HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Dear bloggie friends,

I hope 2014 was everything you expected it to be (if it wasn't, then I hope it was a year to learn great life lessons). May 2015 inspire you to continue writing.

Wishing you ALL continued success in your writing career.

Celebrate Life! (including the good, the bad, the obstacles, the success, and everything in between).

Happy 2015!!!

Attention Montreal and Laval Writers!

Laval Families Magazine

Laval Families Magazine is always looking for talented, experienced freelance writers to improve our magazine, ancillary publications and website. Our general goal is to have local stories of interest to the Laval and North Shore Regions. If you think you can help us achieve this goal, please read below.

Write For Us

At Laval Families, our mission is to provide relevant information that informs, inspires, and entertains our community. The goal of our features, sections, and columns is to educate, inspire, and uplift readers. We look for writers who share our vision and demonstrate a fresh, engaging style, and focus specifically on topics that matter to families in our community.

Articles may include family-related topics ranging from health, education, fashion, news, community development, senior living, family pets, fitness and wellness, psychology, parenting, childcare, environment, and spirituality.

Inquiries and proposals for Articles, Columns and Illustrations:

We are happy to consider any story idea or illustration that reflects the values and mission of the magazine. Please keep in mind that submissions are accepted on an individual basis, and consideration concerning articles is subject to the focus of the current issue, relevance to the publication and space available.

We publish our print and online versions five times a year.

Please check out our latest issue at: http://www.lavalfamilies.ca/

To inquire please send an email to: cdbc2007@hotmail.com with “Contributor for LFM” in the subject line.

Absolutely no spam mail! 

How committed to writing are you?

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With the ubiquitous social media tempting us 24/7, it is difficult for part-time writers to sit down and commit to one hour of quality writing.

NOTE: When I say part-time writers, I mean those of us who have a full-time job outside the writing industry and only write on our spare time.
I read an article that talked about the different distractions we face. These are some of the examples below.

Distractions can range from total attention-grabbing tasks to minor distractions:

• Immersive: You completely divorce yourself from your original task to dedicate all of your attention to the distraction. Examples include incoming phone calls and face-to-face conversations.
• Dominant: You allow the distraction to occupy your mind; the original task slowly develops back into your mind. Examples include web browsing or grabbing a cup of coffee.
• Distraction: Your attention is drawn away from your original task; once you return to the original task, you proceed more slowly and less accurately. Examples include ongoing text conversations and hunger.
• Background: Your attention is slightly diverted from your original task, which reduces your speed and accuracy. Examples include overhearing conversations or the television is on.

The author of the article also offered some solutions to this problem.

• Establish Goals: Writing daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly goals can help you stay on top of your efforts. How many articles do you want to write per week? Write it down.
• List Tasks: Write down all of the things you need to do to achieve your goals in addition to daily maintenance tasks such as checking emails, following up with clients, etc.
• Prioritize Tasks: Determine how important each task is by measuring its value against your goals and its importance to anyone else involved.
• Budget Time: Create a time budget by slotting time each day for your tasks, such as writing, brainstorming, checking email, business calls, making dinner, and other activities.
• Plan Long-Term: Brainstorm topics relevant to your audience ahead of time by establishing an annual editorial calendar.
• Execute the Plan: Your plan is only effective if you use it. Tweak your plan as needed and increase efficiency by using methods like time-boxing to squeeze more value out of your time.

A word to the wise: be honest with yourself. The author also adds that you can’t completely separate yourself from these pesky distractions but you can be proactive about them.
Not all distractions can be easily dismissed, nor are they all bad! Consider whether the distraction is worthwhile by measuring its importance based on its value to you, significance to others, and urgency.

I Have a Ton of Reviews for My Book But it's Not Selling!

I am attending two book launches in May and I will also be interviewing the authors. I thought this article I got from "The Book Marketing Expert Newsletter" was appropriate since one of the authors was looking for book reviewers.

I'm passing on this helpful information to my fellow writers and bloggie friends.

