SEO What?

Okay, so this will be a bit of the blind leading the blind here, as admittedly, I am talking about stuff I only vaguely understand. I think, though, I understand well enough to help YOU understand if you need to understand... ifyouknowwhatImean... erm.


A Little Background

So I was at Linked In... (you know how these stories go, don't you?) and got caught up on a thread that by the LEAD IN, I thought was all gung ho blogging (and yibus KNOW how I love this blogging stuff and all my bloggie friends, yeh?)

Well it turned out the lead in the convo was all over SEARCHABILITY. You know... having people plug stuff into search engines and finding YOU!!!

Death Eaters feeling pretty (source)

And you know... I do this... Naked World Domination? I pop up in the first five entries! Watery Tart? I am 2 and 5... I'm searchable! Erm. Heck, I am slots 2 and 3 for Cross-dressed death eaters. I wonder if JK Rowling has ever searched that term *shifty*

I ALSO am almost the whole first page for Hart Johnson. I even make the first page for Kahlotus, and that's a real live PLACE (albeit, a place without much happening...)

The conversation got a little heated... and it took a little while to figure out we were sort of talking about different stuff.



At the Crux of the Discussion?

SEOs. To the uninitiated, Search Engine Optimizers... Are WORDS people SEARCH FOR that you hope leads them to YOU.

I hear the Naked Cowboy seeks World Domination

Now I really DO hope someone seeking a Naked World Domination movement finds me. I am happy to have partners, minions, and possibly even a rival (because of course a rival for Naked World Domination would mean a pudding fight
<--I could totally take that guy...).

But I ALSO would love people to find me if they want to... Network with writers... talk about writing... talk about Cozy Mystery... talk about YA books... Engage in silliness...

Do you think I have a chance in Kansas of popping up under any of those searches? NO SIRREE BOB!



Oh, but what's this?

NON-Fiction? Oh, well, yeah. I see where it might apply THERE! If I were to write a non-fiction book, it would maybe be... Tartish Life Advice... (Sassy self help?) or... erm... yeah, that's what I got. Any other topic sounds like a lot of work. In fact THAT one sounds like a lot of work. I don't want to write non-fiction. Heck, I don't even READ non-fiction. My life has ENOUGH reality, thank you very much.

But it's TRUE that if you write non-fiction, it would be REALLY NICE to have your name pop up for your topic... and if you WRITE non-fiction, it is probably worth figuring out what kinds of things people would search that would lead to you.

As close as I get to Cozy Mystery Page 1

If you Write FICTION

Let's think about this problem. Do people 'search' fiction on sites that aren't book sites? I think they DO, but from my own experience, I think they do it when they are searching for books that meet this or that criteria. My Cozy mysteries are a good example. I should probably start tagging blog posts for those with 'gardening themed mystery' and 'Roanoke fiction' (or some combo thereof) because in fact, those are fields that are small enough I might make it high on the list, but topics people might search. In fact I half suspect those Berkley editors THOUGHT of all this (waves at Emily)... I won't top a list like 'Cozy mystery' as there are too many of us, but there certainly is a chance the smaller category will be searched.


For Blogs with No Product (whether there should be a 'yet' added or not)

There was an example of a blogger who is African American and writes Science Fiction—a rare combo, apparently... she made a theme of it—pulling African American readers to sci-fi by writing stories that included more diverse characters. Her tags and themes earned her a big following (possibly because she got a fair bit of press) well before she had books to sell.


For the MOST Part, I felt the marketing gurus were missing part of the point of blogging... missing that BLOGGING is not about reaching readers to nearly the degree it was about networking with a system of compatriots, all ready to help each other out when the time arrives... The person who SEARCHES me and arrives once, is less likely to STAY than somebody invested in all of this as PROCESS. A relationship is not built in a hit... SURE, there is probably love at first visit... I've had people say that... I've fallen in love with blogs first visit... it happens. But it is the repeat visits that build the relationships. I'd never be deluded enough to think I could make somebody ACT on a first visit.

So I think we are doing okay, even if we don't have any idea about SEOs... That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

If you NEED it, how do you DO it?  What do I look like? An expert?  I really don't know. I think tags help, but I think here is also something more complex you can do... Maybe Hiveword has advice.  HA!  yes... just checked, there are several blogs.  Go THERE. They know more than me. [for anyone who doesn't know, Hiveword is a writer's blog database--you can find ANYTHING there]

Am I the Man?

