G.R.D. Wheeler's Blog, page 24

Blog Sync

I signed up for networkedblogs on facebook. Now, supposedly this will let me do just one blog post here, which will then be re-posted on my fan page, twitter & goodreads.  This is the first test. It should also let anyone who doesn't want to leave facebook sign up for & follow my blog.

In other news, I'm seriously considering trying to set up a book signing tour for upstate NY at the end of August. Whether or I not I can afford it will depend greatly on how well sales are this month & how many books I can sell during the book signings here. So if you want to see me in NY, tell everyone you know about my book! Thanks!

Jellyvision Talk Show

I'm going to be on a live talk show!

Ok, it's internet only, but hey, it's definitely a start! Come watch me at the Soundry on June 30th at 7pm or tune in online at Jellyvision! I'll be talking about Blood for the Living & reading a passage. There will also be a book signing afterward.

Now, what part of the book should I read? I HAVE NO IDEA!

If you have a favorite section that you'd like to hear me read, please drop a comment & let me know!

Online Forums

Online forums – there's a forum for everything. I've been advised to join & post on as many as possible, to increase my visibility. bleh. I really can't stand them. As much as I LOVE facebook, I detest forums/boards/discussion groups, or whatever else you want to call them. But I'm now a member of a whole bunch, and I'm cruising the postings for opportunities to discretely mention my book. Again, bleh. Definitely my least favorite way of advertising.

On the upside, I now have my own kindleboards author page, for the kindle lovers out there!

Giveaway on Goodreads!

I'm giving away a free, autographed copy of my book through Goodreads.com! Contest ends July 1.

In other news, I'm having a hard time finding places to do book signings! The big name stores haven't returned my call. This area is seriously lacking in privately-owned bookstores. Really, privately-owned anything. We are a model of business chain suburbia. While this is normally an extremely convenient place to live, right now it's a bit depressing. I'm going to have to expand my field of view by quite a bit and hope that the price of gas goes down!

Signature Page

My attempts at a signature. From a distance, they look similar enough.

And now that I have a signature, I signed the title page of my book, scanned it, and saved it in .pdf format. If you subscribe to my blog, I'll email you a copy for your ebook reader. It's the only way I could think of for signing my ebook!

My ad on Facebook

Just created a facebook ad! For the low budget price of $1.50/day. Don't know how much play I'll actually get for such a low amount, but this is definitely a start small situation. I've got them targeting vampire & scifi lovers. If anyone sees my ad popup, please let me know! And don't click it or they'll charge me, lol! =)

My ad says it's "science fiction with a vampire candy coating."  This is my elevator pitch… the one-line description that I can spout off in 5 seconds or less that might get someone's attention. Like it?  Honestly, it makes me think of m&m's, but that's not a bad thing.

If the ad has worked, and you're now reading my blog because you followed the ad's link, please drop me a comment & let me know my $1.50 paid off! Thanks!

So much for Politics

Got turned down by Politics & Prose bookstore. Apparently I needed to ask for a book signing/reading FOUR MONTHS BEFORE my book was due to be released. Guess I'll have to try them once I'm done with the sequel!

In other news, Amazon still does not have my book listed properly. You can't find it if you search by title or author, only if you have the direct link. And now the ebook is having the same problem. Called tech support, they sent an email to the "specialist" for me. The specialist does not take phone calls. I'm hoping this is because the specialist is the sort of guy who's super good at fixing problems but should never be allowed to talk to humans. They said give it 2 days & call back if it's not fixed. *sigh*

Out on Ebook!

The good news! My book's now out on ebook!   For Kindle.  For Nook.

The bad news: My listing on Amazon is totally messed up. The new book STILL isn't showing up when you do a search, despite efforts by my publisher & a tech support call to Amazon. It can be found via direct link at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listin...

Also, the reviews haven't transferred over like they were supposed to. *sigh*  At least all is well at barnesandnoble.com.

Reading at the Soundry!

On the advice of Area 42 Games, I contact the Soundry in Vienna. I'm now participating in their reading & Kindle party on Sept. 8th! Tickets are available through the Soundry.

I've contacted my publisher to see about posters & displays, and to order books for the signing. But I still have several things on my to-do list:

I need to practice my signature. I realized today that after almost 9 yrs of marriage, I don't think I've ever signed my name the same way twice! But as an author, I need to have a relatively distinct & definitive signature for Kate Nevermore. This is going to be VERY difficult for me to do.

I need to pick out the passage I want to read out loud, and then practice!  I have no problems reading out loud. However, I'm used to reading out loud to small children. I'm quite sure that reading to adults should sound different than the way I read Good Night Moon!

I need to figure out the image I want to portray. Normally I'm a jeans & a nice cotton shirt sort of woman. I'm not sure if I want Kate to just be a pen name or more of an alter-ego. Regardless, how do I want to look for my book signing or the reading? Really, have no idea here.

FIRST BOOK SIGNING!!!

I just scheduled my very first book signing. SO excited!!

I'm going to be at Prospero's in downtown Manassas on July 4th from 1-5 pm.

The manager/owner said it's one of their busiest days of the year. Bob also said I have a great cover & it's priced just right, so he thinks it will do well. After talking to Bob, I walked over to the local newspaper & talked to them about announcing the book signing, so hopefully the article will be in the next paper!