Over the years I've heard this phrase thousands of times. Authors getting great reviews, getting awards, even local media and still, book sales aren't happening. When you have external validation, it's hard to really understand where the disconnect is, isn't it? Sometimes though, it may be just a matter of taking a closer look and analyzing your marketing using a different lens. Let's take a look at some things that you may want to consider:

* Leverage: First and foremost is leverage. How are you leveraging all of these other things? If you're not, you might consider it. It's easy enough to slap an award sticker on your book, but what else have you done to promote this? Consider:

* Announce it locally: Especially if you won the award. Honorable mentions are great, but not as appealing to local media.
* Contact your local bookstores. If they've said no before perhaps adding an award to your resume might entice them. Remember people like what other people like. The same goes for bookstores.
* Add it to your website. That's a given. Same for your email signature line.
* Reviewers: If you have reviewers that are pending, meaning you're targeted them with no response, why not make a second (gentle) sweep and let them know you won this award?
* Endorsements: If you've been after high-profile endorsements for your book but they keep eluding you, you may have a better chance of it with an award in your pocket, so try pitching them again.

* Reviews: If you have a lot of reviews and aren't seeing a lot of sales, I would say take a lesson from the "leverage" piece above and see if any of it applies to your pulling in more reviews. For example, if you have endorsers who haven't responded to your requests, or bookstores that have given you the brush-off, this could be a great way to gain their attention. The same doesn't apply to reviewers, however. Most reviewers aren't swayed by books that have tons of reviews. They either select the book or they don't, so don't push this one too hard.

* Engagement: Sometimes when we get a "hit" somewhere we tend to focus all of our energy there. That's a great thing, but maybe now it's time to step back and see what else you can do that you haven't focused on. Try engaging readers. When was the last time you sent a round of thank-you notes to reviewers who reviewed your book, or posted a thank-you on their blog? If you're getting a lot of comments on your website, or on blogs or interviews you've done elsewhere, I would encourage you to connect with readers there, too. Additionally, have you considering getting onto GoodReads, Library Thing or Wattpad and building readership there? And a final note on engaging. If you're a fiction author perhaps you should consider engaging your readers with your characters. If you can get your readers to fall in love (or in hate) with your characters, you can really build a strong audience that way.

* Media gets media: Some authors also come to me saying, "I've gotten tons of local media but nothing nationally." This is also pretty typical but here's something you can do. Media loves media and the more media you get, the more you'll get - if that makes sense. When you pitch yourself to national media, include a one-sheet of all of the places you've been featured. Even if it's in your own town.

* The plight of book reviews: Do book reviews really sell books? Candidly, it's hard to know. I do know that lots of exposure sells books but it's really about the right kind of exposure and, beyond that, it's about exposure in a myriad of areas. If you've been heavily focused on getting a ton of book reviews, and your Amazon page is populated with more fond words than you know what to do with, maybe it's time to move into a new area of promotion. Content, content: There was a discussion around content during a recent event I attended at both Digital Book World and Tools of Change. Both of these programs had folks talking about the importance of free and also of putting out frequent content. Don't wait eighteen months to release a book which leaves your reader hanging for more from your characters.

* Realigning your perspective on book sales: Truth is, most of us think we should be selling more than we are. We hear the "average" in book sales and then on the flip side, we hear about folks like Hugh Howey who is selling zillions of copies of his book. Where's the reality? Well, the answer is somewhere in between. If you have all these awards and are selling a book a day, I would say that depending on your market that may not be a bad start. For example, if you're sitting in the contemporary romance market, that's a pretty cluttered category so you may not sell as many as if you were in something more niche. I've seen some authors who can't get beyond selling a book a month. Seriously.

Reviews, awards, and nods from important people in your industry are fantastic, but like a tree falling in the forest if you don't tell folks about it, no one will know. Yes, you do often have to hit readers over the head with things if for no other reason than people are busy. Got an award? Shout it from the rooftops. Got tons of great reviews? Let's see if that can be a stepping stone to something else.

In the end, everything is a pathway to something else. If you get a bunch of awards for your book and figure your work stops there, that's a big mistake. Follow the path to something else, which will take you to something else, and so on. At some point at the end of that road you may very well find a pot of gold, and, you'll likely be selling more books.

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

Short Stories: Call for Submissions

Rainbow Caterpillar Bookshop calls for submissions for

2013 Mother Language Kid Lit Award

Competition open to short stories for young children, aims to support the preservation in Canada of mother languages

 Toronto, Ontario, March 27, 2013 – Submissions are currently being accepted for the second annual Rainbow Caterpillar Mother Language Kid Lit Award. The Award aims to reward writing excellence and support authors who want to write in their mother languages other than English.

