Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m an author, fiction and non, an author publicist and photographic artist, living in the remote northern New Mexico mountains at almost 8,000 feet. My first two self-published books, The Rewritten Word, http://www.amazon.com/Rewritten-Word-Sculpt-Literary-ebook/dp/B0045JK48A/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1306955104&sr=1-1 and the novel Rightfully Mine: God’s Equal Rights Amendment, http://www.amazon.com/Rightfully-Equal-Rights-Amendment-ebook/dp/B002NGO4B0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1307029989&sr=1-1 are still multiple category best sellers at Kindle.

I founded Promotion a la Carte, http://www.promotionalacarte.com the author’s promotional menu of choice, last July, 2010, and 6 months later writers voted it #2 in the Preditors & Editors Poll. http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_promotions.ht Nanci Arvizu is my Vice President and we love our work helping authors build a following and teaching them more about promoting their books through our blog and radio show.

Describe your book ‘The Rewritten Word: How to Sculpt Literary Art No Matter The Genre’ in 30 words or less. 

It's the only How-to-Write book that has nothing to do with writing. It's all about rewriting. Whittle away what buries the art of your words beneath pulp, no matter the topic, no matter the genre.   

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

I’d have to say defining my rewriting process. I’m no editor or grammar professor, just an everyman writer struggling to improve my own work as best I can.

When I got serious about studying the craft of writing I was shocked by what I didn’t know about polishing my words. Reading books on editing I found them way too lofty, using grammar terms that college level English students would have a hard time following.

So way back then I did exactly what I did with the examples used in this short handbook. I took the sentences and paragraphs that were unclear to me and clarified, simplified, and shortened—I REWROTE them until they made sense to me and eliminated what didn’t relate and, in fact, distracted. A lot of times this meant translating it into words I could understand.

What I didn’t realize way back then was I was teaching myself to rewrite. It was years before I understood my own process, but this is what I did to my own work from that point on. For the book I just had identify my process clearly and break it down into bite size steps.

What books have had the greatest influence on you?

The Beauty and The Beast. Not only did it open my young eyes to looking past the surface in others, but to dive deeper into every area, such as writing and marketing, and as evident in my book, rewriting. That fairy tale is the foundation for probably every phase of my life that pertains to understanding.

Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

Step by step marketing, each building on and complimenting the last like the gourmet courses in a Roman feast. Then repeat and rinse as needed. 

One of the most important marketing strategies I've learned is that you must offer the reader/customer something of value to them. I used to hate marketing because it involves sales, which seemed sleazy to me. But when I realized I could help others find what they need, marketing took on a whole new meaning to me. Now I see marketing as serving others. If my product won’t serve them, I don’t offer it.

I have learned over the last few years it’s vital to establish an Internet presence. I've done that through my blog teaching author promotion, Promotion a la Carte Blog. http://www.promotionalacarteblog.com/ I have health challenges that prevent me from leaving home often, so I learned the ropes of online publicity.

Social media is my main marketing platform, though I use my blog, guest blogging, teaching gigs at webinars, my BTR radio show Promotion a la Carte Radio, and just anywhere I can land an interview or otherwise get my name/voice out there. It takes a lot of work, but you must establish your web presence.

I use social media constantly, working to expand my presence and credibility. Most of the posts are helpful tips and information for writers, but I slip in info about my products and offerings too, and of course talk personally with my closest 17,000 + friends! chuckling.

Readers like to see and/or hear you too. Include them in who you are, even if you’re doing a tutorial, no matter your genre. I recommend you create audio podcasts http://www.cinchcast.com/promotionalacarte/233171, screencasts http://www.youtube.com/user/PromotionalaCarte?feature=mhee#p/u/4/HKiPgl70IU0, digital home videos http://www.aggiev.org/rightfullymine/book-reading-and-other-videos.html, and even audio such as this audio clip introducing Rightfully Mine on its blog:http://www.aggiev.org/rightfullymine/. You can even create your own trailers when appropriate. http://www.youtube.com/user/PromotionalaCarte?feature=mhee#p/u/5/PMLCe-om0es Welcome videos are also great tools. http://www.promotionalacarte.com. And definitely create every tutorial you can devise, such as this one for The Rewritten Word. http://www.youtube.com/user/PromotionalaCarte?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/-cGOvkRJ5Do

Bookbuzzr.com, lets you offer a free sample of your book (http://www.freado.com/book/4277/Rightfully-Mine-Gods-Equal-Rights-Amendment). They also offer great widgets of this book sample you can place everywhere; and I do. And it's free. 

Get interviewed and reviewed. When Rightfully Mine hit 10,000 views in two months at freado.com the BookBuzzr Blog interviewed me http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/author-interviews/bookbuzzr-interviews-author-aggie-villanueva/, which led to my regular writing for their marketing blog http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book-marketing/mid-week-book-marketing-tips-how-faithful-are-your-social-media-followers/ and participating in their marketing webinars. 

Opportunities are everywhere, and when they’re not, go knocking. Only a few of my online interviews or contributing writer’s jobs approached me. Mostly I contact them and just ask.

How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

Loading up my camera equipment and dogs, a few days’ worth of food and water and heading for my beloved mountains for some blessed alone time. The beauty and remoteness are priceless. It’s where I recharge.

What are you working on next?

My interactive eBook, Amazon Categories Create Best Sellers, will be out within a few months. It teaches writers that Amazon.com is not just the world’s largest bookstore, but that their sales page is shrewdly structured to promote itself continually and on multiple levels, if you work it.

I cover how to utilize the million dollar publicity you get when people purchase your book(s) from Amazon, concentrating on what “Categories” can do for you. Don’t assume categories are just search engine assistants.

I’m excited about this project because the everyman writer like me can now afford this interactive technology. I’m using a great electronic conversion company, Entry Way  Publishing. http://www.entrywaypublishing.com I’ve created tutorials and introduction videos to be viewed from the pages of the book, there are online interactive pages and bonuses, ongoing contests available only to readers, and much more.

The book will be available as an app for all android devices and the iPad/iPhone, etc,. and of course as a Kindle eBook, and print book too.

Thank you so much for having me today. I’ve so enjoyed talking with you and your readers.

Follow Aggie at:

Website: http://www.promotionalacarte.com

Blog: http://www.promotionalacarteblog.com

Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/promotionalacarte

Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/aggiev

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/visualartsjunction

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PACAuthorPromo

BIO: A published author at Thomas Nelson before 30, Aggie Villanueva is now a self-published multiple fiction & nonfiction Amazon/Kindle category bestseller, for The Rewritten Word and Rightfully Mine. Aggie founded Promotion á la Carte, author promotional services and 6 months later was voted #2 at Predators & Editors in the Promotion category. She teaches author promotion and rewriting across the Web, and is also a critically acclaimed photographic artist represented by galleries nationwide, including Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ.