Agent Amanda Luedeke Discusses The Extroverted Writer

A little over a year ago, peer and fellow SFR writer Isis Rushdan sent me an email that said "This agent is looking for Science Fiction Romance. You really should read this." After devouring agent Amanda Luedeke's interview on Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Chiseled in Rock blog (with several OMG, OMG, OMG moments) I promptly contacted her with a query for my first novel. She responded a short time later asking for the first chapter--and the rest, as the time-worn cliche' goes--is history.

Other than being a fabulous agent, Amanda is probably best known for her weekly posts "Thursdays With Amanda" on ChipMacGregor.com and for offering feedback to authors about the effectiveness of their web sites. Building on that theme, she recently published a self-help book for writers and authors who are working to build or expand their platform, The Extroverted Writer. Amanda's already given me some great advice and as someone who does not excel *cough* at using social media effectively, so I was eager to learn more about her project. So glad I did! 

As of this writing, The Extroverted Writer is in the top 30 on three different Amazon lists, and in the top 10 for Kindle e-books on advertising and writing skills. Among the five-star reviews for the book, readers are saying: 

"Building a platform can be extremely overwhelming, but Amanda's fresh, humorous perspective provides an entertaining (and reassuring) road map on how to succeed at it."

"Amanda Luedeke, agent at the number one literary agency in the country, MacGregor Literary, Inc., takes you through easy, step by step approaches to growing your online presence...From growing your readership on your blog, to pumping up your number of Twitter followers, to utilizing the eye candy of Pinterest to promote your books, she has it all."

(Wow. Do I ever need this book!) I was eager to learn more from Amanda about The Extroverted Writer and I'm excited to share what she had to say.

Q: Amanda, your book is titled The Extroverted Writer. As a decidedly introverted writer--like many of my peers--I wondered if I could live up to it. Could you talk a little about the purpose of the book and why writers and authors might find it essential as a career-booster?

A: The Internet really changed the lives of Introverts everywhere. Where are we most comfortable? At home. In our comfy-clothes. A cup of coffee or tea beside us. It's not that we don't like people. We just don't like the unpredictability that goes with going out. So that's why we prefer to stay where it's safe. But then the Internet came along and suddenly introverts don't need to leave the comfort of their homes in order to interact with friends and family. They don't even need to get dressed for the day! The Internet gave introverts a safe place to be social. And what's better is there's no urgency to online interactions. I think introverts also freak out over feeling "on the spot" and "on stage." The Internet allows each of us to carefully choose our words AND take the time we need to develop our responses. So all this to say that introverted writers can EASILY become extroverts and marketers and salesmen if they simply turn to the Internet for their social networking. And of course we all know that the authors who are out championing and talking about their books and careers are the ones who are climbing the ranks. There's a reason e-books took off, and that reason is the Internet. Online marketing made the e-book industry happen, because it put authors directly in touch with readers. And frankly, the authors who are most present are the ones reaping the biggest reward. So THAT'S why this book is so timely and needed. Authors need to figure out how to (1) become comfortable with marketing, and (2) do it right.

Q: The “comfort level” thing really makes sense for me and I can see how, with a bit of guidance, an introvert could evolve into an extrovert via the internet. So tell me the story behind the scenes. When did you get the idea to publish The Extroverted Writer and how did it come to be?

A: My background is in marketing. Before I was an agent, I worked for a firm outside of Chicago and did social media marketing and copywriting for pretty big clients. So when I transitioned to publishing, I was astounded at how afraid everyone was at the thought of marketing. So, I started blogging about it every Thursday on our agency blog. Eventually, I built a steady readership. But people don't always want to sift through my old posts to get the answers to their questions. So, The Extroverted Writer was born. It's a compilation of my best posts with a lot of fresh content added in. It's much more searchable than my posts, and I think it smoothes things out and offers a bigger perspective than what I'm able to do on the blog.

Q: That’s great! Easy-to-find references are so my thing. I get frustrated trying to hunt down advice when I’m in Need-to-Know-Now mode. This sounds like a great reference to have handy. It also sounds like the book has some new elements to explore. What do you think might surprise authors and writers about The Extroverted Writer? 

A: I think there's an expectation that a book on marketing or social media will have your head spinning. And while that's true about The Extroverted Writer, it's not quite true in the same sense. YES, your mind will be spinning, but not as a result of confusion or foreign terms or any sense of defeat. Your mind will be spinning with possibilities and ideas. There's something in this for everyone; I truly believe that. And I have a knack for making the complex seem simple. So when you come away from reading it, you're going to have actionable steps that you can implement right away. Plua, I cover websites, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and more. So it can be a really great tool to have on hand.

