Mississippi Gulf Coast anthology

cj Sez:

Writing as Marilyn Johnston, I have an essay about Dauphin Island, AL, in THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST AND NEIGHBORING SITES anthology. The anthology presents twenty-five essays by local authors (with photographs) about favorite tourist spots along the Gulf Coast region.

A book signing is scheduled in the Biloxi (MS) Visitors Center on Beach Road on December 1, 2013, from 2 to 4 p.m. I'd love to see you there.

Books are available beginning Dec 2013.

Okay, back to the writing desk. Are there any writers in the audience doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge? NaNoWriMo is not on my schedule this year  . . . maybe next year. I'm in the midst of two WIPs, and they are in different genres so my mind is too cluttered to attempt NaNoWriMo. 

Mechanical housekeeping note: I've been complaining for a month that my space bar on my PC had started to fail. All my words were running together more than usual. Son was going to order a new keyboard or gift me with his old one, but I decided I'd try to fix it myself. Aha! Success!  The keyboard now sometimes works perfectly, even if the letters on the keys have all been rubbed off. All I had to do was clean out the grape jelly. (sigh)

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same. 

cj

Gasp, I'm back

Launched 2-18-13

I think I can compare marketing Deadly Star to a fire ... fully involved. I thought I was busy prior to the official publication date (February 18), but after the fact has been equally as busy.
Prior to publication, there was the proof copy to edit, and I can't believe the number of typos I found. That really surprised me because of all the sets of eyes that saw that manuscript before I submitted it. Multiple critique groups looked at it, but these things slipped through the cracks.

Along with the proof copy work, the editor wanted advance blurbs from people who had read the story at one time during its creation. That put me out of my comfort zone, so I donned my author's hat and went at it. Most of those who were gracious to give me a comment were authors, but I would classify two of these generous people as all-important readers. I've made a better effort to pay it forward and try to make sure I comment and/or review every eBook I read.

The eBook thing puts a bit of a crimp in physically marketing the book, but it's not impossible. I've gotten bookmarks with the cover art and put tassels on all 250 of them to (hopefully) make them harder to toss. Plus when the paperback comes out—probably in early summer—the reader will have the bookmark to remind them. Obviously, when there's a book signing, as in after I participate in the New Authors Panel at Carolyn Haines's "Daddy's Girl Weekend" in April (see reminder below), I'll have no book to sign, but I can sign the back of the bookmarks. I have business cards with the cover art on one side and this website address on the other.

Facebook (three sites) and eMails to local writers groups and local libraries were included in the marketing task. The libraries said they do not order books from Amazon or BN.com, but the publisher tells me Deadly Star is available on a platform that they do use, so maybe if someone asks the library to order it? Maybe it'll happen.

The publisher, Crimson Romance, is also doing a lot of marketing. In fact, their parent company, F+W Media, just signed an agreement with Woman's Day magazine to promote the Crimson Romance line of books.

I won't make a living off the royalties for this book, but I probably should sit down and figure out what the expected royalties will be. First, I have to find out how many books have been sold, by whom, and what the sale price was since that can vary from day to day. (Maybe I don't have to know what my royalties will be exactly.)

Back to the Daddy's Girls Weekend: March 6 is the last day to get the conference pricing on rooms at Mobile's Battle House Hotel which is where the conference is taking place April 5, 6, and 7 this year. So even if you're "considering" going, maybe check with the hotel about their cancellation policy and go ahead and make a reservation. If you're not renting a room because you're local to the Mobile, AL, area, you can decide to attend one or two specific workshops rather than the whole conference. Each workshop is priced separately, so you can pick and choose which best serve your needs. The URL to get you started is    http://www.daddysgirlsweekend.com/

I hope I get to meet you at the conference. In the meantime, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj

Short Story published

One of my short stories, "A Fool's Gold," is now published in the TRIBUTARIES 2012 anthology.  The release and book signing event happened on December 10. A lot of people showed up to support their local authors (the anthology is "a collection of literary artists from the Mobile Bay area") and the editor sold every book he brought and could have sold more. THAT was exciting. Book signings aren't always so successful, but Mobile is one of those cities that loves the literary arts.

"A Fool's Gold" weaves a fictional story around a historical event and the $35,000 in gold that Sam Bass stole in a train robbery. He hid the gold, and at the time a Texas Ranger shot the outlaw off his horse in the streets of Round Rock, Texas, it had not been found. "A Fool's Gold" is about treasure hunters and cowboys seeking their fortune, and the love story of two immigrants looking to build a better life in America.  Look for it on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com and search for TRIBUTARIES 2012 under books.

Now I have to get back to work on manuscript edits for DEADLY STAR. I have a little over a week to get them done and return everything to the publisher. So I'll see you then.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj