How to Get Free Books

Become a writer-or a reviewer of course. Once you embark on a writing career, you will join associations, go to conferences, and never come home without a load of free books. The trouble is as you work on your own book, you have less and less time to read. I estimate my pile of to-be-reads is now two years deep. Recently, I pulled Hollis Gillespie's book, Trailer Trashed, from the bottom of my pile. It was at the bottom because, being a hard-cover, I used it to balance all the paperbacks above it. But, I have owned the book for two years having purchased it at the HeartLa Readers' Luncheon a long time ago. Her short, pithy, often humerous pieces are just what I am in the mood for right now. Hollis, sorry it took me so long to get around to it. Some of those paperbacks will yellow before I get to them.

It's often said once you become a published author, you no longer enjoy reading quite as much. In some ways, this is true. Suddenly every undetected typo jumps out at you, and you notice a very famous author used "was" twelve times on her first page. You can tell when a writer is padding to get her word count. You must turn off the editor in order to enjoy the books. And now, I have so many to read. Because in the end, all authors want is for someone to enjoy their story.

Hand Selling your Book - or Friends & Relatives

I give a lecture entitled "Adventures in e-Publishing" where I quote a statistic that says most e-published books will sell only 150 copies. After giving my speech to a literary group, a self-published author stayed behind to say he easily had 150 friends and relatives to buy his books. I said, "Exactly". Selling beyond your friends and relatives is the problem.

As it turns out, the most obvious places to sell your book, libraries and bookstores, are the worst, except for those in your own home town where again, you will attract friends and relatives. A recent foray to an out-of-town library where I gave my speech to a tiny audience resulted in no sales at all. I learned I had done well to sell five copies at a Barnes & Noble event - but those who bought were friends.

So what else can an author do? Yeah, yeah, blog tours and blogging though you never know if that has done any good at all. My editor suggested Arts & Crafts fairs. Fortunately, I also paint and had a sidewalk sale coming up. I put my book and myself out there with my works of art and sold seven copies. Granted most sales were again to folks I knew, but a few were not. And a curious things happened. Those who were put off my super hot cover of the half-naked guy bought a little piece of art instead as a sort of compensation sale meaning "I wouldn't be caught dead holding your book, but I will take this charming sketch of a cat". I am not too proud to say it works for me. I came home with $152 in cash having sold an equal number of books and small pieces of art. Best I've ever done at a sidewalk sale.

Can't draw or paint? A newly self-pubbed author had a place two down from mine. He joined the Art Guild to get the free apace and sat there with nothing but a box of books on his card table. He sold them all - probably to friends and relatives, but I have no way of knowing. Caveat: If you have to pay $50 for a booth, probably not worth it unless several authors chip in for the cost.

As for the two gay guys who picked up my free postcards of the half-naked guy on my cover - enjoy.

What You Want

I love writing, creating the story, even polishing it to a fine shine. Begging agents and editors to look at my work, not so much. With both Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner being football romances, they were often sent back as unread with the note "We do not do football stories" by many agencies that publish or represent romance. Eventually, I found two small presses that looked beyond the occupation of the hero to the good story being told and got those contracts.

I'd heard before signing that producing a book is hard work and have learned this is true. Over Labor Day weekend, I spent sixteen hours doing third edits on Wish. We were well beyond making any changes to the story and into looking for the tiniest mistakes to make this book the best we could. Some glitch caused the quotation marks to be turned in the wrong direction in about a third of the book. Page after page, I noted this correction. At last, they disappeared and the tedious third edit proceeded more normally with a missed "a" here and dropped period there. I sent off the corrections and was rewarded with the most wonderful compliment by my publisher. She replied she'd repaired the quotation marks, but at times got so caught up in the story she had to go back and make sure she'd gotten them all. Somehow, that made the sciatica flare up I suffered from spending so much time hunched over a computer on a holiday worthwhile.

So, I've learned the truth of be careful what you wish for-it's harder than you think to prepare a book for publication, but so very worth it.

Patience Required

If you want to see your book in print, be sure to stir up a big vat of patience and put it up in jars to use when needed. I signed the contract for my first book, Goals for a Sinner, in late June of 2009. Edits began immediately. All the edits and the galley were done by early August. Then, I waited nine months until the end of April 2010 to see the book in print, by publishing standards not very long. In fact, my pub date was moved up twice to the approximate time it takes to bring a baby to term.

