Writers relaxing at my "Relaxing the Writer" Workshop
Sunday at the Arizona Dreamin' Valley of the Sun RWA Booth
The 2013 Tucson Festival of Books was a giant event held on the University of Arizona campus (during Spring Break).
More than 300 presentation, panel discussions, and 275 exhibitors delighted the crowds. The fourth largest event like this in the U.S., authors included Jodi Picoult, Maggie Stiefvater, Nevada Barr, J.A. Jance. James Rollins, Diana Gabaldon, R.L. Stine, some others, and me.
Despite the cold rainy Saturday (cold for Tucson), 120,000 people attended enjoyed the programs, food and fun. I presented my Relaxing the Writer workshop in a warm dry room.
Sunday was perfect with something for everyone. I especially loved spending the day in the energetic Arizona Dreamin' booth managed by the amazing Kris Tualla and Morgan Kearns!
Celia’s come to tell us about an unusual book signing she hosted for her first book.
When my first print came out, I thought an author should have a book signing. But I’d attended a few, and the concept made me nervous. I’m not shy at all, but I knew I’d have a difficult time sitting there, looking perky and cute (I’m not), somehow enticing passers-by to stop (I would feel “on stage.”) Not for me, I thought. I’ll have a book party at my house, instead.
How did you get the idea for a party?
I’m glad you asked, Amber, because other authors might want to try my method. An author who grew up here still visits her mother in the family mansion in the Historical District. She’s written three thick historical novels, and with her latest, she came home to have a tea party in the mansion in order to sell and sign her books. Well, of course, it was a grand success. I thought, if she can do it, so can I. My home is certainly not a mansion, but I do have a nice home, and I enjoy having groups here for various functions.
How much planning went in to it?
Not much, once I worked out the plan in my head.
Who did you invite and what did the invitation say?
First, let me say that I know a lot of people. I’ve lived here many years, my husband taught at the university, I taught at a private military boarding school, and I’m a member of several groups in town. This helps if you want to try a party. I didn’t want to be crass and hand an invitation to someone personally, making that person feel obligated. Instead, I used a Word document and wrote:
“I invite you to purchase my book at a slight discount. I will pay the postage. If you wish to do so, send $12.00,and I'll order the book for you. This is a two-dollar discount and I will pay the postage. Then, I will send you an invitation to my house for a Tea Party to pick up your book!” (I added the title, genre, my address, e-mail, and phone number.)
I made a Word document, two invitations to a page, printed it on pink paper, and cut in half. For a month, I took a few each time I had a group meeting of some kind. I placed the bright pink papers on a coffee table, and entry table, a desk, and during the meeting, I’d point out the invitations and move on. I never looked to see who picked one up or who didn’t.
The checks and cash started coming in. I sold forty books. Then I had my party. Everyone
wanted the book autographed, so I did that before the party--very time-consuming.
One woman bought six books--to give five away to close friends. One bought four--for her daughters. Fifteen more people wanted the book, and even though they missed the party, I gave them thesame deal. Now, I'm on my third order.
I love that you got the money ahead of time, so there was no handling of filthy cash and checks and you just had a good time.
That’s right, plus I didn’t have outstanding payments, and if a person prepaid, I knew she wanted the book. I say “she,” but three men bought the book, too! You didn’t ask, Amber, because you’re a polite person, but I’ll tell you about the money I earned. This is the most profitable way to sell a book. Yes, it’s a little work, but worth it. After I paid for the shipment and the shipping, I earned about $3.50 on each book. I would have made more, had I charged the full retail amount. Now I know I could have and every one of those buyers would have purchased a book. But I felt happy that I gave each one a little gift. Now, they’re waiting for my next one.
How many people came to the party?
Thirty-five people came. I delivered to the few who could not make the party. Three women brought their husbands, and one woman brought her teenage son who likes to write.
Can you tell us about the cost factor?
