Lynne Stringer's Blog, page 7

The race to the end of the year

It’s now only six weeks until Christmas day.

Does that scare you? I think I’m on track with all my Christmas shopping and everything, so I’m not too worried. Some presents have already been bought and wrapped in preparation for putting them under the Christmas tree. There are more still to buy but in most cases, I have a good idea what I’m going to get, so I feel reasonably prepared as we draw closer to the festive season.

As Once Confronted has just been released, this time of year is also phenomenally busy as I try and be everywhere at once in the lead-up to Christmas to try and sell as many copies as possible.

Unfortunately, this year has been a hectic one so far and I am feeling more than a little worn out. I’m sure that contributed to the fact that I was laid low last weekend and had to cancel a book signing, something I’d never done before. Unfortunately, it was to be my first visit to that bookstore, however, it was a multi-author event, so it wasn’t like no authors were going to be there just because I couldn’t go, which relieved me a bit, although I was still disappointed I couldn’t attend.

I had another signing yesterday at a bookstore I’ve been to a couple of times, and much to my delight, I sold 14 books altogether. It didn’t break my record of 18 at one signing, which I achieve in November 2013, but it was nonetheless satisfying. Also, as far as I could tell, most people purchased my books for themselves, rather than as gifts for someone else. Only two people asked me to sign it with ‘merry Christmas’, or to someone other than themselves, so I was grateful to have sold so many under that circumstance. Hopefully, if they enjoy the books enough when they read them, they might want to buy someone else a copy.

I’m continuing with my promotions, although most of them will be online for the next couple of weeks, so hopefully my strength will hold out as long as it needs to, and I can have a good rest over Christmas.

Preparations

It’s almost the end of October and things are getting busy.

All those end-of-year events seem to start in October. I had to be careful when scheduling the book launch for Once Confronted, as a few people had kids who were preparing for formals around that time, so were busy helping them get ready. Then there are the early Christmas parties and other end-of-year preparations, as there isn’t a lot of the year left.

I work for Australian eBook Publisher, a self-publishing company, and we have also suddenly become very busy. I think some people are hoping to have their books ready by Christmas but I think also some people had planned to do their books this year and have been putting them off. Now they’ve realised that the year is nearly over and if they want to do it this year, they need to make a start. Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to put things off without realising how quickly time is passing?

I’m also attending the Omega Writers’ Conference in Sydney next weekend, where I am running a structural editing workshop and doing a few other things. This has taken quite a bit of prep time as I’m trying to ensure I present something that will be of benefit to the attendees, and workshops can be tricky things to plan, especially if you don’t know exactly what the participants will need.

In the midst of all this, I’m also trying to promote Once Confronted. It’s hard to find time, and I’m trying to, but I’m also trying to remind myself that there will be time for it next year too, and there might be more important things that need my attention first.

I think most of us forget just how quickly time passes. It’s such an easy thing to do when we’re caught up in all the things going on in life. It’s hard to remember that we need to pay attention to life itself. The phrase ‘stop to smell the flowers’ is one that can be passed over with a laugh, but it’s important to remember to take time to appreciate our family and friends and all that’s going on around us, and not to be so busy that we lose track of the things that are really important. Even publishing a book or attending a conference is not as important as special times with those we love.

YouTube

How many authors do you know who have YouTube Channels? I know quite a few, although it still seems to be a rarity in some author circles.

I’ve had my own channel for some time now, and every new book of mine that comes out provide the opportunity to upload more videos, as I have created book trailers for each of my books. I hear varying opinions on whether creating a book trailer is a worthwhile thing or not. Some people seem to think they’re a waste of time, others think they’re extremely useful. If nothing else, mine have been fun to make, and a visual tool like that can really appeal to many readers.

When I had my book launch last week, I asked my husband to video me talking about the real-life armed robbery that inspired the story of Once Confronted. Although I blogged about the story a few weeks ago, I thought some people might prefer a video version of it, and as I was planning to tell the story at the book launch, it seemed like a good idea to film it and put it up. If you haven’t seen it yet, the link is below.

I’m not sure if this kind of content will have a lot of appeal. Certainly, the video is a little on the long side, which might put some people off, but I think hearing me tell the story like this might have more appeal for some than just reading about it. After all, my video performance is a ‘warts and all’ one, not a carefully edited one, like my blog post. Perhaps this realism may hold a greater appeal to some. What do you think?