Q: I love the idea of developing a game plan. Twitter and Facebook may be powerful tools, but only if an author uses these social media giants efficiently. Can you give us just one important piece of advice from the book? 

A: Stick with what you're comfortable with. Over and over in my book, I encourage the reader to ignore all of the voices telling then to join Pinterest and FourSquare and Twitter and LinkedIn and on and on. Ignore them, because doing so is setting yourself up for failure. Instead, start small. Pick one thing that you're comfortable with, pour your energy into it, and see what happens. 

Q. That makes a lot of sense. I know I tend to spread myself way too thin when it comes to social media. But tell me what an unpublished writer can hope to gain from reading The Extroverted Writer as opposed to a published author? 

A: In the book I talk about how platform is a MUST for unpublished nonfiction writers. They won't get a book deal without it. But for fiction writers, it's not as expected. While this is still the general rule, I've known publishing houses to select one debut author over another because the former had an online following while the latter didn't. I've also heard stories of publishing houses getting really excited over new authors who come to the table with an understanding of blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and the like. So while The Extroverted Writer is definitely a tool for published authors, I also provide insight throughout that brings the same themes home for unpublished writers. If I can help newbies get a leg up by providing them with ideas for getting their online presences together, then I've done my job.

Q: So…Goodreads, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube--there are so many options for social media. What's your quick take on these sites?

A: Goodreads is a must for published authors. I'd argue Pinterest is a waste of time. LinkedIn is a great option for unpublished authors who are making connections in the business, while YouTube can be powerful if done right. In the book I go more in depth as to why I think what I do when it comes to each of these, and of course there are plenty of ideas and tips to make them work (yes, even Pinterest).

Amanda, thanks so much for taking time out to visit us on Spacefreighters Lounge and sharing more about The Extroverted Writer. I’m enthused to dive in and start learning.

*****

BIO

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary, Inc. Having previously worked as a social media expert and copywriter for major national brands, including Vera Bradley, Peg Perego, and Benjamin Moore, Amanda brings her marketing expertise to agenting. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her husband and Great Dane. Amanda can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Links to The Extroverted Writer:

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Smashwords 

Passing on the Tiara: Sitting Out the 2013 Golden Heart Awards

Well, it's almost here. A little over a week and it'll be Notification Day, when all the phone calls and emails go out to this year's RWA Golden Heart (and RITA) finalists. If you're a romance writer or author, this is like the announcements of the Academy Award nominees. It's a Very Big Thing. The kind of thing you take the day off work for (*raises hand*) to wait by the phone, madly messaging your peers and posting congrats as the finalists names are slowly...tortuously...revealed over the course of the day.

This is how it goes...

Up to eight finalists are announced per category; it's based on the number of entries so you never really know the weight-challenged soprano has sung until something is posted in the #8 slot. Until then, there's always that last little glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, you'll get the call. And there always seems to be a few who sink into dejection and heartbreak only to discover their notice came in via email (due to technical issues or what have you).

It's not even unheard of for finalists to post audio recordings of the moment they read that magical message, which usually goes something like this...

[reading email] ...I'm happy to inform you that your novel [insert title here] is a FINALIST for the [insert year here] GOLDEN HEART AWARDS! [insert SQEEEEEEEEEE! OMG, OMG, OMG! Hehehehehe! and various tearful "I can't believe its!"]

At which point the finalists are whisked off into a frantic Never Never Land of Golden Heartdom which includes press deadlines, photo shoots, private loops, champagne receptions, exclusive memberships and an agent and/or editor rush that has been compared to "getting hit by a freight train and struck by lightning during a tornado."

Few are prepared for the madness. Fewer still, usually the savvy prior-finalists, know what a monstrous opportunity has just been laid at their feet like a shiny yellow brick road, much less how to navigate it to full advantage.

So it's with a little bit of sadness that I'm preparing to pass on my tiara...for reals this year. For the first time in three years, I'm a non-starter. I have no horse in this race. Some other jockeys are going to get that winning ride and I'll be cheering them on from the finish line in my enormous, flowery hat.

We'll be posting on Notification Day inviting all new 2013 Golden Heart finalists to chime in and ask questions. We'll have a lot to pass on!

(And we just might have some news to share on that day, too.)

Please join us here on the big day, next Tuesday, March 26th.

Agent Chat

Last week I had a wonderful update and planning session via phone call with my agent, Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary, Inc. We recapped, brainstormed and plotted our next steps in pursuit of selling my first novel, the SFR formerly known as P2PC. (Hoping to reveal the new title soon.)