The party cost about $25. I went to a huge discount warehouse and bought pretty blue paper plates, napkins, and plastic cups. The menu consisted of Texas-shaped pretzels, assorted nuts, homemade chocolate-chip cookies, pimento cheese spread (I make this), and Texas-shaped crackers. Oh, and peach iced tea.
What are you writing now?
Several things, but this is the way I write. I never start one manuscript and write until I’m finished. I think of something else and go off in a different tangent. My currents projects are an historical love story, A Life Worth Living, set in 1918 when the Great War ended; a short western historical romance titled Painted Rock Canyon; and a short, light romance tentatively titled The Nanny and the Pro, my first attempt at an Inspirational story.
Thank you so much, Amber, for the guest spot on your successful blog. I’d love to give away a pdf of my newest release, Showdown in Southfork, a short novel for the Wayback, Texas Rodeo series for The Wild Rose Press to one lucky visitor.
Celia Yeary sometimes calls herself The Accidental Author. She only wrote science research papers in college, and adds—that was many years ago. She began writing in 2003, just “playing around,” and before she knew it, an 80,000 word novel had appeared in her files. Now, she’s addicted, just as she became addicted to playing golf at age forty. Celia and her husband travel, visit grandsons in far-away Michigan, participate in university, church, and community events, and enjoy their Texas Hill Country home.
1. Send invitations to neighbors and friends
2. Order great bookmarks
3. Order fabulous cake with book cover on top
4. Move airplane out of hangar
5. Clean Hangar
6. Borrow Tables and chairs
7. Suggest that neighbors "might" be characters in the fictional book
8. Find friend to handle the money
9. Make a lot of coffee or delegate this job to a character in your book
10. Welcome guests, circulate, drink coffee, and from time to time sign books
11. Have people who have read the book walk around telling everyone how great it was
12. Have a great time!
13. Clean up and put the airplane back
Other supplies: plates, forks, and napkins. Juice, apples,
almonds for the healthier folk. Hot water and selection of
teas. Sugar and cream. Price list showing sales tax and
final book price. Cake server. Change.
Best Tip 1: As people paid for each book, assistant placed a
heart-shaped sticky (Office Max) on each book with the name
of purchaser or the name of person the dedication should be
for. (This is a huge benefit and prevents confusion of what book
belongs to whom and how to sign the book.)
Best Tip 2: Keep prices simple. For Example:
Flying Free $11.95 + $1.02 + $12.97 (which we will call $13.00)
Romancing Rebecca $12.99 = $1.08 = $14.07 (which we will call $14.00)
When you invite the Mayor and Town Council of your town
whose only income comes from the sales tax, don't fudge.
Amber's Contest
Leave a comment to win a .pdf copy of Flying Free.
My guest this week is Kris Neri, award-winning author, writing instructor, and bookseller. Kris offers advice to authors from her multi-pronged perspective. And I'm proud to say Kris is my local bookseller.
Welcome Kris! What's it really like being both an author and a bookseller? Now, don't be shy.
As Charles Manson once said, "Are people strange, or am I just crazy?" Call me naïve, but as a published author myself, I assumed other authors must interact with booksellers as courteously as I do. I've always believed intelligence and unusual sensitivity to be typical traits among those who write. For the most part I've found that to be true. But I’m also a bookseller now — my husband and I own The Well Red Coyote bookstore in Sedona, Arizona. During my four-year tenure as a bookseller, I've discovered that, for a minority, common sense among authors is not as common as you might think.
So here are a just a few of the no-no’s I've observed that the authors among you, and those who hope to be, might want to avoid:
Don't expect the bookseller to take a sacrifice for you. This advice is directed to the self-published and those published by presses that don't offer traditional terms to the trade. Someone emailed us recently to say she was published by a small press and asked if we could host an appearance for her. I told her to send a copy of the book, and I mentioned if wasn't available through traditional outlets, she would have to provide it on consignment at a 40% discount. For a store to take less means they must sell that book at a loss.
The "small press" turned out to be iUniverse, a self-publishing outlet that only offers a 20% discount and doesn't allow for book returns — two conditions that make it impossible for most stores to carry their books. Still, the book was well written. But when I offered to give her an appearance, she thought it was time for negotiations. "I just bought a $32,000 truck," she wrote, "I can't give you 40%. I need to make money from this book."
