Jamie Sheffield's Blog, page 20

My First Book Signing...

I've got a book signing this morning at the Community Store in Saranac Lake, NY from 9:30am until noon...and I'm terrified!

What if nobody comes?  What if they're mean?  What if people do come, but would rather buy funny hats for the Winter Carnival than a book by an author they've never heard of?  What if friends and family come around to give me moral support which turns to pity an hour in as the table and my books grow cobwebs?

I can't control any of that.  I've written a great book that should be relevant and interesting to most of the people that walk through the door, but I can't control what they do.  I can, however, control my side of the equation (a little), and that's what I've done by doing some homework on book signings.


I've read some articles, and talked to some authors, and am prepared (at least supplywise) for the signing today.   I will report back after the book signing as to which tips were most useful, which didn't work for me, and which I would add to the list.

The big take home message for me was twofold: be prepared (books, pens, drinks, camera, mints, etc.), and be willing to engage the people who come by actively.

Article #1, Article #2, Article #3

Thanks for reading, wish me good luck, and if you're in Saranac Lake today (2/9/2013) stop by the Community Store between 9:30am and noon to say hi and maybe buy a book!

Jamie

NCPR Interview

I did a interview with Todd Moe of North Country Public Radio (NCPR) this morning, and believe that there will be a short piece on tomorrow morning between 8:30am and 9:30am.  We talked about "Here Be Monsters" and writing and reading and the Adirondacks while the dogs milled around my feet asking to go in and out and in and out and in and out.

It feels odd to talk about my book and myself as if we're important or newsworthy, but I do love the idea of more people hearing about, and subsequently reading, "Here Be Monsters", so it seems a worthwhile way to spend a personal day away from my "day" job.

Thanks for reading (and listening!),

Jamie

Novelette Progress, Interview, Signing, Sales...

I'm in the middle of writing a Tyler Cunningham novelette.  Writing in this short format is an entirely different feel than the novel was...I have less time and space to develop plot and characters and background, but I'm trying to work using that as an opportunity rather than a constraint.  I'm writing cut-down prose, and hoping that the change (relative to the novel) works as a pacing device to help pull readers through the story.

I'm giving a radio interview with NCPR on Wednesday, and doing a book-signing this weekend in Saranac Lake (at The Community Store), and dropping some books off to a local museum and also the Lake Clear Lodge for sale to their patrons/guests.  I'm uncomfortable with the promotions side of self-publishing, but it's a necessary part of the process if I want human eyes on my words (which I do).

I've heard a self-pub statistic that 97% of self-pub books never sell more than 97 copies, and "Here Be Monsters" did that (and more) in the first month it was available...this makes me happy and proud and...eager to take a break from promotion for a bit, and get back to writing a couple of days a week.

Thanks,

Jamie

Snowy Saturday Dreaming

I spent a delightful day yesterday at Whiteface, skiing with my students and dreaming about the way that life could be for me as a writer.

I had a great time writing "Here Be Monsters" last summer, and working with my editor throughout the fall to get it ready for publication on New Year's Day, and would love to repeat that process again next summer (and in subsequent summers until the end of time).

I have started the planning process for the next Tyler novel, but in the meantime am interested in writing a couple of connected/related short stories and novelettes; these smaller scale writing projects work well with my schedule during the school year (and teaching is one of the loves of my life, as well as paying the bills and keeping us in doctors when needed).

To whit, my dream is to keep teaching (although if we're really talking dreams, I'd love for NY and the FED to get their heads out of their asses and my classroom a bit), write a novel every summer, and a couple of shorter pieces during the schoolyear.

I would love to keep exploring the Tyler Cunningham character, but can't tell at this point how many novels and stories he's got in him. I will certainly keep writing about the Adirondacks and the outdoors, as they're what I know best. I enjoy reading nasty books with some twists and tech in them, so I can see those featuring large in my writing future, even if Tyler eventually develops cholesterol or diabetes issues that remove him from the thneeding business.

At this point, typing from my kitchen table with dogs at my feet, coffee at my side, and the boy reading on the nearby couch, my writing dreams seem attainable and sustainable; this makes me a lucky man indeed.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Jamie

Reading in the Great Outdoors Contest!

Happy Monday!

Would you like to be mentioned in the next Tyler Cunningham book?



Send me a picture of you or a friend or family-member reading outside (in a woodsy setting like you might find Tyler reading in), and you'll make acknowledgments section in my next book.



Thanks,

Jamie

KDP Select or not?

I published my book, "Here Be Monsters" through Amazon's CreateSpace, which dovetails into Kindle Desktop Publishing, which in turn dovetails into KDP Select?  In general, I couldn't be happier with CreateSpace, and also with KDP, both of which work together with me and each other very well...the question in my mind is about the KDP Select program, which I signed up for when I initially published (and goes until March 31st of this year).

