EP 310 - Book Marketing and BookMARCon with Dana Claire

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Dana Claire, an award-winning author and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush about her writing, about Book Brush, and about the virtual BookMARCon conference.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can find out more about BookMARCon at https://bookbrush.com/bookmarcon/

During their conversation, Mark and Dana talk about:

• Dana's background as a creative person as a writer, including the influence of her mother, an English teacher, and her college experience
• Joining forces with her mother who wanted to write a children's book, and Dana who wanted to write an adult book - and the resulting young adult book they decided upon
• Losing her mother unexpectedly, and then honoring her mother's memory by releasing the book the had planned on
• Some of the issues and errors Dana made when publishing her first book (The Connection)
• Dana's experience and background doing marketing and promotions for major companies
• Being an author who has both traditionally published and self-published
• Dana's belief in conferences and how important that has been to her author career
• Pitching her novel to fourteen different publishers at a conference, and how it got picked up because of this
• What Book Brush is - online software to make promotional images for books, including 3D versions of the books, within thousands of images that place it in specific settings and environments
• How Book Brush is updated weekly and there's always something new available for writers to take advantage of
• The way Book Brush can be very community driven so that authors don't feel so lonely
• What BookMARCon is (a three day virtual event - August 11 through 13, 2023), the origin of it, and how that MAR stands for MARKETING. (Book Marketing Con)
• The agent pitches that will be a part of this virtual conference
• The importance of the "personality fit" that can happen between authors and agents
• Self-publishing a book that her agent didn't want to pick up, and how that led to it winning an award and also being involved in a few things Dana isn't yet able to publicly talk about
• Her novel Sideliners being optioned for TV because Hunterland was optioned for television
• How self-published titles can help sell more of an author's traditionally published titles and vice versa
• More about the various topics that'll be covered during BookMARCon
• Heart-felt advice that Dana received from an agent during a meeting where the book she'd pitched was rejected and how that stayed with her and kept her motivated
• The $199 USD registration fee for this conference
• The Early Bird special registrants can get at the price of $149 until the end of July
• How you can get $50 off the conference registration using code MARK50
• Advice that Dana would offer to other writers
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of conferences to a writer's career, particularly from the networking and connections made there, Dana's great advice for writers, and the unique way that Dana signs her emails to authors as the company's COO.

Links of Interest:

• Dana Claire's Website
• Book Brush
• BookMARCon
• Episode 209 - From Zero to Four Figures with Paul Austin Ardoin
• Episode 284 - Collaborations in AI with Elizabeth Ann West
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Dana Claire is an award-winning author and also serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Book Brush, overseeing the company's daily operations, spearheading strategic initiatives, and expanding the platform's offerings. With her experience as an author, Dana brings a unique perspective to Book Brush, enabling her to empathize with the needs of the community and provide tailored solutions. With nearly two decades of experience in marketing and sales, she is well-equipped to bridge the gap between traditional marketing and the literary world. Dana currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, California with her biggest fan, her husband.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0