Okay, let me take a moment here to laugh my butt off at that idea. I wish I could say this was an isolated case, but it's happened too many times. They always seem to enjoy a more lavish lifestyle than I do and they act as if I'm unreasonable for not being willing to subsidize it (How can one universe have so many centers?) And it's always for a book that people are not breaking down the door to get.
Every spot on a bookstore shelf is a space that could just as easily go to someone else. When it's a book of marginal interest, that's a gift. If they have any issue with anyone, it should be with publishers who aren't professional enough to understand how other books are sold, and price and sell their books accordingly.
Some authors have suggested to me that it’s unfair that bookstores make a 40% profit on every book they sell. Boy, is that wrong. Here’s the bottom line of bookselling finances: 60% of every dollar goes to costs of goods sold; that’s primarily books, but it also includes a few gift items, greeting cards, journal, etc. 40% of every dollar pays for everything else; that includes rent, utilities, taxes, salaries, internet, printing costs, credit card processing fees, advertising, telephone, computers & printers, and on and on. Clearly, even the most math-challenged can see that adds up to absolutely 0% profit.
The American Bookseller Association estimates the average bookstore is losing money. They say the average successful bookstore averages 1-2% profit. So, when authors suggest that it’s no big deal when their book carries a less-than-traditional discount, it is a big deal to booksellers. Which author do you think a bookstore owner would rather carry or host an event for? The one whose book will allow them to make a tiny profit, or at a minimum, break even? Or the one who will cost them money for every book sold?
What can authors do to help?
If the store needs something from you to insure your event will be a success, don't make it impossible for the bookseller to get it. One of our local newspapers will only run artwork that's of fairly high resolution. Often when we manage to line up prominent coverage in the local paper, I have to ask the author for high resolution artwork, because what's on their website is too low. Yet too often the author who was so eager to book the date will say, "Can't you get it somewhere else? I don't have time to do that for you." For me? I could just as easily transfer that coverage to the author appearing the next day.
Every author should actually have a media page on their website, with good quality cover art, photos and easy-to-use biographical information. But too few do. You know who to contact at your publisher, I don't. If a publicist set up the gig, naturally, I would contact her for what I need. But if an author sets it up, who else am I supposed to ask when I need something? Why wouldn't you make it easy for me? Sometimes I suspect their resistance stems from the fact that they don't understand what I'm asking for. If you don't know what "high resolution" means, ask someone. Why cut yourself off from free publicity because you're too embarrassed to admit you're techno-phobic?
I'm looking forward to reading your first paranormal novel High Crimes on the Magical Plane to see how a few years close to the Sedona vortexes has affected your writing. Besides High Crimes and running a bookstore, how are you keeping busy? My third Tracy Eaton mystery, REVENGE FOR OLD TIMES’ SAKE, will be out in Spring ’10. And I’m hard at work on my next Tracy Eaton mystery, REVENGE ON ROUTE 66, and my next Samantha Brennan and Annabelle Haggerty supernatural mystery, MAGICAL ALIENATION. That’s quite enough to keep me busy for now!
In fall ’09, the first book in a new supernatural series will be published, HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE. Kris has published sixty short stories, including two Derringer Award winners. She teaches writing online for the Writers' Program of the UCLA Extension School. Kris Neri is co-owner of The Well Red Coyote. bookstore in Sedona, Arizona.
Watch for Part 2 of Authors Behaving Badly
& more of Kris Neri's candid insider information!
Deborah Scchnieder creates publicity for programs for 44 libraries in the King County (WA) Library System, the 2nd busiest in the U.S.) and promotes about 100 author events every year.
AND her second novel Promise Me, an historical romance, is due out from The Wild Rose Press.
AND she's been named RWA's 2009 Librarian of the Year!
AND she'll be accempting her award and present a two-hour workship at the annual RWA Conference in DC in July.
