Purgatory's Pit of Doom

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Teriann

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Hmmm... so if you had a bunch of books ready to go, and then pretended to be dead, you could get out of the promotion hassle.

Your defense, when caught, would that in concluding the creative process, you had died a metaphoric death.

Adding: Back to author promotion. I guess I'm showing my age, think it should remain dignified. I remember before internet promotion seeing an author in a bookstore sitting behind a table next to a pile of his books. I thought, "How sad." Ann3 L@mont, after she was a best seller, did a bookstore event and only friends showed up.

The first time I was invited to a bookstore event by an author, I was irritated to find it was just a "signing" meaning the only thing to do was buy the book and get it signed. "I hereby invite you to come plunk down 20 bucks for my book." The least you should do if you invite people to a bookstore is entertain them with anecdotes about writing the book, read a sample chapter, offer cookies!

(Catwoman probably read that and dived back under the couch! I think she's a good candidate for the playing dead approach to promotion)
 
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lkp

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*snorts back a maggotini and asks for another*

Cocktail hour in the Pit! Cheese and crackers for everyone. Yeah, that's a little mould on the cheese. It's, uh, blue cheese. And I'm sorry the crackers are a bit soft.
 

silver76

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is there room for me under the couch...author-whoring myself has made me tired. very, very tired.
i just want to write- OK- i don't want to go to conferences, or make a website, or get more twitter followers, or well, i can keep going- it sucks...that's all
 
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Teriann

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Silver, even though I didn't offend you, I still think I'm making you feel worse. The folks upstairs would not be talking like me. They'd be giving you pep talks instead of engaging in "let's call the whole system and all the expectations into question" talks.

So I just got served with my lawsuit papers.

The amount has lowered considerably from the threats. I'm only being sued for $250,000, instead of a much more impressive 10 million.

Getting rid of this shouldn't be a problem. I am said to have violated a duty which applies to governmental agencies, and those working for government agencies.
 

Catwoman

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What makes me break out in hives: the thought of going to a conference without knowing a soul and doing a book signing (which won't apply to me anyway).

I'm surprised to hear that about Ann3 LaM0tt. She has a pretty good rep, esp. around the bay area, no?

So here's a funny story which I can thank Silver for. Little did I know that by liking you on goodreads it would go to my FB page. I added my blog website to my gr profile, so anyone I know that chooses to click on your book can indeed now know my blog in all its raunchy glory. Mind you, I only have 1 person who knows of my blog, and he was the one who informed me of this.

I could "unlike" you, but then I'm like Eh, fu*k it. Whaddaya gonna do?!
 

Teriann

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#2: A agent becomes an assisted-self publisher, and takes 15%. She has lots of authors. Let's say, to start with, she assists with the self publishig of 7 books from 5 authors. The agent tells each author to develop a marketing plan and do social media. (I know of at least one telling her authors this)

Who benefits? The slush pile is endless so the agent will always be able to put up more and more books taking 15% of each book. Put up enough books and you can make a lot of money even if no single writer makes much money. If each of the writers are playing "I'll by your book if you buy mine" becuase she's obsessed with Amazon rankings, who wins? If writers are doing social media instead of producing more books, the publisher wins because the publisher will always have more books to publish.

Kellion is absolutely right. Now in the case of assisted self-publishing I'd venture to guess most of the books are the authors first book, her baby, hence lots of time on social media.

I want to add something to this.

In the one case I know about the writer paid bucks for professional editing and covers. You have to sell a lot of books before you even earn back $500. The agent on the other hand starts making profit immediately because the agent didn't put out any cash. The question is: Are the agent and writer's interests aligned? I don't see how. The smart way for the agent to earn money is to have the writers out there promoting their books while the agent keeps adding writers and new books. Right? I can see getting very rich that way, especially if enough writers play the "I'll buy your book if you buy mine" thing.

Maybe the argument is that the agent put a lot of time into the writer's work, editing it, etc so the agent deserves instant profits while the writer has to hustle to break even. But didn't the writer put in even more time?
 

Teriann

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Yes, brings back memories. On the loudspeaker at B and N. "In 10 minutes Teriann will be reading from her children's novel RW." Then, 5 minutes later, "In 5 minutes, Teriann will be reading from her children's novel RW."

A half dozen fans? Don't make me laugh. A few people heard the announcement, had nothing better to do, so they wandered over to listen.

As Don Lockwood says: Dignity. Always Dignity (right before he gets the pie in the face.)

If you're in the slow, pathetic group, it really helps to have a sense of humor.
 
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Amarie

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Yes, brings back memories. On the loudspeaker at B and N. "In 10 minutes Teriann will be reading from her children's novel RW." Then, 5 minutes later, "In 5 minutes, Teriann will be reading from her children's novel RW."

