Ariel Gordon's Blog, page 48
July 15, 2013
Monday's Poem
* * *
Lantzville, BC-based publisher Leaf Press has this thing called Monday's Poem. Where they publish a new poem to their website every Monday, each poem getting its 10,080 minutes of fame.
I've had two poems appear as Monday's Poems so far, "Seven Year Itch" in 2006 and "Primipara" in 2011.
This time, instead of wanting previously unpublished poems, Leaf is asking exclusively for previously published poems...and I was happy to furnish them with "Heart Attack," which appeared in How to Make a Collage (Kalamalka Press, 2013) and will theoretically also appear in my 2014 trade title with Palimpsest.
Which is back to being untitled.
My thanks, as always, to Leaf and to publisher Ursula Vaira.
July 11, 2013
How to Launch Your Book: part two
So you’re publishing a book. Whee! Now what?
Now that you've set up a venue for your event and taken care of details like food and drink, you need to start promoting your event...
The poster for my first tour, created by Jeope Wolfe.
The poster for my second tour, created by Julia Michaud.
Event posters created by McNally Robinson Booksellers.About a month before the launch, send an mass email to everyone in your address book, inviting them to the launch.
Include a description of the book, a thumbnail of the book cover, and all the pertinent details.
Tell them how happy and proud you are and how happy and proud you’d be if they came out to help you celebrate.
Sometimes, the people you love that happen to situate themselves outside the literary community don’t understand what a big deal a first/second/third/fourth/etc. book is…so it’s a good idea to explain why this is a big deal for you.
If the event is catered, mention that. Besides guilt, food is a great motivator.
Send a second reminder invite the week before the launch.
If you have a blog, post same. And then post small, unobnoxious reminders about once a week.
If you’re on Facebook, create an event for the launch and invite everyone you know. Friends, colleagues, enemies. EVERYONE.
On the page for the event, include a description of the book, a thumbnail of the cover, your author photo and bio and a link to your press and maybe even to the event location, should it have a website.
If your press is fancy and is doing postcards/bookmarks/posters, get a boxful and start distributing them around your town.
Also take the time to send paper invites to those people you think will appreciate them. Not everyone has email or FB accounts…or checks them regularly.
Make sure you do send them at least three weeks prior to the event, to allow time for Canada Post and people’s varied schedules.
And, if you've got a modicum of design skills - or, better yet, know someone who does and who will deploy said skills on your behalf - make a poster. Put it up everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
* * *
I'll be posting the third part of How to Launch Your Book next Thursday.
Now that you've set up a venue for your event and taken care of details like food and drink, you need to start promoting your event...
The poster for my first tour, created by Jeope Wolfe.
The poster for my second tour, created by Julia Michaud.
Event posters created by McNally Robinson Booksellers.About a month before the launch, send an mass email to everyone in your address book, inviting them to the launch. Include a description of the book, a thumbnail of the book cover, and all the pertinent details.
Tell them how happy and proud you are and how happy and proud you’d be if they came out to help you celebrate.
Sometimes, the people you love that happen to situate themselves outside the literary community don’t understand what a big deal a first/second/third/fourth/etc. book is…so it’s a good idea to explain why this is a big deal for you.
If the event is catered, mention that. Besides guilt, food is a great motivator.
Send a second reminder invite the week before the launch.
If you have a blog, post same. And then post small, unobnoxious reminders about once a week.
If you’re on Facebook, create an event for the launch and invite everyone you know. Friends, colleagues, enemies. EVERYONE.
On the page for the event, include a description of the book, a thumbnail of the cover, your author photo and bio and a link to your press and maybe even to the event location, should it have a website.
If your press is fancy and is doing postcards/bookmarks/posters, get a boxful and start distributing them around your town.
Also take the time to send paper invites to those people you think will appreciate them. Not everyone has email or FB accounts…or checks them regularly.
Make sure you do send them at least three weeks prior to the event, to allow time for Canada Post and people’s varied schedules.
And, if you've got a modicum of design skills - or, better yet, know someone who does and who will deploy said skills on your behalf - make a poster. Put it up everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
* * *
I'll be posting the third part of How to Launch Your Book next Thursday.
July 4, 2013
How to Launch Your Book: part one
So you’re publishing a book. Whee! Now what?
Now you need to think about launching that book of yours!
Once you’ve figured out when the books will be available (i.e. the earliest you can get your hot little hands on them), work with your press to arrange for a suitable location.
Bookstores are good, because a successful launch will motivate them to keep your book in stock. They’ll also take care of sales, which will be one less thing for you to think about.
Ariel reading at a cafe in Saskatoon, 2013.And believe me, you’ll have lots to think about as your launch date draws near.
“Preparing for a book launch involves roaming through Polo Park looking for something to wear that looks casually chosen, yet trendy, yet not so trendy as to appear carefully chosen,” notes Melissa Steele, who has published two books of short stories with Turnstone Press.
Ariel and Regina's Tracy Hamon at a library at 2010.
“It involves getting a hair cut and considering how aging happens without one really noticing until events like these. Preparation also involves looking over the new book and discovering at least one typo and several passages that still need rewrites.”
