Pam’s Week in Publishing

The president of the Braselton Friends of the Library sent me an invitation to their dedication ceremony for the new library on Wednesday. I was a “Lunch and Learn” speaker at one of their meetings some time back, and it was really wonderful to see the new facility complete. Many of the attendees were politicians, of course, but I am sure the regular folks will soon be enjoying it. Now, those political people need to buy a few more books. I did see a well worn copy of The Gift Horse tucked away on a bottom shelf.

On Saturday, I paid a visit to Tut’s Book Emporium in Lilburn for a booksigning. Thanks to Katy, Greg, and Megan for their warm welcome. Tut is a friendly fellow as well, and he seemed to like my plastic book carrier more than anything else. I am going to post a “photo gallery” of that visit on my website soon. Katy has quite a lot of product knowledge, and we had a really nice chat about trends in current fiction.

Next on my schedule is a visit to 8th grade language arts classes here in Jefferson. I’m going to talk about my writing process, hoping to inspire some young minds to do more than the minimum necessary to pass class assignments. That will be a challenge, but I one that I welcome. Some kids think only geeks write, and while some (geeks, that is) do, I suppose, mastery of the written word can open quite a few doors. Having been a quarterback in high school will only get you so far in life, you know!

The Author who cried, “Book Signing!”

Almost everyone knows the children’s cautionary tale of the little boy, bored with herding sheep, who cried, “Wolf!” just to get attention. Yes, we all know that after a while, no one would come, because no one believed him. Of course, the little boy ended up as the victim of a wolf, his cries going unheeded, for obvious reasons.

During the summer, I posted the news on my “events” page that I was signing at the Decatur Book Festival on Labor Day weekend, but a few days before the event, my invitation was rescinded by the bookstore, due to problems with the accommodations at the venue. But, not to worry, in September I would be signing at a nearby restaurant, at an event sponsored by the same bookstore. That event was postponed by the bookstore, due to problems with the schedule at the restaurant. But, not to worry, the event would be held in October, at the same restaurant. Since this plan seemed more definite, I posted the event on various community calendars and on my website, and I sent out a notice to members of my Yahoo group. I got an email this week, explaining that this event won’t be happening, again due to problems at the restaurant. However, I now begin an author day, along with a couple of other local writers, for a book signing at the bookstore, in November. It is my job to get my book into the hands of readers, even when that means having to be flexible, and for the most part I do enjoy such promotions.

I’m posting this for anyone curious about the ever changing “upcoming events” page on my website. My greatest fear is that I will finally get my opportunity to reach this audience, but I'll be sitting alone for my hour at the store. Isn’t that what happens to authors who cry, “Book Signing!” and it never happens?

What happened to the Decatur Book Festival?

The Festival is going to happen, and it is going to be big. Alas, I won’t be attending. My invitation was extended by the good folks at Tut’s Books and ever since they invited me, they’ve been waiting for confirmation regarding their booth. Apparently there is a huge amount of interest in this event and all the spots are now taken, unless someone backs out at the last minute. The proprietor at Tut’s has been quite gracious, and I do think she made every effort to get one of those booths on the old courthouse lawn.

Whether or not it matters is an unknown. I have no idea if any of the book festival attendees would have bought copies of my books. Especially when DragonCon, the big science fiction convention, will be taking place at the same time, but at four large hotels in the downtown area. The good news, as I see it, is that I can quit being concerned about traffic in Decatur, and whether or not my order from Booklocker will make it on time. Now, I will just get ready for a signing at Tut’s in mid-September.

After that, I will have to look for other opportunities, For the most part any promotions I do need to be out-of-towners, in that I’ve done all I can do locally to make people aware of my books. The staff of the Jackson Herald and the publishers of Living Jackson have been especially helpful in that regard.

Thanks for Your Support

I'm on my way today to my second booksigning for Trinity on Tylos, but I'd like to say thanks to all of the people who came out on Thursday evening to hear my "introduction" to this new novel. It's really wonderful to make a speech to an enthusiastic group, and I appreciate all of the book sales.

I'd also like to thank Amy Carlan, branch manager at the Jefferson Public Library for inviting me to have an "author talk" at the library in my hometown, and to my sister, Barbara, who came down from Virginia to sell books. (Okay, we are visiting a bit this weekend as well.)

Now I'm off to Downtown Interiors.