A half dozen fans? Don't make me laugh. A few people heard the announcement, had nothing better to do, so they wandered over to listen.

.

Change Teriann for Dee, and this is what I've learned happens at book signings for the 9-12 age group, who I should have realized don't spend nice Saturday afternoons browsing in a bookstore.
 

soulcascade

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Hmmm... so if you had a bunch of books ready to go, and then pretended to be dead, you could get out of the promotion hassle.

:ROFL:

I once accidentally went for a sleepover at the house of a naked family.
:scared:

Oi! I'm all for being naked...around people I live with, not strangers sleeping over for the night! WOW....

So here's a funny story which I can thank Silver for. Little did I know that by liking you on goodreads it would go to my FB page. I added my blog website to my gr profile, so anyone I know that chooses to click on your book can indeed now know my blog in all its raunchy glory. Mind you, I only have 1 person who knows of my blog, and he was the one who informed me of this.

*goes to add Cat on GR*

Change Teriann for Dee, and this is what I've learned happens at book signings for the 9-12 age group, who I should have realized don't spend nice Saturday afternoons browsing in a bookstore.

((Amarie))

ETA-OMG Kellion that article was darkly hilarious. Fav quote '"Sometimes when it's this vast sea of eight faces, it doesn't feel like you're even talking to people at all.'

ETA x 2 - Teri I hope that nightmare goes away soon. Like tomorrow type soon. Sounds like you should be able to get rid of it fairly quickly though
 
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Catwoman

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When I was living up north in Santa Cruz some 12 years ago, there were a bunch of independant bookstores. In fact, the loyalty to them was so strong there was protesting when Borders came in.

They really worked to get authors in for book readings, and lots of people always showed up, because it was like a social event. You know, go out to eat, then go to the bookstore to hear an author, afterward peruse titles, then go to a cafe for dessert.

I remember going to see El1z@b3th W3rtz3l (who wrote Pr0z@c N@t10n) promote her new book, B1tch. It was packed!

Where I live now there is B&N and...well, that's it. I think it's the artsy, liberal small towns that really promote the arts and the folks who live there seem to appreciate them more. And the big cities like NY of course. But I'm living in a cultural void: Suburbia. Yeesh.
 

Teriann

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When I was living up north in Santa Cruz some 12 years ago, there were a bunch of independant bookstores. In fact, the loyalty to them was so strong there was protesting when Borders came in.

They really worked to get authors in for book readings, and lots of people always showed up, because it was like a social event. You know, go out to eat, then go to the bookstore to hear an author, afterward peruse titles, then go to a cafe for dessert.

I remember going to see El1z@b3th W3rtz3l (who wrote Pr0z@c N@t10n) promote her new book, B1tch. It was packed!

Where I live now there is B&N and...well, that's it. I think it's the artsy, liberal small towns that really promote the arts and the folks who live there seem to appreciate them more. And the big cities like NY of course. But I'm living in a cultural void: Suburbia. Yeesh.

Good events and readings can happen certainly. Maybe with the rise of independents again, they will happen more often. My best ones were not directed by me, though.
 
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Cricket18

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Hair of the dog. Or the hellhound, as the case may be, Mario.

WIN.

After visiting with L. R0n Hubb@rd all day, I've decided to stop writing fantasy and start my own religion. If it worked for him, it can work for me.


:D
 

kellion92

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Say hi to Ron, Cricket. Don't make your religion too hard -- I like easy ones.

Mario, you should be feeling better by now, unless you have a new hangover to replace the old one.
 

Teriann

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Somebody just told me YA urban fantasy/paranormal is dead.

....sigh.

Who?

When Chick Lit "died" all people did was start calling it something else.
 

ink wench

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(((Mario)))

Cricket, make it a fun religion with the need for lots of drinking. More converts that way.

Roly, who said that? (My agent, btw, recently said paranormal/fantasy is always going to be around so long as it has new twists.)
 

mario_c

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Thanks, gang. I managed to sleep all day yesterday, and then go out to Scores for a smores-style cupcake. That helped. :D

Inkwench, that would explain why they make you drink red wine during mass. Of course, growing up Italian Catholic, Sunday feasting was par for the course. After your weekly 45 minutes of pain, it was well earned.
 

kellion92

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Two more queries and I managed to start a short story. Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten how to write.

It's fine -- this shall be an experiment in pantsing. I ought to be able to muddle through, although with the backstory I threw in already, it's seeming very novelesque...
 

Catwoman

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Thanks, gang. I managed to sleep all day yesterday, and then go out to Scores for a smores-style cupcake. That helped. :D

Hmmm, isn't Scores a strip club? What did you do -- eat the cupcake off a girl's breasts?
 
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