SMFS Member Guest Post: DOING GOOD AND DOING WELL by Kathleen Marple Kalb (SMFS Vice President)

Please welcome our Vice President to the blog today…

 

 

DOING GOOD AND DOING WELL

Guest Post by SMFS Vice President Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

 

            Charity anthologies are often good career moves as well as good karma.

            In the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to have stories in several, and every time, there’ve been concrete benefits beyond the pleasure of helping our fellow humans.

            First, if you’re early in your career, giving a story to a charity anthology can be a chance to work with an accomplished editor. To get their comments, and their thinking on your soundtrack for the current story, and every future project, is enough compensation right there.

            Almost all anthologies also give you an opportunity to reach new and different readers. Even if you’re a big seller, it’s unlikely followers of every other writer in the anthology will be familiar with your work. And if you’re still building a readership, it’s a real chance to widen your audience.

            That’s part of any anthology. Sharing the promotional effort is, too. Many of us don’t do as much promotion as we should (looking in the mirror here!) but if you’re out there with a bunch of other folks, suddenly the burden isn’t as heavy. It’s often a lot more fun, too.

            Charity projects, though, are special. The writers, of course, care about the cause enough to give their work and their promotional effort. Often, they’re willing to work harder because the charity is important to them.

            More, though, charity projects carry built-in goodwill that can lead to extra positive attention. Bloggers, reviewers, and others will often promote the project as a way to help the cause. Or just to make sure the writers are rewarded for doing good.

            All of that is good for the anthology and the charity.

            Sometimes, it’s good for you, too, bringing in additional readers for your other projects.

            And sometimes, you just get lucky.

            My most recent charity anthology story, “A Fatal Saint Patrick’s Day,” came out last month in LUCK OF THE IRISH.  The story involves my Irish-Jewish Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane, because she was the best fit for the theme. When I signed on, I just wanted to raise some money to help migrant children – and write a good story.

            As it turned out, though, the anthology came out just over a month before my next Ella Shane book, A FATAL RECEPTION, the reboot of the series at Level Best Books – due April 30th. Even better, the editors, Kate Darroch and Jessica Thompson, as well as some of the other writers, have different (and much larger) readerships than I do.

            We told some good stories, we sold a bunch of books, and we brought in a nice donation for kids who really need help. And, as it happens, I introduced Ella to lots of new readers right before the next book.

            The old saw is: “It’s better to be lucky than good,” but maybe it should be: “Look for chances to do good…and you just might be lucky, too!”

 

A FATAL RECEPTION: Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane and her Duke are at long last headed for the altar…but they’ll have to handle a murder, a shipwreck, a questionable Polish prince, and any number of other complications on the way. Continuing the highly-praised series featuring an Irish-Jewish Lower East Side orphan who found fame and fortune as a singer of male soprano roles, the latest installment follows Ella and her surprisingly diverse cast of family and friends through mystery and misadventure…and into the greatest challenge of all for an independent-minded woman and her Victorian swain: matrimony!

Buy at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Reception-Ella-Shane-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CXY8T735

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2024

Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Marple-Kalb-1082949845220373/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KalbMarple

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