On the Road Again

   With some trepidation, I boarded an airplane for the first time in three years. Masks required in the airport and on the planes where I swear the seats and aisles were even narrower than before--or maybe I gained weight during Covid. My destination was lovely Savannah for a mother/daughter trip. Once landed, I saw few wore masks which made me glad I'd been vaccinated and boosted as the city was crowded with traffic and tourists.

     Now, when I travel I always carry with me a selection of book cards, postcard-sized with my book covers on one side and a blurb, a listing of all my titles, and contact information on the back. I give these out at every opportunity. Before I got off the plane, I'd handed one to my seatmate who had an actual book in her hands. Generally, I ask what a person is reading, explaining that I am interested because I am a retired librarian. Gradually, I work my own books into the conversation and try to pick out a card the reader might be interested in. Not everyone wants a sexy guy card, so I also carry pretty covers for others. Occasionally, I am rebuffed, and if so, simply go back to reading my own book. 

     By the time my daughter picked me up, the day had turned rainy. We decided to get a hot cup of tea and shortbread cookies at the Tea Room. We took our time, talked to the very knowledgeable server, and stayed an hour and a half because no one else was in the place, though seeing us having such a good time, customers did start showing up, getting tea to go. The conversation turned to reading, and as it turned out, our server loved romance novels. Needless to say, I gave her a card, too. 

     Next stop, the indie bookstore just around the corner as it was still raining and not great for strolling on brick sidewalks. At Shaver's, two fluffy cats greeted us or at least deemed to accept a pet. We read the witty cards to each other and browsed the many small rooms. I did purchase one of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton novels and could absolutely envision my new Regency series shelved near them. As I checked out, I left another card for the manager in case she might want to consider adding my books to her inventory. Back home, I did follow up with an email and got a most gracious no due to limited shelf space which was kind of her. But, she had checked my web site and told me about a literary festival I might want to attend next year. Probably too far to travel and too expensive, but I'll consider it.

      That evening with the rain still coming down, we met up with the rest of our mother/daughter group. Other than going out for dinner rather late, we stayed in and played UNO. I offered one of my books that I'd brought along as an UNO prize. I won the first hand, my daughter the second, until we finally got a winner on the third round. I personalized the book for the winner and gave out cards to the rest.

      Next day, more rain. We got tickets on an on-and-off bus to get around, toured the cathedral and had lattes at a little coffee shop across the street before hopping on the tram again to get to the waterfront for shopping and a late lunch of shrimp dishes. Still raining,. my daughter was sheltering me with a little, folding umbrella. Out of the blue or rather gray sky, a man with a much larger umbrella offered to trade with her. He said he had plenty as his company gave them out. We took his offer. 

     Despite the weather, we were not deterred from going on our Ghost Tour that evening. The rain added to the ghostly atmosphere, dripping from the Spanish moss and slicking the gravestones in the cemetery. We weren't required to get down, but did have a rest stop at a bar and were allowed to bring drinks aboard. I heard a few tales I could work into plots if I ever do another ghost story other than The Courville Rose. The guide loved to read. I left a card for her along with a tip for a fun experience.

    The sun returned on our last day. All wanted to go to the beach. I am not fond of hot sand, murky water, and sunburn. I elected to stay in the beach pavilion where I had food, water, a bathroom, and plenty of people to talk to--about books. Also amusing, the pigeons and grackles courted and stole food from the unsuspecting. A fisherman pulled a three-foot shark from the water near my friends. We rejoined to go to a great pizza dive for dinner, then a cocktail-making class at the Prohibition Museum, fun and interesting though I don't drink much. By the time, I boarded the plane to return, I'd nearly run out of book cards.

     Some people are tickled to meet a real author. Others might just be polite enough to accept a card and throw them out first chance, but some will use them as bookmarks. No telling if I will get any sales out of this. But I would say don't leave home without yours.

