Don't "Genre" Me! discussion
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Starting Over
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It does sound like a very interesting concept. I am currently reading j guevara's novel The Twain Shall Meet, but after that I think I might check this one out.
How is marketing going for Starting Over? I feel much the same way about my novella. "What sort of readers should I target with this, and where do they exist?"
William, Marketing isn't going great :-( Part of my problem (or is it my excuse) is that I'm on the road. I upped stumps last March and haven't had a permanent address since. Many months were spent living in a tent as I traveled the outback of Australia with my husband. That's actually when I received my publishing contract and had to do my edit on Starting Over! (Thank God for the Internet.)Now I'm on a round-the-world trip and won't be settled again until the end of this year. Hard to complain because this "problem" is of my own making, but marketing and traveling don't mix well. Of course if I had a fanstastic agent who was setting up book signings and interviews for me in each city I visited I'd be saying it is all going fantastically. But I'm agentless and my publisher really leaves marketing to me. No one is interested in interviewing an unknown author who is just passing through (I've tried a couple of local newspapers as I go and not even a nibble).
I've asked friends who read how they find their books and they all say either:
1) Interesting reviews in the newspaper (I have failed to get one of those)
2) Browsing bookshelves at bookstores (Starting Over is only available online)
3) Browsing bookshelves at libraries (I've asked my "hometown" library to buy a copy but no luck yet).
This is a tough nut to crack! Sites like this are a good step though. Thanks for taking the initiative.
Your novel sounds interesting; you sound interesting. I have a personal interest in the subject matter? I also travel. Permanently! Culture shock can be a tough thing for some to handle. Nature/nurture is certainly a factor, however, character IMO plays an equal role.
being a newbie I think we all learn fast that writing a novel is not the half of it. Not living in the states is an added burden in a few cases (like Kindel-ing on amazon for one, or eBooking on Scribd), unless you kept a USA bank account and address.
Have you checked on having copies sent to Oz? Hope you're sitting down when you do; the rate is cause for heart attack. I tried to explain that I didn't want to buy the plane, I only wanted to ship some books on it. No luck, that's the rate for 28days+.
Amazon is your best bet for now, and BnN. have you checked out book buzz'r? There is also a POD in Oz. Not cheap but beats the shipping rate. If you have any copies I have a friend who owns a bookstore in NSW.
hang in there, all in good time. But if you stay on the road long enough, there's no way home.
g'day mate
j guevara
www.jguevaranovels.com
Oh, btw, I'm in the Philippines. Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. We can 'ave another piss mate, and talk books.
Mod
Yes, I wonder about the best areas to devote energy. It seems that the internet could garner the biggest return on energy investment IF you hit the right buttons - a good review from a prominent blog, for example. But that's just slightly educated speculation.
Laura, how have you gone about approaching papers? I'm not exactly in a place I can call a "hometown", but I will be here for at least a few months so I'm not exactly just passing through either...
Misha and William,I have tried a couple of local newspapers. I emailed the editor of my hometown newspaper back in Sydney (a very small local paper, not the Sydney Morning Herald which covers big name international authors), told them I'd been published and that I was coming to town for a couple of weeks on my travels. I said I'd be happy to give them a copy of my ebook (I'm not keen on sending out paperbacks to lots of people when I don't know they'll read it) and that I would be available for an interview. I suggested they might be interested in doing an article on the ebook revolution and could use me as an example. I got an email back asking if mine was an ebook. I answered and never heard from them again.
I'm in Hawaii for a couple of months. I did an internet search of the local newspapers and emailed their editors (there were 2) suggesting an interview of me and maybe tying in to an article about Hawaii as a destination for travelering writers. I also offered my ebook for their review. Heard nothing.
I will try my sister's hometown newspaper I think when I go visit her. I'll be there a month. You never know. And when I get back to Sydney I'll try the local paper there again suggesting a prodigal son article.
As for donating to the library, I might consider that. It does sort of irritate me though to think a lcoal library won't stock a local author's book. I've been told by librarians that's sort of part of their charter. I just think it is easy for them to ignore me since I'm not really a local anywhere - takes the pressure off of them. Once I am back to being a true local, I'm hoping they'll come around.
Misha wrote: "Next time perhaps try approaching a reporter on staff rather than the editors. The editors are getting story ideas from zillions of people, but if you get the reporter interested in the story, then..."Misha, thanks for the tip. I'll definitely give that a try when I'm back home. It is a bit harder to do on the road since I don't have time to follow individual reporters but we'll see.
Again, thanks for taking the time to think about ideas that will help me. Trust me, I need all the help I can get when it comes to marketing my book.
My book is called Starting Over. The story follows 2 women, one born in the late 1800s in Germany and her great-granddaughter born in the late 1900s in the US. It opens when each are 14 and ends in their 50th year.
My concept when writing this novel was to explore how much culture and technological advancement really impact us. The two protagonist’s lives mirror each other. They each face similar situations; they immigrate, fall in love, work to put food on the table... Every step of the way they are influenced by the social mores, the opportunities available to women, and the technology surrounding them.
Hopefully the reader is left wondering how much their life has been shaped by external influences and how much by their own nature.
I think it is an overstatement to say this is an exploration of the nature-vs-nurture theme, yet if you apply “nurture” to mean more than just our family, maybe it is.
The best place to buy my book is from the links on my website: www.laurarittenhouse.com. It is also available on Amazon – search by my name, Laura Rittenhouse, as a title search turns up about a million other books.