CHAPTER 28
Three Lady Justice novels are with Tate Publishing, being prepared for world-wide distribution. (One can always dream)
The first two installments wouldn't be ready for print for at least two months, so there I was again, wondering what to do next.
I had just started doing research and formulating an outline for the fourth Lady Justice novel, when fate intervened again.
My eight-year old grandson stopped by and proudly declared, "Grandpa, I'm going to write a book!"
His second grade class had been given the assignment of writing a story and he was excited to share the news with his author grandfather. Peer bonding, I guess.
A few days later, he re-appeared with his five page book complete with illustrations.
His story was about a rainbow, a leprechaun and a pot of gold coins, and it was a pretty good little story.
After bestowing the appropriate accolades and encouragement, off he went with visions of writing grandeur. I wonder where he gets that?
My wife, who had created the covers for my three Lady Justice novels, promptly created a cover for his book and we had it bound at OfficeMax. First class all the way.
During the previous year, when Blake was in the first grade, we had been introduced to 'chapter books'. He would come to spend the night and he would usually have one of these little 50-70 page booklets that were designed as the first 'real' books after the picture-book stories of kindergarten.
It was on the way home from OfficeMax that my wife was inspired to say, "I'll bet you could write a children's chapter book. After all, you're just a big kid anyway." Flattery will get you every time.
I let the idea percolate in the old gray matter. Having spent countless hours with Blake, playing the make-believe stuff that grandpas and grandchildren play, I was well aware of his vivid imagination.
Kids today, like Blake, are really into their super heroes, like Spiderman, Ironman and Superman, with all their super powers.
I can fondly recall my own fantasies at that age, only my heroes were the good guys of the wild and wooly west. My friends and I would argue about who got to be Roy Rogers or Gene Autry.
I pretended that I could ride and rope and shoot just like my heroes, so what kid today doesn't fantasize about having the super powers of these modern day heroes?
Hmmmm, rainbow, leprechaun, pot of gold, super powers. Maybe there is a story there.
I sat down at the computer and started banging away.
An eight year old boy and his six year old sister follow a rainbow and discover Rainbow Road. It leads them to the home of Lucky Leprechaun. He has a pot of gold coins that bestow super powers, and on their first visit, Blake (wonder where that name came from) is given the power of X-Ray Vision. In the story he learns how to use his special power to help people, and so the adventure begins.
I printed the story and handed it to my greatest critic, my wife.
She loved it!
So what do we do with it now?
My little story got Peg's creative juices flowing and she created a beautiful Rainbow Road cover.
I had really just written the story for fun to impress my grandson, so we took her cover and my story to OfficeMax and had it bound as well.
I was apprehensive about giving the book to Blake. He was, after all, a veteran reader of the highly successful Magic Tree House and Encyclopedia Brown chapter books.
Then, at last, the verdict came in.
"Grandpa, I loved it! Can you write another one?"
So I did, and the Rainbow Road series of children's chapter books was born.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Tears And Triumphs Of A New Author Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
Wait ---- wait for a response to your submission query from a publisher that never comes.
Wait --- wait for a response from a literary agent that never comes.
Then, when you finally sign a contract with a credible publisher and submit your manuscripts ---- you wait again for the year it takes to get your book in print.
Obviously, if you aspire to be an author, patience is a virtue.
As fate would have it, I was blessed with incredible good looks and a razor-sharp wit rather than patience. (Just kidding)
At the ripe old age of sixty-seven, I don't imagine that I have a lot of time to dawdle.
Actually, I have always subscribed to the redneck credo, "Get 'er done!"
Once I have formulated a plan and a goal, I can't rest until I see it to fruition.
My approach to my writing is the same. Once I started on Lady Justice, I couldn't quit. I wrote all day and laid awake at night thinking about what I was going to write the next day. On more than one occasion, when my nocturnal musings were particularly inspirational, I left my bed and typed, fearing I would forget by morning.
My poor wife would stumble into the office at three A.M., shake her head and mutter, "You've got to be kidding!"
So what does a retired realtor turned frustrated writer do while he's waiting for his books to be published?
Write some more, of course.
As soon as Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P. and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes were in the system, I started on the third installment of the Lady Justice series, Lady Justice Gets Leid.
I was really anxious to get started on Walt's newest adventure.
As you might suspect from the title, the story takes place in Hawaii.
My wife and I lived on Maui, Hawaii for five years, from 2002 through 2007, and I had planned from the beginning for Walt and Maggie to visit this beautiful paradise.
As with the previous two novels, once I got started, I couldn't rest.
Before the first two novels had cleared copy editing, Lady Justice Gets Leid was ready to submit.
I called the acquisitions rep at Tate Publishing and asked if she wanted to see volume three.
Within a week, Lady Justice Gets Leid was under contract and in the system.
Three novels were being edited and made ready for publication, but the first two wouldn't be out for at least two months.
So what does an impatient writer do while he's waiting?
Keep writing!
Wait ---- wait for a response to your submission query from a publisher that never comes.
Wait --- wait for a response from a literary agent that never comes.
Then, when you finally sign a contract with a credible publisher and submit your manuscripts ---- you wait again for the year it takes to get your book in print.
Obviously, if you aspire to be an author, patience is a virtue.
As fate would have it, I was blessed with incredible good looks and a razor-sharp wit rather than patience. (Just kidding)
At the ripe old age of sixty-seven, I don't imagine that I have a lot of time to dawdle.
Actually, I have always subscribed to the redneck credo, "Get 'er done!"
Once I have formulated a plan and a goal, I can't rest until I see it to fruition.
My approach to my writing is the same. Once I started on Lady Justice, I couldn't quit. I wrote all day and laid awake at night thinking about what I was going to write the next day. On more than one occasion, when my nocturnal musings were particularly inspirational, I left my bed and typed, fearing I would forget by morning.
My poor wife would stumble into the office at three A.M., shake her head and mutter, "You've got to be kidding!"
So what does a retired realtor turned frustrated writer do while he's waiting for his books to be published?
Write some more, of course.
As soon as Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P. and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes were in the system, I started on the third installment of the Lady Justice series, Lady Justice Gets Leid.
I was really anxious to get started on Walt's newest adventure.
As you might suspect from the title, the story takes place in Hawaii.
My wife and I lived on Maui, Hawaii for five years, from 2002 through 2007, and I had planned from the beginning for Walt and Maggie to visit this beautiful paradise.
As with the previous two novels, once I got started, I couldn't rest.
Before the first two novels had cleared copy editing, Lady Justice Gets Leid was ready to submit.
I called the acquisitions rep at Tate Publishing and asked if she wanted to see volume three.
Within a week, Lady Justice Gets Leid was under contract and in the system.
Three novels were being edited and made ready for publication, but the first two wouldn't be out for at least two months.
So what does an impatient writer do while he's waiting?
Keep writing!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Tears And Triumphs Of A New Author Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
I signed my contract with Tate Publishing, submitted the manuscripts for Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P. and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes and so began my journey with Tate.
I had read the submission information on dozens of traditional publisher's websites and they all seemed to have one thing in common --- don't be in a hurry to have your new book in your hands.
Most said that the book would be published within one to two years! What's up with that?
When I signed with Authorhouse, the first Lady Justice was delivered in about a month. I realize that they simply bind the book that you have submitted and there is no editing, and they pretty much used the cover my wife had created, but why so long?
I soon found out.
I submitted my manuscripts in February. I received an email welcoming me to the Tate family with a notation that work would begin on my books in June.
The first month was designated for copy editing. This is where they check for spelling, grammar and punctuation. Even though my wife and I had been through the manuscripts more than a dozen times, the Tate editors found stuff that we had missed. Fresh eyes do make a difference.
In the second month, the manuscripts were assigned to a conceptual editor. I had no idea what that was all about until I received an email and the attached manuscripts were full of red, green and gray highlights with suggestions of how the books could be improved.
This is the phase where an author's ego could certainly get in the way. I mean, after all, the books were perfect when I sent them in to them, weren't they?
Apparently not!
After my initial shock subsided, I felt a call to the conceptual editor was in order.
Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P., my very first attempt at writing, was so red and green, it looked like a Christmas display had exploded.
Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes, not so much.
Maybe that was an indication that I was getting better with practice.
The editor was very kind and patient and after I switched from ego mode to learner mode, I could clearly see how many of her suggestions were valid. I revised and re-wrote where it was necessary and in the end, both books, especially the first one were much improved.
In the third month, the books were sent to the creative department where the covers were to be designed.
My wife and I had designed the cover for the Authorhouse Lady Justice and we really liked it. I sent it to the cover designer with high hopes they would use it for the Tate edition.
Not a chance.
The character of Lady Justice that we had used was a stock photo we had purchased from dreamstime.com.
We had also purchased another Lady Justice for the second book that was a bit different.
They, of course, didn't want either one.
Instead of using stock photos, they designed a whole new Lady Justice figure from scratch that would be used throughout the Lady Justice series.
Again, after checking my ego at the door, I realized that the 'new' Lady Justice was pretty cool!
The fourth month was designated for book design. This is the phase where they select type size and font and the cool little extras like the new Lady Justice figure at the beginning of each chapter and little justice scales between time breaks.
It has now been eight months since I submitted my manuscripts and they tell me we're almost there.
I'm really excited!
I signed my contract with Tate Publishing, submitted the manuscripts for Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P. and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes and so began my journey with Tate.
I had read the submission information on dozens of traditional publisher's websites and they all seemed to have one thing in common --- don't be in a hurry to have your new book in your hands.
Most said that the book would be published within one to two years! What's up with that?
When I signed with Authorhouse, the first Lady Justice was delivered in about a month. I realize that they simply bind the book that you have submitted and there is no editing, and they pretty much used the cover my wife had created, but why so long?
I soon found out.
I submitted my manuscripts in February. I received an email welcoming me to the Tate family with a notation that work would begin on my books in June.
The first month was designated for copy editing. This is where they check for spelling, grammar and punctuation. Even though my wife and I had been through the manuscripts more than a dozen times, the Tate editors found stuff that we had missed. Fresh eyes do make a difference.
In the second month, the manuscripts were assigned to a conceptual editor. I had no idea what that was all about until I received an email and the attached manuscripts were full of red, green and gray highlights with suggestions of how the books could be improved.
This is the phase where an author's ego could certainly get in the way. I mean, after all, the books were perfect when I sent them in to them, weren't they?
Apparently not!
After my initial shock subsided, I felt a call to the conceptual editor was in order.
Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P., my very first attempt at writing, was so red and green, it looked like a Christmas display had exploded.
Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes, not so much.
Maybe that was an indication that I was getting better with practice.
The editor was very kind and patient and after I switched from ego mode to learner mode, I could clearly see how many of her suggestions were valid. I revised and re-wrote where it was necessary and in the end, both books, especially the first one were much improved.
In the third month, the books were sent to the creative department where the covers were to be designed.
My wife and I had designed the cover for the Authorhouse Lady Justice and we really liked it. I sent it to the cover designer with high hopes they would use it for the Tate edition.
Not a chance.
The character of Lady Justice that we had used was a stock photo we had purchased from dreamstime.com.
We had also purchased another Lady Justice for the second book that was a bit different.
They, of course, didn't want either one.
Instead of using stock photos, they designed a whole new Lady Justice figure from scratch that would be used throughout the Lady Justice series.
Again, after checking my ego at the door, I realized that the 'new' Lady Justice was pretty cool!
The fourth month was designated for book design. This is the phase where they select type size and font and the cool little extras like the new Lady Justice figure at the beginning of each chapter and little justice scales between time breaks.
It has now been eight months since I submitted my manuscripts and they tell me we're almost there.
I'm really excited!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
I opened my email and there was a message from Tate Publishing --- They want my book!
The aquisitions lady from Tate had read Lady Justice Takes A. C.R.A.P., and liked it. She was offering me a contract.
The first reaction was, of course, elation. This was the big break I had been waiting for --- or was it?
I had been excited before when I had received contract offers from Publish America and WL Literary Agency, but that excitement was short lived when I did my research and discovered that both of these companies will take almost anything from anyone, and had horrible reputations.
So, back to the internet to research Tate Publishing.
My initial findings were positive.
"Tate Publishing is one of the largest publishers in the world and has the production, distribution, marketing and publicity that leads the industry for our authors.
Tate Publishing is a large publisher that delivers what no one else does. We are selective and can only sign around 3% of the manuscripts submitted to us, but when you become a member of the Tate Publishing family you truly join the elite.
. Tate Publishing is the fastest growing publisher in the industry and has been over the past three years."
Apparently, Lady Justice fell into that 3%. How cool is that?
Then as I read the blogs and websites, my enthusiasm turned to skepticism. Tate charges their authors to publish their books!
So how is this any different from what I already have with Authorhouse?
More research.
I have an author friend who has two books published with Tate. It was time to pick her brain.
I had told her previously that I had submitted Lady Justice to Tate and she had doubted that they would be interested in it. Tate is a Christian-oriented publisher and while Lady Justice has no gory bloodbaths or gratuitous sex, it is an adult mystery novel.
She was surprised by Tate's offer.
The conversation with my friend was positive.
Tate had done everything for her that she had hoped. They had both copy editing and conceptual editing and had created a beautiful cover for her book. She had been assigned a marketing/publicity person who had set up book-signings and, best of all, her books were stocked in the brick and mortar stores. She said that she was amazed when she walked into a Target store and saw her book on the shelf.
I had none of those things with Authorhouse.
So what is with the fee they charge?
I have read over and over in the literary blogs that a traditional publisher should pay the author an advance for his work. If the author has to pay, it's just another vanity press.
More research --- more reading.
While my research may have been influenced by the fact that Tate has offered me a contract, here is what I have concluded:
1. It would be wonderful to have a truly professional literary agent sell your work to a large publishing company for a hefty advance, but it would appear that the established agencies are only interested in previously published authors. I would rather go it alone than sign with a company like WL Literary Agency.
2.The big guys are only interested in established authors and celebrities and most won't even accept unsolicited submissions. They want you to have an agent, but you can't get a decent agent as a new guy, so it's a vicious circle.
3. There are a bazillion vanity publishers like Authorhouse, X-Libris, I-Universe, Dog Ear, etc. You get two things with any of them, a book to hold in your hand and the listing your book in the book channels. You also get the stigma of self-published, which prevents you from getting your book in brick and mortar stores. There are tens of thousands of self-published books, many of which are really bad. Even if your book is better than most, it's nearly impossible to make it rise above the crowd. It's like swimming in a sea of peanut butter.