“By encouraging authors to write in their mother language, we want to help create a vibrant literary production for children in foreign languages, but with a uniquely Canadian perspective,” says Happie Testa, co-owner of Rainbow Caterpillar Bookstore.

 The competition is open to Canadian residents, submissions are due on April 30^th and the guidelines are available online at www.rainbowcaterpillar.ca/kid-lit-award.html. The winning story will receive the Rainbow Caterpillar Kid Lit Award in the amount of $750. Other deserving submissions will be recognized with an Honourable Mention.

“We hope this award also encourages parents to pass their mother language on to their children raised in Canada,” says Hanoosh Abbasi, co-owner of Rainbow Caterpillar. “We feel that it is important for parents to have access to good books from their countries of origin. We also think parents want to put their ancestral culture in the context of our shared Canadian culture where many often have more than one background and speak more than one language hanoon a daily basis.”

The Award will be presented at the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) 35th Annual Awards Gala to be held in Toronto on Multiculturalism Day June 21, 2013. CEMA is an organization dedicated to the promotion of ethnic media in creating an understanding of Canada and the retention of cultural links with countries of origin. http://canadianethnicmedia.com

 

Submission guidelines click: http://www.rainbowcaterpillar.ca/kid-lit-award.html#_Toc302978909

Question of the week

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I usually give writing tips and advice. Today, however, I’d like your opinion on a polemical issue. I read “somewhere” that in today’s writing world, we as writers must be true to ourselves. The article said writers should fight conformity and avoid following the rules (the word used was confinement); a bit extreme if you ask me.

Furthermore, the article mentioned that “Writing is a zero-sum game; someone else’s gain is your loss.” I was somewhat perplexed when I read that we should not listen to the wisdom of other writers, whether found in a classroom, a writer’s group, a craft book, a writer’s magazine, or another blog.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? I’d love to hear from you.

CHANGES

2013 has brought some changes to my life. Change can be good if seen from a different perspective. That’s why I’ve decided that if I cannot change the cards that I’m dealt, then I should at least change my attitude. Only I have the power to do so.

Last night I was talking about life, death, and changes with a dear friend of mine. I pondered over his words and this is why I chose this Neruda poem. Our conversation is beautifully explained in this poem.

You start dying slowly By Pablo Neruda

You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.

You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.

You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you don’t know.

You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.

You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…

Have you gone through some changes lately? Do you identify with Neruda's words?

Procrastinate no more

I bet this word is very familiar not just to writers but everyone in general. I imagine we’ve all been there at one point or another, especially when life gets in the way.

I read a column by Judy Christie, author and consultant, who writes inspirational fiction and nonfiction.

She says that she noticed bestselling authors had something in common. Despite differences in genre, style, voice, settings, or characters, they developed a writing habit.

A writing habit, that’s the secret! (It’s not really a secret, most writers know this). I hate to admit it, but I am a procrastinator. Hello. My name is Claudia and I’m a procrastinator.

Ms. Christie's experience, however, helped me rid of that sense of guilt I had. I am entitled to procrastinate as long as I don’t make it a habit.

This is what she had to say:

After years of procrastination and fear, that lesson helped me write my first novel and five since.

When I flounder as a writer, it’s because I’m inconsistent with my daily writing discipline. When I produce my best stories, I rely on that basic lesson from the masters – words on the page.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that on my most rewarding and productive writing days, I use a kitchen timer, set for an hour at a time. I track how many hours I actually write — as opposed to time spent Tweeting, Facebooking or wandering around my friends’ blogs.

You’d think at age fifty-five I wouldn’t need such a trick, but, after all, it took me fifty years to write a novel.

Are you a procrastinator? Have you overcome this habit?

Out of the Loop

Dear readers and bloggie friends,

I will be out of the loop (or should I say the blogosphere?) for a while. I'll return by mid-fall.

Thank you for your patience and loyal readership.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Challenge Yourself and Others

In the spirit of all things fun in the summer, I decided to have a little writing challenge for my fellow bloggers. I started a short story for blogging purposes only (Don’t worry, I won’t publish it and take ALL the credit, LOL!), and I want you, my fellow bloggers to fill in the blanks.

Instead of leaving a comment, please leave a sentence or two (or more if you’d like) to continue the story below. I’ll publish your sentences in the order received so the next blogger can add to the developing story. You have carte blanche in regards to characters, plot, dialogue, etc. Let’s see what comes out of it and let the writing fun begin!