 

Here is the link to my talk about the real-life event that inspired me to write Once Confronted.

Go for Launch

This afternoon I held a book launch for Once Confronted. I hired a nearby church hall and went down in the early afternoon to get everything ready for the 2.00 pm start.

It’s amazing how many things you need to take with you to an event like this. I needed a sign people could see from the street so they could see where to turn into the car park. I needed another sign to point people to the right building. I put up posters and blurbs and book review quotes for all my books, with food and drink enough to feed an army.

An army didn’t attend but those who came seemed to enjoy themselves.

I also had competitions asking people what their favourite book was and why they liked it. I had entries from people ranging in age from six to sixty! One year five student named a book called Faceless, which about a burn victim who needs a face transplant. She certainly enjoyed what sounds like a very moving book. I also asked people to tell me a great title for a book. My favourite was the book called Don’t Buy This. I think that one could really work.

I told the story of what inspired me to write Once Confronted and am hoping to upload it to YouTube at some point. Keep your eye on this space if you’re interested. I also told the story in last week’s blog, which you can read here if you like. It was an emotional story to tell but everyone seemed to appreciate my honesty about what I had been through.

Now the book launch is done and Once Confronted is well and truly out there. If you’ve already read it I’d love it if you would leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. And if you haven’t read it yet you can find links to where you can purchase it here.  Happy reading!

 

The story behind Once Confronted

Once Confronted is out now! It was released this weekend and I’ve already held an online launch. The local launch is next weekend.

To celebrate its release, I thought I’d tell you the story behind it. It’s a little long, but I hope you can get through to the end.

On Saturday 20th April 1991 I was working alone in a bookstore. I had objected to working by myself, as I was worried that something might happen. However, I was told that I would not be allowed to work at night by myself but that nothing would happen in the daytime.

However, the store was not on street level and was enclosed by bookshelves, and on Saturdays, it was empty on a regular basis. I wasn’t happy about working alone but what could I do?

About eleven-fifteen a man came in. He made as if he was going to buy one of the crosses on chains we had on display at the front counter. He seemed to be trying to decide which one he should buy. He left the store after a little while. He returned about an hour later, and still seemed to be deciding which item he was going to purchase. He even asked for other stores in the area that stocked similar things.

The third time he came in, I was the only one in the store. He put a bookmark down on the front counter with a two dollar coin to pay for it. As I started ringing it up, he asked me if he could buy one of the chains we had on a display on the counter that were locked on a turntable. As I reached up to remove one for him, he grabbed my wrist, slammed it down on the counter and put a knife to it, telling me to get the money out of the till for him.

I did as I was told and he left quickly, making sure he took with him the two dollars he had put down to pay for the bookmark.

I think the whole thing probably took about two minutes but it changed my life forever. It took a while for it to sink in about how much less safe I felt, even in familiar places. While I felt safe in the street where I lived, as we knew most of the neighbours, the moment I turned the corner on my journey to the bus stop to go to work, I was terrified. I took to looking around constantly to see who was there. If there was only one person, I would have to fight not to become hysterical. If there were two people who clearly weren’t together, I felt a little safer. After all, I reasoned, surely both wouldn’t be bad and if one attacked me, the other might help or raise the alarm.

So began my habit of counting witnesses.

Unlike Maddy, my protagonist, I had always been a cautious person, but it was amazing how even the slightest action on anybody’s behalf now suddenly became dangerous. It made life difficult, especially when I took a new job that was in what was not a good neighbourhood. Getting to and from work became a nightmare while we were there.

By 1998, I’d started to recover to some extent, although I still remain nervous in many places and some situations to this day. By 1998, I’d begun writing manuscripts for novels and it was then that the idea of the story for Once Confronted came to me. I wrote the original version fairly quickly, although it took three years before I decided on any title. Originally called How Far Forgive, I shelved it for a long time.

Once I became a published author, the story came back to me and I decided to rewrite it. It was a better time to do something like that, as by that time I had a lot more experience in story construction and the ins and outs of writing a novel. It wasn’t long before my publisher agreed to publish it, and after numerous edits and more work, it was finally published, a feat that has been achieved today.

