Trudi Canavan's Blog, page 24
April 8, 2011
April 6, 2011
Badges!
Another idea I had for publicity material to give away at Supanova and on The Tour was to make a pin or badge. But what to put on them? Book covers? The trouble with badges is they're round, and book covers are square. Perhaps quotes from my books instead? I selected a few favourites and posted them on Twitter, then asked if anyone could think of others. Soon I had a long list of them.
I happened to mention the badge idea to the marketing guy at Orbit and he liked it so much he arranged for them to be made for me. I so love my publisher! We chose quotes that were short enough to fit easily on a badge, and from different series of books, then I dusted off my graphic design skills again. Orbit has bulk of them to be waiting for me in the UK so they don't take up space in my suitcase.
The rest will be coming with me to Supanova this weekend.
So if you're coming to Supanova in Melbourne, pop by the Dymocks stand, say 'hello!', and grab a free badge!
April 5, 2011
Read Chapter One of The Rogue
Yesterday I opened my website and let out a little 'Yippeee!', because the fab team at Orbit have put up the first chapter of The Rogue for me. I usually put up an extract about a month before a book's release. This time, because I am crazy busy preparing for Supanova, the Tour and writing The Traitor Queen, they've done it for me. Thank you Orbit!
So to read the first chapter of The Rogue, go here.
April 4, 2011
The Rogue Featured Title
The Rogue is the second volume of the Traitor Spy Trilogy, which takes up the action a generation after the events in The High Lord.
April 3, 2011
Book Signing Etiquette
I've been getting a few questions about signings, so I figured it was time to write a post about signing etiquette. The dos and don'ts of book signings vary from place to place, shop to shop and author to author, but most are logical once you a apply a bit of common sense.
Time vs Number of Books:
I am happy to sign all of the books you bring to a signing so long as there's time for me to sign them. If you have a lot of books I may sign a few and then ask you to go back to the end of the queue. Now, what constitutes a "lot of books" depends on the size of the queue. If the queue is short I will sign one of each of my books (and entire 'set' so to speak). If the queue is really long, I may sign a trilogy and then invite you to rejoin the queue. This is so that everyone gets at least a few books signed by me.
However, it's also important to note that the shop hosting the signing may have their own rules and it's best to contact them to find out. You won't want to lug nine books to a shop only to find you can only get one signed. They have their own reasons for setting rules, based on plenty of experience with book signings at their particular location, which I respect and you should too. Don't panic if they have a one book rule. You can always rejoin the queue. If the queue is short then there's a good chance I can bend the rules and sign, say, a trilogy at a time. Also, if you hang about and the queue finishes before the end of the signing session, there's a good chance we can have a little chat.
The Author is a Human Being:
Based on everything I've read and been told, signing tours are pretty grueling. Writing already makes authors prone to problems like RSI and chronic back pain. While we want to sign everything, we may physically not be able to. Remember, we aren't just signing books at signings, but doing a whole lot of pre-orders and stock signings as well.
Stock signing from my 2005 visit to the UK
One thing I love about signings is the chance to chat, even if briefly, to people who have actually read my book (and liked it). Try as I might, I find it very hard to write and talk at the same time. The fewer books you bring, the more likely it is that I'll be able to juggle the chatting and signing.
Also, the longer I've been signing for, the more likely I will lose the ability to speak coherently. Please be understanding if I make no sense at all after signing for a couple of hours or it's the third signing of the day.
Occasionally I've signed books for people who are very shy or too nervous to speak. Sometimes if I chat to them they relax, sometimes it makes them more uncomfortable. I understand completely. Only two years ago I discovered, at Worldcon in Montreal, that I'm still capable of turning into a gushing fangirl when finally confronted by a favourite author at the end of a signing queue (which is the opposite reaction, but has the same cause). I think we should have a code word or phrase for these occasions. If you find you're too nervous to speak, just smile and say "ugg boots" and I'll know not to pester you.
Like most authors, I'm happy to sign things other than books so long as it's legal, doesn't involve charges of indecent behaviour being laid, won't make a mess of me or the shop, and won't take a long time. I've signed a quilting square, various human (living) body parts and a giant tentacle before. Bring an appropriate pen.
