Marketing with Facebook – Not All Business - M. Laycock

I signed up on Facebook when my daughter stopped answering her regular emails. Now I use it more than she does and I confess I have become quite addicted.

When I discovered many authors were using FB as a marketing platform I checked out a number of author pages to see how they were doing it. I decided to do the same and found it was quite easy to set it up.

First, I chose a header banner – I picked a photo I’d taken that I really liked, then selected a photo of myself to insert in the small icon that appears in the lower left corner. I posted a couple of interesting articles I’d read on writing and I was away to the races. The next step was to invite my ‘friends’ to like my author page. This was a little tricky until FB invited me to create a url for the page that linked directly to it. Now it’s easy to put that link into messages and every time a Christian writer asks to be my friend I ask them to like that page.

I began to pick up on some tips from others about what and how to post on the page. Three things seemed to become a refrain:

1. Don’t just make it all about your books – post articles, quotes, tips, funny and inspirational items that you think would be of interest to your fans and other writers.

2. Post links and articles related to the content of you book(s).

3. Let your fans know when exciting things happen in your writing life but share the struggles too.

I love facebook. I love connecting with readers and writers through my page and have found it can be not only fun but inspiring and fulfilling. Sometimes it can lead to unexpected friendships. When I was about to attend Write!Canada last year I wanted to boost my numbers on my author page, knowing the editors and publishers I spoke with would ask about them. So I ran a contest, putting out a notice as the numbers climbed, offering a free book for the 300th person to like the page. I forgot that FB is an international forum so when the winner sent me her snail mail address I was a little shocked. She lives in Tasmania!

I knew it would cost me more to mail the book than the book itself costs, but it was kind of thrilling to know my work would be enjoyed way Downunder. So I sent the book and began following that woman’s status posts. I was delighted to find a funny young mom who often writes about her two delightful kids and we began to correspond. Then one day she posted a question on her page – “anyone ever been to Head-smashed-in-buffalo-jump?” She was coming to Canada and wanted to know about some of the places she’d been reading about. When I discovered she was coming to Alberta I offered a B&B experience in our home and she was thrilled. I can’t wait to meet her and her family.

My decision to use FB as a marketing tool was all about business but it has become much more - it has become a lot of fun.

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia's website

Book: Little Copper Pennies

As you are undoubtedly aware, the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of the penny as of February 4, 2013. Although pennies will still be valid Canadian tender, they will no longer be returned to circulation.

To commemorate the end of the penny, Canadian author Susan Harris has gathered stories, facts, and fun ideas into a book entitled Little Copper Pennies: Celebrating the Life of the Canadian One-Cent Piece.

Bonnie Way recently interviewed Ms. Harris about the story behind the book, which also has a companion book Little Copper Pennies for Kids.

For the complete interview,  visit the Maranatha News website as Susan shares her inspiration behind the books and a little about her other writing projects.


~ Posted by Brenda Leyland

Saskatoons - Unique to Canada by Ruth L. Snyder

Saskatoons are a fruit unique to Canada. Mention Saskatoons to people from other countries, and you'll likely receive a blank stare. However, people who live in Canada have enjoyed the purplish-blue berries for hundreds of years.

The name "saskatoon" comes from the Cree word, "Mis-sask-quah-too-mina". The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was named after the berry. According to Prairie Berries,

"the berries were a staple for both Aboriginal people and early settlers. The berries were enjoyed fresh, or steamed and mashed and then left to dry into a brick-like consistency for longevity. Pieces of these berry bricks were then chipped off as needed and added to soups, stews or simply boiled to reconstitute them." 

Today saskatoon bushes grow both in the "wild" and as cultured plants. The bushes usually blossom in May and produce berries in late June or July. Canadians enjoy eating saskatoons fresh, or in a variety of baked goods like pie or muffins.

This week my children and I had the opportunity to enjoy picking saskatoon berries. Since we've received ample rain this year, the berries are large and juicy. This afternoon my youngest daughter and I used some of the berries to make saskatoon pie. (I found some great recipes to try on the August's Harvest website.)

Here's the recipe we used

GRANDMA'S TOON BERRY PIE
4 cups saskatoons
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
2 tablespoons butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine saskatoons, sugar and tapioca. Be careful not to damage the berries. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal and crimp edges, then cut slits in the top for steam vents. Top with pats of butter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

What is your favourite recipe to use when you have access to fresh saskatoons?