4. There seems to be an alternative to the above scenario, the subsidy publisher. Tate falls in that category.
I have learned one thing in my brief career as an author --- it is impossible to succeed if you don't make a personal commitment to your book.
I understand now, that a traditional publisher invests a lot of money in producing a book. With a new author, it is a gamble.
Even if the book is good and even if the publisher produces a great finished product, if the author isn't willing to invest his time and effort, the book will not sell.
The subsidy publisher offers all of the services of the big guys, editing, artwork, marketing, book store placement, etc, but as a new, unpublished author, they want a commitment, both in time and dollars, to insure that the new guy will do his part.
The flaw in this scenario is that not every new author can afford the financial commitment.
I have developed friendships with several self-published authors who have written great novels, but are struggling for acceptance just as I have.
They just don't have the financial resources to pay the subsidy, so their work will probably languish in the purgatory of self-publishing.
Fortunately, I have been blessed with the means to take the next step in my writing career.
I have been down the dead-end road of self-publishing and have been ignored by the elite publishers and agents, so if I want Lady Justice to see the light of day, my next step will be with Tate.
I opened my email and there was a message from Tate Publishing --- They want my book!
The aquisitions lady from Tate had read Lady Justice Takes A. C.R.A.P., and liked it. She was offering me a contract.
The first reaction was, of course, elation. This was the big break I had been waiting for --- or was it?
I had been excited before when I had received contract offers from Publish America and WL Literary Agency, but that excitement was short lived when I did my research and discovered that both of these companies will take almost anything from anyone, and had horrible reputations.
So, back to the internet to research Tate Publishing.
My initial findings were positive.
"Tate Publishing is one of the largest publishers in the world and has the production, distribution, marketing and publicity that leads the industry for our authors.
Tate Publishing is a large publisher that delivers what no one else does. We are selective and can only sign around 3% of the manuscripts submitted to us, but when you become a member of the Tate Publishing family you truly join the elite.
. Tate Publishing is the fastest growing publisher in the industry and has been over the past three years."
Apparently, Lady Justice fell into that 3%. How cool is that?
Then as I read the blogs and websites, my enthusiasm turned to skepticism. Tate charges their authors to publish their books!
So how is this any different from what I already have with Authorhouse?
More research.
I have an author friend who has two books published with Tate. It was time to pick her brain.
I had told her previously that I had submitted Lady Justice to Tate and she had doubted that they would be interested in it. Tate is a Christian-oriented publisher and while Lady Justice has no gory bloodbaths or gratuitous sex, it is an adult mystery novel.
She was surprised by Tate's offer.
The conversation with my friend was positive.
Tate had done everything for her that she had hoped. They had both copy editing and conceptual editing and had created a beautiful cover for her book. She had been assigned a marketing/publicity person who had set up book-signings and, best of all, her books were stocked in the brick and mortar stores. She said that she was amazed when she walked into a Target store and saw her book on the shelf.
I had none of those things with Authorhouse.
So what is with the fee they charge?
I have read over and over in the literary blogs that a traditional publisher should pay the author an advance for his work. If the author has to pay, it's just another vanity press.
More research --- more reading.
While my research may have been influenced by the fact that Tate has offered me a contract, here is what I have concluded:
1. It would be wonderful to have a truly professional literary agent sell your work to a large publishing company for a hefty advance, but it would appear that the established agencies are only interested in previously published authors. I would rather go it alone than sign with a company like WL Literary Agency.
2.The big guys are only interested in established authors and celebrities and most won't even accept unsolicited submissions. They want you to have an agent, but you can't get a decent agent as a new guy, so it's a vicious circle.
3. There are a bazillion vanity publishers like Authorhouse, X-Libris, I-Universe, Dog Ear, etc. You get two things with any of them, a book to hold in your hand and the listing your book in the book channels. You also get the stigma of self-published, which prevents you from getting your book in brick and mortar stores. There are tens of thousands of self-published books, many of which are really bad. Even if your book is better than most, it's nearly impossible to make it rise above the crowd. It's like swimming in a sea of peanut butter.
4. There seems to be an alternative to the above scenario, the subsidy publisher. Tate falls in that category.
I have learned one thing in my brief career as an author --- it is impossible to succeed if you don't make a personal commitment to your book.
I understand now, that a traditional publisher invests a lot of money in producing a book. With a new author, it is a gamble.
Even if the book is good and even if the publisher produces a great finished product, if the author isn't willing to invest his time and effort, the book will not sell.
The subsidy publisher offers all of the services of the big guys, editing, artwork, marketing, book store placement, etc, but as a new, unpublished author, they want a commitment, both in time and dollars, to insure that the new guy will do his part.
The flaw in this scenario is that not every new author can afford the financial commitment.
