Forget Guerrilla Marketing. I Need a Publisher.

I need a publisher.  As much as I enjoyed the publication process of the publishing process, I am not loving the marketing part.  How do I write a press release?  Who do I send the press release to?  Where do I find contact information?  How much will postage cost me?

Forget it!  I finally caved and sent the first few paragraphs into a publishing house.  I am familiar with the house since Louisiana is a small place.  There are not many publishers here anyway.  Plus, the only competition I have is from one of their publications.  It is from 2004, so I am sure they may be seeking a new book.

Who knows though?  The only thing I can do is hope their slush pile isn't too deep.  I will keep you posted!!

Camille

http://amzn.com/147813884X

http://www.amazon.com/From-Proposal-Ever-After-Louisiana/dp/147813884X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355521736&sr=8-1&keywords=from+the+proposal+to+ever+after

NaNoWriMo - Let's get this party started!

National November Writing Month officially kickstarted yesterday.  If you have a hankering to finally get that story off your mind and onto the page, this is what you are looking for.  All the site does is motivate you to get the story written.  They will forward you interesting facts and motivational emails.  There may even be a write-in organized locally near you.  I am hoping to join one this year.

One of NaNoWriMo's emails (sent many moons ago) was especially inspiring for me.  When I think of how much I have procrastinated on a story, I now have Dave Eggers voice in the background "egging" me on.  I have saved it for all these years.  I hope you find it inspiring as well:

To: ____________ 
Subject: [NaNoWriMo] A pep talk from Dave Eggers
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:07:01 -0800
From: nanowrimo_loves_you@nanowrimo.org

Dear NaNoWriMo Author,

Is procrastination a problem for you? Really? You think you have a problem?

Here's procrastination: The organizers of NaNoWriMo asked me three months ago to write this pep talk, and I'm only writing it now, after blowing three deadlines, after avoiding ten reminders. I was asked to write a pep talk for NaNoWriMo, and I'm actually writing it after the month started. So whatever procrastination problems you have, I probably have you beat. I'm the worst, and I'm getting worse every day.

It's a very strange thing, because we all think writing should be fun. That is, when I was temping through most of my twenties, wondering what it would be like to write for a living, hoping for such a life, I thought it might be pretty sweet. I thought if I ever got to write for a living, I would feel pretty lucky, and that I would be so appreciative that I would bound out of bed every day and, like a goddamned adult, I would write as much as I could every day, and get work done in a reasonable amount of time. Again, like an adult.

Instead, I need, on average, 8 hours sitting on my writing couch to get one hour of work done. It's a pathetic ratio. I stall, avoid, put off and generally act like someone's making me do some terrible job I never wanted to do. I blow pretty much every deadline I'm given.

Just like I blew the one for NaNoWriMo.

But then, when things are late, and I'm feeling like an idiot, and I feel like I'm letting down someone (like the people at NaNoWriMo, and you), I finally dig in and get started. And then I write, and I write in a fury, and I even, sometimes, enjoy writing.

And that's why I love NaNoWriMo. It gets you started. It gives you the impetus to finally start, and/or finally finish. Knowing there are thousands of others out there trying to do the same, who are using this ridiculous deadline as cattle-prod and shame deterrent, means goddamnit, you better do it now because you know how to write, and you have fingers, and you have this one life, and during this one life, you should put your words down, and make your voice heard, and then let others hear your voice. And the only way any of that's going to happen is if you actually do it. People can't read the thoughts in your head. They can only read the thoughts you put down, carefully and with great love, on the page. So you have to do it, goddamnit. You have to do it, and you can step back and be happy. You can step back and relax. You can step back and feel something like pride.

Then of course you'll have to revise it ten or twenty times, but let's not talk about that yet.

Write your goddamned book now. The world awaits.

D

Dave Eggers is the author of Zeitoun and What is the What. You can learn more about his work here.

How in the world am I going to get motivated AGAIN to market this book

Phew.  I have not done a thing when it comes to getting word about this book out there.  To be honest, I assumed women would be sitting up late at their computers typing in "Louisiana divorce marriage bridesmaid love" in the search engine of Amazon.  Apparently women are not doing that.

With lackluster sales (make that no sales) and a product that is stale to me, I have to find a way to get motivated to 1) market this text and 2) write the next one.  Here is my plan of attack:

Guerrilla Marketing
- Go to law schools and post the flyer (I really think law students might find this easy to read.  I also hope they read it, find something I messed up on, and email me so I can fix it.).
- Prepare a press release (Why are these so hard???).
- Prepare order forms for retailers to order directly from me and then I drop ship it to them (How the hell do you do this?  They need to send me money up front.  Will they?).
- Just go ahead and see if a publishing house will accept the book and let them deal with this part (That is starting to sound better and better).

