As many of you know, I sent out a brief survey asking readers about the book covers for the first two books with last month’s newsletter. The responses pretty much confirmed what we’d already seen on the road.
62% said that the book cover for Rowan of the Wood and Witch on the Water were too young for the content or that you almost didn’t pick up the book because of the cover.
67% said to go in a new, older direction for the forthcoming Fire of the Fey novel, but only 43% said we should change the covers of the first two and re-release them. So, for now, we’ll leave the first two as they are.
I was very disappointed to see that a mere 17% told someone else about the Rowan of the Wood series.
Our livelihood depends on readers recommending our books to someone else if they’ve enjoyed them. Independent authors & small presses live on word-of-mouth.
So, if you haven’t yet recommended our series to a friend, family member, or co-worker. Please do so.
Give them the card or bookmark you got at an event.
Send them a link to the website.
Loan them your copy…
Last year, Ethan and I traversed this beautiful continent, end to end and top to bottom, more than once. We logged over **19,000 miles** in 2009! (I just added it all up and was surprised myself! I had estimated it around 6K)
We visited many Barnes & Noble bookstores from one coast to the other. We participated in Renaissance Faires and Celtic Festivals from TX to MN, NY to CA and loved every minute of making new friends, meeting fans, and experiencing this beautiful country from the road.
We spent an obscene amount of money on gasoline! Nearly $10K. Obscene!
This year, we will still be doing a lot of RenFests & Celtic Festivals, but we’re sticking closer to home and trying for longer shows, like multiple week Renaissance Festivals (Sherwood Forest [Feb-Mar]; Castle at Muskogee [May]; CO RenFest [hopefully, June-July]; and Kansas City RenFest [Sept-Oct]) in the hopes that we’ll give less to oil companies and spend more quality time with our readers.
Additionally, we’ll be doing very few chain stores like B&N. Although we *love* B&N and they’re very good to us at our signings (free Starbucks!), we’re teeny tiny fish in a huge lake there. Our signings consist of us standing behind a table full of books for two hours smiling pleasantly and trying to catch the eye of patrons who are purposely avoiding eye contact with us. Still… STARBUCKS!
Instead, we’d like to take it home. YOUR HOME!
Inspired by this NYT article, we decided that it was time to make our author visits a bit more intimate. Unlike the article, you won’t have to put us up for the night, but we do ask that you can guarantee between 15 and 20 guests. You can have a game night, dinner, hors d’oeuvres, movie night, costume party, Buffy Sing-a-long… you name it! There will just be the added fun of having a couple of authors there to do a reading and discuss their book or life as an author, as well as sign books.
This is a perfect opportunity to support independent artists while socializing with your friends!
If you’re interested in hosting a house party, we’re now scheduling parties (Mon-Fri evenings) in and around Austin through March; in Tulsa, Muskogee, and Oklahoma City for May; and in the Kansas City area for Sept/Oct.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter (right sidebar, top) for updates on areas and available dates… but we’re hoping for Colorado (& the CO RenFaire) in June/July!
The end of a grossly unprofitable and highly disappointing year. Good Riddance.
We are so far from the NYT bestseller list, that we’re not even on the same planet.
So much for lofty goals.
We couldn’t get media coverage to save our lives. Even with the GGC in tow.
We spent about 45% more on marketing than we earned in book sales.
We were threatened with foreclosure, weren’t sure how we were going to pay our bills, and had more than one emotional (and financial) set back on the personal front.
Still… on the bright side…
Overall, this year was a lot of fun! I got to spend nearly all of it with my entire little family: Ethan, the “girls,” and Shadow, the cat.
We drove from one end of the continent to the other in the Geekalicious Gypsy Caravan at least three times, traveling well over 6,000 miles on the book tour.
We met some incredible people. Saw this beautiful country. Visited family & friends. Got some super book reviews. Won two awards. Found some wonderful fans. Touched more than a few people with our books. Experienced joys and sorrows, both personal and professional.
We’ve sold nearly 4,000 books, no small feat for first time authors with an unknown independent publisher and no marketing budget. Especially considering that the average book released in the US sells 500 copies in it’s lifetime. This was just in the first year for Rowan of the Wood.
And now, we have the sequel out: Witch on the Water. Many fans have said they like it better than Rowan.I’d like to think we learned a thing or two about writing along the way, so that’s good news.
The bad news is… I’m exhausted. I hit my ceiling for tolerance and hope around November 1st, and I’ve been recovering every since.
For 2010… we have a new plan. We won’t be traveling as much (I don’t even want to mention the amount we spent in gasoline… and here I am an anti-oil/war environmentalist. It’s embarrassing), but we’ll still be doing some choice events.
We’ll be focusing on what works and trying out some new things, but I’m unlikely to be the marketing whirlwind I was last year. Unless amazing something tips that gives me a second wind. Like a movie deal (starring Kevin McKidd as Rowan!)
