Making yourself known by Patricia Lee

I’d finally done it.

After several years of writing, editing, and submitting manuscripts, a publisher had offered me a contract. Forgotten in the moment were the tears I’d shed over a rejection, or the nail biting while I polished my story, or the weariness I’d endured attending one writing conference after another.

I had arrived. Nothing could stop me now.

Except for one small problem. Nobody knew me.

Oh, I had all the social media accounts in place. I had a website. I blogged. I twittered with the best of them. Would that be enough? I doubted it would be.

A bigger hurdle loomed. How would I make myself known in the community where my books would be sold? Do bookstores automatically put my books on their shelves?

My first reality check. No. They don’t.  I would have to introduce myself.

I started small. I took bookmarks and business cards with me as I visited local venues. I always left my contact information and asked for the name of the manager. When I didn’t hear anything, I returned a week later to meet him (or her) and to ask if he’d order my book. One prominent bookseller agreed. Ecstatic, I offered to sign copies. Sure, he said—all two of them.

Yep. Two.  That ought to boost me to the Best Seller’s list—posthumously.

Here’s where my social media kicked in. I let my Facebook family know those books were there. And they sold.  So the  manager ordered two more. They sold. Then five more. Progress! When he ordered fifteen, I was ready to ask him for a book signing date.

He agreed—any time.

Now I’m not stupid. I knew advertising a book signing for little-old-me might interest my family and maybe one true friend. But to get enough people to make a splash, I needed a strategy.

I thought about concerts I’d attended. The main attraction always came with opening acts to entertain the crowd until the headliner group was ready. Those opening acts were usually a group no one had ever heard of, but because they were billed alongside the main attraction they were getting exposure.

Smart.

I decided to do the same. I would be like the concert’s opening act. After I’d prayed about who to ask, I invited two other published authors to join me for the book signing. Would they suggest another? One did—a well-known author who lived two and a half hours away. I doubted she would make the trip, but I asked anyway.

This is where God gets in the picture. James 4:2 tells us we have not because we ask not. I asked.

The author said she would ALREADY be in my city mid-September (isn’t God wonderful?). If she could do the book signing the day before or a day after she’d be happy to come. All of us were excited.

I scheduled the event with the bookstore and prepared posters. Each author sent   ISBN numbers to the manager. Orders were placed. Store publicity posted. The newspaper printed a full page spread about the well-known author and her attendance at the event. But my name was there, too, along with the other two panelists—exposure I might not have gotten otherwise. The radio aired news information spots—again with ALL our names.. Prayers were sent up—not for numbers, but for impact. Our community needed inspirational authors.   

The night of the panel, people arrived thirty minutes early. The bookstore manager set up all his chairs. Still they came. He emptied the coffee shop of seats. Still they came. At the meeting’s opening, every chair was filled and a standing room only crowd stood at the back. Ideas were discussed, laughter shared, books sold for all of us.

I had successfully launched my book. I made a name for myself. I’d gained a friend in the bookstore manager. I’d debuted as a new author.

New York Times, here I come!

Well, I can dream, can’t I?

 

A Kite on the Wind 

 

Is love strong enough to overcome the walls they hide behind?

Left waiting at the altar, Claire Simpson has buried her past and moved on, carving out a life for herself as a teacher on the Oregon coast. When her former fiance appears, he threatens to unravel the peaceful independence she has worked so hard to achieve after their relationship failed. 

Montgomery Chandler has moved to NOAA headquarters in Newport, Oregon to make new, happier memories for his children after his wife died of a lingering illness. Their home in Seattle held nothing but the whispers of their earlier lives. Starting over will help all of them heal, but Monty is resolved not to risk love again. 

When the handsome widower enrolls his hurting children at the school where Claire teaches, her resolve to remain uninvolved vanishes at the whim of a snowstorm. This family needs her expertise. Can she help them without losing her heart again?

 

Amazon Buy Link

 

Patricia Lee is a published author, having written since she first learned what words could do at the age of six. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Oregon. Articles to her credit have appeared in Moody Monthly, Power for Living, Expecting and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse as well as in two anthologies— Cup of Comfort Bible Promises and In the Company of Angels. She is part of a team of bloggers who submit short devotionals for FaithHappenings.com.

Patricia is a member of the Oregon Christian Writers and of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband have two adult children and live in the Pacific Northwest with two sleepy cats.

