Guys Lit Wire and Library Talks

In the infinite search to expand my own knowledge (and help others) about literature and/or the publishing industry, I came across a fantastic new blog that I will now be following. It is called Guys Lit Wire, and it focuses primarily on YA (young adult) literature geared towards boys, a niche that is often hard to fill. Check out this site for some great book reviews, links, and insight into literature for boys- great for those writing for that population or for high school/ junior high teachers.

On a personal note, John just completed a small New Hampshire tour. While he sold well at a signing at a Borders, this appearance proved a little uncomfortable for him. As an author who is not yet widely known, he couldn't draw people in merely on his name. Although some advertising was done, he found himself sitting in the Borders having to play the salesman to customers, which is not a position in which he is comfortable. Far more profitable and comfortable were the book talks at libraries, where he was able to both sell books and talk to interested parties about both his writing work and self-publishing. So, for my POD or self-publishing followers, or even those who have done traditional publishing through smaller publishing, try to tap out your local or regional libraries to host book talks and promote your work in the process. You can bring copies of your books with to sign and sell after the talk.

Writers, Conferences, and other fun stuff

The other day John and I had the opportunity to meet with a famous young adult (YA) writer, who was kind enough to have lunch with us and offer advice about writing, getting published, marketing, etc. She greatly encouraged John to quit looking toward self-publishing and look to get an agent. The bottom line distinction between the choice to self-publish and the choice to do the hard work of trying to get standard published still seems to be this: if you simply want to see yourself in print, and sell a few books, self-publish. If you want to make a career out of writing, go through the hard work, and failures, and rejections, until you can get standard published, because that is where you will earn money, and respect for your book. So for now, that is the future direction we are looking toward. She also recommended subscribing to the site www.publishersmarketplace.com, for a really great resource for finding agents, knowing how much writers are getting paid for books, etc.

On a related note, however, John's self-published novel peaked again at 32,000 for its sales ranking on Amazon, and at this point we're not sure why, other than by word-of-mouth success, which is great! We have been doing minimal advertising, nothing paid, only mailings (and none in the last 2 weeks), and then the usual: maintaining a Facebook Fan page, a Good Reads page, and a blog on Amazon. He does have a number of book talks/ signings in the next 2 weeks that we have advertised. Whatever the true cause, we're glad that the book has caught on and is still going strong. Hopefully this data will help us when he looks to show agents (for his next book) that he has fans and has been successful on an independent scale, and therefore would be a promising writer to take on.

Also, we are still scheduled to go to the Midwest Writers Workshop, and I am looking forward to any networking opportunities and writing inspiration that this might bring. If it gives even a bit of the inspiration that speaking with the YA author did, I will be very happy. As I have read in many places before, conferences are great places to make connections, meet agents, and bond with other writers.