Typos and launch frocks aside, bookstores are not the only place you can have your launch. Roller rinks, bars, museums, multi-purpose rooms in universities and other similar spaces are all good options for launches.
Ariel launching at a bookstore, 2010.Though your press might give you some money to put on the launch (or, if they’re in the same town as you, throw the party themselves), try to find a venue that A) will be fun and maybe a little different for you and your friends/family/fans and B) won’t cost you a pile of money.
“Much as I like launches at bookstores, I also really love unique venues,” says Edmonton poet Jenna Butler, who has published and launched three books of poetry.
“They seem to attract folk to a literary event who might not otherwise attend the same event at a bookstore. But the venue still needs to work well for a reading: good accessibility, accoustics, seating, etc.”
The most important detail, of course, with an alternate venue is getting a trusted friend/spouse/cousin to work the book table. Then, all you need is a big stack of books and the ability to make change for all the inevitable bank machine twenties.
Doing your own launch means you have control over things like the configuration of the room, the music, and the decorations…all of which can contribute towards a memorable event.
“I launched my first book alongside Robert Kroetsch last March at Greenwoods Bookshoppe in Edmonton,” says Butler.
“My favorite thing (aside from reading with Robert Kroetsch?!)? My publisher brought a bowlful of beautiful smooth green beach stones to the launch and everyone who bought the book took some stones. Beach stones feature in the cover design, and the book is about skipping between worlds, England and Canada. It was a thoughtful touch. I still have a beach stone in my coat pocket a year later...”
There’s also the question of food. We’re not talking sit-down meal here but anything small like squares or cupcakes or a fruit platter or even just crackers and cheese is greatly appreciated by the audience.
If you want to go all out, have a launch cake. (CAKE!)
Remember that some venues require you to order catering from them. And even if they let you bring in outside food (and this is where you ask your mother /sister / grandmother to do some baking for you…), remember that things like nut allergies are serious business.
Remember too that you can go a bit too far with the whole ‘theme launch’…
“I think my publicist asked me if I wanted to launch my fist book, Donut Shop Lovers, at Timmy's or Robin's Donuts but at the time the smoking laws weren't in place yet and I'm severely allergic to cigarette smoke and the book has very little to do with donuts or donut shops so I said no way,” says Steele.
Though there is something to be said for a big shindig, it is probably best to keep things as simple as possible, especially if you’re doing the bulk of the work yourself.
Because a launch is a party for you and your book. And you don’t want to have to worry about very much.
* * *
I'll be posting the second part of How to Launch Your Book next Thursday.
Now you need to think about launching that book of yours!
Once you’ve figured out when the books will be available (i.e. the earliest you can get your hot little hands on them), work with your press to arrange for a suitable location.
Bookstores are good, because a successful launch will motivate them to keep your book in stock. They’ll also take care of sales, which will be one less thing for you to think about.
Ariel reading at a cafe in Saskatoon, 2013.And believe me, you’ll have lots to think about as your launch date draws near. “Preparing for a book launch involves roaming through Polo Park looking for something to wear that looks casually chosen, yet trendy, yet not so trendy as to appear carefully chosen,” notes Melissa Steele, who has published two books of short stories with Turnstone Press.
Ariel and Regina's Tracy Hamon at a library at 2010.“It involves getting a hair cut and considering how aging happens without one really noticing until events like these. Preparation also involves looking over the new book and discovering at least one typo and several passages that still need rewrites.”
Typos and launch frocks aside, bookstores are not the only place you can have your launch. Roller rinks, bars, museums, multi-purpose rooms in universities and other similar spaces are all good options for launches.
Ariel launching at a bookstore, 2010.Though your press might give you some money to put on the launch (or, if they’re in the same town as you, throw the party themselves), try to find a venue that A) will be fun and maybe a little different for you and your friends/family/fans and B) won’t cost you a pile of money. “Much as I like launches at bookstores, I also really love unique venues,” says Edmonton poet Jenna Butler, who has published and launched three books of poetry.
“They seem to attract folk to a literary event who might not otherwise attend the same event at a bookstore. But the venue still needs to work well for a reading: good accessibility, accoustics, seating, etc.”
The most important detail, of course, with an alternate venue is getting a trusted friend/spouse/cousin to work the book table. Then, all you need is a big stack of books and the ability to make change for all the inevitable bank machine twenties.
Doing your own launch means you have control over things like the configuration of the room, the music, and the decorations…all of which can contribute towards a memorable event.
“I launched my first book alongside Robert Kroetsch last March at Greenwoods Bookshoppe in Edmonton,” says Butler.
“My favorite thing (aside from reading with Robert Kroetsch?!)? My publisher brought a bowlful of beautiful smooth green beach stones to the launch and everyone who bought the book took some stones. Beach stones feature in the cover design, and the book is about skipping between worlds, England and Canada. It was a thoughtful touch. I still have a beach stone in my coat pocket a year later...”
There’s also the question of food. We’re not talking sit-down meal here but anything small like squares or cupcakes or a fruit platter or even just crackers and cheese is greatly appreciated by the audience.
If you want to go all out, have a launch cake. (CAKE!)
