Team Book Tour: 4 Authors on the Road

Four debut authors. Three book signings. Three states. Twenty-four hours. What a trip!

This past weekend I had an excellent opportunity to take Bumpy Landings on a summer book tour with Tamara Heiner (Perilous), Lynn Parsons (disAbilities in the Gospel), and Cheri Chesley (Peasant Queen).

Tamara and Cheri came to Dallas on Friday, where Lynn and I met them for an evening signing at Moon's LDS Bookstore. Then, bright and early Saturday morning, we drove to Hastings in Duncan, Oklahoma, where Cheri is visiting family. After our morning signing there, we zipped across the state to Springdale, Arkansas and Beehive Mercantile, which is Tamara's hometown bookstore.

The tour was fun and extremely valuable, although maybe not financially profitable. Was a trip this size worth the time, cost, and effort? I think so, if only because of the people met and lessons learned.

As we sat down to breakfast yesterday, we talked about what worked, what didn't, and what advice we would give to someone else planning a similar tour. Here are some of the things we came up with:

• Two of our stores had several months to prepare, although only one actually put together an "event". This was a much better signing.
• One of the stores was a last-minute replacement, with only a week of preparation time. This signing was good, but could have been so much better with a month or more to prepare and promote.
• Signing with other authors is awesome! When the signing is slow, there is good conversation to be had. Travel time conversations are great, and it's nice to split the gas costs.
  
• Two to four authors is a good number. It's not so many that it intimidates customers, and "unknown" authors still get some attention (unlike, perhaps, mega-signings with dozens of other writers).
• Summer is a convenient time for authors to travel, but may not be the most optimum time for bringing in customers. Check with the bookstores to find out when their busy times are.
• Traveling to multiple locations in a day is fun and would seem to be an efficient way to work. However, it forces compromise on the schedule. Our morning Oklahoma signing would have been much better in the early afternoon, but then we would not have had time to make it to the signing in Arkansas.
• This kind of signing is like a business trip, and the planning and coordination need to be professional.
  
• This kind of signing is like a vacation (or writing conference), in that (especially for 4 debut authors) the only thing you can really count on is meeting new people and getting to know the other authors really well. Most vacations don't turn a financial profit, either. The real value is time spent with others, learning and growing.
• Get the word out! Relying on walk-in traffic is courting failure. The most valuable customers are the ones the authors bring in themselves. Also, this kind of book event is an opportunity for you to crow about something. The publicity the tour itself generates may be the most valuable return you get.

Have you done a big multi-store, multi-author tour? What have you seen that works (or didn't work) and what things have you learned from taking your book on the road?

Nothin' but Love

I have received the dubious honor of posting on Valentine's Day. I say dubious because, well, I'm not really a fan. To be honest, I think the idea of a day to celebrate love feels artificial and contrived. And I write romance! (for shame)

This Thursday, I celebrate 15 years of marriage to a most wonderful man. Every year he laments the lack of funds that prevent him from lavishing me with expensive flowers and gifts every Mother's Day, anniversary, Valentine's, birthday and Christmas. And every year, I remind him that I have little interest in material things. And, in all fact, were he to surprise me with a gift like a car or a house I would not like it. I do not believe large purchases like that should be made without agreement from both parties.

I'm so ungrateful.

The bitter dissolution of his first marriage taught him many things that he, thankfully, was willing to learn. One is that he will never let an opportunity pass to let someone he loves know how he feels. It has taken a lot of getting used to on my part. "I love you" was not a common phrase in my youth. In fact, I credit the love and attention he lavishes on my children with sparing them the neglect they feel when I have a writing deadline. And, our marriage has taught me a great many things. Most of which I apply in my novels.

People have read The Peasant Queen and some--not all, but some--have really appreciated Prince Jareth. I want to state, publicly, that the deep, abiding, patient kind of love he feels for Krystal is something I know first hand. As readers will learn in The Tyrant King, this love does not prevent them from having faults, but rather gives them a bridge to reconstruct after mistakes.

Bryan has been a marvelous treasure in my life, though he would be the first to deny it. He constantly teases me that he caught me in a moment of weakness and got me to marry him. For all our exterior struggles, we are a solid unit. Our kids can count on it, and I firmly believe they do. And, not for one single day in 15 years have I looked back. I still can't believe it's been 15 years. I remember when I thought that was a long time. It seems but a moment has passed, except for our 5 kids...:)

This is my tribute to love, if not a dedication to a specific day. Enjoy it, though, however you choose to celebrate!

Making Headway

It feels good to be making progress again, as a writer. With the craziness of the book launch, signings, and then the holidays, I really fell behind on my editing. But, last week, I edited the first six chapters of The Tyrant King. Yay!

Chapter seven is where it starts getting really hairy. I mean, so far we've had two characters die, but now the attacks start hitting home. My main characters are going to face some direct peril, which is always good in a story, but I'm terribly curious to see how my beta readers react.

I'm doing something a little different this time. I have three beta readers who get the story chapter by chapter and give me feedback. I'd planned to stop at chapter three, but the process has been working for me--and providing accountability if I fall behind--so I'm going to stick with it. I love that my beta readers are patient with me. And it really helps that they are loving the story.

One reader, in particular, is troubled by how many small details I had to leave out of The Peasant Queen. What is the main character wearing? What are the details of the room? I'm better at putting those things in now without slowing the pace of the story. I don't have to stop the action to explain how the room looks now, or what the character is wearing--though I don't always have the descriptions right at the front of a scene.

But, this process is all about getting better, right? This is what we do. And some of it we simply have to learn through trial and error.

On to chapter seven!

It's Here!

I had a simply amazing Friday! No wonder it's my favorite day of the week.