I have developed friendships with several self-published authors who have written great novels, but are struggling for acceptance just as I have.
They just don't have the financial resources to pay the subsidy, so their work will probably languish in the purgatory of self-publishing.
Fortunately, I have been blessed with the means to take the next step in my writing career.
I have been down the dead-end road of self-publishing and have been ignored by the elite publishers and agents, so if I want Lady Justice to see the light of day, my next step will be with Tate.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 24
Chapter 24
After the first of the year, things slowed down. The Christmas Craft Fairs were over and book signing events slowed to a trickle.
We sold lots of books at these events, but it was quite apparent that if Lady Justice was to be a best seller, it would take more than a booth at a high school gymnasium.
It was encouraging, however, that those who had purchased Lady Justice, loved it!
Authorhouse had produced a fine book and it was available nearly everywhere online, but, as a self-published book, it was not going to be in the brick and mortar stores.
I dug out my dusty copy of Writer's Guide and started all over again.
I went to the websites of every legitimate publisher that would accept unsolicited submissions and sent query letters again.
"If at first you don't succeed ----"
With nothing else to do but wait for a response --- that would probably never come, I continued writing the sequel to Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P..
The title of the new book was Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes.
All of the characters from the first novel, Walt, Maggie, Willie, Mary and the Professor, were all there.
Again, reminded of the old axiom, "write about what you know", poor old Walt was drafted into going undercover as an Elvis impersonator. Just for fun, I had been doing Elvis impersonations for fifteen years, so it wasn't difficult to put myself in Walt's shoes.
As before, once I started writing, it just kept coming.
The cold winter days wore on and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes was finally finished.
Now, the question was, "what should I do with it?"
I wasn't real excited about publishing another book with Authorhouse. I didn't need another book that would not be getting into the bookstores.
Then, one morning, I opened my email, and the answer was there!
After the first of the year, things slowed down. The Christmas Craft Fairs were over and book signing events slowed to a trickle.
We sold lots of books at these events, but it was quite apparent that if Lady Justice was to be a best seller, it would take more than a booth at a high school gymnasium.
It was encouraging, however, that those who had purchased Lady Justice, loved it!
Authorhouse had produced a fine book and it was available nearly everywhere online, but, as a self-published book, it was not going to be in the brick and mortar stores.
I dug out my dusty copy of Writer's Guide and started all over again.
I went to the websites of every legitimate publisher that would accept unsolicited submissions and sent query letters again.
"If at first you don't succeed ----"
With nothing else to do but wait for a response --- that would probably never come, I continued writing the sequel to Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P..
The title of the new book was Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes.
All of the characters from the first novel, Walt, Maggie, Willie, Mary and the Professor, were all there.
Again, reminded of the old axiom, "write about what you know", poor old Walt was drafted into going undercover as an Elvis impersonator. Just for fun, I had been doing Elvis impersonations for fifteen years, so it wasn't difficult to put myself in Walt's shoes.
As before, once I started writing, it just kept coming.
The cold winter days wore on and Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes was finally finished.
Now, the question was, "what should I do with it?"
I wasn't real excited about publishing another book with Authorhouse. I didn't need another book that would not be getting into the bookstores.
Then, one morning, I opened my email, and the answer was there!
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 23
Chapter 23
We had made stops at two large Barnes & Noble stores in our area. Even though 'Lady Justice' was available online at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com, it was not in the brick and mortar stores.
We kept getting the brush-off from the managers and finally we discovered why.
Evidently, individual Barnes & Noble store managers don't make decisions on which self-published novels to stock. Everything comes from the corporate headquarters in New York.
One kind manager told us to go to the Barnes & Noble website and look for the self-publishing submission section.
We found the site and sure enough, if you were self-published, you were required to send a copy of your book along with other submission requirements, if you wanted your book considered for inclusion in the brick and mortar stores.
So we sent what was requested and actually received a reply that our book was somewhere in the huge stack to be reviewed. They promised to let us know --- some day.
So, if that's how the system works, maybe it's the same for Borders. We went to the Borders website and were shocked to read that Borders will absolutely not stock a self-published book!
HOLY COW!
If you're self-published, you might as well have leprosy, because nobody in main-line publishing wants to have anything to do with you.
It's really sad. How many REALLY great pieces of literature will never see the light of day because they are written by a new author?
So, the big book chains are a long shot. How about the small, independent bookseller?
I found a website for the ABA, American Booksellers Association, comprised of small, independent bookstores.
Like the newspapers, we pulled up the websites of each store, one by one, and state by state.
We had prepared a sales campaign brochure which we emailed to EVERY member of the ABA in ALL fifty states; over four hundred independent bookstores.
We did the same thing as with the newspapers and saved the emails in a special address book for our next attack.
By this time, we were getting feedback from our previous sales. Readers were emailing us, saying how much they enjoyed 'Lady Justice' and were looking forward to the sequel.