So, here'a a preview:
Besides taking your librarian to lunch, what’s the best way to approach your local library to pitch a program, get some publicity, and hopefully sell books?
Most librarians don't have time to lunch with authors, (we're not agents or editors and library staff is spread very thin these days). Many authors call me to pitch a program, but to be honest they do it all wrong. They usually call it a "reading" and that makes me think they'll come to the library, read out loud from their book and let the audience ask questions.
That's a pretty boring program. I encourage authors to think about presenting a program, that is -- something specific around the research for the book, the setting, the premise or even a writing workshop. I want a program that is different and unique. I have to convince patrons to come in to the library after they get home from work, so they want more than the bookstore version of an author event.
What do you want to see in a print and/or online media packet?
I honestly wish more authors would create an on-line media packet. That should have several descriptions of their book, (long and short), the blurb for publicity, several versions of a jpeg cover, (at least 300 dpi) and a great headshot. There should also be an excerpt on their webpage. And speaking of webpages, I'm not impressed by Flash graphics, music or all the interesting stuff folks try. If you're a video game developer, then your website should be flashy, but as an author -- get to the important information. My biggest pet peeve is an opening that makes me wait and click to get to the homepage. I'm a VERY busy person, and I want information not entertainment. Music also makes me crazy, as I work in an open design office. I have to keep my earphones plugged in all the time to avoid shocking my co-workers with a blast of music.
Can an author sell books at a library event? How does that work?
We always try to have books for sale at author events, because our patrons want to buy books and have them signed. We allow an author to bring their own for sale, or we try to arrange for a bookseller to bring a supply. This is usually for bigger, better known authors, as bookstores don't have a lot of extra staff to send out in the evening for events. Our only rule is that library staff cannot be involved in book sales. In a few cases our Friends of the Library members have arranged to have a supply of books and they sell them. Usually they keep 10% of the sales. We do not ask for any portion of the sales when a bookstore or author is handling the sales.
What the best way for the library and the author to work together to promote an event?
In my case, give me all the information I need right away. I'm trying to promote a debut author right now, but he sent his bookcover image inside a Word document, (not as a jpeg as I requested). I've waited a week now to put his information on our Meet the Author page on the library website, (we get over 2 million hits per month). He's hurting himself by not responding. Overall, that's the biggest problem when I work with authors, they don't respond to my requests. I can't submit a request to our graphics department to create flyers either, so again -- the clock is ticking and he's losing promotional opportunities.
I'm also shocked when I visit an author's website and they haven't updated it with the library program information. Use all the free access, (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter if you must) to tell other folks where you'll be and what you'll be talking about. Also, create a program that is interesting.
Give us an example of a great romance author program held at one of your libraries?
Recently we had an event called, "Romance Extravaganza" and we had an entire day devoted to romance. We partnered with the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America chapter, and they had their monthly meeting at our Covington Library. Then we had a major author as our keynote speaker, Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz. This was followed by a booksigning with 6 authors, and then panel discussions. We had over 145 people attend that day. You can see photos of the event on my blog at www.debschneider.com
Any other advice you’d like to offer?
Too many authors only consider the attendance at a program as a sign of success, instead of reviewing all the publicity efforts that happen around an author event. We always see "holds" go up when we feature an author event, and that can signal a "buy" for the collection. I'm truly surprised when authors don't ask for copies of flyers, bookmarks, posters, etc. after a program, because they can send these to their editor or publicist.
For more tips visit Deborah’s blog, attend her RWA program, or look for the CD after the conference.
Thanks Deborah for visiting and best of luck with Promise Me.
I ate much too much cake and sold all my books (about 30 copies). I really thought I had enough - both cake and books. Even people I'd given free copies to came and purchased more.
My artist friends loved that some of my book friends and neighbors bought art and jewelry. a book club group invited me to attend after they read Romancing Rebecca (that'll be my second book club appearance).
The local supermarket turned a digital photo of my cover into an edible picture for my cake.
Artists highlighted in the publicity brought food and helped entertain attendees.