So I found myself in a couple conversations last week where I felt distinctly like I was arguing for 'status quo', which, if you know me, you know ISN'T ME... but I still think I had a point... Let me e'splain...


ABNA System

I spoke too soon when I said everyone was a good sport... People (apparently every year) pout and say things that offend OTHER people who are defensive for understandable reasons... the arguments of people who are SAD that it is all basically a lottery... make it look like the people who MADE it didn't deserve to...

Now there are a ton of voices of reason there, both among those who made it and among those who didn't, so I don't want to sound like it's all bad, but the discussion I am referring to here was about the ABNA system being innately flawed. The argument was that we were being judged on our PITCH rather than our writing. (erm... did we not write our pitches?)

But I remember feeling this way... querying agents and feeling put out that my pitch didn't give a good feel for my story. And I think it's true that the pitch is a different skill than writing the book. And some books are COMPLICATED and hard to describe in a few paragraphs.

But think about it this way... a pitch gives the reader a broad feel for what the story is about. And an AGENT wants to know if it's an appealing story before deciding whether she wants to read more. And this makes TOTAL sense.

For ABNA, the trouble is it is a crapshoot for which 'agent' screens. As writers we can target agents who we know represent the genre of our book. THIS is the luck part for ABNA. Now I suspect screeners KNOW if it sounds like a 'pretty good story', then even if it isn't their genre, they should pass it through (in fact I think they assign number ratings on several parameters, so it becomes (sort of) an objective comparison, but the appeal of the story will definitely be colored by the reader's preferences.

That said, though, a bad pitch will not make it through. Some portion of these are inadequate pitches for good stories, but some are also inadequate pitches for inadequate stories. (I happen to believe this is where I was last year. The story hadn't been adequately edited and so I was accurately screened OUT. This year my story is tighter, but in reality, I will eventually be screened out, also... I just learned (and got help) and my pitch was good. (so that gives the portion of screened IN that maybe should not have been--good pitches for not good (yet) books)

The NEXT step is the first 3000-5000 words... just like an agent... and they can see how the writing is... so they judge based BOTH on the story, and on the writing of the story... Now a fair few get passed on here... 250 in each group... Yes, that is only a 5% chance from initial entry... and in both cases people will have their stories weeded when they are GREAT books. But here, while not everyone passed on will have a great book, the query proves a good story and the excerpt proves they can write... everyone to pass on is capable, in my opinion. They (like me) may not be quite done, but I think stories going on at this point are mostly stories that are eventually viable.

That does NOT say stories weeded earlier are NOT. It means stories weeded earlier maybe need to work on their pitch or first few chapters (never bad advice) or in a few cases, have hit bad luck on the match or who read one or the other.

Now at this point, the books are read (and rated...) and again, there might be a mismatch... GREAT books may not get through. But my POINT is, the books that DO get through at this point either ARE great, or have enough proof of potential for greatness.

And isn't that the point? Amazon wants to find a book that will be successful. This is a commercial venture at no cost to the entrants. So can we really cry foul? I don't think we can...

And then the Self Publishing Discussion

I happen to think self publishing is getting more and more viable, and think there are a lot of authors for whom this is a GREAT option. But I ALSO think it is a vast, tempting quagmire for new authors... think about the Dead Marshes in Lord of the Rings... the lights tempting people into the wrong place. It is FAR too easy to press submit LONG before a book is ready.

I don't think this HAS to be the case, but...

Okay, so a writer friend of mine who I hadn't even realized was done with a book posted something about self publishing her book... She wants feedback to see if it is viable for traditional publishing. Are you spotting here all the pits she could fall into. I think the growth of self-publishing makes it way too easy for someone to just think 'I'll see' and think they really WILL see. The reality is, it will be a friends and family venture anyway, unless they do all the networking groundwork... but even WITH the networking groundwork, if the book isn't properly polished, it won't be ready, and there is no gatekeeper to tell us when it IS properly polished.

Now a great step is to hire a professional editor, but that editor STILL works for US, so when they are done, they will believe the BOOK is done. That may be true. It may not.