We’ll be sticking closer to home out of necessity and staying off the computer more. (Yeah! Like that will happen!– actually, I have been keeping away from social networking sites in comparison to the pre-October frenzy.)
Living more.
Writing more.
Reading more.
And…helping others more. Authors. Kids. Animals. Plants. Whoever needs helping.
Fewer videos. Fewer book signings. Fewer everything else.
Basically doing everything we did last year… minus the constant marketing.
I won’t be making anymore lofty goals, and I’ll focus on being grateful and happy with what we have, whether that is barely a roof over our heads or some best-seller list. Try to be here. Which, is extremely difficult for me, as I’m obsessively goal-oriented. I’ll be trying to more more toward the process, honing my craft, making art-love-beauty.
Just living.
Enjoying right now.
After all we’re rich in LOVE. Heath. Happiness. Friends & Family. A home. We’re quite fortunate, especially with as hard as this year was on many, many, many, many people.
I feel like I’ve lost the last two years of my life to constant marketing.
And it’s so not worth it.
Just plain burnt out.
Life is too short. Too fragile to spend it always reaching to the future.
Time to enjoy now.
Perhaps I’ll write a book on that.
Still… it’s been a great ride! See you on the road in 2010 — look for the GGC!
Fans of Rowan of the Wood, please consider getting the sequel Witch on the Water from Amazon today!
It is the single greatest thing you can do to help other readers find and enjoy this magical series… and RELEASE THE MAGIC!
STEP ONE: Just click here:
You’ve got our greatest appreciation for doing so.
STEP TWO: Bitten by Books is hosting the HUGE RELEASE PARTY today, and we’re giving away some really COOL prizes, like signed books and vampire slayer kits.
For the next two weeks, we’ll be stopping a different blogs every day interacting with readers and giving away fantastic prizes! Follow the tour and comment on the below blogs daily, easy entry to win some great stuff.
We’re going to blow the lid off of the Vampire romance box with this tour!
Wednesday 10/14: Sidhe Vicious
Review, Guest Post: The Lonely Hero
Prizes: Signed Books & Handmade Journal
Thursday 10/15: Bitten By Books
Review, Interview, and Major Contest Blowout
Prizes: Deluxe Vampire Slayer Kit & Signed Books
SEND WITCH to the TOP of Amazon DAY!
Friday 10/16: Tales of Whimsy
Interview & Contest
Prizes: Signed Books & Pewter Bookmark by Oberon Design
Saturday 10/17: Tynga’s Urban Fantasy Reviews
Contest & Guest Post: Why YA?
Prizes: Signed Books & Green Man Journal
Monday 10/19: Never Ending Shelf Review, Contest, & Interview with Fiana
Ribbon Bookmark by Oberon Design & Signed Books
Tuesday 10/20: Book Lush
Guest Post: Mythology in Fiction
We escaped most of this summer’s crippling heat by fleeing Texas for milder climes, but it’s caught up with us. The one place I didn’t think we’d have to worry about the heat (Pacific Northwest near Seattle), and it’s fricken 100+ degrees!
Fortunately today was only in the 90s, but it’s still hot in this tin can that is the Geekalicious Gypsy Caravan. We’re now at the site for the Washington Renaissance Festival near Buckely, WA. No shade. No electricity. Ethan is going to try to rig some sort of canopy to block some of the sun.
We’ll be here for three weeks, and I’m just feeling tired. I just want to be home in the AC, sitting in my chaise longue eating pizza salad and watching Buffy. Ahhhhh….
So, maybe it’s the heat.
Maybe it’s that we sorta had a week off & it’s just hard to be driving all day again! We visited Ethan’s family during the entire past week. His aunt, brothers, sister, and father. We’re trying to get custody of our nephews who are living in foster care, but it will be a long process… the first step is underway, and that’s background checks. After this, we can take them out for a weekend or a short vacation.
Maybe it’s the stress.
Maybe it’s that we haven’t seen our home in two months, and we have three more months to go!
Aye!
After the 14hr drive from Humboldt Co to Portland… I was ready to never move again!
Now we’re here in Buckley, WA for 3 weeks. Afterward, it will be a marathon drive to Arkasas City, KS for a small RenFest followed immediately by another marathon drive to Buffalo, NY, just to returned to Kansas City for the KC RenFest first weekend in September. That’s 4,500 miles in two weeks.
I’m exhaused just thinking about it.
So, I’m going to picture myself surrounded by my family, sitting in my comfy chaise longue with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s FroYo (no calories in my dream), and Buffy. No roads. No rest areas. No heat.
Last night was our final signing at Barnes & Noble for at least three months.
I have mixed feelings about this.
Overall, Barnes & Noble have been *really* good to us! We LOVE Barnes & Noble! We like to support the bookstores where we do our signings and will often purchase things while there. We love meeting CRMs and booksellers and connecting with some new readers. It’s truly awesome, overall.
Then there are those very few that act like we’re an inconvenience for showing up.