It was a gloomy autumn afternoon. Agatha got off on Peel Station. She looked at her watch and noticed she was two hours early for her book launch. Her first published book. She walked towards Ste. Catherine Street and went inside a coffee shop. She sat next to the window, staring blankly at a throng of dark trench coats that glided like ghosts across the street. Agatha …

Six Tips to Editing your Fiction

The editing process can be tedious at times. For me, this is a love/hate relationship. I sometimes despise it and sometimes I enjoy it. Here are some wonderful tips (reminders) when you're editing your work. I wish I could take credit for them, but I got these tips from an article I read a couple years ago in the Writer's Digest. Do you follow some or any of these tips?
1. Try not to make things overly complicated. Alyssa once told me to take the plot out of its braid and throw it in a ponytail. Simple, but brilliant. Problem was, when I did this I had quite a mess to comb through.
2. Don’t be afraid. Of anything. If I can delete nearly my entire manuscript, you can axe a chapter that doesn’t fit.
3. Brainstorm several ways to reach each plot point. Choose the most unique.
4. Revision should not impede on your writing time. When you write, just write. Try to keep from listening to your brain’s insults.
5. When it’s time for revision, whittle away. If you can make a sentence more concise, do it.
6.Question everything. I often refer to the following questions, which are tacked to a corkboard in my office:

·         Does the book start with an inciting incident that will force your MC to act, and challenge your MC to grow?

·         Is there is enough emotion, tension, suspense, etc.? Or too much?

·         Is something too obvious? Does something come too easy because you need it to advance the plot?

·         What can you do to make each scene stronger?

·         How can you weed out your cliched sentences and/or ideas?

·         Is there a motivation for each event? What about a purpose?

·         Are you keeping your MC from attaining a goal? This is a must until the ending.

·         Will your reader wonder about or hope for something pertaining to your MC as they progress through the story?

Symbolically Yours

Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) The Nightmare

Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me to brainstorm on symbols that she could use for one of her characters. I did a little research and provided her with some examples, taking into consideration that her book is for tweens (pre-adolescents).

I read that “understanding symbolism deepens the meaning and enhances the reading of many great literary works including short stories, novels and poetry.”

Some symbols may be obvious and some may be more subtle or hidden so that the reader must really think and study the work to grasp the author's true meaning.

One of the websites I found says that “Writers may also use symbolism to allude to a mood or feeling without coming out and stating that particular emotion. For example, a writer might use the symbol of a lily to represent purity or a ray of sunshine to represent hope.”

Examples of Common Literary Symbols:
Water
Sun
Crows
Eyes
Mirror
Fire

Authors Known for their Use of Symbolism:

Edgar Allan Poe
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Herman Melville

Do you use symbolism in your stories? Do you think symbolic imagery is necessary to deepen your story?

The Creative Process

Last night while talking to a dear friend and fellow writer, she confessed having a hard time jotting down the whirlpool of ideas that are spinning in her brain. I wonder if she was being hard on herself when she told me she sometimes doubted her creativity.

Today, I found an article by author and creativity coach, Emily Hanlon. She says, “The Inner Critic is terrified of the creative unconscious because it is the home of feelings, emotions, images and it is chaotic and unexpected. The Inner Critic likes order and loves the status quo, which is antithetical to the creative unconscious.” In the excerpt below, she explains more about this inner struggle we writers go through.

Creativity is a subtle and magnificent dance between the rational and the intuitive, between the left and right parts of the brains, between technique and imagination. Both partners in this dance are absolutely necessary and are needed in equal proportion, which means that imagination is not more important than technique and vice versa. If you only live in the imagination, you will never get organized, you will never complete your story. However, if you start from the rational, linear, organizational part of the process, (i.e. Gotta have the perfect opening sentence and first paragraph... better yet, an outline...) you will never fall into the rich, passionate cosmic landscape of the imagination where anything is possible.

However, the main problem I have seen in my twenty-five years of teaching fiction writing is over-dependence on the rational part of the equation. People want to get the story written and get it out. (Whatever that means?) They want to leap frog the process, get the words down on the page and finish the story. This is to symptomatic of the goal-oriented society that we live in, a society that is striving upwards toward success instead of embracing the deeper, more powerful and life changing journey of descent that takes us into the creative realm of the true self.