It’s been 25 years since I was robbed and it’s amazing how quickly the fear returns whenever I talk about it for any length of time. I guess it will never go away completely.

In Once Confronted, Madison Craig knows who her attacker is, and in the end, he’s interested in trying to reconcile with her, saying sorry for what he did. In contrast, I have no idea who my attacker was. He was never convicted or even brought to trial for this crime and I have no idea if he was ever convicted of anything else. So perhaps it’s easy for me to make Maddy forgive him when it’s unlikely I will ever be put in that situation myself. However, I would like to think I’d have the maturity and compassion to do what she chooses to do, although I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy. I guess you could say that this book is like a challenge to myself, to remember that this is something that worked for Maddy, and I have seen people who have chosen not to forgive the people who wronged them and I saw the effect it had on them. It wasn’t pretty and I have no desire to go that route. However, I’m also aware that it’s a process. It takes time and a lot of work to get past the anger and the grief that such an event causes but having seen the alternative route, I don’t think that’s a good way either. In spite of the difficulties, I think forgiveness is a better way to go.

You can purchase Once Confronted on Amazon here.

 

Brainstorming

Getting a book launch together requires a lot of organisation, not just for things like choosing a location, catering, sending out invitations, etc, but what to do at the book launch itself.

Given that the online launch of Once Confronted is now only a week away, and the local release is only two weeks away, I have been doing a lot of brainstorming as I seek ideas of what to do at each launch.

The online launch has to consist of things that can be seen on social media. Fortunately, I’ve had a bevy of author friends who have given me ideas of various things I can post and giveaways I can offer, and I think I might have that one pretty much set to go. It’s at 7.00 am Brisbane time on 2nd October, if you’re interested in attending. Go here for more details.

The local launch has been a bit more tricky. Since it’s at an actual location, I’ve had to book a venue, organise catering, send out multiple invitations, and try and get a reach as far as possible, in the hope of an attendance which will justify this outlay of cost. In addition to that, I’ve had to work out exactly what we’re going to do at the launch so that the guests enjoy the experience. Some of the things I’ve organised for the online launch will be put to use at this one as well, but since it’s not online there’s been some more organisation surrounding that as well.

Fortunately, some friends have come to my rescue by helping to supply a lot of the things I need for the launch itself. This means a slight reduction in overall costs for me and hopefully a little less stress. Certainly, I’m now starting to think I have both events in hand, which is more than I thought a few days ago!

If you’re able to come to the launch in Brisbane, please let me know. You can find out more about it here.

I’d love to see you at either launch but if you can’t make it to either of them, I’d be happy to come to any book event you might have or supply you with a copy of Once Confronted or any of my other books. You can send me a message care of this website.

I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be an exciting couple of weeks!

 

Conversations and Promotions

Yesterday I visited A Lot of Books in Ipswich for my first proper bookstore signing with Once Confronted.

Unfortunately, the mall where the store is located was almost deathly quiet yesterday. We believe that the commencement of school holidays might have had a lot to do with that. Fortunately, I still sold six copies of Once Confronted but it was hard work to win those sales.

As ever at these events, I frequently had significant conversations that encouraged me in spite of the fact they didn’t result in sales. The first two people I spoke to were both fledgling writers and they were interested in the process prior to publication. I talked to them at length about all the work that goes on behind the scenes in order to present the finished product to the reader.

Neither of these ladies were willing to purchase anything on the day. While I would have liked it if they’d both bought at least one of my books, I encouraged them to keep in contact with me via my website, and made sure they wouldn’t forget the URL by supplying them with some of my promotional materials. I gave both of them a Verindon trilogy bookmark and a brochure for Once Confronted and told them to check my website for other events or anything else they wanted to know about my writing journey.

It’s possible neither of them will bother to do that. It’s possible they (and the others who received promotional items throughout the day) will simply discard them and think no more about me. But I know at least one story where one of my bookmarks was used for a while before the user decided to download the entire trilogy. I gained a fan that day, all because I gave them a bookmark and they used it, even though they didn’t do it immediately. That’s the great thing about promotional items – they can yield results at any time!

 

Getting busy

It’s now less than a month until Once Confronted is officially released and things are starting to get busy. It’s back to the rounds of bookstore visits and signings.

