New connections and a new book

One perk of our move to a new area is the chance to make new connections with people and organizations that matter to us. For me, that includes a finding a church home and a community of writers. We seem to have found a church home, which is awesome, and the library system led me to a terrific, established writers group. Unfortunately for me and my ongoing need for writer-ish infusions, they only meet once a month. Through my membership in SCBWI, I connected with two other fledgling writers' groups which have great potential. I located a member who I'll meet for coffee next weekend, and already met with fellow author Corinne Smith. Corinne and I chatted over breakfast about our books and the trials and tribulations of publishing. That single meeting lifted a veil from my eyes - uncovering the marketing angle.

What Corinne has done is create a uniform approach to her online persona. Her website clearly shows the coordination between her presentations, her publications, and her activities among Henry David Thoreau scholars and fans. Quite impressive.

Corinne is a generous guru who, by her example and her willingness to share links and info, has started me on the road to understanding how best to present my work and myself in the marketplace. I'm so grateful!

All that marketing info got my wheels turning. With the upcoming release of my first picture book Mikey and the Swamp Monster created with illustrator/graphic designer extraordinaire Michael Rausch, we're developing ideas about how best to handle the marketing. We have to 1) engage kids in the idea behind the story with activities and manipulatives, 2) allow parents to see that the book encourages imagination and imaginative play, and finally 3) get the book into kids' hands. The ideas are flying fast and furious - and fun!

Hopefully, all will be in place for an early August book launch. I'll keep you posted!

Connecting through multiple media

I don't know about the proverbial butterfly effect, you know, the one in which a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil which in turn creates a tornado in Texas. A bit overly dramatic for my taste. But what I do know is that consistent effort eventually brings a result. All I've got to say is - thank God I'm not shy. 


I began the week Monday with an interview on WVIA radio's Art Scene program with the gracious Erika Funke. I'd never been in a broadcasting booth before (okay, maybe on a tour when I was a Girl Scout sometime in the last century. That doesn't count.) After a quick sound check, Erika and I sat opposite one another separated only by over-sized microphones. In a friendly, gentle conversational tone, we began to talk about my book, my research, and my upcoming presentation at the Dietrich. I left there not remembering much of what I said, but knowing it had been a good interview. It's archived here as the February 27th broadcast. Warning: I say "Absolutely" far too often.

Wednesday's Wyoming County Press Examiner featured an article about my upcoming presentation at the Dietrich. In the next couple of days, I received an invitation to present to 7th and 8th grade students at a local school about writing and research. Then by email, I was asked by a middle-school-student who loves to write to participate in a "Career Interview," not about being a physical therapist, but about being a writer.

So, radio and newspaper, scheduling presentations and discussing writing careers. Fascinating.


And great fun.

A kick-start and a giveaway

When I self-published Risking Exposure, my first and foremost goal was to get people to read the book. So I gave away dozens of copies - to family and friends, to school libraries and public libraries. I entered it in contests and sent it out for reviews. I arranged for book signings and have scheduled presentations. It's been a blast.

But lately I've been selling more print copies in person than any of the online sources, digital or print. So I knew my online presence needed a kick-start.

I did a giveaway on Goodreads for the month of November, and 180+ people marked it as 'to-read.' I've gotten some wonderful reviews there and on Amazon and B&N. Still, online sales remained flat.

So now I've enrolled it in KDP Select, a Kindle program that monopolizes my digital sales for 30 days. That meant I had to take it off B&N's Nook, but I've sold very few there so I have to hope that doesn't put someone off. In exchange, the book (hopefully) will get increased visibility on Amazon and can be loaned electronically through their KOLL.

KDP Select also gave me a chance to enroll the e-book in a giveaway - so from now until Tuesday Dec 17th, Risking Exposure is completely FREE for Kindle on Amazon. Download away, share the link, tell your friends. The more readers I get, the happier I'll be.

Especially if those readers write reviews, which draws in more readers, who will write more reviews...

What's working ... and not

I have a pay-it-forward and pay-it-back philosophy, so the business end of marketing doesn't come naturally to me.