See... the thing is, I've come to believe in the hoops that it takes to get to traditional publishing. Now I have friends who have gotten through all but the last step... that it is the editorial board buy in that is giving trouble... if an agent and a publisher love it... AND think it's done... then it is probably ready. If a professional editor has seen it and then a panel of readers ALSO do not find significant problems... it is ALSO probably ready.


I had somebody argue with me not too long ago when I stated that novel drafts typically made the teens before a book was 'done'. Now I am talking for a first time (possibly second time) writer... but the person argued '4' for the first book? Seriously? I am willing to believe SOME people can do that, but on AVERAGE, to actually be clean enough to publish? I'm not buying it. I say it is in the double digits before it is actually ready... ON AVERAGE.

And I know my own self well enough to know I would never have waited that long if I hadn't committed to traditional publishing. Traditional publishing ensures that very few 'not done' get through, where self publishing, I'd bet only about 5% are actually done.

That isn't just a problem for those publishing too early though. It's a problem for everyone self publishing, as discriminating readers know there is a LOW percentage all the way done, a medium percentage not QUITE done, and a pretty large percentage (people not HERE because I think this group gets it) but there are a lot of people publishing FAR too early. This means that a lot of people aren't willing to sort the difference. It means people will opt NOT to read because there is too much noise.

My friend ALSO didn't seem to understand that being 'published' meant it was far harder to 'publish' if sales weren't really great. Those of us in this for the long haul, need a long-term plan.

So what is that... when a naked world dominatrix buys into a system?  I'm not sure, but I suppose I do.

Legacy Lunacy

So you finish editing a book ahead of deadline, feel pretty darned good about the accomplishment and the man appears with the much awaited question...

You've just edited the next best selling Cozy Mystery! What are you going to do NOW?!

You know the answer right? Disneyland, ne?

Well not if you're ME, because I am NUTS. Wanna know my answer?

I AM EDITING ANOTHER BOOK!

I realize that if any of you came after me with men in white coats, it wouldn't be difficult to have me committed, but you see... it's like THIS:



November: NaNoWriMo (translation: booked)
January: Amazon Breakthrough serious prep (translation: booked)
December: Address any Cozy changes by agent.

So if I want something CLEAN for Amazon, NOW is the time.


My PLAN

Come on... you know me by now. There is ALWAYS a plan!

Now the advantage of Legacy, is it was CLEANED once, so that first step... making it readable... isn't necessary. So I have currently started the 'read with notetaking piece'.

Funny. I am only 20 pages in (though I DID read the feedback I got from 3 readers 'back then') and I have a couple fill-ins for 'holes' already. I definitely am a believer in the 'let it sit and come back fresh' thing.

My intention is to MAKE the small changes and make NOTES for the big changes, and then in December, after the Cozy gets cleaned, come back and do the big ones.

I'm not convinced LEGACY will be my ABNA... in fact because it is first in a trilogy, it probably WON'T, but I'd like to have it ready to share. My agent is only my agent for the Cozy, but I'd like to have HER feedback on a clean version... Then I will clean something ELSE in January for ABNA. I will have to evaluate what is closest to ready... but I just have WAY to large an editing pile to not commit to some of this ASAP.


REALISM

The funny thing is, when I looked at my plan, it seemed DOABLE! How the heck is a book mostly editable in less than 2 weeks? But I think it is, between having that picky round already done and the time sitting, I really think I can DO THIS!!!!

WAHOO!

[Note: cover was designed by Joris Ammerlaan, my go-to graphics guy (as was the diva below)]

Lucius in Lingerie

So besides being insane for editing... (which I don't want ANY of you to mistake for LOVE), I also have a thing for very bad boys. It is because I ultimately believe nobody is ALL bad, especially someone who LOOKS so GOOD in a corset and garter.

Laughing Llamas

You had no clue how deep my lurve for things beginning with L went, did you? My llama love originate with Ralph the Wonder Llama and the 10,000 Mexican Whooping Llamas that were featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

So there you have it. Now you're loony too.

XOXOXOX Y'ALL!