Writing the Next Book 
- First off, I need to do this for myself.  I get so annoyed with myself for not doing something.  In the end, my procrastination is just as much work as doing something.
- NaNoWriMo - I love this site.  I know I should simply start writing today, but there is something so pleasant about starting Nov. 1st.  It is definitive.
- Outline, outline, outline.  Outlining what I want to say rather than just writing all over the place.  Now, that is something I could start right now...

Oi vey,
Camille



 

KDP Select: What the hell was that about?

Frankly, I feel like I got a little used.  That is the nicest way to say it.  Apparently KDP Select through Amazon.com was going to be a way for my work to reach more people.  I was hoping it would generate, I don't know, a COMMENT in the comment section from a reader who actually read the book.  Nothing.  Silence.  I thought maybe going into it would get me a, gee, idk, SALE.  Neither of those things happened.  Rather, I got 5 days of people accessing my book for free, seeing that it was getting traffic, and then nothing for three months.  Amazon Prime really is taking away the fun in this self-publishing process, but what are we suppose to do?  There are little options.

Now, my book is not worthy of, "Oh my gosh, I just read this awesome piece of prose.  You have to check it out."  You may have that nugget of awesome, I don't.  I have a legal information book with a narrow audience.  Needless to say, my marketing is going to need to look beyond this resource...

Eck! You mean my friends might actually read it!!

Any time you write something and you put it out there for the world to see, it is a little scary.  At least for me it has been pretty scary.  But, one of the main requirements of self-publishing is forwarding the notice to your friends and family.  "Hi!  I wrote something.  Please read it and forward your thoughts.  Especially if you see a typo or two!"  

Thus, when I received the following email from a close friend (who has critiqued my work in the past), I was elated.  It was so thoughtful of him to send a little hip-hip-hooray my way :)  

--------------

I started reading it last night and I'm in Chapter 5.  I love the writing style! Everything just flows so naturally, so conversationally.  And the humor is a great touch too! I never thought a book about marriage could be fun to read. Honestly, I'm learning a lot about marriage law that I had never really thought of.  And...I haven't seen a single typo yet. I have to say, I'm impressed.  Not bc I didn't think you were a good writer, but bc writing a full book is so damn hard.  I know I wouldn't try to do it.  

You are good.  Keep writing.  

--------------

I feel all warm and fuzzy now.  Plus, I needed the confidence boost to start the next book.  Happy days!!

Camille 

Author Central Profile Developed

Phew.  That took some mindjuice...

When I originally posted my book on Kindle, I waited to work out the kinks before developing the hardcopy version on CreateSpace, another Amazon publisher.  Once I had completed that, it asked me if I wanted to develop a Kindle page.  Well, no, I already have one.  I simply declined that option.

Once CreateSpace approved my book (i.e. not porn), they started posting the hardcopy version of my book in a separate doo-dad from the Kindle version.  Considering it is difficult to explain, here is a screenshot of what it looks like:

I have to get these two listings together.  So, in the Community section of kdp, I found people mentioned the need for an author page on Author Central.  When you create an Author Central page, the commentor indicated it would essentially meld the two together.

First off, go to authorcentral.amazon.com.  Once there, you need to set up a new account.  Everything should be fairly easy from there.  The only reason I write this post is that I had difficulty bringing in my twitter account and my blog accounts.  I believe the main difficulty with the twitter account was the kinks in the author central site itself.  I mean, what is so difficult about "@FromTheProposal".  It should have simply accepted it, but no.  I had to do it a couple of times.  So, if you have this issue, I am just sayin': don't give up.  Simply keep inputting it until it accepts it.

If you also have a blog, you need to figure out the RSS url, not the blog's URL.  For this, simply visit your blog's help section.  I use Blogger and it was very simple.  The trick was simply visiting "Blogger Help" and then inputting my inquiry, "RSS URL".  From years of trying to figure out Excel, I have learned to simply give up and search the help section.  It always works out that way.

Anywho, here's to hoping that the two listings will meld within the next 24 hours!

Camille

P.S. - Make sure you double-check your author central.  I just did and they had the second listing!

UPDATE: Here is my profile: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008QXS2EY  They still haven't melded the two texts together.  Shit.

"Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed"

As I ponder over the issue of rewriting my book's description, I decided it was time to review my links.  See what kind of action the text has been having.  First off, the free 5 day KDP Select advertising as definitely come to a close.  How can I tell?  The views of the text came to a complete halt.  At the very end, the number was 62.  The problem is that Amazon doesn't tell me if this is 62 different downloads or 62 times one or two people accessed the file.  Maybe it was just someone reading a chapter at a time.  We don't know.  Obviously, there were no sales during this time period.

Next up, I decided to go back to the actual page for Amazon.  It is still free for Prime members, but Kindle members must pay $9.99 (they can also simply order the book for $9.99).  I am tempted to drop the Kindle price, but this is legal information.  If it were a simple short story, I would totally offer it for $.99, but this is something different.  I think.  Am I wrong?

Finally, as I scrolled the page, I noticed the "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed" list.  I found this to be very informative.  Here is the screen image:

I don't know if you can see this, but it appears we are 1) definitely dealing with a woman and 2) a woman who is short on funds and 3) a woman who is seeking order in her life.  We have Feng Shui, managing money, and exercise/diet books.

My marketing sense tells me I should communicate the "order" this text will provide the reader.  Maybe something like, "Coupling with the one you love is a special time in both of your lives, but finding yourself and order in this matrimony is especially important for your overall well-being..."  I am not sure what I will ultimately prepare, but at least this feature provides a window into who my audience is and what they are looking for.

They are definitely looking for something in the price range of $2.99...Hmmmm....

On another note, my parents sold one book at their store!!!  Woohoo!  It is the little things in life.

Have a great day,
Camille

...and they said KDP Select wasn't worth it!

When I first posted the book on Kindle, I had a lot of questions on the process and visited the Community Pages for answers.  What I learned was that people thought KDP Select was a complete sham.  Posts said it wasn't worth it, it was waste of time, etc.  It made me quite skeptical of the program.  But, I never let others dictate what my overall goals are...

I signed up.  For 90 days, it will be completely free to Kindle Owners (I originally thought it was just prime...) and I will receive 5 days of promotion on the site.  Now, I am not sure where that promotion is or how it is being pushed to Kindle people, but 47 people have taken advantage of the text in the past three days.  That is a lot of people checking this thing out!  AND, CreateSpace has the option up for purchasing a hard copy...But why is it not on the same link.  Need to check that out...

I find this information helpful because before the KDP Select do-hickey I had no idea if anyone was even coming across the text.  Amazon will show you the purchases (obviously), but not the views.  Although I am not making money, the positive part is simply knowing people are taking a look at what I have put out there.  This has really motivated me to keep outreaching.

I definitely think a new book description is in order.  I am going to rewrite that portion and see if that drives sales.  Although Prime is not making me a profit right now, it has given me a great boost in my confidence.

KDP Select - Why not...

So, CreateSpace has encouraged me to enroll my book on KDP Select.  This is Amazon's doodad.  I suspect the goal is to encourage Kindle purchasing?  I am not sure what the end result will be.  What I am hoping for is that readers will post comments so I can get a sense of how people react to the text.  See if they highlight any issues, concerns, or (better yet) praises.  

KDP Select also permits 5 free days of advertising.  I went ahead and took advantage of that.  I am sure I wouldn't forget to do it later, but why not start it ASAP.  Again, simply hoping for a little buzz.  

Ordered 12 Copies!

I have the great fortune of having parents who own their own store.  They have graciously offered to put the book front and center on their front counter.  Today, I took the plunge and ordered 12 copies off www.createspace.com and I am having them shipped to them.  I hope with a little encouragement from my folks people will actually buy the book!  That would be novel.

Since publishing the book and informing friends and family, I have sold a whopping 5 copies.  I am thinking that my description of the book is not totally clear.  I believe improving the way the piece is marketed would be better.  I am going to think outside of the box on this.  Maybe write the description from the perspective of a "marketer" and not the "author".    

So each book was around $2.15 + shipping and handling.  My investment thus far is around $45.  I am also going to investigate filing for a business license.  My hopes are that I will be able to deduct costs from publishing off my personal income taxes.  If this thing sells, I will have to pay business taxes anyway!  Might as well get that paperwork going.  Plus, there are some pretty pricey additions to this whole marketing portion.  Here is where I think some bigger checks are going to be written:

Printing press release with full color
Printing invoice slips for mailing
Stamps
Full color flyers
Purchasing a list of businesses in the state

My thought is to target parishes one-by-one.  I could avoid purchasing and simply identify businesses online and drop a press release in the mail.  I will continue to keep you posted on these developments.  Happy publishing!  

