Jamie Patterson's Blog, page 14
November 7, 2011
Theme Songs
I was asked today in an interview for Lost Edens what the theme song for my life would be. My answer was more my theme song for right now and it took me pretty much all day to come to what the theme song for overall life so far would be and I think I could be pretty confident about Bishop Allen's Rain.
Rain by Bishop Allen
Then the theme song as in the song that can keep me running at mile 22 is Lie in Our Graves. Thank you DMB.
Lie In Our Graves by Dave Matthews Band
I was also asked if I would do everything again (as in everything in the book) and the answer was much, much easier: no. No chance. I might wish sometimes that I could be super zen about life being a journey and learning lessons but I'm pretty convinced I could have learned the same lessons in a bit kinder way. Maybe.
Rain by Bishop Allen
Then the theme song as in the song that can keep me running at mile 22 is Lie in Our Graves. Thank you DMB.
Lie In Our Graves by Dave Matthews Band
I was also asked if I would do everything again (as in everything in the book) and the answer was much, much easier: no. No chance. I might wish sometimes that I could be super zen about life being a journey and learning lessons but I'm pretty convinced I could have learned the same lessons in a bit kinder way. Maybe.
November 6, 2011
Book Signing at Warwick's
I started my day at a tiny coffee shop in Ocean Beach eating an acai bowl with my brother. Across the room (the tiny room) he spotted an old neighbor. She just happened to be the neighbor mentioned in Lost Edens. It was a crazy, small-world moment and we talked all about the scene she's in and how she wrote a short story about the same beach fire talked about in the book.
Then on to a book signing at Warwick's. I was the opening act for a New York Times Bestselling author and happened to be part of their annual holiday party. The place was crowded and thanks to my grandparents, cousins, and other family there was a steady flow of folks in front of the table.
Thanks, again, to everyone who came out!
Then on to a book signing at Warwick's. I was the opening act for a New York Times Bestselling author and happened to be part of their annual holiday party. The place was crowded and thanks to my grandparents, cousins, and other family there was a steady flow of folks in front of the table.
Thanks, again, to everyone who came out!
November 5, 2011
November 4, 2011
Old News but Good News
My sister sent this along tonight. It's from 2006 but I don't think it'll ever get old.
November 2, 2011
Clever Neighbors
Saw this out on a Huey walk just now. Reminds me of what my friend Heidi suggested for our Monster Dash costumes next year: t-shirts that say "drug." Get it? A runner with a t-shirt that says drug? Clever neighbors. Clever friends.
Book Chat!
Today I had a really wonderful chat with the ladies of the Left to Write book club. You can read the chat here. These ladies had amazing stories of their own and really touching posts inspired by Lost Edens. You can read their posts here.
I have to say, the more I talk about the book the more I'm learning about the story. I really pleasant side-effect of publishing. As I struggle with the follow-up to Lost Edens I wonder what stories from the last few years can be told that will continue to teach me years from now. I suppose I'll need to keep writing to find out...
I have to say, the more I talk about the book the more I'm learning about the story. I really pleasant side-effect of publishing. As I struggle with the follow-up to Lost Edens I wonder what stories from the last few years can be told that will continue to teach me years from now. I suppose I'll need to keep writing to find out...
November 1, 2011
October 29, 2011
Naked Robot and Half Marathons
This morning was the Monster Dash half marathon through St. Paul. I run this race pretty much every year (sometimes the 10 miler instead) and always, always, always end up running behind someone who barely has any clothes on. People just don't think about what kind of jiggle and shake their body will do at mile 12 when they're planning their costumes. Behold, the naked robot--who I thankfully passed rather quickly. Beautiful morning for a run and it was topped off by Pearson's nut rolls at the end. Deeeelicious.
October 28, 2011
Make your Million Yet?
I love going to the airport every night because my coworkers are all so excited for me. Every shift is a new group of people so every night I get a lot of wonderful encouragement about the book. One manager likes to ask every day "make your million yet?" Which I love. The answer, of course, is no, but I tell him to keep asking.
For most books, the closer to the launch date, the higher the sales. For indie books, though, it's more of a bell curve. I'm hoping the work that's going into building a strong web presence will contribute to a steadier climb in sales once we start selling in actual brick-and-mortar stores.
So maybe in a few months we'll be a few books closer to a million bucks.
Tricky thing, though, most authors also don't make money on the first book, which is a tough reality to swallow when--as an indie author--I've written the big checks to make the publication happen. So why put all the effort into a book that won't make a million? Because the hope is that it at least make a bit of credibility. So that when I go to publish book number 2, I'll have an easier time doing it because I would have proven an audience. Right?
Plus, the best part ever about being an indie author is that I retained all rights to Lost Edens. There's still hope that someday I'll pull a memoirist's version of Once a Runner or an Amanda Hocking.
A girl can dream, right?
For most books, the closer to the launch date, the higher the sales. For indie books, though, it's more of a bell curve. I'm hoping the work that's going into building a strong web presence will contribute to a steadier climb in sales once we start selling in actual brick-and-mortar stores.
So maybe in a few months we'll be a few books closer to a million bucks.
Tricky thing, though, most authors also don't make money on the first book, which is a tough reality to swallow when--as an indie author--I've written the big checks to make the publication happen. So why put all the effort into a book that won't make a million? Because the hope is that it at least make a bit of credibility. So that when I go to publish book number 2, I'll have an easier time doing it because I would have proven an audience. Right?
Plus, the best part ever about being an indie author is that I retained all rights to Lost Edens. There's still hope that someday I'll pull a memoirist's version of Once a Runner or an Amanda Hocking.
A girl can dream, right?
Blank Pages
Well, shoot. We just found out that some books printed with blank pages. So sorry for those of you with missing text. I do love that the blank pages are totally random but what a bummer. We'll get you a complete book, just let me know (post here or email jamiepatterson@mail.com). If you'd rather not have a complete book, that's fine too, but let me know if you have a bum book anyway, okay?