When we write from the imagination we are writing what we "know" but from such a deep level of knowing that we don't know that we know it until it is revealed in our writing. This is often the truer aspect of self, the part that we do not readily show to the world, and sometimes do not show even to our self — at least not consciously. This is what makes the journey such risky business. This is also the great joy of writing; when we are true to the process, we discover worlds within we did not know existed.

An image I use to describe the intuitive journey of creativity is "falling down the rabbit hole" into Wonderland. This is a perfect metaphor for the creative journey which can never take place in the "real" or conscious world. Writing, whether it be fiction, poetry or nonfiction, finds its origins in the dark, fertile chaos of the unconscious — your personal Wonderland.

How real are your characters?

Ernest Hemingway said, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

Do you agree with his statement?

I don’t want to be biased just because he’s one of my favorite authors but I concur. Real characters are beautiful. This post could be a follow-up to my previous one about compelling characters.

I am finishing up a story where my characters were inspired by real people. Although I changed their physical traits and names, their essence and emotions are still palpable. Their spirits continue to live on in the ink of my paper because their story needed to be told.

Are your protagonists the extension of someone you know?

Coffee + Facebook = Blogpost

Today we had a power outage in my neighborhood due to a gas leak. It has lasted close to eleven hours. It was serious since it was announced in the local news and four thousand people were evacuated. Fire trucks and police officers were standing by.

So here I am, at a downtown coffee shop typing up my latest post. Unfortunately, I cannot concentrate in this noisy environment.

When I logged in, the page that popped up said I needed to connect to my Facebook account
in order to access explorer.

 I'm surprised they didn't ask me to order coffee in order to use their free Wi-Fi.

So in honor of a mélange of caffeine and technology I am posting an excerpt from
the Book Marketing Expert's article about Facebook pages.

Understanding Facebook Content Interaction Fan Pages now have a fabulous feature called Facebook Insights. Head on over there for some really interesting information and insightful (hence the name) data. First, you can find Insights on the left side of your page. Once you're there you can see all sorts of data on the information you post. 1) Reach: This is the number of unique people who have seen the post for 28 days after publishing the post. 2) Engaged Users: These are people who have engaged with your post in some way: i.e. clicked the link. 3) Talking about this: This is an interesting number and you've no doubt seen this pop up right under your "Likes." These actions are: liking the post, commenting, sharing the post, responding to a question, or RSVPing to an event. 4) Virality: This is the number of people who have created a story from your page post. Watch these numbers for some great insight into what fires up your fans and what leaves them cold. It's not just about getting "Liked," it's about staying "Liked." Creating insightful, helpful, and engaging content is one piece to the puzzle; the other is timing and receptiveness of your fans. Though I've outlined 'general' user guidelines in this piece, be sure to check the Facebook Insights for key data that will help your fan base thrive!

Quick Ways to Promote your Facebook Fan Page * Put your Fan Page URL in your signature line * Email your newsletter list * Add a Facebook Fan widget to your blog and website * Add your Fan Page URL to your biz cards * Tweet the link to your followers * Notify your "Friends" on your personal profile that you now    have a Fan Page

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

Let the holidays inspire your writing

Most of us agree that finding time to write during the holidays is almost impossible. We’re either traveling or entertaining so writing takes a back seat. So I say to you, why not combine both?

Here are four problems and possible solutions:

1)      No quiet time – Why not give Christmas carols a chance. Use them to your advantage as background music while typing a few lines. Who knows? You may write a poem or a story with a holiday theme.

2)      No energy to write – Treat yourself to something sweet. Why not bake some cookies? Spicy gingerbread man cookies are fun! A little sugar indulgence should energize you to write at least half a page.

3)       Not feeling the holiday spirit – Read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. If his famous character, Ebenezer Scrooge doesn’t inspire you, perhaps Dickens’s poetic and humorous style will.

4)      Writing has gone out the chimney – Don’t expect Santa to push it back down the same way. Ask a family member or a fellow writer to brainstorm ideas with you. It could help if you have a glass of eggnog, sparkling wine, or sangria while discussing your story. With technology being so accessible nowadays, you could even do it via Skype, webcam, Facebook chat, or the good-old telephone. (Note: Don’t write, drink and drive)

Do the holidays inspire your writing? Are you productive over this festive time? What other solutions would you suggest? 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS BLOGGIE FRIENDS!!!

The countdown begins!

In the spirit of Christmas and with only twelve days left to this celebration, I wanted to write a checklist that we can use when revising our work (hopefully before we open our gifts). 

