romance – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

Cross-Promotion Techniques Every Seller Should Know

Posted on December 19, 2025 by L. M. Montes

When there is something we as individuals are trying like mad to sell, it is easy to get caught up in advertising and marketing by doing what everybody else is doing. As a result, nothing sells. Why not? The strategies used worked for others but not for you. What did you do wrong? Sound familiar? Yep. Sounds familiar to me, too. That’s when its time to take a step back. Relax. Take a deep breath and look at what you have. Look at ‘what’ you are doing. Do you ‘sound’ like everybody else who was able to make sales? You don’t want to sound like someone else. You want to sound like you. You can do what others do, but do it your way. You could even add something only you can.

The key is to stand out. So, how do you do that? Well, it depends on ‘who’ you are. What are your likes? What are your hobbies? How can you incorporate them into your marketing strategies? Here’s an example. Sally Seller makes jewelry, and she writes books. In her books she features certain gemstones, such as sapphires, emeralds, jade, and lapis lazuli. The typical marketing strategies she had been using for her books were not working, so she ‘took a step back’ and thought about what she had been implementing in way of marketing. When she did this, an idea hit. She could cross promote her jewelry with her books. Here is her idea.

Make beaded bracelets using Preciosa crystals in the colors of the high end gemstones featured in her books and give a free bracelet to anyone who purchases a book in her book series.
Purchase some actual sapphires, emeralds, lapis lazuli, and jade beads in the colors of the gemstones featured in her books, make bracelets out of them and sell them at her book signing table.
By implementing both strategies 1 and 2, readers will be drawn not only to the books but also to Sally’s handmade jewelry and vice versa.

What happened when ‘Sally’ implemented these strategies in real life (on two occasions now)? Her book and her jewelry sales went way up and more than tripled.

Prompts

Romantic

Posted on July 6, 2023 by L. M. Montes

What’s your definition of romantic?

Sitting on the beach under the stars 🌟 ✨ talking and listening to the waves trickle toward shore.

Fiction

Choosing a Genre

Posted on January 31, 2023January 30, 2023 by L. M. Montes

Whether you are writing a book or reading one, you’re choosing a genre.

Genre: The dictionary definition of genre is as follows “A class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like:” It involves, “a kind, category, or sort, esp. of literary or artistic work.”

Nonfiction, fiction, and poetry are the three main literary genres, but there are many subgenres within each of these three. I’m going to pick on fiction and list some of these subgenres below.

horror
mystery
fantasy
legend
thriller
science fiction
crime
romance

Let’s say you want to write a short story, but you don’t know which kind you want to write. Well, what interests you the most? If you are an avid reader of fantasy fiction, then chances are you’re familiar with that subgenre. In that case choosing fantasy would be best. But what if you wanted to challenge yourself and write in a subgenre you are not familiar with? Then choose one outside your comfort zone. If you do that, make sure you do your homework and read a few books or short stories in that unfamiliar subgenre and do some reading up on it. Trust me, they all have their particular rules one must adhere to when writing in them.

There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to choosing a genre. It really is up to you and what your goals are.

Fiction

The Story Within

Posted on January 17, 2022 by L. M. Montes

Everyone has a story within themselves. One that’s either dying to get out or one that wants to stay hidden. If you decide to tell your story, tell it. If you want it to remain hidden then do that. But there are two ways to let it stay hidden. You could leave it alone and do nothing at all, or you could tell it but weave it with fiction. No one will ever know. You will know, but no one else will. That is the beauty of fiction.

Pretend

Have you ever played pretend when you were a kid? If so, shuffle through your mental library of pretend scenarios and expand it into a story. This could be a short story or novel. Just an idea in case you need something to write about.

Romance

Maybe you had a romance that ended on a bad note. You would like to write about that, but you don’t want anyone to know. Well, who has to know it was your experience?

Trouble

Maybe you or someone you know got into some trouble. Ohhhh the intrigue that could come from a story such as this. Embellish and expand on it. Create a fictional detective series that centers around it.

Whatever stories lie within that computer bank living inside of your head, use them if you’re so inclined. That is, if you enjoy the art of writing. If not, leave them alone.