Obsessive Rep Point Checkers Club (Volume IV)

Is there an add-on page you can sign and send to people? Kind of like an e-bookplate?

Look around and see if there's chats you could host, or do a blog exchange or other such things. If it's an ebook, then focus your attention in the eworld.

Though, honestly, not having to sign books is a major plus to looking at epubbing to me, honestly.

DeleyanLee said:

Has everyone had a teacher like that?

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At some point or another... yes. At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

DeleyanLee said:

Though, honestly, not having to sign books is a major plus to looking at epubbing to me, honestly.

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Yes, but avoiding the public entirely would be a major plus to you, and you know it.



Some of us are looking forward to signings and stuff. How else are we supposed to get and meet groupies?

parumpdragon said:

Ooh, cool Vince.


And I like Copacabana just not forever.

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Well, I believe that the ghosts problem was that he died trying to remember the song, couldn't and it haunted him. So he haunted her. Once he was able to get it right, he got it out of his system and moved on.

I mention a few things like briefly.

So a blog of encounters like that, all before she moves and finally meets the literal boy of her dreams, might be cool.

I just have to figure out how to make it popular.

Vince524 said:

Well, I believe that the ghosts problem was that he died trying to remember the song, couldn't and it haunted him. So he haunted her. Once he was able to get it right, he got it out of his system and moved on.

I mention a few things like briefly.

So a blog of encounters like that, all before she moves and finally meets the literal boy of her dreams, might be cool.

I just have to figure out how to make it popular.

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Well there is a blog chain/group here - and the group visits one another's blogs in turn - to help each other get the hang of it.

You could try that...

slcboston said:

Yes, but avoiding the public entirely would be a major plus to you, and you know it.



Some of us are looking forward to signings and stuff. How else are we supposed to get and meet groupies?

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I've had groupies. They're high maintenance and tend to leave the house in shambles if they find out where you live. Not a pleasant experience.

And, honestly, the problem I have with doing book signings is that my writing hand is crippled and I can do about 5, maybe 10 such things before I'm physically unable to hold a pen any longer. I've had the injury for more than 20 years, it's not going away, and I'm very aware of the restriction. It would NOT be a good PR thing if I'm suddenly in tears of pain for any length of time.

Now, interpretive reading, sitting on panels or moderating, making a complete ass out of myself as a joke or even leading an off-key chorus--I'm totally good with that. Just don't make me have to sign book after book after book in anything close to a short period of time.

Vince524 said:

So a blog of encounters like that, all before she moves and finally meets the literal boy of her dreams, might be cool.

I just have to figure out how to make it popular.

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If you figure that out, m'friend, then you'll make more money selling that knowledge than you will from anything else.

DeleyanLee said:

Is there an add-on page you can sign and send to people? Kind of like an e-bookplate?

Look around and see if there's chats you could host, or do a blog exchange or other such things. If it's an ebook, then focus your attention in the eworld.

Though, honestly, not having to sign books is a major plus to looking at epubbing to me, honestly.

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I'm not sure about an add on page. I was thinking of the cover art, once it's done and I own it, I can maybe make posters of it and do signings with that. Maybe put the website on it. I was also thinking of creating a flyer with the website and blog site on it.

Vince524 said:

I mention a few things like briefly.

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This seems like an excellent idea to me, Vince. Not just turning them into an extra thing, but that you have these details in your work. It's the kind of thing that makes me want to read a book.

There is a blog chain here, as PD said, but it's not exactly a road to popularity, just a bit more exposure. There are a number of things you can do to bring in web traffic, and a lot of them have little to do with the actual content of your site.

There are several threads here, and plenty of resources elsewhere, to help you with that. And while the blog chain wouldn't be my first choice, the blogging section of AW would be.

DeleyanLee said:

I've had groupies. They're high maintenance and tend to leave the house in shambles if they find out where you live. Not a pleasant experience.

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Lucky

DeleyanLee said:

I've had groupies. They're high maintenance and tend to leave the house in shambles if they find out where you live. Not a pleasant experience.

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Nom de plumes and false addresses.



I have these things covered.

DeleyanLee said:

And, honestly, the problem I have with doing book signings is that my writing hand is crippled and I can do about 5, maybe 10 such things before I'm physically unable to hold a pen any longer.

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Oh, and you just need a stamp made for your signature. Then instead of having to hold a pen, you can just thump down a stamp.

"Hi, thanks for buying my book."

ka-thunk

"Next."

But what are you going to do with the flyer once you've paid to have it printed?

My point is, if you have face-to-face appearance, aren't people going to expect to be able to leave with your book in hand, signed? People aren't used to this epublishing thing. Face-to-face, at least to me, means there's a physical book to be had. Which is why I mentioned various e-things to do, where people would be expecting links instead of physical books.