1)      Read, read, read! You can get inspired, emulate style, and learn more about your genre by reading someone else’s work.

2)      Read your story aloud.

3)      Have a fellow writer read it.

4)      Strengthen your scenes by being an actor and playing the main character (or any character you may think is weak). Relive the action in your head.

5)      Polish your dialogue; make sure it flows and it’s not contrived.

6)      Check the tone. This means the author’s attitude toward his subject: grave, amused, scientific, intimate, aggrieved, authoritative, whatever.

7)      Make every word count; that means use strong verbs and adjectives.

8)      Keep in mind the story arc. The purpose of a story arc is to move a character or a situation from one state to another.

9)      Let the plot guide the story. A short story must immediately pull the reader out of her world and drop her into the world of the story.

10)  Put your work away for a few days and then come back to it. Tired eyes never see mistakes.

11)  Punctuation is everything, period! Be mindful of your commas, semicolon, and especially those exclamation marks; they’re not Christmas tree ornaments.

12)  Edit, edit, edit! You can never do enough editing. Any good writer knows that editing is at the top of the list, like the star at the top of the tree. 

Do you use a checklist? Are you counting your days to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or getting published in 2012?

GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi Bloggie friends,

Do you love freebies? I know a lot of you enter contests. Christmas is around the corner and you could give yourself or someone else the gift of reading.

Author Mary E. Martin will be launching her new book this month and to celebrate she’ll be giving away kindles and free copies of her book and e-books.
All you have to do is join her Twitter party on December 3^rd and her Facebook event on December 12^th

For more information you can visit her site at http://remembrancetrilogy.com/enter-to-win/ or click on the promo on the right-hand sidebar, here on my blog.

Congratulations to Mary on her new book!
Good luck to all participants!

Virtual Book Tour

Today I’m speaking with author Jo Linsdell who is touring the web over November and December 2011, in a promotional tour for her book Italian for Tourists.

CDB: Jo, what inspired you to write this book? Have you written one about England?

JL: So many people told me I should write it that I decided maybe it was a good idea.... and it was. The Italian for Tourists project started out as a simple e-book and through public demand became available in print, kindle, nook and most other electronic formats.  

Inglese per Turisti (English for Tourists) will be released in spring 2012. Again, lots of people asked for it.  

CDB: What results do you expect from the virtual tour?

JL: This tour is to keep Italian for Tourists 'fresh'. It's been around for a while now and I often do tours to promote it in order to keep sales constant. A tactic that so far has worked well over the years. It's also an opportunity to let people know that the book is now available in various formats. It can even be purchased from the ibookstore on www.itunes.com and downloaded to iphones and ipads now.  

Timing is perfect for Christmas shoppers too ;) 

CDB: Do you know statistically what region or age group is the largest fan base?

JL: The book appeals to all ages (probably because it's simple and easy to use) and as for regions, I'm quite international. A lot of my fans are in India and Japan but the book is selling well all round.

CDB: Although your book is “tourist friendly”, can students and professionals benefit from it?

JL: Definitely! I've even made a homeschoolers kit to be used with it which can be downloaded for free from my website www.JoLinsdell.com. It's a short ebook containing exercises to practice the Italian learnt and all answers can be found within Italian for Tourists.

The book contains a pronunciation guide and takes the language back to the basics making it ideal for beginners learning the language.

CDB: Do you think you’re helping the tourist industry in some small way by promoting Italy in your book?

JL: Italy is one of the worlds top tourist destinations and so doesn't require any help from me ;) That being said, I love Italy (I came here for 3 days and ended up staying... but that's another story) . I try to share my enthusiasm for the Country, culture, people and language in any way I can.

By creating a book that makes it possible for anyone to learn the basics of the Italian language and therefore help them get more from their visit to Italy, I might be helping convince more tourists to come here.


CDB: Thank you for stopping by and all the best with the virtual tour and your book. 

For more information about Jo Linsdell and her book, please visit her website at www.JoLinsdell.com or write to her at jo_bins@yahoo.com

Purchasing Links:

http://www.amazon.com/ITALIAN-TOURISTS-Pocket-Jo-Linsdell/dp/1409278263

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/italian-for-tourists-pocket-edition/4684563?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_399848_

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/jo-linsdell

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/jo+linsdell/italian+for+tourists3a+pocket+edition/6804517/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/italian-for-tourists/id452170721?mt=11