Friday Freebie: Suzanne Kuhn from SuzyQ

I first "met" author coach Suzanne Kuhn (a.k.a. SuzyQ) when my publisher offered one of her webinars to its authors. I enjoyed it so much that I attended another one of her webinars…and when the opportunity arose to hear her speak at the Lancaster Christian Writers Super Saturday event, I grabbed it, especially since the conference also allowed for one-on-one sessions. The icing on the cake? I won the drawing for a free author coaching session, coming up at the end of this month.

Both online and in person, Suzanne is down-to-earth, organized and full of great ideas. If you're an author in any stage of your career and you get the opportunity to hear her speak, jump at it. Though she has lots of great strategies to offer at workshops, she specializes in helping authors make the most of their own capabilities.

When I gave her my Friday Freebie questions by the numbers, I suggested that she have fun with them, and I'm glad to see that she "took me at my word," as she said. That means you'll get the benefit of her advice, sprinkled with her personality. And I usually stick to all one color for the font in my blog, but when Suzanne responded in her trademark red and black, how could I resist?

5 tools every author needs

1. a SuzyQ Sharpie
2. bookmarks
3. a pop-up-banner (see photo at right)                
4. a social media platform
5. coffee

4 ways to use social media effectively

1. show up regularly
2. show up personally
3. show up for others
4. post pictures of coffee

3 ways to engage potential readers

1. book clubs
2. bookstores
3. coffee shops

2 promotional tools worth spending money on

1. bookmarks
2. pop-up banners* 

*that you can take pictures of drinking coffee in front of.

1 thing every new author should know

1. many authors function on coffee and chocolate.

Okay, seriously … Best selling authors are not always best writing authors.  Hone your craft, do all you can to be the best possible writer you are able to be.  But begin to build your platform and audience the moment you to put pen to paper.  Get help and input along the way.  And most importantly, enjoy your journey.  You are living the dream, writing a book.

If Suzanne's input sounds like something you're looking for, you can find her on Facebook or, if you click on her company name in the first line, you'll be linked directly to her web site. Check it out :-)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a list of questions to compose for my consultation with Suzanne.