Meanwhile, I'm working on a couple of SFR short stories and starting what I hope will be the final sweeping round of revisions for my second novel, The Outer Planets, based on some fantastic feedback from co-blogger, Sharon Lynn Fisher. (Thanks, Sharon!)

In other news, Amanda has just published her own book--a self-help book for authors and writers looking to build their platform titled The Extroverted Writer: An Authors Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform. This is one area I truly need some help with, so you can bet I snapped up a copy for my Kindle. (You can take a peek here. It's currently one of the top sellers in three categories on Amazon.) I hope to post an interview with Amanda about her book in the near future.

As always, we had a great talk that left me energized and enthusiastic that good things will come. (We've got that waiting part down pat.)

No Midnight Train (or Red Eye Flight) to Georgia

Well, it's official. I'll not be attending the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this year. I believe Donna will be our sole representative, which will be a definite departure from the usual after having three reps in attendance for the last three years, but I'm sure Donna will be filing a fantastic report. I also have this niggling premonition it's going to be one fantabulous conference and I'll probably regret missing it.

My decision was based on a commitment to focusing my attention on writing this year. There are only so many hours in a day...or a year.

Ping Pong

Much thanks to Pippa and Donna for carrying the lion's share posting excellent content for this blog. I always love reading your posts, as I know our readers do, too.

