October 2nd-16th Blogs

Sunday October 16, 2005
An article written by me for the October Gold Canyon Ledger has become available. The Ledger is a print magazine with a 20,000 circulation in Gold Canyon, Arizona. The article is for a Block Watch I'm helping to organize and includes a photo of me by the sign for our neighborhood.

If you'd like a free copy of the Ledger, just let me know via the "Comments" box up above, and I'll get one in the mail to you.

Stacey


Saturday October 15, 2005
The weather is great in central Arizona. Today the high was in the mid-80s. Susan and I drove up to the arboretum where we were married last November. We sat in the cool shade of the arboretum's eucalyptus trees and talked about our plans for the coming year. It was nice.

I received my latest copy of Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone in the mail today with the most recent cover. It looks really good.

I only had to tweak one or two things.

I added another blurb to the cover, this one from Simon Wood, author of Accidents Waiting to Happen. Simon wrote that "Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone is a Da Vinci Code for the junior high generation."

Pretty cool.


Friday October 14, 2005
2:11 P.M.
The trip to the dentist's office went fine. I didn't even need any novacaine, which is cool because I hate the feeling of novacaine for three-fours after getting a filling. The procedure was pretty simple.


10:07 A.M.
I'm going in to the dentist's office this morning for a filling. Oh, joy!



Monday October 10, 2005
I've got a brand-new interview published online at January Magazine. Click here to check it out.





Sunday October 9, 2005
I’ve been looking into podcasting Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. “Podcasting,” for those who don’t know the term, is an audio-broadcast that listeners can download and listen to on their computers, as well as burn onto CD or onto i-Pods. There’s a company that podcasts audio-books, called “podio-books,” and I’ve chatted via e-mail with the owner. See www.podiobooks.com.

This is essentially a computerized version of a book-on-tape, wherein the author reads his/her novel, recording it via a microphone and software on his/her computer, and then broadcasts it via the internet as a downloadable file that viewers/listeners can click on and listen to.

This first step for me will involve getting my hands on a good microphone. The mic that’s been recommended to me is the Samson C01U USB Studio Condenser Mic.

I don’t know if anything will come of this, but it would be great to have an audio version of the book, for all the folks who prefer to listen to their books (I personally love books on tape, particularly on road trips). Plus, it’s just neat technology to learn to use.

If you know anything about podcasting or can recommend a better microphone, please let me know. As always, I love to hear from you, Dear Reader. Drop me a line...

Stacey




Saturday October 8, 2005
Yesterday, I visited Phoenix area bookstores with the intent of introducing myself and asking if I could get a bookstore signing for my upcoming book Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. In total, I visited nine Barnes and Nobles between 10 A.M. and 8 P.M., and I treated it as a learning experience. I have three promising leads for "local author night" signings to come next spring, and I now know every Community Relations Manager in the Scottsdale/Phoenix/Peoria/Mesa area. I still have three stores that I need to call-in on because their CRMs weren't in when I dropped by.

Here's the deal for all would-be writers. Many Barnes & Nobles have what is called a "Community Relations Manager." This is the person you need to ask for, if you want to set up a bookstore signing. What I found yesterday was that about one-third of the stores do not have a CRM, and if a store doesn't have a CRM, then they rarely do signings (if at all). So, if you're interested in getting a signing at your local B&N, you need to ask first if they have a Community Relations Manager. If they do, then you need to ask if you can do a signing. Plan to book your signing at least two months away (most stores were booked solid for the rest of the year) and probably more like four months.

I would like to make it down to Tucson in the next two weeks to visit the stores there, and then hopefully within a month, over to San Diego. Long range goals include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and Denver...

Even if you can't get a signing, you still learn valuable information. You get to know the CRMs. You get to know the stores. The more stores you physically visit to introduce yourself as a writer who has published a book, the more likely you are to sell a book. Get to know your sales associates in every store that you can; these guys are a writer's absolute best friend in the trenches of mentioning and selling your books to the book-buying public.

I'm going to visit as many stores as I basically can around the country with this self-published book, realizing that I'm going to eventually have a traditionally published non-POD book distributed to these stores through normal routes.

As always, I love to hear from you, Dear Reader. Drop me a line...

Stacey

P.S. Something else, I just thought of that might be helpful to see...

At each store, I mentioned that I had a Press Kit. Two managers asked to keep one. Here's a photo of the Press Kit and an explanation below it of what it includes...



Basically, my Press Kit included a folder with a front cover 8.5x11 image of my book's cover. I bought these folders at Staples and made the color copies at Kinko's. Inside the folder, there is a Press Release, a color copy of the book cover, a fridge magnet, and a sheet of advance blurbs and reviews. Of course, my contact information is on the Press Release, which is something several managers asked me about (they wanted my contact info and I was able to point right to it).



At a couple of stores, the sales associates were interested in my book, and I had a box (the cardboard box to the right in the top photo) packed with Amber Page fridge magnets, which I had printed up from www.cafepress.com

I gave the magnets out to anyone and everyone who seemed interested. Here's a close-up of the magnets...







Tuesday October 4, 2005
I've always had a place in my heart for big cats. On a recent trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, I got the opportunity to see a couple up close...



This guy here is an African Caracal, also known as the African Lynx. The handler brought him right over to me, which got my heart rate going a little bit...



But nothing could have prepared me for this handler letting me stand just a couple feet away from the African lions, as he fed them through the steel door. When lions are hungry and offered ground beef, you really don't want to get in their way...






Sunday October 2, 2005
I archived September's blogs this morning and got a new Photo of the Month up.

Two nights ago, I did something I've never done before. I visited three Phoenix area bookstores with the intent of getting contact info for setting up bookstore signings. Two Barnes and Nobles and one Borders bookstore.

I just walked in, went to each store's customer service desk, picked up each store's October Events flyer and asked about who I should contact in order to set up a signing. The Barnes and Nobles both gave me the business card for their store's Community Relations Manager, and they seemed very friendly towards writers like me. Borders Bookstores has a valley-wide person who sets up events for all the stores in the Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale area.

I've never done this before, so if you have any advice and/or suggestions about getting bookstore signings, please let me know....

I love to hear from you, Dear Reader.

Stacey