Monday Motivation

Monday reads.

/ lizziechantree / 6 Comments

listen meme by Lizzie Chantree

Hello everyone. I’ve got my first festival next weekend where I will have a book stand and hopefully be chatting to some book lovers as well as music lovers. I have been trying to pack everything I will need and remember to take things like sellotape, signage, and table coverings. I put the books into boxes and it’s tricky to know how many to take. It’s a music festival, but there is a shopping area, which is where I will be with my books. I have also designed some pop up banners, and have a fold up book stand for the counter top.

I did a checklist and thought it might be helpful to anyone else doing a book fair or festival.

  1. Books. Enough of each type to display and sell.
  2. Stands to hold some of the books up so that they are easier to see.
  3. Frames with clear pricing. These follow my brand and have a picture of my books and a slogan at the top.
  4. Table or counter cover.
  5. 2 x chairs
  6. Gazebo.
  7. Tables.
  8. Name squares for customers who would like a book signed so that I know how to spell the names! These are cut out of A4 sheets but fit with my branding colours.
  9. Battery powered lights.
  10. A receipt book.
  11. Paypal app set up on my phone.
  12. Card reader.
  13. Plastic cover to keep the table dry if the weather turns.
  14. Sun hat/suncream.
  15. Water.
  16. Food.
  17. I have a five aperture frame with each of my book covers in to show the range.
  18. Scissors.
  19. Pens.
  20. Change for sales.
  21. Decoration for the table. Paper hearts etc for romance theme.
  22. Bookmarks.
  23. Leaflets. I had these made with all five of my books on them.

I hope I’ve thought of most things, but if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

Have a great week! From Lizzie:)

Author page: https://www.viewAuthor.at/LizzieChantree

The Village Green Festival. Chalkwell Park. Southend on sea. Essex. U.K. This is the trader area. There are many more stages and creative areas around the park. Saturday 13th July. 11am-9pm. Festival link.

map artwork VG





Monday motivation.

/ lizziechantree / 5 Comments

Hello everyone. It’s a bank holiday weekend and I’m looking forward to relaxing with a good book! I hope you are too.

Limited edition meme by Lizzie Chantree.png

I don’t think we take enough time to sit back and rejuvenate after a long week of work and we are somehow conditioned to believe that if we are sitting still, that we are wasting time. Drinking a coffee and reading a magazine or book by a great view and having a little time off of work, not only makes me come back to my desk invigorated (not just by the coffee), but means I’m not too exhausted to begin work again.

I’m not sure how we can start to be a bit kinder to ourselves and to understand we are worth the fun and relaxation of taking time out and not looking at our phones or keyboards for a few hours. How we feel inside should offer as much validation as social media likes and praise, but somehow it feels like there is an imbalance. Our mental health is sometimes overlooked and grabbing a great book is a wonderful way to take time for yourself, jump into different dimensions and to basically have a good laugh. I’m going to try and read at least one book every couple of weeks this year and I’m sure I’ll enjoy every minute.

Have a great week everyone. From Lizzie:)

Monday Motivation.

/ lizziechantree / 4 Comments

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Happy new week everyone. I hope you all had an amazing weekend.

I drove to Norfolk at the weekend, stood in freezing cold field for five hours watching sports and then drove the two hours home again! I tried to find a little corner to sit and write in, but it was so cold outside that there were about ten people in my tent after five minutes. Needless to say I found a little coffee shop and drank about four pints of coffee to keep warm. I also scoffed at least twenty little biscuits after eating a salad, as they were so small, that I felt they didn’t count for calories. 🙂

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I’ve now updated my first three books and will have paperbacks going live over the next week. Babe Driven already has a beautiful new paperback version and Finding Gina and Love’s Child will be available in paperback soon. It’s exciting to have all of my books in more than one format. This also now means I can complete my latest work in progress and I can’t wait to write the last pages of this story. The main character is fiery and has a lot to deal with, so I’m happy to be able to bring her tale to a satisfying conclusion.

New FB header 2019

Have a great week everyone.

Monday Motivation.

/ lizziechantree / 4 Comments

Bookstore meme by Lizzie Chantree

Happy new week everyone. What inspires your writing? For me it’s either getting to a point in a new story that I can’t wait to write, or sitting somewhere with a beautiful view. Just taking in the scenery is often enough to lift my mood and make me want to start writing. If you are feeling frustrated with finding time to write, then taking a walk and a notepad can refresh your mojo enough to get back to your work flow when you return.

I carry a notepad everywhere and often jot down characteristics of people I see when I’m wandering around and I like to note clothing, stance, how people use their hands to express themselves and other details like that. It comes in handy when I’m forming characters in my mind. Although they are often jumping up and down and introducing themselves before I’ve finished the previous manuscript, so I have to hold them back and tell them to be patient.

I hope you find some amazing new books to read this week!

Homesick meme by Lizzie Chantree

 

Monday marketing. 3 Quick tips.

/ lizziechantree / 2 Comments

I hope you’ve all had a relaxing weekend? Today’s tips are about generating marketing for yourself without having to pay out to a marketing budget. I’ve been running networking hours for years and have taught myself quite a few ways to market my work, but when I started out, I literally had no clue where to start. Today, there are many ways for you to simply promote your product, book or social media page, with images and text.

  1. Check out the Canva app. You can get this for free on your computer or phone. It is a graphics editing site. It has pre-made templates for all of the social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. Simply select the template you want to use, then upload your own photos from the tab on the left hand side and drag the photo you want to use into the template. You can then click and highlight the text and change it’s colour, font, size and the actual text. It takes a while to play around with and familiarise yourself with it’s function, but it’s a great app to use for free marketing. You can purchase photos for around $1 if you want different picture, but sites like Pixabay have free photos that you can download to your computer and then upload onto Canva for free.
  2. IMGFlip.com is another meme or image and text generator. Simply type in the theme you are looking for, for example, travel, and then choose a picture from the selection shown. Change the text in the two text boxes on the right hand side and then save your image.
  3. The third way, which is more time consuming and will only work if you have the correct programmes on your computer, is to Google the correct image sizes for the social media site you want to use and then set up an image on Photoshop. You can then easily add text and swap the images around once you have set up your own template. Once you have your own template, the possibilities are endless.

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This is a Canva design template I added my book cover and text to.

girl with books meme by Lizzie Chantree.jpg

This is an IMGFlip template with my words on it.

Babe Driven TwitterAd 19

This is a Photoshop template that I made myself.