Armed with positive reviews, we sent our next barrage of press releases to all the newspapers in Missouri,Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida and New York.
We waited two weeks and sent a follow-up solicitation with reader reviews to the 400+ independent bookstores.
We're nothing if not persistent.
We had made stops at two large Barnes & Noble stores in our area. Even though 'Lady Justice' was available online at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com, it was not in the brick and mortar stores.
We kept getting the brush-off from the managers and finally we discovered why.
Evidently, individual Barnes & Noble store managers don't make decisions on which self-published novels to stock. Everything comes from the corporate headquarters in New York.
One kind manager told us to go to the Barnes & Noble website and look for the self-publishing submission section.
We found the site and sure enough, if you were self-published, you were required to send a copy of your book along with other submission requirements, if you wanted your book considered for inclusion in the brick and mortar stores.
So we sent what was requested and actually received a reply that our book was somewhere in the huge stack to be reviewed. They promised to let us know --- some day.
So, if that's how the system works, maybe it's the same for Borders. We went to the Borders website and were shocked to read that Borders will absolutely not stock a self-published book!
HOLY COW!
If you're self-published, you might as well have leprosy, because nobody in main-line publishing wants to have anything to do with you.
It's really sad. How many REALLY great pieces of literature will never see the light of day because they are written by a new author?
So, the big book chains are a long shot. How about the small, independent bookseller?
I found a website for the ABA, American Booksellers Association, comprised of small, independent bookstores.
Like the newspapers, we pulled up the websites of each store, one by one, and state by state.
We had prepared a sales campaign brochure which we emailed to EVERY member of the ABA in ALL fifty states; over four hundred independent bookstores.
We did the same thing as with the newspapers and saved the emails in a special address book for our next attack.
By this time, we were getting feedback from our previous sales. Readers were emailing us, saying how much they enjoyed 'Lady Justice' and were looking forward to the sequel.
Armed with positive reviews, we sent our next barrage of press releases to all the newspapers in Missouri,Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida and New York.
We waited two weeks and sent a follow-up solicitation with reader reviews to the 400+ independent bookstores.
We're nothing if not persistent.
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 22
Chapter 22
I realized that if I was ever going to get the exposure for 'Lady Justice' that I wanted, I was going to have to find a 'traditional' publisher who would take my book.
I read about a book titled 'The Writer's Market' online and found a copy in our local library.
Virtually all of the publishers, both traditional and self-publishing, were listed with their submission guidelines.
The vast majority of traditional publishers said either that they don't accept unsolicited or un-agented submissions.
So maybe I should find an agent to represent me
I turned to the literary agent section and was surprised to read that most of the agents didn't want to talk to you unless you were already a successful author.
Hold on a minute! Publishers don't talk to you without an agent and agents won't talk to you if you're not previously published.
WHO MADE THESE RULES???
It became quite obvious that the deck was stacked against the new author unless, of course, he or she was a celebrity.
Oh well, nobody said it would be easy.
I went through the 'Writer's Market' and pulled up the websites of all the publishing companies and literary agents that would accept unsolicited submissions and followed the directions on each site.
I received a few replies thanking me for my submission, but regrettably, the subject matter of my novel didn't fit into their current plans.
I did receive positive responses from one literary agency and several small publishers, but when I did my research on them, they all had reputations for taking anything that was sent to them, and most were less reputable than the company I already had.
Another dead end.
I realized that if I was ever going to get the exposure for 'Lady Justice' that I wanted, I was going to have to find a 'traditional' publisher who would take my book.
I read about a book titled 'The Writer's Market' online and found a copy in our local library.
Virtually all of the publishers, both traditional and self-publishing, were listed with their submission guidelines.
The vast majority of traditional publishers said either that they don't accept unsolicited or un-agented submissions.
So maybe I should find an agent to represent me
I turned to the literary agent section and was surprised to read that most of the agents didn't want to talk to you unless you were already a successful author.
Hold on a minute! Publishers don't talk to you without an agent and agents won't talk to you if you're not previously published.
WHO MADE THESE RULES???
It became quite obvious that the deck was stacked against the new author unless, of course, he or she was a celebrity.
Oh well, nobody said it would be easy.
I went through the 'Writer's Market' and pulled up the websites of all the publishing companies and literary agents that would accept unsolicited submissions and followed the directions on each site.
I received a few replies thanking me for my submission, but regrettably, the subject matter of my novel didn't fit into their current plans.
I did receive positive responses from one literary agency and several small publishers, but when I did my research on them, they all had reputations for taking anything that was sent to them, and most were less reputable than the company I already had.
Another dead end.
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Some how, we had to let the world know about 'Lady Justice' and it was up to us to do it.
Authorhouse had done a fantastic job producing the book, but after that, it was all on us.
Obviously, our connection to the outside world was the Internet. Some how, we had to get people to our website, www.booksbybob.com.
