, but solid, gifted writers who just happen to want to keep more control over their own creations.

Why would good authors who could have gotten contracts with large companies choose to go the maligned self-published or small publisher route?

I can think of three reasons, and none of them are disgraceful.

1. They want to retain the rights to their work and place them as they see fit.

2.They happen to want to benefit more from the sales of their creations.

I don't think most readers realize that an author, and especially a 'traditionally published' author, sees very little of the money from their book sales. Bookstores alone can require up to 55% of the cover price for their share, add into that the publisher's cut, the printing cost, the agent's cut and the actual creator sees sometimes only 10% or less of each sale, that is less than a customary tip at a restaurant.

Remember, another editor could have edited it, another agent could have handled it, another publisher/printer could have distributed it, but only one author can create it. Without that one creative individual there would be no story. Don't they deserve to benefit more from it?

3.The books they are trying to place is not in the current 'tending topic'. Agents and publishers are looking at one thing, their bottom line. It usually doesn't matter how well a rejected author writes or how good his storyline is. Most of the time the work itself is never read, they only get as far as the genre or basic outline and the answer is; 'this is not the type of book we are looking for at this time'.

I think there is a need to redefine such literary entrepreneurs, to identify them and their worth, and get some distance from the foul reputation that does not fit most of these great individuals. Maybe we can say “Independent Author” or “Independent Literary Artist”.

I mean, we have independent artists of other kinds. Crafters, graphic artists & Music artists are more and more going the independent route, and are none the worse for wear by doing so. So why are independent book writers still looked down on?

Is it because some of the independent books will stink royally? Perhaps, but even many 'brand name' books have typos and bad edits, some have appalling punctuation, terrible story lines and showcase mediocre writing skills. Yet, somehow 'self-published' seems to be held to a higher standard.

I personally do not see a problem with 'Literary Artists' choosing to treat their writing as a sole-proprietor business, if you will. This movement towards writing as a small home-based business will not only benefit the authors in being able to keep control over and benefit from their own works, but it will benefit the reading public as well. More variety of stories will be out, more variety of writing styles will be available. Independent authors are probably not going to 'take over the publishing world' but, I believe, they are going to change the face of it. Make it more personal, more of a direct link from 'artist' to reader.

And seeing as independent authors often price their work competitively while offering rather large chunks as Free samples, I don't see where you can go wrong.
 

Not sure if an unknown author is worth your time? Download their free sample and try out their style. Don't like it? Nothing lost.

So when you see 'Independent Literary Artists' hawking their wares on social networks, inviting you to their online 'book tours' and in-store book signings or being represented in book fairs, don't just turn your nose up at them because they aren't 'name brand'. Give these fine, hard-working artists a fair chance and let them tell you their stories. You might just find a new favorite!

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About Aurora:

I began writing stories almost as soon as I learned to write. From my 1st grade 'journal' full of tales of rabbit adventures to my first full length book at 14.  I have always had a love for writing stories.

Besides words I also have a love for tech. From an early age I built 'bread boards', soldering diodes and components to create such things as a light detecting alarm clock and other such ...useless things.  I moved on to building my first DOS PC at 15. I also graduated School at 15. Later on I became a certified PC tech. 

I am happily married with lots of furry little 'children'.  Most of which I raised by hand when a local rescue group or friends brought me orphaned babies to bottle feed.

Most of my writing is SciFi/Fantasy based, and almost all of it contains humor. I like short, fun, humorous stories.

My favorite authors are Jane Austen and Douglas Adams.

I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it.

Aurora is on a Virtual Book Tour Sept 20-Oct 30 2011 with her latest release Brass Hearts-A Steampunk Fairytale.

Follow her blog tour and leave her comments to get in on a prize drawing taking place Nov 1, 2011!

Aurora's tour schedule, book synopsis and buy links can be found on her Website http://alightbourne.netau.net/

Thanks Aurora for taking the time to stop by The Ink Puddle! I hope you guys enjoyed her post and will check out her book!

-J