It all starts next weekend. I’ll be at A Lot of Books in Ipswich on Saturday 17th September from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm for my first bookstore signing this time around. A Lot of Books have been very supportive of me over the years, and have hosted signings for all my books. I wasn’t sure they’d remember who I was when I contacted them, as it’s been two years since I was there last for book 3 in the Verindon Trilogy, The Reign. It seems they hadn’t forgotten me and quickly agreed to a return visit.

The following weekend, Saturday 24th September, I will be at my favourite bookstore, Little Gnome at Wynnum, for an evening session. From 6.00 pm I will be reading from Once Confronted. If you’re in a hurry to find out more about the book and you’re a Brisbane local, feel free to come along. They have great coffee and fabulous hot chocolates, so there’s every reason to go!

The weekend after that will be the first weekend in October, when Once Confronted is officially released. I will be holding an online launch on my Facebook author page from 7.00 am until 9.00 am on Sunday 2nd October, Brisbane time. I’ve scheduled it for then for the sake of my overseas friends, so that they can log on and join in the fun. There will be competitions and giveaways, so come and join us if you can’t make it to any of the other events.

The weekend after that is the biggie – the official launch for Once Confronted. It will be held in New Heart Church Hall, 25 Lytton Road, Bulimba at 2.00 pm on Sunday, 9th October. There will be games and prizes there as well.

I’m looking forward to all these events, but I think the one I’m most looking forward to is the official launch on the 9th October. It’s exciting to think of being in a room with all my supporters, finally able to tell you the full story behind the release of my new book. If you can join us, I hope you’ll take the opportunity. It should be a great day! If not, you can pick one of the others, and I daresay more will be added over the next few weeks.

See you then!

Book trailers

During the week, the book trailer for Once Confronted was completed. Here it is, in case you missed it:

Making trailers for books is still a relatively new thing and I don’t think a lot of authors do them. So far, all my books have had trailers, with The Heir having two, bringing the total of the trailers I’ve got for my books to five. They’re fun to make, although they take a lot of effort. Just finding a basic idea for the trailer can be tricky, and then you’ve got to work out content, sequence and music, all the while trying to make sure you’re abiding by copyright laws and not taking anyone’s work without their permission.

The four trailers for the Veridon trilogy were done by me, so they’re fairly basic. However, since I have a husband who’s a geek, he wanted to try some new stuff this time, especially since he had a new computer program to play with, so that’s why this one looks different from the others. I’m pleased with it and I definitely like its look.

However, I wonder how useful book trailers are. I know there are authors who don’t think they’re worth the time, effort and money they cost, and I know a lot of readers don’t even seem to know they exist. Do you think they make a difference to how a book is received? Are you more likely to share a book trailer than other details about the book? Have you seen other book trailers around? If you have a favourite book trailer, feel free to put a link in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Get ready …

As it’s been a while since I’ve had a new book released, I’d forgotten just how much needs to be done in the lead-up to it.

Preparing for a new book is a little like preparing for a new baby. There are a lot of things that must be done prior to the book’s arrival. It’s best to approach reviewers as early as possible. If any advertising is planned, that also needs to be booked in advance. Then there are any promotional items you might require, such as brochures, posters or banners.

I have my charm bracelets as well, and because I’m trying to have a charm on them that represents every book I have published, I had to find a new one for Once Confronted. It was difficult to decide exactly which charm I should choose this time. It’s not a romance, so love hearts were out. It talks a lot about forgiveness, but do you know how hard it is to find charms like that? I eventually found something that I think will work, and when it arrives, I’ll show it to you.

Then there are bookstores to contact and book signings to organise, not to mention a book launch. By the way, there will be an online book launch of Once Confronted on 1st October (the exact details are yet to be worked out) and I will also be having a book launch on Sunday, 9th October at 2.00 pm. It will be held at New Heart Church Hall, 25 Lytton Road, Bulimba. If you are going to be in Brisbane on that day, feel free to come.

As I’m traditionally published, my publisher is helping me with a lot of this stuff. It’s great to have their support. However, there are still a lot of things I need to do. I’ve already started the gallop towards the finishing line, and I hope I don’t run out of steam before I get there!