Social Links:
Website: https://authorpatricialee.net/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Patricia-Lee/e/B076DR3FJ8/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17233880
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricialeebooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lee_patricia__

Love Your Indie Booksellers by Jessica Ferguson

Last year I heard a bookseller speak at a conference. She was very specific about how self-published authors can help local independent bookstores. I’d like to share her info with you, along with some of my own experiences and observations.

First, she advised to make certain our books have a spine with a title and author name on it. It helps the bookseller shelve our books. It’s to our advantage. We can’t all be facing outward on the shelf.

Our books need an ISBN, barcode and price on the back to expedite checking out and helping the store add to and maintain their inventory.

When planning a book signing at a particular store, we have to know the bookstore’s process and follow their procedure. Each independent bookstore is different in the way they handle things. During our initial visit, we’ll meet the person in charge and ask for their guidelines. In our small Christian bookstore, we have a “reader” who vets all books to make certain they’re adequate for their customers. Most Indie bookstores know their customers well.

I shouldn’t have to mention this, but we should never enter any bookstore with demands—before, during or after our signing. I’ve heard horror stories about temperamental authors with an inflated view of their own talents and importance. Those authors make two hour book signings seem like four hours—for everyone involved. I’ve also heard one bookseller say because of the way one best-selling author acted and treated her sales people, when her books sold out, the store never re-ordered. They had no desire to promote that hateful, obnoxious author. If a customer requested a specific book, the seller would order it, but she wouldn’t stock them. See how much power a bookseller has?

Sometimes we authors don’t put ourselves in a booksellers place. We’re thinking the store is the one benefiting from our signing, that we’re introducing our customers to their store. We believe they’re the ones who get the repeat buyers. Remember, booksellers owe us nothing, but they do have the ability to hand sell our books over and over and over again.

Here’s a biggie from the bookseller’s mouth, and I admit I’ve never thought of it. We should never brag to our booksellers that we’re #1 on Amazon. Or that we’re anything on Amazon. They doesn’t care and they don’t want to hear it. Amazon is the #1 enemy of the small independent bookstore. Maybe we should think twice about sitting in our independent bookstore, handing out bookmarks with Amazon links. Wouldn’t it endear us to our independent booksellers if we created a special bookmark with their store’s name on it?

Do you schedule several book signings in your small town? The store owner I heard speak suggested we invest in one area, and do it right. Invite people to our event—don’t leave it all to the book seller. Can we guarantee 25 people into their store? They’d love it!

Last but not least, we should support other author’s book signings in our indie stores. I know we can’t purchase everyone’s book, but we can show up. And sometimes that book we might not be interested in will make a good stocking stuffer or birthday gift for a friend or relative.

Let’s put our thinking cap on and ask ourselves how we can support each other as well as our small town bookstores.  We’re all a team in this marketing business, helping each other. And our booksellers have the power to make our books live on … and on … and on.

The Bucket List Dare

Four best friends—Texas A&M grads—challenge each other to revisit the bucket list they made in college and tackle one daring item before they turn thirty. Living in different parts of the country and with birthdays on the horizon, the Aggie girls choose their adventure and work toward making it happen.

Arabel, recently unemployed and with a new genealogical certification to her name, takes off for Scotland to discover the answer to a mysterious hole in her ancestral tree. 

Annie, a wedding photographer whose reputation is her pride and her job is her life, crashes the most extravagant wedding in the country.

Kat, an army veteran and amputee, has always dreamed of climbing the most challenging terrain she can find. Now that her life and body have been drastically altered—does she dare?

Jojo is a country veterinarian who has never jumped out of a hayloft much less an airplane. How did that get on her bucket list?

The young professionals, facing unknown dangers and risks, call on their strong faith and Aggie spirit, and walk away with love. 

Jessica Ferguson is a staff writer for Southern Writers Magazine. Her story, Save The Groom, is available now in The Bucket List Dare collection. She is a contributing author in Legacy Letters with Lindsey’s Story, and the author of The Last Daughter, The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes and other novella and short story collections. Jess has written for newspapers and magazines in Texas and Louisiana. In her spare time, she coaches and mentors new writers, and plays with her recently retired husband. Jess blogs at http://jessicafergusonwriter.com. For more information on coaching, visit her website at http://creativecoachingandmarketing.com