Camille
http://amzn.com/B008A0UVPG

Espresso Book Machine - Holy Moly, That is Cool (...to me)

In the little research I have done regarding printing hard-copies of our self-published works, I discovered the Espresso Book Machine.  This is by far the coolest invention I have seen in a long time. 

The genius of the machine is that it can print a text on-demand at any location where it resides.  Say it is at a library and you want to own the book, bam!  There is your book.  Say you want to order 100 copies of your text, bam!  It will simply print away.  

Below is a short video on how the contraption works.  For the location of an EBM near you, visit: http://ondemandbooks.com/ebm_locations.php

Video of Proof from CreateSpace

I thought it might help others to see what I received in the mail.  This is the actual book and the way it will look when ordered.  You receive an ISBN number that is through Amazon.  I believe this was free, but there is another option of letting them purchase a universal one for you for a fee.  I went with the Amazon one since I really want it at their location and I can always purchase a universal ISBN number at a later time and have those printed on a sticker and slapped on the back, if necessary - I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

As for the copyright, I decided against wasting space at the Library of Congress.  Yes, To Kill a Mockingbird should be filed at the Library of Congress, but this?  Again, I will cross that road if I get to it.

Here is a little video of the book I received:

Time to Light a Real Fire

I must say, writing this book came so easily compared to the process of actually selling it.  When you are writing, you are in your own cocoon.  You struggle with returning to mundane writing tasks, but it is an overall pleasurable experience.  You read and reread.  You edit and reedit.  By the time it comes to print, you are ready to shelve it.

Here comes the hard part (and I now see why many don't go this route), marketing.  I have to write a press release and then find bookstores or other retail locations to sell the book.  Unlike email, stamps cost money.  Even a list of stores who may be interested in carrying it is going to cost me money.  I could develop something and simply go door-to-door, but, honestly, do the owners of stores really work there?  Isn't that what employees are for?

I am SERIOUSLY considering printing several copies and just paying to participate at local markets.  Simply sell the product directly to the customers.  My other thought is to get one of those cigarette girl contraptions and just walk the markets.  Is that legal?

So, here is where the numbers come in and the publishing houses.  They have the moolah and the staff to make these things happens.  Writers who are fortunate to be chosen into their castles really do just sit back and watch the small (or large) checks roll in.

I never even shopped this text around to area publishers.  I figured I would prefer to receive the majority of the royalties.  That said, I am starting to see how receiving 6% on profits can be WAY easier.

Seriously, I need to light a fire under my toosh and get the word out about the texts availability.  If I don't, it will languish out there like a toad on a log.  Means nothing, just exists.

Trulia Article on Couples and House Buying

This sounds like an interesting article for a couple who are home buying.  

It is called, "5 To Do’s When You and Your Mate Want Different Things in a Home."  

Trolling KDP.Amazon Community Discussion Boards

There is some great information in here!  I love this community of self-publishers having a virtual discourse.  Just learned about another e-book platform:

http://www.smashwords.com/

Something to check out...

Requesting a Softcopy Before Uploading Recommended

Regrets, I have a few.  One of the major ones would be uploading my book to Amazon and telling ALL my friends prior to seeing it in printed form.  I just finished re-reviewing the softcopy...Hand to face, embarrassing.  

First off, when I uploaded it to Amazon, I was so happy it was over.  It was just out there and I thought I had crossed a major milestone.  I obviously sold five copies to family and friends.  Very cool.  Thank you for the donations.

Then, I went to CreateSpace.  There, they recommended I receive a softcopy to proof.  Oh, boy.  There were missing verbs!  Little, tee-tiny errors, but errors nonetheless.  

Since then, I have fixed them all up (at least the ones I can spot) and I am republishing.  This will bring the book "down" on the Amazon site while it reviews, but I would rather have it in perfect form then in poor form.  It is just a shame that some of my closest friends may have seen the errors.

It is not the end of the world though.  The one bright light?  I was able to walk away from the project and return with fresh eyes.  That helped immensely.  The errors were always there, I was just in too much of a rush to notice them.

Words of advice from moi?  Walk away from something.  Give yourself a day or a week or even a month to process it all.  AND ORDER THE SOFTCOPY!  So worth the 5 bucks.

Softcover Book Arrived Early!

CreateSpace sent my softcover book a little early.  It truly felt like Christmas.  Essentially, the site recommended I receive a hardcopy to proof prior to offering it to the public.  I am so glad they did.  Having the opportunity to see it in black & white (with full-color cover) was ah-mazing.

