Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 67
May 22, 2014
Cherry Popping and Fizzle
Song of the Day: Shine by Sevendust
My cherry has been popped and I can’t help but feel, well, screwed. Last week, I attended the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in New Orleans. I’m no longer a RT virgin. Don’t get me wrong. I had an AMAZING time. The workshops, panels, socials, and meeting readers, had palpable energy and excitement, and all in the heart of New Orleans. It was crazy, fantastic. (Pictures of shenanigans coming soon!) I’m looking forward to attending again next year in Dallas.
Being a reader’s convention, I attended to meet and connect with readers. And I met some wonderful readers both young and old. But one of the focuses involving readers is the Giant Book Fair. This is where I feel cheated.
Let me explain. The Book Fair was split up into two rooms—one for the traditionally published and one for the digital first, small press and indie authors, such as myself. In a way, the separation made business sense because of administration. The traditional published books fall into the returnable category, meaning books sold could be returned to a bookstore—in this case Barnes & Noble, being the bookstore handling the fair. The indie, small press, digital first authors were selling their books on consignment. So in one room, B&N handled the sales, while in the other room the sales were handled by RT staff. I had no real beef with the set-up except that it made for long, nightmarish check-out lines for readers.
Call me naive, but the separation of authors didn’t become apparent to me until I actually arrived at RT and looked at the brochure. Being a virgin, I didn’t immediately recognize the problem. Not until the first few minutes of the signing did it become painfully clear.
From my vantage at my itty bitty table space, I could see hordes of people being ushered into the “main” ballroom, stuffing them in, really. No one, save a few friends and business associates, meandered into our room.
It was awkward. It was dismal. Questions of failure and suckiness flitted through my mind (and I wasn’t the only one). But not more than the shitty feeling of insignificance. This was compounded by the constant announcements reminding readers to visit the indie room, and the ill-informed volunteer who, bless her heart, explained to readers which ballroom to find the traditional authors and which to find the “aspiring authors”. Yeah… I’ll let that sink in. It was even suggested (IE announced overhead) the indie authors needed to be patient as we wanted it that way, meaning we chose consignment thereby choosing separation.
So for 3+ hours, potential new readers and fans never made it to my table. Or by the time they drifted in, they’d spent their money in the other room. Frustration and disappointment abounded.
The money spent on any conference or convention—registrations, travel, meals, incidentals and dollars spent on promo and swag—will garner no ROI, return on investment. It’s a truth. What I do expect from a readers convention is connecting with fans and discoverability. Hard to do when relegated to the kiddie table.
So what’s the solution? I’ve heard many opinions. One suggestion was to separate authors by genres only, not publishing criteria, making it easier for readers of that genre to find books they’d love. They do it with YA, after all. Another suggestion was to have the traditional published books and the consignment books held at different book fair time slots. And yet another approach I’ve heard several times is to have consignment authors sell their book directly from their table using a mobile point-of-sale tool like Square. I, personally, don’t like the idea of using a Square. From a consumer standpoint, I wouldn’t want to do this kind of buying with every author I’d want to purchase from. Human nature dictates that I’d feel like I’m spending a lot of money and I’d limit myself. All these ideas have their pros and cons, and they ultimately still separate the authors.
There doesn’t seem to be one right way that wouldn’t be without problems. But perhaps a page could be taken from the Romance Writers of America’s literacy book signing. It’s alphabetical regardless of how the authors are published, all the authors are in one room, and all payments are handled by the staff. Surely a compromise in payment administrations could be reached.
All that said, I wholeheartedly appreciate the hard work put in by RT volunteers, staff and organizers. With 700 signing authors and swarms of readers, pulling off the book fair was no easy feat. Let’s just hope lessons are learned and faulty judgment are not repeated. Otherwise, my cherry may find somewhere else to get love.
Thoughts? Comments?
May 21, 2014
Hump Day Kick Start – Sexy, Sweaty, Pitchfork Edition
Song of the Day: My Demons by Starset
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
Oh Theo…how I’ve missed you so.
If you stare too long, that silly grin will stick.
Let your imagination roam on today’s prompt. All over… *swoons* Who is our glistening prompt? Is he the new/old stable hand? Is he a horse baron who owns and breeds racehorses? Or does he work for the new, sexy, single ranch owner who is from the city? Will he teach her a thing or two about farming? What happened to his shirt? Oh, never mind. That doesn’t matter. *more swooning*
Love to hear your thoughts.