Ruth L Snyder

Check out Ruth's blogs:

www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com(Education information)

www.ruthlsnyder.com (Ruth's writing and family life) www.earlyyearssuccess.com (Information for caregivers of children ages 0-5)

Follow Ruth on Twitter:www.twitter.com/@wwjdr

Book review and a Bonus - Nesdoly

Title: Hot Apple Cider - Words to Stir the Heart and Warm the Soul
Author: Edited by N. J. Lindquist and Wendy Anne Nelles
Publisher: That's Life! Communications, May 2008, paperback, 296 pages
ISBN-10: 0978496302
ISBN-13: 978-0978496302


True stories that deliver a shot of inspiration, non-fiction pieces that get you thinking, Robert Service-like poetry that champions the cause of the poor and hurting, fiction that delivers truth with a pinch of drama and humor: Hot Apple Cider - Words to Stir the Heart and Warm the Soul has them all. This anthology of 44 pieces by 30 Canadian authors was conceived and compiled by N. J. Lindquist and Wendy Anne Nelles, co-founders of The Word Guild, a professional organization for Canadian writers who are Christian.

“Today many Canadian Christians are realizing that they’d like to read literature that reflects their own culture, values and experiences,” says Lindquist in the introduction. Janette Oke in the foreword says, “I feel a bit proud in knowing that we, here in Canada, have so many skilled, inspirational writers who are able to present their work – their words – in this way.”

Hot Apple Cider does feature writing from across the dominion (although it's light on writers from Quebec, the Maritimes, and the Territories). In it you’ll read about a Lethbridge pioneer woman who championed the rights of women and the poor, a perceptive Yukoner who kept showing up, like an angel, when a lonely soul needed her the most, a childless Ontario couple who had their prayers answered in a most unexpected way, and many other accounts about the intersection of life and faith. Stories from abroad are also well-represented and include a tale of tragedy in the Australian Outback, a birth crisis in Nepal, and a terrifying night in a drug dealer’s apartment in Boston.

Besides being a powerful book in its own right, Hot Apple Cider also has value as a sampler. Many of the pieces are extracted from full-length works. Don’t be surprised if this book has you adding titles to the list of volumes you’ll want to read in their entirety – books like Seven Angels for Seven Days by Angelina Fast-Vlaar, Where Have all the Mothers Gone? by Jean Froese, M.D., Why Does God Allow Suffering?: An MD Examines by Brad Burke M.D., and a host of others.

Hot Apple Cider’s honest and thought-provoking writing combined with its tasteful cover and apple-themed photo illustrations may find you thinking of purchasing copies as gifts. And what better gift could you give than a book brimming with heart-warming stories to sip at over the Christmas season – or any season for that matter?

(Review first posted on Blogcritics, October 27/08)

Bonus: A behind-the-scenes look at how this book came together.
Purchase information.

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Violet Nesdoly blogs daily devotions for children at Bible Drive-Thru, about things writerly at Line upon line and personal and community stuff at promptings.

Conference Memories - Bonnie Way

Back before the ICWF Spring WorDshop in 2001, I bought myself a notebook to take to the conference. It went with me to Spring WorDshop the next year and to every Fall Conference since 2001. Its pages are scribbled with notes—some neat, some not so neat; some detailed, others not so detailed. It has dates, speakers, topics. It should be a veritable source of writing information, yet most of the time it remains in my drawer, to be pulled out and added to when conference time comes around again.

As I flip through it, memories flash back upon me.

LaVerne Erickson talked about how dreams impact our writing. He said that dreams don’t just exist in our minds, but in the mind of Christ; when God stops thinking of us, we cease to exist. Marcia Laycock talked about God owning words and lending them to us, and said that God has given each of us a field to write and speak in. Ross MacInnes told us to treat writing as a business; set a schedule and stick to it, have marketing plans, and do what works.

At the second Fall Conference I attended, in 2001, John Moore reminded us that we writers don’t find our identity in writing or ministry, but in Christ. He also told us to make sure that we do something other than write, or we won’t have anything to write about.

Kathleen Gibson said that God created us to be creative, for He is a creative God. Yet creativity is still hard, messy work. And sometimes, our most creative times come after or during dark times. According to Gibson, we were given creativity not only to make the world a better place, but also to impact it with the truth. Sigmund Brouwer also commented on that, saying our first audience is God himself and we’ll never know how many people our writing will touch. So write with your heart and soul; then turn off your computer and become a businessman like MacInnes said.

On and on the advice goes. Some names are familiar, others I barely remember—Carolyn Aarsen, Sheila Sims, Grace Fox, Susan Titus Osborne, Elsie Montgomery, Hugh Cook, Deborah Gyapong, Murray Pura, Larry Willard, Angela Hunt. They each passed on their wisdom, faith, and knowledge to a bunch of writers wanting to learn and grow. I am grateful for the opportunity that I had to hear what they shared. And maybe next time my writing is feeling dry or dull, I’ll take another peek into this little notebook.