The giant tentacle at Aussiecon4
General Good Manners:
You don't usually have to buy a book at the shop to get a books signed, but it is polite to do so. (Again, check with the shop.) If you already have all of my books, buy someone else's (but don't ask me to sign it!). If you find nothing you want, or can't afford to buy a book, try to spend a few minutes having a look around while you're there. Bricks and mortar bookshops have a hard time competing with online stores, and the more of them that go out of business the fewer venues there'll be for signings. If you like being able to meet an author and get your books signed, support the shops that provide you with that opportunity.
Be considerate of others in the queue. This should go without saying.
Remember that I'm on a tight schedule and, due to my back problems, travelling as light as I can. A signing is not a good time to be telling an author the idea for that book you're writing, or your ideas for a book they should write, or attempt to interview them, or listing all the typos you found in their books. Gifts are an awkward issue. The fact you came along to a signing is honestly a gift in itself. If you do really, really want to give me a gift I will be very flattered, but keep it small and light. If you give me a two metre tall statue of Akkarin or a painting of Mischief I'm not going to have room in the suitcase to take it home, and postage to Australia is very, very expensive. But I will, instead, take a photo of it.
Going on tour takes time out of my writing schedule so when I get home I'll be launching straight back into writing The Traitor Queen. Definitely do not attempt to leave your manuscript for me to read. I can't read it on tour or at home, and you'll have wasted a lot of good paper and trees. As with emails, I read all letters but don't have time to answer them.
(You can probably tell the last three paragraphs are based on some horror stories I've read and been told.)
I'm always happy to pose for a photo with someone. Or their garden gnome. Or giant tentacles. So long as it's not dangerous or likely to make a mess of me and the shop. I have no objection to holding your handknit sock in progress. (Waiting to see if anyone gets that reference…)
I think that's it, though I may add to this if I'm asked questions I haven't answered or something else occurs to me. Here are two signing etiquette links you may enjoy. Obviously I'm not as famous as these two authors and hope not to have to set some of the rules they have, but there's some good advice here:
Neil Gaiman has a very good So You're Going To A Signing post (scroll down to the section in italics). Great tips include opening anything covered in plastic first, and spelling out your name (which I usually have a notebook on hand for).
And this web page about signing tour etiquette at Terry Pratchet events is funny and has good advice about the number of books to bring.
April 2, 2011
Tour Events Schedule – Germany
Here are the details for the Reading Stations in Germany, as arranged by my wonderful publicity gal at Random House:
June 6th, 7:30 pm
Thalia Universitätsbuchhandlung (Thalia im Metropol)
Markt 24
53111 Bonn
For Tickets call: ++49/228/184978-0
June 7th, 8:30 pm
Buchhandlung Heymann
Eppendorfer Landstr. 77
20249 Hamburg
For Tickets call: ++49/40/2380-1696
June 8th, 8:00 pm
Buchhandlung Decius, Im Leine-Center
Marktplatz 11
30880 Laatzen (near Hannover)
For Tickets call: ++49/511/822000
June 9th, 8:00 pm
BABYLON
Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30
10178 Berlin
Tickets available at the BABYLON and various Advance-Booking-Centers
June 10th, 8:15 pm
Buchhandlung Lehmann's Media
Grimmaische Str. 10
04109 Leipzig
For Tickets call: ++49/341/3397500-143
Each event will include an interview and readings by myself and a German actor, plus time for me to answer your questions and, of course, sign your books.
March 30, 2011
Tour Events Schedule – UK, Ireland & Poland
What did I find in my inbox this morning but an email from my lovely, hard-working publicity gal at Orbit containing details for the first half of my tour. So, as promised, I've listed the events below:
Forbidden Planet launch event
6-7pm Thursday 5th May
Forbidden Planet Megastore, London
With the following, check with the stores for the location of the event. They may not be at the bookstore.