Promotion - What works for me - Continued

Here I am a back again in the New Year having survived the Mayan apocalypse (as did we all) and the dreaded Fiscal Cliff which was even more to be feared.  I finished all my edits for my 2013 releases, A Trashy Affair, Paradise for a Sinner, and Courir de Mardi Gras. That's the good news.  Now the bad - I am having knee surgery next Monday and will be laid up for six weeks or more.  I do hope to spend that time working on a new Sinners novel and catching up with piles of unread books and unwatched DVD's, hopefully while eating chocolates and being waited on by friends and family, but I don't think it will be that much fun.

Other mentionables: I am participating in a new blog, www.romancingthejock.com aimed at readers of sports romances and will post once a month, my first time being January 5th.  This group of twelve authors, many more talented than I, is starting things off with a bang.  Visitors to the site will be entered to win a Kindle or Nook tablet or one of several gift baskets, so it is worth a look-see on your part.  Now, having done my bit to promote the new site, on to what you really want to read, more promotional ideas.

Last time, I left off the one idea that helped me the most.  A fellow writer of sports romances, Jami Davenport, developed a Listmania on Amazon of books with sports heroes.  She graciously added my first two books, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner.  There I was co-mingled with the likes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Bella Andre.  Soon, the Listmania (a bibliography of similar titles if I did not make that clear) appeared alongside my books on Amazon. Sales that had slacked off for my first book blossomed again and continue to grow and extend to other titles.  So, if you can devise a list of well-known books similar to your own and post it, this might mean sales for you as well.

The final and most obvious advice is to write your next book.  Do not spend all your time and effort trying to sell your first.  If you are doing a series, this is even more important.  You must have more to offer and quickly or readers will pretty much forget about you.  Quickly in publishing terms means a one year period, even better if you can get two out fast in that time span.  But, I caution, write them with the same care as your first or your series and sales will fizzle.

In parting before I hobble off to the hospital, welcome to my new follower, Suzanne, and have the best of New Years.

Working the Book Sale

This weekend, I worked as a cashier for our local library book sale.  This is no cunning publicity stunt as I have done it for years. I especially enjoy Friends Night Only when dealers and collectors pay in advance to feed like sharks on the first offerings.  What they drag out of there is astounding - two cartons of stereopticon photos, the entire cookbook and crafts section swept into boxes without even looking at the tiles, heaps of hardcover Nora Roberts, James Patterson or other favorite author's books, and a single copy touting the use of human waste to fertilize your garden.

I did take the occasion to talk with old friends and regulars at the sale and handed out postcards containing order information for my two new books, Mardi Gras Madness and Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball, for those who showed an interest.  Give these things out wholesale, and they only end up in the wastecan or the gutter.  I may make some sales from this effort.  Hard to say.  But, I was there for hours anyhow, so why not?

Of course, I also had to face the fact one day my own books would show up marked fifty cents on the paperback tables. Since my first book, Goals for a Sinner, has been out two years and reached 5,000 sales, I sort of expected copies to show up last year, but no.  This year, however, the first three resales occured-all to me.  Yes, I gathered them up and plan to resell them slightly marked up because I know the fate of leftover paperbacks at the end of the sale - the dumpster. I am not so well-known that anyone is "collecting" my work.  My prose is not deathless, merely entertaining. I live in a fairly conservative small town where some folks still whisper that Miss Lynn is now writing dirty books, which just shows they haven't read them as mine rate only three flames our of five on most review sites.  Still, friends and family bought my first work despite the hunky, half-naked football player on the cover.

Since all of the locally sold copies were autographed, I do know who discarded them, but no hard feelings.  One did not appear to have been read at all, while another was definitely thumbed to the very last page. The third had an inscription I remember doing very well since the purchaser asked me to declare her my very best friend though we are barely acquainted. Hey, anything for a sale. I hope to find new homes and readers for them.  As of October, I have five books in print, three in the Sinners series and now the new Mardi Gras books.  Next year finding and saving my babies will be more of a challenge.