So I thought it had been a while since I'd been serious, but when I examine the letter X, there is only so much I've got to work with. That is topped off by me finally having to pay the piper for thinking I had a free day to NOT do a letter, when in fact I didn't, as tomorrow is a (very Xciting) guest blogger, so Friday is Z... So I am covering X and Y today and the only thing THAT reminds me of is:

XYZ PDQ: kid speak for examine your zipper pretty darned quick (aka: you're flashing), which as an aspiring nudist, I really never should have minded, but the truth was, when I was in elementary school I HATED sticking out, but I did. You see, I was tall—always one of the tallest—second tallest girl through most of it, and the other one was REALLY tall—she NEVER could have pleaded normal... see, I didn't want any of THAT to rub off. And we were poorish, at least until my dad died (Xplaining how the loss of an income increases sustainability has mostly to do with a lot of beer and some Xpensive toys—whatever the case, my mother made living on social security look EASY after the debt that was my father ceased to be—but I digress). So ANYWAY... being tall... and poor... meant I wore my pants for several months longer than they covered my ankles (possibly the origin of my battle with pants)... or wore hand-me-downs from my cousin Cammi... AND I was tall... (I already stood out). So standing out some MORE by flashing my daffy duck panties (because Looney Tunes put out a series through JC Penneys that I am sure I wore for several years—NEARLY to the point where I gave them up for flashing...) would have been EMBARRASSING—I could prove my Daffy Duck claim but my friend Shelley, who is in the picture with me, would surely be upset—she's much more proper than I am. And in fact I didn't really start flashing on purpose until college, when I decided it was my mission in life to make people calm the heck down over the matter—yes, I sleep naked—you would TOO if you cared about comfort. DEAL WITH IT. Your boyfriend who is lounging in the dorm hallway can deal with it TOO. And so can the 35 friends you invited to the party in your dorm room.

*cough * So I bet you're wondering if I have anything more substantial to talk about than nudity. I DO! My second favorite topic, and the picture is courtesy of my FABULOUS friend Marian—one of the earliest in this networking thing to cross the line from casual networkee to friend... and she KNOWS what I like!

So here we have it... X-Dressing that doesn't X the clothing line too badly, because MOSTLY they are just X-Accessorized... (It is also a brilliant example of Lingerie Training, if anyone was wondering how it worked.


Xenophile

And finally I will step into the ring as a die-hard Xenophile. I totally dig things that are REALLY FREAKING strange... Mostly I take dares to try something new, I certainly love to GO new places, no matter HOW strange.


Am I the only parent out there unable, EVERY time I see the letter Y to say:


Y, Y, Y, Y, Yawning Yellow Yak, and Young Yolanda Yorgeson is Yelling on his back! Though the international Xenophile KNOWS Yorgeson is spelled Jorgeson. Y is really used for Yvonne (my groovy new blogger friend and Ybon, an extraordinary Basque boy I enjoyed the company of briefly when I was 18 *swoons *. Man, he was cute! Why do I need the letter Y to remind me of such things? I suppose because my REAL obsession that year was a W name, who I completely neglected to mention because I really associate him with Greenday—there is a song... it makes sense. YES, that is obtuse... I shared only the most peripheral of connections.


Y Blog?

You know, I've been thinking about this... people seem to have different reasons for themselves, including promoting a book (which is a FABULOUS reason to GUEST blog, but a bit BORING to try to have a daily blog about, with the exceptions of the JOURNEY to getting published, and my friend Helena's JOURNEY to master the skills of her super-spy character (Becoming Layla)--mostly though, there is only so many times any reader will come read about the damn book. Some people blog because they see this as a substitute, since the book isn't out and all—again, I think it's a mistake. This is a tool that will NOT become obsolete just because the book is out. The REAL reason we blog—and your readers will see it if you do it, is to CONNECT. It's so we are no longer alone in the void. Some of us blog to inform, some to entertain, but all of us for whom it will be sustainable, blog to connect to people OUT THERE—other writers, readers, blog browserly types...


So since I am apparently unable to make sense with X or Y, maybe I will go with YOWZA!

This is the Johnny of my X-Rated dreams... I think you can see the appeal... carefree, self-indulging, but not in that manic way some people do...My favorite feature of course is the tan line—so tempting... you know they are ALMOST coming off... which is the best way for pants to be aside from ALREADY off.

And then my favorite newish pic is ready to be featured again—I'm just sure of it...

Because it Amuses Me

This just in:  Yesterday on Google Australia, this blog was the #2 hit for Cross Dressed Tarts.  So there.