Friday 6th May – Eason & Son Bookstore, Dublin
Monday 9th May – 7-9pm, Waterstones Woking
Wednesday 11th May – 6:30pm, SFF evening, Heffers, Cambridge
Thursday 12th May – 7-8:30pm, Alt Fiction/Lincoln Festival event, Lincoln College
Friday 13th May – 7-8pm, Waterstones Manchester Deansgate
Sunday 15th May – noon-2pm, Warsaw Book Fair signing
Sunday 15th May – 4-6pm, Warsaw Empik Megastore signing
Monday 16th May – 6pm, Cracow Empik Megastore signing
Tuesday 17th May – 7pm, Waterstones Guildford
Wednesday 18th May – 6:30pm, Waterstones Basildon
Thursday 19th May – 7pm, Waterstones Nottingham
Waterstones has an events page where you can buy tickets here, though at the time of writing this it was only showing four events. I'm guessing that this means the other events are free – but don't quote me on that! Definitely ring the store and check.
I'll put the details for the German part of my tour in another post. So far the only public event I'm attending in France is Imaginales – which looks like it's going to be wonderful!
Let me know if you spot any errors. If there are any changes or additional information I'll add them here for now, then perhaps do a new post containing all my tour details just before I leave.
March 27, 2011
Danish Edition of The Magician's Apprentice
Welcome, Danish readers, to the prequel to the Black Magician Trilogy. I hope you enjoy it! Nice covers. (Yes, the book has been divided into three.)
March 23, 2011
Vague Tour Post No.2
It's both exciting and frustrating. I'm getting more and more emails and tweets asking for details about The Tour, but I all I have is a rough work-in-progress schedule. This appears to be due to some bad timing: some of the venues I'm going to be appearing in are advertising the fact and selling tickets. Nobody's fault, really – it's fantastic that they're so keen – but it does force me to say that if you don't want to miss out on tickets you may need to do a bit of snooping around on the internet.
(I also feel a bit ridiculous suggesting anyone might miss out on tickets, when I can't help picturing only two people turning up and having to invent questions from the audience to have something to talk about, but I shouldn't let author paranoia stop me from letting fans know they can buy them.)
To help in your internet snooping, here's what I know:
The Rogue's release date is the 5th May.
There'll be a launch. I don't know if it's invitation only or not, so I'm not giving details on where yet.
I'm going to Dublin. I don't know where in Dublin, just that the only place I'm going to in Ireland is Dublin. I wish I was going to more places in Ireland, as it's where most of my ancestors came from, but that will have to wait until I have the time for an actual holiday.
In the UK I'm going to be in London, Cambridge, Lincoln, Manchester and Nottingham. Some of these will be signing events, some of them won't.
I'm going to Poland. I'll be in Warsaw for the Warsaw Book Fair. I'll be in Cracow. There may be a tv interview involved and that thought is freaking me out quite a bit.
I'll be at Imaginales in Epinal, France. N K Jemesin and Robin Hobb will be there, so I may forget that I am a writer and turn into a gushing fangirl.
I'll be in Paris for a day. Or maybe half a day. I don't think this will involve a signing or public event. Maybe just excellent food with cool French publishing peeps.
I'll be going to Germany. I've never been to Germany before, and I'm really, really excited about this part.
In Germany I'll be doing a reading/interview event in Cologne, Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin and Leipzig.
I might be doing other things, like bookshop visits and signings in those places, too, but I'm only guessing right now and I really shouldn't in case I get someone's hopes up and then crush them.
The chances are pretty good that I won't be going anywhere other than these places. I'm sorry if you were hoping that I'd come to your town or or city or country and are disappointed that I'm not. I'd love to go to more places, but The Tour is already taking up seven weeks, and The Traitor Queen will be at home waiting for me to finish writing her.
If you use the info above to track down one of my appearances, do check the details with the venue. The list above in unconfirmed. Otherwise you can wait for the confirmed, official schedule to appear here. My two lovely, brilliant tour organisers at the UK and German publishing companies are working very hard to finalise everything. Hopefully I will have a Non-Vague Tour Post up here next week.
March 21, 2011
Indonesian Edition of Last of the Wilds
The postie just delivered another foreign edition today – Last of the Wilds in Indonesian!
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