Remember that some venues require you to order catering from them. And even if they let you bring in outside food (and this is where you ask your mother /sister / grandmother to do some baking for you…), remember that things like nut allergies are serious business.
Remember too that you can go a bit too far with the whole ‘theme launch’…
“I think my publicist asked me if I wanted to launch my fist book, Donut Shop Lovers, at Timmy's or Robin's Donuts but at the time the smoking laws weren't in place yet and I'm severely allergic to cigarette smoke and the book has very little to do with donuts or donut shops so I said no way,” says Steele.
Though there is something to be said for a big shindig, it is probably best to keep things as simple as possible, especially if you’re doing the bulk of the work yourself.
Because a launch is a party for you and your book. And you don’t want to have to worry about very much.
* * *
I'll be posting the second part of How to Launch Your Book next Thursday.
June 30, 2013
hot/buggy
All photos Assiniboine Forest, Winnipeg, MB. June 30, 2013.* * *It's been a hot and buggy weekend. M and Aa were less than enthused, this afternoon, at the prospect of a hot and buggy walk in the forest. But it's rained a few times over the past week and the boulevards are lousy with mushrooms, so I really needed to walk in the forest.
So when M proposed that they'd drop me off and go get groceries while I walked, I practically lept out of the car.
And despite the double application of spray, the mosquitoes specialized in my triceps and hairline. (One mosquito flew into my eye. Which was memorable, anyways...)
And there were clusters of poison ivy everywhere in the underbrush. (I have a tendency to sit on clusters of poison ivy while shooting exciting mushrooms...)
But it didn't matter. Because there were heaps of mushrooms. And I didn't have to worry about anyone else.
Luckily, we nipped home to drop off the groceries afterwards where I quick-draw-McGraw-ed out of my forest ensemble into something less sweaty and covered in squashed mosquito.
Yay! Fun!
June 26, 2013
Saskatoon! Reading!
My Saskatoon reading June 10 was cooked up with the help of some of my favourite Saskatoon writers: Andréa Ledding, dee Hobsbawn-Smith, and Jeanette Lynes.
I've read in Saskatoon twice, both via the Tonight It's Poetry reading series.
Once was under Taylor Leedahl's tenure and was at the Flint with its awesome mix-and-match charcuterie platter. That was with Kerry Ryan, who I'd bullied into touring with me. (We even had t-shirts designed by her partner Jeope Wolfe!)
The second was with John Toone and Jonathan Ball just as the series was migrating to a more spoken-word focus. I stayed with Bernice Friesen, who has since moved to BC, but she made me very very strong tea and showed me her latest art/upcycling project.
All of which is to say that Saskatoon feels almost like home. But it was lovely to get to read with Andréa, who has always come to my readings and who is a whiz-bang poet/parent herself.
And with dee, who hosted myself and Tracy Hamon for a reading when she and Dave Margoshes - her sweetie - were in residence at the Stegner House in East End years ago. And with Jeanette, who edited Hump and then moved to Saskatoon, though I'm not completely sure those things are connected.
It was end of term for dee, Andréa and Jeanette - the former are students in USask's Creative Writing MA and Jeanette the instructor/administrator/major domo of said program - and I was sort of knackered after more than a week away from home, hauling all the luggage, etc.
But the reading went well, with a pile of poets and poet-lovers in attendance, and M and Aa, who were on a father-daughter camping trip of their own, arranged to meet up with me at the reading. (The girl only had to cover her ears during one poem...)
Thanks to City Perks for hosting our Poetry With Perks event. (And especially for the chai latte.)
I've read in Saskatoon twice, both via the Tonight It's Poetry reading series.Once was under Taylor Leedahl's tenure and was at the Flint with its awesome mix-and-match charcuterie platter. That was with Kerry Ryan, who I'd bullied into touring with me. (We even had t-shirts designed by her partner Jeope Wolfe!)
The second was with John Toone and Jonathan Ball just as the series was migrating to a more spoken-word focus. I stayed with Bernice Friesen, who has since moved to BC, but she made me very very strong tea and showed me her latest art/upcycling project.
All of which is to say that Saskatoon feels almost like home. But it was lovely to get to read with Andréa, who has always come to my readings and who is a whiz-bang poet/parent herself.
And with dee, who hosted myself and Tracy Hamon for a reading when she and Dave Margoshes - her sweetie - were in residence at the Stegner House in East End years ago. And with Jeanette, who edited Hump and then moved to Saskatoon, though I'm not completely sure those things are connected.
It was end of term for dee, Andréa and Jeanette - the former are students in USask's Creative Writing MA and Jeanette the instructor/administrator/major domo of said program - and I was sort of knackered after more than a week away from home, hauling all the luggage, etc.
But the reading went well, with a pile of poets and poet-lovers in attendance, and M and Aa, who were on a father-daughter camping trip of their own, arranged to meet up with me at the reading. (The girl only had to cover her ears during one poem...)
Thanks to City Perks for hosting our Poetry With Perks event. (And especially for the chai latte.)
June 25, 2013
PBN: Gary Chappell
* * * From the spring 2013 issue of Prairie books NOW.