My book's inclusion in the KDP Select program allows Amazon Prime members to borrow my book for free (and I still get paid some amount), or for me to make the book free to everyone to download as a promotion.  The "cost" to me for being associated with this program is that I have to list the electronic version of my book exclusively with Amazon while I'm in the program.

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In practical terms, this means that I cannot make "Here Be Monsters" available to people with Nook or Kobo or iBooks users, or sell it in PDF format on my website.  I need to balance that with the roughly 20 people who have borrowed my book through the KDP Select program.



My current thinking is that when the initial agreement period is up in about 9 weeks, that I won't continue my participation in the KDP Select program, and will make "Here Be Monsters" available in other formats, and through other venues.



That being said, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter...based on your experience with, or simply your opinion on, the matter.

Thanks,

Jamie

Looking at novels from both sides

I still haven't gotten used to the idea that I actually wrote "Here Be Monsters", nor that people have read and enjoyed it.  It still freaks me out a bit when I get emails about the book, or read reviews on Amazon or GoodReads, or get stopped by someone who has read the book and wants to talk about Tyler or camping or bad eating habits or murder (as it relates to the book). 

It's gratifying to share the enjoyment for the story and character and place with people, but I've noticed something else...something that maybe only other writer's would know about...the disparity between reader and writer immersion in the novel.

People who read my book spend a couple of days (or hours...or weeks) reading, and enjoying, "Here Be Monsters"; I spent 6-8 months planning and writing and editing the same collection of words.  One draft of the novel was 68k words, another was nearly 80k, and the final was almost 75k; each of those versions was quite different. 

I tried to write fast, and fix it slow, and to maintain a stable of characters and action sequences within the general framework of a storyline arc...readers want a fun story that transports them to another world for the time that they're reading. 

Both of these experiences are valid and interesting aspects of the same book, but are totally different.

I love reading the work of my favorite authors, Lawrence Block and John Sandford; I have re-read some of their best stuff to relive the experience, and look forward to their new books eagerly.  I read their books in a few days, and now am aware that the book/adventure that I enjoyed swimming around in for around a week took them months to put together.

Maybe it's something that everyone else was already aware of. but it's new to me, and has changed the way that I think about the books that I read.

Just a morning book thought on a chilly Thursday in the Adirondacks (-30F this morning in Tyler Cunningham Country).

Thanks,

Jamie

Writing a New Short Piece

I had some time, and have had some ideas kicking around in my head relating to Tyler Cunningham, the protagonist in the novel that I wrote, so I started writing a short piece of fiction today. 

I already have some plans for a follow-up novel, to be written this summer, and this story is much less complex, so I'm thinking that it will be in the neighborhood of 15,000 words when all is said and done...a novelette according to a word count page that I found on Wikipedia.

Writing a shorter piece seems very different after working on a novel.  Everything needs to be more tightly planned and measured, and development of story/plot/characters has to happen much more quickly.  It'll be interesting to see what I end up with at the end of this process, but even if it's nothing much, it's still fun to play with words and see where the story goes.

In this short piece (short story or novelette, who knows?), Tyler gets a call from a lesser-developed character from the novel who is nevertheless important to Tyler...Mickey.  Mickey is in Tyler's kind of trouble, and Tyler is currently in the process of taking an unconventional path from trouble to clear, with a potential mess on order for anyone who picks the wrong team.  From here it seems as though things will work out for Tyler and Mickey as long as nothing goes wrong, but that seems unlikely to happen.

I'll post updates on the piece as it progresses...it's fun and interesting in the meantime.

Thanks,

Jamie

Press Release in the ADK Daily Enterprise!

(Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Weekender, 1/17/2013)
I was surprised when a few friends sent me emails this morning to let me know that there was a short piece about "Here Be Monsters" in the local paper, but am excited by the idea of more Adirondackers getting a chance to hear about my book.

Jamie

Winter Hammock Camping!

The book has been launched, copies are selling, good reviews are coming, I've started working on the sequel novel (as well as a couple of Tyler-related short stories), so I'm getting ready to run away from the whole thing for a bit.

I'm meeting some equally crazy friends for a 4-day winter camping trip out in the winter wonderland that the Adirondacks has become.  A number of us will be sleeping in our hammocks.  We may get snow (one year we had an overnight storm dump a foot of the white stuff on us) it may get cold (a couple of years ago, it hit -36F when a few of us were camping), but regardless, a good time will be had by all.

I'll post some pictures of the fun and games afterwards, and hope to come back inspired and rested and ready to get cracking on my new writing projects.

Thanks for all of the support and reviews and enthusiasm to date!

Jamie