frustrating day

As I mentioned in the past post, Gypsy's Secret is nearly here. The Kindle version is up but has one spelling error that needs to be corrected. And there may be other small things as well. The paperback is still in process with problems with the cover. Not sure what the e-mail Createspace sent me meant but I forwarded it on to my cover designer and despite it being a weekend she sent me a new improved copy.  (Thank you Viola!) Now I'll have to wait again for the approval.

Now to the reason for the title of this post. I set out this morning with great hopes and a bag of books, heading first to find ribbon to tie around my Wolfmoon Trilogy and then speeding down the road to my local bookstores. My plan was to tie a nice red bow around the three books and offer a big holiday discount for buying all three together. Sadly this was not to be. The first one, Antigone Books, said 'they don't do that sort of thing'. I whined about how difficult it is to be a self-published author, asking if I could showcase my books somehow...the answer was NO.

The second store, Mostly Books, said I could replace the ones already on the shelves with the bow idea, but if I did so then no one would have the option to buy them singly! We talked for a while (I like the people there) but didn't come up with any sort of marketing strategy for me, although she did say she would try to get someone to read Just Another Desert Sunset--if he or she liked it, it could potentially be facing out on the 'staff picks' shelf. (I'm not holding my breath)

After that I found a new clothing store a couple of doors down and proceeded to buy myself two new items of clothing. It was my reward for at least making an attempt to market myself! Don't worry, I didn't spend much.

My conclusions from this are as follows:
1.  My books do not do well in bookstores due to too much competition and no showcasing.
2.  I will market my books in gift stores and metaphysical stores and maybe Celtic stores.
3.  I will concentrate my energy on my kindles and deal with KDP select and trying to get them seen.
4.  I will drink wine and try not to whine.
5.  I will be proud of the fact that I have 7 books out now--a major accomplishment! And maybe since 7 is my lucky number this year will start a new upward trend in sales!

Thank you for reading and I would love to hear your stories!

Genre writing

I'm wondering about the process of writing genre fiction and I have several questions to pose, but before I do that I'm going to talk a bit about what I went through while working on my trilogy.

Being that Wolfmoon Trilogy is fantasy I decided to avoid Juliet Marillier, (a favorite of mine),  or other fantasy/sci-fi writers once I got into the narrative, for fear that  I might inadvertantly copy some aspects of their stories. I was bound and determined to write something fresh and different. (good luck, you say?) I wanted to create a world out of my imagination, as all writers do, concentrating on avoiding the usual suspects, such as elves, fairies, ogres, dwarves, dragons, wizards and witches. I researched Celtic myths for my gods and goddesses and found Gaelic names for the alien species that appeared in my imagination. As I write this I realize that I've forgotten how I came up with the name Crion, the people in my book who stand around four feet tall and are part of the 'keepers of the wisdom'. I'm sure there was something that brought that word to mind! The word Amuigh, another species in the story, a sort of cross between humans and apes, is Gaelic for 'outside', which I interpreted as outside the known. The Wildmen, a clan of humans that live in caves and have no laws, are also known as the duin fiain, Gaelic for wild or untamed.

In my first drafts I called the villains Fomorians, for a mythological race in Ireland, but later changed it to a Gaelic word, Oillteil, which means terrible or dreadful. Doing this allowed me to make up their description and not be hemmed in by myth or have them confused with comic book characters. Of course I've taken liberties with several myths that I hope will be forgiven in the over-all gist of the story. I also have to admit that there is a druid who is a wizard, although I don't call him that, as well as a 'seer' who is a witch.

So in conclusion I wonder how you genre writers approach your work. Do you avoid reading books in your genre or do you read them avidly? Do you worry that your characters might be too closely associated with characters in other books? How do you get around the 'usual suspects' issue?

Veering off

I'm changing my tactics when it comes to marketing. Blog tour is out unless I do a very simple one with a few bloggers who are on the same page as I am. Why, you ask? Because when I realized the time and effort involved, I decided I would lose my sanity. And what about my writing? I know marketing is important but I can't let it  take over my life. I'm still doing the online thing but I also have a long list of places in Arizona where I will attempt to consign my books.

My husband is helping me in this regard, and has compiled a list, not of bookstores, but of 'spiritual' stores and Celtic shops that might be a fit.

Since Mercury has been in retrograde, I've put this endeavor off, but as of monday, November 26th, Mercury begins heading forward again--the perfect time for new beginnings. I will start here in Tucson with one Celtic shop and two others: Metaphysics' World and Spirits' Child. After that we'll head to the small hippyish town of Bisbee and and then over to Sedona, where there are at least six possibilities. Now I know I'm making this sound like a breeze--believe me with my introverted personality, it won't be. But one on one I seem to do okay--it's the room full of people that has me quaking in my boots--the mere idea of giving a talk or a reading makes me light-headed!

Since the second book in my series has been released, I considered doing KDP select again--having one book free, one for .99 --but I didn't want to be stuck again for three months, trapped in a contract with Amazon. My sales did not show improvement from the last two...And so my time has been spent going through The Moonstone, AGAIN, in preparation for re-formatting. (It is now the new and improved version--2nd edition?) Smashwords, KOBO and NOOK are on my list. If anyone is thinking about this, check out Rik Hall http://www.facebook.com/RikHall, who is inexpensive and comes highly recommended.

I'm also signed up for a two hour session here in Tucson with real live people exchanging ideas who  have had experience with marketing. I've considered the book festival coming up next year but I think the price is prohibitive..doesn't seem worth it for the possible sale of a few books, although the exposure would be nice.

And so I continue my search, hoping to discover a few things that work and letting go of the ones that don't. I know marketing represents at least 60% of the pie but I need to finish book three, not to mention the sequel, Valley of the Moon. The more books one has out there the better, or so I've heard...

Here is a link to Johann Penn, a marketer who has done a lot of research on this subject: .http://www.thecreativepenn.com/ 

Thanks for reading! and any and all comments are most appreciated.