Friday morning, my editor emailed me to say my book had arrived in the warehouse (on Thursday, actually). I got the email shortly before 10am. Now, here's my Friday:

I babysit other people's kids during the day. That day, however, two of the kids I was supposed to have didn't come because their dad took the day off. And I had one that I don't normally have--the only one that day.

My kids got out of school at 12:15pm. Early out, because the teachers had training. Fortunately, the child I was tending was one of the teacher's kids, so she said she'd take him when I picked up my kids. That was truly awesome of her.

My husband worked until 5am Friday, so he slept until I woke him up at 10 to tell him the books had arrived. And he insisted we go down and get them. I told him he needed to sleep. He said he wasn't sleeping anymore that day.

So, we packed the kids a lunch, picked them up from school, dropped the baby off to his mom, and headed for Springville. From Tooele.

Ya. I know. But, it's my BOOK! lol

I'll spare you all the details of driving that far with 5 children in a van we're outgrowing, but I will say that I gasped when I saw my book in person. A.Maz.Ing.

We walked out with 25 books, popped open our bottle of sparkling cider, and toasted my success in the Cedar Fort parking lot. That's just how we roll.

And, as of right now, I only have one book left that is not spoken for. Looks like we're going to make another trip to Springville!

Can you Tell I'm Excited?

Today, Monday September 27, 2010, I'm scheduled to get my author proof. So I put this post together early.

Last week was amazing. I got my final cover for my book, and found out that THE PEASANT QUEEN is now available for pre-order online. How cool is that?

So I have to share.

Isn't it wondrous? I'm so excited, and relieved to be honest. I've heard lots of authors over the last few years talk about how they didn't like their book cover, and I worried that it would affect my sales if I didn't love my cover. Consequently, I worked hard to have an open mind. I mean, lots of things can be eye catching, beautiful and intriguing all at once, right? I feel very lucky, and very blessed, to have such a cover.

You can pre-order THE PEASANT QUEEN at either AMAZON.COM or BN.COM. I'll be honest, Barnes and Noble has the better price, but Amazon has my beautiful cover pic up. :)

This is not a suck-up Post

Even though it may sound like one. :)

I remember the first time I learned of Cedar Fort Publishing’s existence. As a member of the League of Utah Writers I’d received an invitation to the Spring Workshop, which that year would be at Cedar Fort. I remember pitching it to my husband. “A writing workshop at a PUBLISHER’s office!” What could be better?

I’d attended my first LDStorymakers Conference just a week before the workshop. I had a horrible time, but it was largely my own fault. As a practiced writer but still new to networking and the world of other authors, I went with all sorts of silly expectations. Determined not to make the same mistake twice, I went to the Spring Workshop much more spiritually centered. I’d even received a blessing that morning.

When I entered the room and Lyle Mortimer said hello, I had no idea who he was. I said hello rather shyly, and probably blushed, before finding a seat near the middle. Seriously, I think overcoming my initial shyness will be the hardest part of being a published author.

Then Lyle stepped up to pretty much run the show. Since I was at that time in the market for a publisher, I listened intently as he talked about what Cedar Fort looks for in a book and in the author. I noted the highlights of Lee Nelson’s speech when his turn came. I laughed several times when Jessica Day George got up to talk to us about writing, even though she’s not a Cedar Fort author.

I came away from that meeting with a really good feeling about Cedar Fort. And it stuck with me. When I found myself in the position to resubmit my novel, I seriously considered all the LDS publishers. But I kept returning to Cedar Fort. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure why—even though they’ve decided to take a chance on me and my book—I’ve had such strong feelings about this particular publisher.

It’s probably one of those things that will be clearer down the road.

And for my second post...

I plan to type the whole thing while standing on my head.

Okay, not really. I have sinus problems. But, for a second there, it drew a visual. Didn't it?

There's a great deal going on in my little corner of the world, and I'd like to share it with you. First and foremost, The Peasant Queen has a tentative release date. Provided I make the press deadline of October 15th, my book will be out by December 1, 2010. I can totally make that work. The fun part is, I've already started planning. Is it crazy that I'm looking forward to all the work that's coming? I'm just so ready to start selling this book!

Secondly, I'm currently taking part in a Blog Challenge on my Author Blog. Basically, each day of April, save Sundays, participants post for a specific letter. (Today, Monday April 12th, is for the letter J) Without Sundays, there are 26 days of April which works well with the 26 letters of the alphabet. It has been great fun, and I'm meeting a bunch of new people--Not to mention I'm getting followers and lots of comments on my posts. In return, I visit the other participants' blogs and reciprocate. It's been a blast.

Also on my Author Blog is my ongoing Spring Into Reading contest. I'm doing this jointly with my sister-in-law, Melissa Chesley. When we each reach 100 followers we're doing a drawing and prize giveaway. We have three prize packages--Mystery, Fantasy and Romance--that will include genre specific books (some autographed by the authors) and other fun prizes. Check out her blog HERE to see what she has to say about it. Incidentally, Mel is also participating in the A-Z Blog Challenge, and has come up with some great letter oriented posts. She's got over 80 followers and I've passed 60, so we're well on our way.

There's a great deal going on in my personal life, too. We just moved and I'm still unpacking and organizing the new place. We went to our new ward for the first time. April is a big month for birthdays in my family. I have three kids with birthdays on April 21st. No kidding. My youngest came along as a birthday gift for the (then) five-year-old twins. And this year, for their 11th birthday, the twins have asked to have a friend party, meaning I let them invite friends and we have a party that isn't drenched in family activity. This is the first time I've done that kind of party, believe it or not, and intellectually I believe I should be more nervous about it--but I'm not.

Of course, by my next post, I may have changed my mind. :)