We were on all the social networking sites, but we needed more.
The marketing guy from Authorhouse had sent us an email with links to sites he thought might be useful to us.
One was a website listing all of the newspapers in the United States, state by state.
I had read that Authorhouse would prepare a press release for me --- for a fee, and submit it to selected papers, but again, I could do that for myself, so I studied press release construction and prepared my first press release.
The process was grueling. I had to pull up the newspapers in a particular state and then open their website and find the appropriate email address for press release submission.
I spent as much time as I could spare, and over a two week period, I sent press releases to EVERY newspaper in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida and New York.
I have no idea if any paper actually published the releases, but they certainly received them. We did get responses from a couple of newspapers who offered to review 'Lady Justice' if we sent their book editor a copy, which, of course, we did. We haven't heard back from them yet.
We did learn a trick. After I sent all the emails the first time, I pulled up the sent messages and put the email addresses in a special newspaper address book. It would save me hours of labor on my next press release barrage.
I had also found websites on the Internet,I-Newswire.com, PR.com, Free-Press-Release.com, and Prlog.org, on which I could post my first release. I used them all.
If the world didn't know about 'Lady Justice', it wasn't for lack of trying.
Some how, we had to let the world know about 'Lady Justice' and it was up to us to do it.
Authorhouse had done a fantastic job producing the book, but after that, it was all on us.
Obviously, our connection to the outside world was the Internet. Some how, we had to get people to our website, www.booksbybob.com.
We were on all the social networking sites, but we needed more.
The marketing guy from Authorhouse had sent us an email with links to sites he thought might be useful to us.
One was a website listing all of the newspapers in the United States, state by state.
I had read that Authorhouse would prepare a press release for me --- for a fee, and submit it to selected papers, but again, I could do that for myself, so I studied press release construction and prepared my first press release.
The process was grueling. I had to pull up the newspapers in a particular state and then open their website and find the appropriate email address for press release submission.
I spent as much time as I could spare, and over a two week period, I sent press releases to EVERY newspaper in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida and New York.
I have no idea if any paper actually published the releases, but they certainly received them. We did get responses from a couple of newspapers who offered to review 'Lady Justice' if we sent their book editor a copy, which, of course, we did. We haven't heard back from them yet.
We did learn a trick. After I sent all the emails the first time, I pulled up the sent messages and put the email addresses in a special newspaper address book. It would save me hours of labor on my next press release barrage.
I had also found websites on the Internet,I-Newswire.com, PR.com, Free-Press-Release.com, and Prlog.org, on which I could post my first release. I used them all.
If the world didn't know about 'Lady Justice', it wasn't for lack of trying.
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The day of our first Arts & Crafts Fair arrived.
It was late October and the event was outdoors. Since we had signed up at the last minute, we were delegated to an'overflow' site. It turned out to be several miles from the actual event.
We were directed to a patch of grass between a hot dog stand and a table full of garage sale crap.
We set up our booth and waited anxiously for the flood of fans who would buy my book.
Someone must have given them bad directions, because no one came.
The few people who dropped by for a hot dog walked by our booth and never even looked in our direction.
We sat there four hours, froze our butts off and didn't sell a single book.
Not a very auspicious start.
Our next event was at the Harrisonville, Cass County Public Library. I had emailed and sent postcards to every old classmate that I could find. The library had posted a book-signing notice on the door and the local newspaper had run an announcement for us.
This was bound to be a success.
On the night of the event, I was thrilled when about a dozen old classmates showed up. Each bought a book and we had a great class reunion.
But not another single soul other than my old friends came.
I learned a valuable lesson. If people don't know you or you're not a celebrity, they just don't care.
Our next event was another Christmas Craft Fair. This one was inside and we had a more captive audience.
We noticed right away that people weren't drawn to our booth even though it was decorated to the hilt.
It was difficult to ignore our 12 x 18 poster advertising 'Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P.'and if that didn't get your attention a second poster admonishing
"Give Someone C.R.A.P. for Christmas", was hard to ignore.
We soon discovered that nothing was going to happen unless we made it happen, so we stood at our table and spoke to anyone who even glanced in our direction.
We found that once we got their attention, and our infectious personalities kicked in, most would listen to the story of "Lady Justice'.
We also found that if we could engage them in conversation, about 60% of them would buy a book.
We sold 37 copies that day --- a victory!
Our next event was in the library of our small town of Osceola, Mo, population 835.
Again, we posted notices all over town and the local paper had run ads for two consecutive weeks. We even sponsored a promotion for the local Food Bank; "Bring in a can of food and receive a 10% discount".
Four families showed up, all were close friends. No one else cared.
The rest of our events at craft fairs went much the same as the second one. Once we figured out how to attract the shoppers, we could sell the book.
We sold books at our ten events, but we could tell right away that if 'Lady Justice was going to be a best seller, it was going to take more than craft fairs.
The day of our first Arts & Crafts Fair arrived.