Sharon, wising you all the best in the days and weeks ahead. You face every obstacle with so much strength and perseverance, you're an inspiration to us all.

~~~ * ~~~

Pippa's Journal - 13/3/2013

I tried really hard to come up with something interesting for my post this week - and I've failed. *cries* I put this down to continuing headaches due to needing new glasses that still haven't arrived yet. Sorry! How about I post about some books you should read and some fun things happening? Yes? Good. :)

Action!

I still have one week before I hear from one publisher about my sfr novella Tethered (or so their new submission process promises). I'm still tweaking my scifi short Flaming Angel for an in-house anthology call and working on a cyberpunk short for another anthology call - I posted last week about the Sword and Laser anthology, and Liana mentioned it on the SFR Brigade blog here if you're interested. This week I've mostly concentrated on trying to clear my monstrous TBR pile and write some reviews, as well as do some research for another book.

Bookshelf
Well, I've read a lot the last week or so. First up was Neal Asher's Zero Point, book two of his Owner trilogy (hard scifi, review to come on the Fantasy Book Review website). Then Misa Buckley's sfr novella Tin Cat (review here), Jessica E Subject's 1NS short Unknown Futures (review due up on here on Friday), and I'm currently reading a steampunk novel called Revenge of the Mad Scientist by Lara Nance. I've also read Writing Sex when you don't feel Sexy by Em Petrova.

DVDs
I've added this because I've been loaned Firefly to watch (yes, I've never seen it) and Space Above and Beyond. So far I'm up to Jaynestown on Firefly - who knew Jayne had any kind of conscience?! I've seen the film Serenity so I'm assuming River and Simon's story would have had more prominence later on if it hadn't been cut, but so far I'm not warming much to Captain Mal. Am I going to get blasted for that? I'm enjoying it and I feel a sense of sadness that yet another scifi series got cut so soon. Why does this keep happening? Here in the UK, Doctor Who is now up to its 50th anniversary (although it was cut from our screens for a couple of decades), but new scifi (or speculative fiction in general) rarely makes it past the first series. Fades got cut after one. Merlin has now ended, and the UK version of Being Human (the ORIGINAL version I hasten to add) is now ending too. Primeval has been cut after shifting ownership a couple of times and finally moving to Canada for its last series. Why? Are the scifi fans hopelessly outnumbered by the rest of the television watching hoards? I don't get it...

Happenings
Jessica E Subject is my guest for Cover Love tomorrow - come and check out her choices of sfr covers and see if you agree with any of them. I'm still looking for more guests. Currently I have the 11th April still open, then slots from May onwards. There'll be no Cover Love post on the 21st March due to a blog hop.
Next week I'm taking part in the Rites of Spring Blog Hop, celebrating firsts. There's still time to sign up here if you'd like to. 75 authors are currently taking part and offering prizes, and the grand prize is a Kindle Fire!

DARK SKIES: A "B" MOVIE WITH BENEFITS

It’s not often that I choose to review something that doesn’t hit the mark.  Maybe it’s my Southern upbringing, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” being drummed into me from an early age.

But the SF film DARK SKIES (in theaters now) deserves a word or two even if it misses the target of entertaining its audience by a light year.  The film is worthy of discussion not only because it covers familiar ground of alien abduction, but also because I think—and I may be guessing here—writer-director Scott Stewart tried to do something different with this story of a family under siege from probing extraterrestrials.

On the surface, this tale of suburbanites and their close encounters with not-so-nice ETs is a hodgepodge of tropes and stock characters lifted from earlier films and SF culture.  As such the script almost reads like a beginner’s ode to Spielberg, with a PARANORMAL ACTIVITY twist:  Daniel and Lacy Barrett (Josh Hamilton and Keri Russell) live in the California suburbs with their two sons, Jesse, 13,(Dakota Goyo) and Sam, 7 (Kadan Rockett).  Jesse and Sam are close, reading old-school SF and exchanging “secret messages” between “space bases” from their beds at night on their portable radios.  Cute.

Until Sam starts saying that their “enemy”, the Sandman, has been visiting him at night.  For real.  Then things start getting weird.  Mom goes downstairs in the middle of the night to find the back door open and the fridge emptied onto the kitchen floor.  A few nights later all the contents of all the cupboards are used to create an elaborate geomathmatical sculpture.  Police are called, kids are interrogated, family is freaked out, neighbors are talking—you get the picture.

Then the birds—three flocks of them from different parts of the state—arrive to smash themselves to death against the house.  Now the neighbors really don’t want to have anything to do with these people!  And little Sam is starting to have “episodes” at the park—screaming, not responsive.  And the bruises—where did they come from?

Well, you can see where this is going.  Those nasty aliens don’t stop with Sam.  Soon Mom is losing time, too.  And her job.  Which is where the film gets interesting.

From the beginning we’ve seen that this family presents itself to the world as being just like any other family in its middle-class neighborhood, but, in truth, long before “aliens” burst in from above, pressures of a much more mundane nature are eating away at the foundations of the home they’ve built together.  Daniel has lost his job as an architect.  Worse, he is lying to his wife about his lack of luck finding a new one.  Lacy is trying to bring home the bacon as a realtor in a moribund real estate market, stuck with the job of unloading the neighborhood’s worst property, a dump the local kids (including her own son) use as a party house for drugs and sex.  The couple fights, while the boys worry if they will divorce like other moms and dads they know.  And Jesse, well, Jesse is thirteen.  Did I mention the drugs and sex?

Some of the pressures the Barretts are facing are external—the economy, Jesse’s stupid friends—but the key one is internal—can they trust each other?  So when this family is attacked from way outside, they don’t automatically band together to fight the alien threat.  Their first reaction is to turn on each other—husband against wife (he can’t believe this is an alien problem; she’s clear what they’re facing); son against parents (did I mention he’s 13?  Of course they’re ruining his life!); and the little guy obviously needs a therapist!

This nugget of a family in trouble is much more interesting than the SF-flavored gelatin in which it is found.  This is even more true because the actors, particularly Keri Russell as Lacy and young Dakota Goyo as Jesse, are compelling and believable, rising so far above the material as to bring the stuff up with them.  Science fiction on the screen is too often about the effects—what does the monster or the spaceship look like?  Can we create (and then destroy) a spectacular world?  In this case, we are asked to consider what effect the aliens are having within a very small scope, that of a single family.  We see the dynamics here very clearly, thanks largely to the actors.  It is a different perspective, at least.

But, of course, the Barretts don’t self-destruct completely. Leave it to the aliens (and the equally ham-fisted writers) to show their hands in a series of scary moves that convince a skeptical Daniel to take Lacy’s advice and seek the help of the nearest alien expert (J.K. Simmons).  In yet another example of what-not-to-do-in-a-book-or-film, the expert explains at length What Is Going On, to wit:  your family has been chosen by the Grays (Yes!  Those Grays!), for study, for fun, we’re not really sure.  But once you’ve been chosen, that’s pretty much it for you.  And the increase in activity means they’re about to take someone.  Sorry.

Is there nothing we can do? the anxious couple begs.  

You can fight, the expert advises.

I’ll spare you the outcome of the brave family’s battle with the evil aliens in their suburban fortress.  It’s not exactly DIE HARD, YOU ALIEN B@#$%*&S! but the Barretts put up a good fight.  The filmmaker indulges himself with a few little twists at the end.  It is science fiction, after all, even if it is derivative and somewhat old school.  

And like much of that kind of SF, there may be a lot to criticize, but there is also something to think about.  Maybe not worth ten bucks at the multiplex, but definitely worth a look on pay-per-view or Netflix.

Cheers,  Donna