Canadian Rivers

Headwaters drip from snowy melt of mountain glaciers
gurgle down glistening rock faces in nameless rivulets.
Fed by rain and sibling trickles they become sinuous streams
adolescent-eager in descent, unafraid to dash against boulders
froth into canyons, course over rock beds till they reach the flat.

Mature and strong they gouge valleys, meander through meadows
nurture forests, bears and eagles, rejuvenate farms and hamlets
flow regal yet restless through villages and cities
under bridges and over tunnels
ever pressing on to an ocean destination.

The watermark of veins, arteries and capillaries on our maps
they carve their initials, scrawl their signatures
all over Canada: Snake, MacKenzie, Coppermine
Exploits, Hillsborough, Saint John, Margaree, Moisie
St. Lawrence, Red, Qu’Appelle, Athabasca, Cowichan…

Named by Indians and explorers for Indians and explorers
they inscribe the plot lines of our history
hide the gold and call the salmon
propel the ferries, carry the logs, barges and ships
pave thoroughfares for tugboats, speedboats, kayaks, canoes.

We settle beside them for their sustenance and beauty
feel betrayed when, with spring-fevered earthlust
their swift-flowing waters bite off chunks of our land.
Then we fear them, dredge them, soil them,
treat them, drink them, dam them.

I have toe-squished the mud of the South
Saskatchewan, pulled Jackfish from the North
been awed by the Hell’s Gate fierceness of the Fraser
spied loons and cormorants gulping fish on the Nicomekl
otters cavorting in the Serpentine

driven miles beside the Thompson
as it winked at me through clearings
admired the canyons carved by the Bulkley
dreamed the legends of the Kispiox
listened from a tent to the night secrets of the Skeena …

Oh for more lifetimesto make them all mine.

© 2007 by Violet Nesdoly

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Photo: I took this aerial shot on a flight between Calgary and Lethbridge last week. But I don't know the name of the river. Can anyone help me out?

The poem was my entry in the recent Canadian Landscape poetry contest run at Utmost Christian Writers Canadian site.

If you're a Canadian Christian poet and haven't checked out the Canadian Utmost site, you should. They run regular contests. For a list of upcoming ones with links to rules and entry forms, check here.

Better Questions - Janet Sketchley

It’s great to find an excellent book or CD and discover it’s by a Canadian. Inside, I give a little cheer for my fellow citizen and bask in a bit of shared pride. We have some amazing, God-given talent in this country, and too often we don’t hear about it.

I feel the same way when I find a book or CD by a Christian. Little cheer for my fellow believer, and a bit of shared pride: “hey, that’s my brother or sister in the LORD.”

Although I’ve read some great writing by Canadian Christians, and worshiped to some great Canadian music, today I want to tell you about the new CD from my favourite Christian musician, who happens to be American: Todd Agnew.

Better Questions (Ardent Music LLC, 2007)

Artist: Todd Agnew

http://www.toddagnew.com/

Todd Agnew is the gifted songwriter who brought us the life-changing “Grace Like Rain” and “My Jesus.” The title of his new CD comes from the first track: “I’ve got better questions than I have answers….”

Better Questions’ music ranges from the rocky, driving “Least of These” and “War Inside” to the pensive “If You Wanted Me” and “Can I Be With You?” to the playful and catchy “Funny.” 

“Martyr’s Song,” co-written with novelist Ted Dekker, gives a poignant view of God’s longing to welcome His children into Heaven.

The songs are Agnew’s own, except for “Our Great God” (a duet with Rebecca St. James), “Can I Be With You?,” and the bonus track “Glorious Day,” which continues his tradition of reprising a public domain hymn in his own unique style.

Todd Agnew sings as everyman/woman, exploring Christians’ struggle to live right and challenging us to see past the labels we put on others into their hearts and needs. His lyrics leave no room for plastic Christianity.

The songs remind me of the group Casting Crowns, who also call Christians to authentic living, although Agnew’s music is heavier. His straightforward lyrics remind me of contemporary Christian music pioneer Keith Green, but they don’t have the harshness I sometimes felt in Keith’s delivery. There’s no judgement here, just an awareness of our common need for grace and a heartfelt “We have His heart, what is keeping us from being His hands?”

Better Questions packs a challenging message, but it’s no sermon set to music. Todd Agnew delivers vibrant music with raw, honest lyrics that could have come from our own souls—or our neighbours’. Like the old man in “A Corner in Memphis,” “he’s telling us our story, or at least his side.” It’s worth a listen.

Grace and peace,

© Janet Sketchley, 2007
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For devotionals, reviews and conversation, stop by Janet Sketchley's blog, God with Us: Finding Joy.