It was late October and the event was outdoors. Since we had signed up at the last minute, we were delegated to an'overflow' site. It turned out to be several miles from the actual event.
We were directed to a patch of grass between a hot dog stand and a table full of garage sale crap.
We set up our booth and waited anxiously for the flood of fans who would buy my book.
Someone must have given them bad directions, because no one came.
The few people who dropped by for a hot dog walked by our booth and never even looked in our direction.
We sat there four hours, froze our butts off and didn't sell a single book.
Not a very auspicious start.
Our next event was at the Harrisonville, Cass County Public Library. I had emailed and sent postcards to every old classmate that I could find. The library had posted a book-signing notice on the door and the local newspaper had run an announcement for us.
This was bound to be a success.
On the night of the event, I was thrilled when about a dozen old classmates showed up. Each bought a book and we had a great class reunion.
But not another single soul other than my old friends came.
I learned a valuable lesson. If people don't know you or you're not a celebrity, they just don't care.
Our next event was another Christmas Craft Fair. This one was inside and we had a more captive audience.
We noticed right away that people weren't drawn to our booth even though it was decorated to the hilt.
It was difficult to ignore our 12 x 18 poster advertising 'Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P.'and if that didn't get your attention a second poster admonishing
"Give Someone C.R.A.P. for Christmas", was hard to ignore.
We soon discovered that nothing was going to happen unless we made it happen, so we stood at our table and spoke to anyone who even glanced in our direction.
We found that once we got their attention, and our infectious personalities kicked in, most would listen to the story of "Lady Justice'.
We also found that if we could engage them in conversation, about 60% of them would buy a book.
We sold 37 copies that day --- a victory!
Our next event was in the library of our small town of Osceola, Mo, population 835.
Again, we posted notices all over town and the local paper had run ads for two consecutive weeks. We even sponsored a promotion for the local Food Bank; "Bring in a can of food and receive a 10% discount".
Four families showed up, all were close friends. No one else cared.
The rest of our events at craft fairs went much the same as the second one. Once we figured out how to attract the shoppers, we could sell the book.
We sold books at our ten events, but we could tell right away that if 'Lady Justice was going to be a best seller, it was going to take more than craft fairs.
The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 19
Chapter 19
My next contact with Authorhouse was with a guy in the marketing department.
They have a full line of services to help you promote your book --- for a fee, of course, --- a really hefty fee!
The guy I talked to was really helpful, but his job was to sell me more stuff. He said he would send me an email outlining some of the marketing programs that were available. The email came and I looked at the packages ---YIKES!
One program was a "social media" package. For a mere $799.00, they would create pages for me and 'Lady Justice' on a whole slew of media sites and create a 'blog' that I could use to drive traffic to my website where, hopefully, people would click on "order book".
At age 66, while I am quite competent with the computer and the Internet, I've never cared about any of the social interactive sites.
Never needed to.
I've never Tweeted or blogged or any of that stuff, and now my publisher is saying I should do it if I want people to know about my book, or, they can do it for me for a measly $799.00.
As I perused the sites they would set up, it occurred to me that all of them were free. Why pay them the big bucks to do something I am perfectly capable of doing myself?
So I began.
Three days later, I had accounts on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Booktour, Classmates, Shelfari, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Yahoo, Google, LinkedIn, WeRead, Gather, Amazon, Bebo, Wordpress, AuthorsDen, MyLife and WritersNet.
WHEW!
No wonder they charge $799.00. It's a heck of a lot of work to set up a complete profile with photos and links to your website.
But I did it and it didn't cost me a dime!
My next contact with Authorhouse was with a guy in the marketing department.
They have a full line of services to help you promote your book --- for a fee, of course, --- a really hefty fee!
The guy I talked to was really helpful, but his job was to sell me more stuff. He said he would send me an email outlining some of the marketing programs that were available. The email came and I looked at the packages ---YIKES!
One program was a "social media" package. For a mere $799.00, they would create pages for me and 'Lady Justice' on a whole slew of media sites and create a 'blog' that I could use to drive traffic to my website where, hopefully, people would click on "order book".
At age 66, while I am quite competent with the computer and the Internet, I've never cared about any of the social interactive sites.
Never needed to.
I've never Tweeted or blogged or any of that stuff, and now my publisher is saying I should do it if I want people to know about my book, or, they can do it for me for a measly $799.00.
As I perused the sites they would set up, it occurred to me that all of them were free. Why pay them the big bucks to do something I am perfectly capable of doing myself?
So I began.
Three days later, I had accounts on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Booktour, Classmates, Shelfari, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Yahoo, Google, LinkedIn, WeRead, Gather, Amazon, Bebo, Wordpress, AuthorsDen, MyLife and WritersNet.
WHEW!
No wonder they charge $799.00. It's a heck of a lot of work to set up a complete profile with photos and links to your website.
But I did it and it didn't cost me a dime!
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