So I signed the contract for the sequel, Wish for a Sinner, on November 1, 2009, and thought maybe it would be out in time for the 2010 football season. This time around, I wasn't assigned an editor until August, 2010, so make that the 2011 football season. First edits were done between the time I left for Wisconsin to deliver my son to grad school with all his worldly good in a U-Haul and getting on a plane for my daughter's baby shower in D.C. I think there must be some kind of Murphy's Law that says edits will arrive the very moment life is the most hectic. Last winter and spring-remarkably quiet until Goals came out, my son graduated, my oldest daughter got pregnant, and my younger daughter lost her job, moved home, found a new job and moved out again. Such is life. Open one of those big jars of patience and imbibe.

The Optimist

I presented my lecture, "Adventures in E-Publishing", a few weeks ago to the members of the local Optimists Club. Since they called me only a week before the meeting, my guess is that a speaker backed out or they had none at all scheduled. Only twelve people showed up-eleven businessmen and one lady. However, I am willing to speak to any size group, especially if the gig includes a free meal. I can highly recommend the barbecued brisket with sauce at Freddie's Not So Famous Barbecue now.

Being Optimists, the group listened politely, laughed at my jokes, and looked somewhat askance at my hot book cover. Among my comments, I noted I had yet to make a cent on Goals for a Sinner and was still recouping my expenses. In the end, the lady bought a copy and one of the gentlemen got a book for his mother and let me keep the change from a twenty, the most anyone has paid for a single copy of my work, except maybe that $1,200 offer on Amazon. The Optimists are good people.

But what am I getting at with this post? The Optimists Club has a pledge they recite at the opening of each meeting about keeping a positive attitude. It wouldn't make a bad creed for an author, too. Don't speak ill of anyone and keep trying to make the world a better place - in my case by writing books that make people smile at the end. We all need a little escape from our problems in this world, and I provide that. If I never break even writing, at least I have done that.

A Real Fan

Let's face it. Mostly, I sell copies of Goals for a Sinner to people I know: my relatives, members of my various clubs and RWA chapter, and most recently, my hairdresser who owes me for all that overpriced shampoo I've bought over the years. Everyone enjoys the book, so they say. A few seem simply astounded to find it is a good read. Recently, an acquaintance stopped me in a parking lot to say she'd gotten it on her Kindle. That gave me a small thrill.

But, the best thrill of all came last weekend when I headed out of a bathroom stall after our HeartLA meeting and was introduced to Meredith's mother. Genuinely excited to meet the author of Goals, she told me how much she enjoyed reading her daughter's copy and had passed it on to a cousin. She can't wait for the sequel, Wish for a Sinner, which has just been assigned an editor. Here was a person who didn't have to say anything nice to me at all. Did I care we were talking in a restroom? No. Did I mentally gripe that she hadn't actually bought the book? No. The idea that she'd liked it enough to recommend my book to others made my day.

Frankly, I wish I could implant microchips in my books and see where they wander like stray dogs who find new homes. I know for a fact, they've been to a cottage in Maine, flown on airplanes, gone to the beach and the lake and the Grand Tetons. In fact, my books have traveled more than I have this year. As long as people are reading and enjoying, I'm happy.

Signing Books at Barnes and Noble

Really, I didn't expect to sell many books, but gee, golly, gosh, here I am signing at Barnes and Noble, one of my favorite places on earth. After a friend told me they didn't have my book and I needed to go introduce myself, I did. The manager looked over the product, checked it on the computer, probably to see if the wholesaler carried it and if it was returnable. He cordially agreed to order a few copies for the "Local Author" table and asked if I want to participate in the group signing the next week. Well, yes!

So, I donned my football jersey again and had free foam football giveaways to go with the book in keeping with the Goals for a Sinner theme. I set up my post among the other e-pubbed and self-pubbed. The Civil War books and cookbooks (free samples given) sold like hotcakes. The young man with a children's book sitting next to me must have been related to half the parish because he had a line waiting. I sold five copies to friends. My target was six. Not too disappointed. I know how these things go. I did do better than the two women with poetry and memoir offerings. And enough folks chatted with me to keep me from being bored. It was an okay experience, and I was excited to have my book in one Barnes and Noble. A caveat, since we had to bring our own books and B and N takes a 40% cut of sales, I probably made only pennies that night. Exposure is important, I tell myself.

Checking my e-mail the next day, I get a letter from the publisher who contracted the sequel warning me not to deal with Barnes and Noble. Too many returns, no enough profit. Mea culpa. Too late now.