May 20, 2014
Link of the Week – Grammarly
Everyone, even the editor pros, need hep form time to time with grammar. Grammarly is an automated proofreader that, like your 5th grade English teacher, will check for grammatical mistakes. (But without the red pencil marking up your paper and the embarrassing grade.) The site will not only check for over 250 types of grammatical errors, it will also offer suggestions, enhance writing, and check against plagiarism. You can try it for free and see if it fits your needs. Pretty darn cool.
May 14, 2014
Hump Day Kick Start – Lounge and Longing Edition
Song of the Day: Asking Too Much by All That Remains
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
Since I’m in New Orleans this week, I thought this picture was a great prompt. The scenery of the room reminded me of a Southern sitting room.
So who is our couple? Is she a docent of historic plantation home? Is he the groundskeeper? A tourist who happened into a private part of the home? Who seducing whom? Maybe she’s the daughter of a wealthy county judge and he’s a con artists working his way into the family. Or are the roles reversed? Is he trying to win her back after a terrible misunderstanding? Could he be a lonely bachelor trying to convince her to stay with him for one more night?
Your turn. I’d love to hear your take.
May 13, 2014
Link of the Week – Open Culture and Stephen King
This week’s link is to an interview by Open Culture, a “cultural and educational” site, with the great Stephen King. is for all writers of any genre. Whether just starting out or a seasoned pro, you’ll want the twenty gems from Stephen King. When he speaks, I listen. Mostly because he is so relatable, like a mentor, like a friend. Be inspired!
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html
May 11, 2014
Happy Mothers Day
A toast to all the mothers – old, young, new, yet-to-be, and to the ones of pets, the world over. Happy Mother’s Day!
May 7, 2014
Hump Day Kick Start – Contemplation Edition
Song of the Day: Deep by Pearl Jam
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
I seriously love this picture. There is so much that could be going on. Perfect for a prompt.
Aside from who they really are, tell me about this couple. What’s going on? Did they just have a fight? Maybe they are plotting a heist, a take down, a murder? What is he contemplating? Has he used the gun before? Recently? Or soon? What is she thinking? Is she bored? Resigned? Just tired and coming down from a martini buzz after a long night?
I’d love to know your version of this prompt. Let’s hear it!
May 6, 2014
Link of the Week
Mother’s Day is this weekend (your PSA so you don’t become the ungrateful child) and so I thought this week’s link would be fun for any parent. Jason Good is a fellow writer and comedian. He has a unique, witty outlook on parenting that’s sure to bring you a chuckle or two. So just for fun… 
http://jasongood.net/365/2014/04/things-you-dont-want-to-hear-from-the-other-room/
http://jasongood.net/365/2011/08/day-215-approximately-3-minutes-inside-the-head-of-my-2-year-old/
April 30, 2014
Hump Day Kick Start – Six Pack in the Doorway Edition
Song of the Day: Bent by Matchbox Twenty
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.
Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Oh wait…never mind. Just come on in!
We may not see his face clearly, but there is a whole lot of emotion we can see, both in his face and his body language. So who is our subject today? Is he coming in or is he about to turn and go? Is he broken, hoping the woman he loves doesn’t close the door on him? Could he be searching for courage to enter the childhood home where he endured many soul-crushing scars? Does he have regret for what he is about to do? If so, what is it? Suppose he has bad news for his beautiful neighbor. Maybe he just finished a grueling set of chin-ups using the door frame.
You tell me. I’m anxious to hear your take on this picture prompt.
April 29, 2014
Link of the Week – Vook
I’m a visual person. I learn and retain knowledge by being able to see it. So when I stumbled upon this site called Vook, I was intrigued. First and foremost, I signed up so that I could visually track my sales for up to ten books. For free. I like free. :-) I can track multiple books, and see gross sales, net sales, and downloads using pie charts, bar graphs and line graphs. This will come in super handy when seeing what promotions or changes made to pricing, metadata, etc.
But, if you are one of those people who likes to one-stop shop, Vook offers much more, such as formatting distribution, proofing, print on demand, book covers, scanning, and more.
Give it a looksee.