The errors!  They were so blatant.  Paragraphs needed to be made.  Exclamation points needed to be deleted.  There are still problems, but having this clean-up time was obviously necessary.  It only makes me cringe when I think people purchased it with those mistooks.  C'est la vie.

After cleaning it up a bit, I am going to reload on Amazon and then order a few copies.  I am thinking a press release is necessary and figuring out who to market it to locally.  Hmmm.  This should be an interesting challenge...

Books to be printed!

After all of the formatting hell, I managed to get everything ready.  The first draft is in the mail.  I should have it on July 9th!  Let's hope it looks great.  I can't wait to sell them locally.  More to come...

Thank you, CreateSpace.com!!!

https://www.createspace.com/

Formatting Nightmares

The most difficult part of self-publishing would have to be formatting. I have a very basic design for the book: each chapter should start on a separate page. To me, that should be easy. In the Word document I created, each chapter starts off on its own page. The hard part? When you change the page setup from 8 1/2 x 11 into Book Fold, all of that goes away. It sets the type where it wants it.

So, what do you do? In Book Fold, you set all the chapters to begin on their own page. Then, you upload to Amazon. Amazon recommends an HTM or HTML file. So, you convert it. What happens then? The page view you normally have in Word goes away and you have one long white page with your chapters simply separated by the amount of spaces you have. No biggie.

Then, you upload it to Amazon. What happens there? It is back into Book Fold and all the chapters start where they feel like it.

Now, I am on CreateSpace. I would very much like the book to look like as professional as possible, obviously. But the chapters still want to start wherever they damn well please. So far, I have spent approximately 45 minutes going back and forth. Hopefully, I can get this right. Regarding the online services that will convert your document into book presentations, they are starting to look better and better...

Operation Coffee Shop Peg Boards

It is very exciting to see my ad on the www.NOLA.com website, but I am not sure if that is going to be enough advertising. I am researching other "Classified" sections of papers to get the word out statewide. It is an interesting exercise, but not too exciting. To mix things up, I did make some small flyers for peg boards I come across. So far, I have two up. Yes, a whopping two, but you got to start somewhere. I am thinking this will be my covert operation. Place them everywhere I go. In bathrooms, on pegboards, on cars. Why not? If word of mouth is the most advantageous method of advertising, I will need to get those lips talking about this book. Hopefully, those who read it will pass it on. If not, it will simply languish. Got to stay motivated and positive! It will take time, but it will be worth it. For me and for those who find something in the text meaningful in their lives. Peace, Camille

First Free Online Ad Placed at NOLA.com

I just posted an advertisement online and for print. www.NOLA.com offers this service for free! Very exciting. I will have to keep that ad up. I am putting reminders to myself in my dayplanner. Hopefully, this will lead to something...
Here is the link:
http://secure.adpay.com/clicknbuy.aspx?itemid=8678267&p=1035

Testing the TwitterFeed. I hope this works!!!...Few days later, that did not work well. On the Facebook page, this looked like this:

That sure is boring. I will have to investigate further. Nothing comes easy...

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! I have no idea how I am going to manage all of these sites. I will look into how to cross-reference all locations so I can keep you posted...I just signed up for TwitterFeed and AtomKeep.com. AtomKeep seems to be having trouble, so I will stick with TF and see how it goes. Here are the links to the other locations: http://www.facebook.com/FromTheProposalToEverAfter @FromtheProposal I appreciate your time in Liking or Following! Have a great day, Camille

Now Available on Kindle!

From the Proposal to Ever After: A Louisiana Woman's Guide to Marriage and Community Property Laws [Kindle Edition] by Camille Carter "Whether you are in the throes of a hot romance or sitting on the cool ashes of a burnt out relationship, it is important to know about the contract of marriage you are about to enter or exit. This text is designed to give you marriage law, plain and simple. No code articles or revised statutes here! Well, maybe in a footnote or two…" These were the first lines I wrote for this text several months ago. The concept of this work was to provide women in Louisiana the opportunity to read a quick text on marriage law and feel like they "got" it. It is essentially a conversation about pre-nups, post-nups, marriage laws, community property laws, and more. If you or someone you know is in the engagement phase, this book is for you! If you or someone you know is considering divorce, this book is for you also! If you or someone you know is going to law school in Louisiana, wish them luck for me. No, seriously, they may be interested in reading this, but please note! I am putting a big DISCLAIMER out there. This text is STRICTLY legal information and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Enjoy :)