But I've been fortunate on several counts -
-I live in a geographic area where the local newspapers are quite willing to run homespun press releases and grant interviews to no-name self-published authors like me. The Times-Leader, Wyoming County Examiner, and Abington Journal all shared my excitement with their readership, and I am grateful for that publicity.

-My friend and fellow Dietrich Writers Group member Hildy Morgan dedicated most of her weekly column in Advance to my book a couple weeks ago. She is an unbelievably generous, kind soul.

-I've contacted my local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble chains to see about getting my book in their stores. I learned that they won't order copies for their shelves because the publisher is print-on-demand and won't accept unsold copies as returns. That means potential readers have to order it through Amazon or through the customer service desk at the BAM or B&N store. So much for seeing my book on their shelves.

-BUT, B&N has local author signing events a few times a year. I'm signed up to participate in one this Wednesday night at 6pm in Wilkes-Barre. I bring the books to sell and I benefit from the publicity they've created.

-Hildy's book club read Risking Exposure as their October selection. I've been asked to come to their meeting on the 12th as they discuss the book. An amazing opportunity for me.

-I've been invited to do a brief presentation and a full-day book signing at Fort Mifflin on the Delaware on December 7th during their WWII re-enactment weekend. I've never been part of something like that before either.

-I've been invited to do a feature presentation and book signing at the Dietrich on March 9th, talking about the process of taking my book from idea to finished product. I'm donating a number of books to the Dietrich for that event, and anyone who wishes to purchase a copy can do so there at the retail price. That way, the Dietrich benefits $8.99 for each copy sold, a small payback to a non-profit which has supported my writing efforts for several years.

Of time, presentations, and characters who won't be deleted

I've dropped off copies of Risking Exposure to a number of local libraries and schools, and that's given me a chance to speak with librarians about the book. Several of them suggested ways I can connect with the readers, including presentations about 'how I wrote a novel' or about the research I did to create the setting and historical details. I'll present at the Dietrich on those same topics this winter as part of a fundraiser for them, probably to a combination of adults and youth. So I'm excited to share my experiences with two different audiences, both interested in developing their love of reading and writing stories.

Now to develop those presentations. And to write the rest of the stories swirling in my mind. I need to find time. The classic lament of adulthood.

The writing time I've chiseled out for myself has recently been taken up by marketing, in addition to other wonderful and necessary things put on the back burner during my final push toward publication - time with my family, involvement in my church, and the Factoryville Playground Task Force.
Oh, and I work. And I should probably clean my house.

As I've mentioned before, I cut many characters and their subplots cut from Risking Exposure during a long series of edits. Now those characters call to me from the Deleted Scenes folder on my computer. Their stories want to be told, and I want to share them. Kindle and Nook. And threads of a sequel to Sophie's story comes to me unbidden at times, so I jot the ideas down and wait to see if a story fabric can be woven from them.

My plan is to edit a few of them, turning them into short stories for release on

I'll get to it. As soon as I find the time.

What am I doing marketing my own book?

What I know about marketing could fill a teacup. A toy teacup. And yet here I am with a finished product, trying to get it in the hands of consumers.

So I started where I usually start, with research. I read up on how to market and was bored to tears.

That wasn't going to get me anywhere. Then I read other writers' experiences in self-marketing, the strategies they used, the lessons they learned. I soon found that their goals were money and fame. Those aren't my goals, so using their strategies wouldn't get me what I want.

I want to connect with readers.

I want people who don't know me to read Risking Exposure and learn about the plight of people with disabilities during the Nazi era. I want readers to understand that acting against injustice when the entire society in which you live has warped the very meaning of right and wrong must be incredibly difficult. It takes courage beyond what most of us use in our lifetimes.

So here's my marketing plan in a nutshell - donate and spread the word. I am donating copies to libraries and schools, as well as to non-profits that support writers and people with disabilities. I am spreading the word through Facebook and hopefully through newspaper articles. And of course, through word of mouth.

If you've read Risking Exposure, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads and spread the word. Thank you!