Last night was one of the truly great ones. We walked in to the Barnes & Noble in Colorado Springs’ Citadel shopping center, and it was awesome! They had a poster and display of books in the window. Our signing table was set up with a whopping 80+ books! We found our contact, although not the CRM (Community Relations Manager), she was the assistant manager, and she immediately welcomed us and offered us a drink from the cafe.
In the first 15 minutes, we signed 5 books. That’s a phenomenal signing! We ended up signing 11, and we couldn’t have been more happy with the outcome.
This is what a signing should be like.
It’s great when this happens, but it doesn’t always.
We recently had a signing that wasn’t. We walked into the store. No table. No display. No poster in the window, although they did have a poster in the foyer. Our contact wasn’t there. A random bookseller was far less than enthusiastic about having to be put out to set up a table for us, as there wasn’t one there, and we spent the next two hours being completely ignored… by the booksellers and customers alike. We cheerfully pitched the book to anyone remotely interested, as we always do, but they were few and far between… and why shouldn’t they be? We were obviously unwelcomed there. We weren’t treated as guests, but rather treated as an inconvenience.
They didn’t even offer us water.
Now, I’m certainly not an author who feels the need to be coddled or given special treatment, but I have come to expect a certain level of common courtesy.
When someone comes into your home, you make them feel welcome and offer refreshment.
Author signings are usually mutually beneficial. They get the author’s book into the bookstore, and it gives the bookstore a potentially interesting event to help get people in the store. When people are in the store, they buy things.
After doing this for close to a year now, we can almost always tell how successful a book signing will be upon entering the store. If the CRM/Mngr chose to do in-store promotions for the event and treat us like welcomed guests when we get there, it’s normally a really great signing.
If they treat us as if we’re imposing and did little-to-nothing to promote the event, it’s usually not so good.
As I said at the beginning, Barnes & Noble have been really great to us overall. Of the 40+ signings we’ve done over the past few months, about 1/4 of them have been really, really great. Those are the ones where the CRM went the extra mile: Sioux Falls, Colorado Springs, New Orleans/Metairie, Cincinnati, Columbus, and especially the Murphy/Plano branch in TX where the CRM stood at the door and handed out fliers. We signed over 30 books at that signing: a record for us.
Another 1/2 were good. They welcomed us and were friendly, and we’d definitely go back.
The last 1/4 were a waste of everyone’s time. We won’t be returning to those. Ever.
For the time being, however, we’ll be focusing on visiting libraries and schools through October, when our new book Witch on the Water is due for release. Next year, we look forward to visiting all those B&N who welcomed us with both our books.
Less than a month until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is released into theatres! We actually don’t get out to the cinema much, but you better believe I’ll be seeing that on opening day (at least weekend). We’ll be just outside Denver when it opens.
If you happen upon us at some event where we are signing books, it is very unlikely that you will find us just sitting behind a table. We will be interacting with everyone coming by, and between times we will probably be creating works of art.
Our philosophy is that we are not sitting in the audience.
We are putting on a show.
Granted, Christine with her natural abilities with theatre background puts on a better show than I do. To be honest, you would be lucky if you could get me to talk, but I try. Meeting new people and talking with them is one of the great pleasures of our gypsy lifestyle.
It’s even better when people we’ve met before come to our booth at a new event, often to tell us how much they enjoyed Rowan of the Wood.
So come visit us when we are in your town, and we will do our best to entertain you. You can see our schedule of event in the right sidebar of this blog.
Inspired by 
Overall, this year was a lot of fun! I got to spend nearly all of it with my entire little family: Ethan, the “girls,” and Shadow, the cat. 
We met some incredible people. Saw this beautiful country. Visited family & friends. Got some super book reviews. Won two awards. Found some wonderful fans. Touched more than a few people with our books. Experienced joys and sorrows, both personal and professional.
Especially considering that the average book released in the US sells 500 copies in it’s lifetime. This was just in the first year for Rowan of the Wood.
I’d like to think we learned a thing or two about writing along the way, so that’s good news.
(I don’t even want to mention the amount we spent in gasoline… and here I am an anti-oil/war environmentalist. It’s embarrassing), but we’ll still be doing some choice events.
Unless amazing something tips that gives me a second wind. Like a movie deal 
(starring Kevin McKidd as Rowan!)
pre-October frenzy.)
And…helping others more. Authors. Kids. Animals. Plants. Whoever needs helping.
I won’t be making anymore lofty goals, and I’ll focus on being grateful and happy with what we have, whether that is barely a roof over our heads or some best-seller list. Try to be here. Which, is extremely difficult for me, as I’m obsessively goal-oriented. I’ll be trying to more more toward the process, honing my craft, making art-love-beauty.
After all we’re rich in LOVE. Heath. Happiness. Friends & Family. A home. We’re quite fortunate, especially with as hard as this year was on many, many, many, many people.
Still… it’s been a great ride! See you on the road in 2010 — look for the GGC!