Does your publisher have a list or forum of any kind that authors and readers can chat on? Elora's Cave has a very extensive one, and authors take turns hosting various days and run contests and games and discussions to the crowd who's already into buying from that publisher.

Look around to popular review sites (if yours is a Romance, there's TONS of review sites--even RT has a section for epubbed books, IIRC) and get your book sent there ahead of publication. Especially if it's Romance--Romance readers are addicted to review reading, and have been doing it online for over 20 years. They're well-trained to it.

Connect with other writers from your publisher and see what they have going. Connect with other AW writers and see what they've got going. Networking's the big key for most of this kind of stuff. No need to reinvent the wheel, after all.

slcboston said:

Oh, and you just need a stamp made for your signature. Then instead of having to hold a pen, you can just thump down a stamp.

"Hi, thanks for buying my book."

ka-thunk

"Next."

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Yep, that'll sell great for PR.

But, y'know, that means that I could also send my good-looking kids out to say they're Deleyan Lee and I could stay home and be a troll....

Hmmm, maybe that's not such a bad idea after all.

Thanks, Bos!

Here's another question.

For those of you who don't know, I'm guy.

A pretty big guy. Facial hair and everything.

So if I get an opportunity to do a book reading somewhere, should I draft one of my daughters to do it? It's written 1st person, from the POV of my MC. A 16 yr old girl.

DeleyanLee said:

Hmmm, maybe that's not such a bad idea after all.

Thanks, Bos!

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See? SEE??

I am genius, unrecognized in my time.

Vince524 said:

For those of you who don't know, I'm guy.

A pretty big guy. Facial hair and everything.

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This should not have been a shock to anyone here.

And I'd say, no, go as yourself. In this day and age it's not like they won't be able to google you in half a heartbeat and sort it out for themselves anyway.

Besides, some of your female fans might like the idea of their new favorite author being a big, strapping, male specimen.



Groupies, man, groupies. They are loyal and they buy a lot.

I like the cover art poster idea, Vince, except that's the one part of your book that's really not yours.

I suspect someone, somewhere out there has found a work-around to this. I can't see you doing a reading at a local bookstore, unless they start developing an e-retail side, but considering B&N has one of those already (I think), that might be a place to start.

slcboston said:

This should not have been a shock to anyone here.

And I'd say, no, go as yourself. In this day and age it's not like they won't be able to google you in half a heartbeat and sort it out for themselves anyway.

Besides, some of your female fans might like the idea of their new favorite author being a big, strapping, male specimen.



Groupies, man, groupies. They are loyal and they buy a lot.

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Well, I would go, introduce myself and then say because it's in a girls voice, here's my daughter to read it.

And yes, I can see how my target audience would love a big, strapping, male specimen.

But they'll only get me. A big, chubby, balding, male leftover.

Re: Cover art

Authors can generally use it for promotional efforts with a nod from their publisher, since the publisher owns the repro rights on the piece of art.

If someone is self-publishing and commissions a cover, they need to include the repro rights in the commission (usually costs more, up to triple just the art, if the artist is savvy) or they don't have the rights to use it for the book.

It's all about respecting rights, which is important to us authors--right?

Vince524 said:

Well, I would go, introduce myself and then say because it's in a girls voice, here's my daughter to read it.

And yes, I can see how my target audience would love a big, strapping, male specimen.

But they'll only get me. A big, chubby, balding, male leftover.

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If you introduced it like that, I can see that being cool. Especially if your daughter has fun with it.

OTOH, you come across as a big teddy bear of a guy and that could be cool too.

Either way could work. You could always test it out and see which works better for the lot of you.

As for guys not looking like their Romance characters, check out Leigh Greenwood, former president of RWA. You're far from alone.

Right now, a friend is doing the cover art. But it has to be approved by the publisher.

My friend is aware that I may not be able to use his stuff for the book. But if I do, I let him know I would pass his name out to the people on AW over in the section for ecovers.

I would also put his name on my website. He's working on 2-3 designs for me. When he's done, I may use both on my website.

Vince524 said:

And yes, I can see how my target audience would love a big, strapping, male specimen.

But they'll only get me. A big, chubby, balding, male leftover.

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Yes - I wrote the MS from 1st POV of an 18 year old male. I am neither 18, nor male.

I don't even have a deep voice. :/

Vince524 said:

But they'll only get me. A big, chubby, balding, male leftover.

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Eh, a little makeup and no one will notice. Look at Gene Simmons. The man is *not* pretty, and yet....

parumpdragon said:

Yes - I wrote the MS from 1st POV of an 18 year old male. I am neither 18, nor male.

I don't even have a deep voice. :/

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Yes, but I'm pretty sure most people out there realize that YA is not actually written by young writers. Whereas with other fields there is something of an expectation. I can think of two off the top of my head where there are stereotypes, even in this day and age, about who writes what.

I just put a thread up in the blogging area of AW asking for help.