The Friday Weekly Round-Up

Welcome to the Weekly Round-Up everyone! This is the place to see what has been happening with Oak Tree Press and our amazing authors. Past, present and future. We have authors singing, books releasing, blogs posting, articles printing, authors greeting and more this week on the Round-up!

We had no idea we had a musician in our midst. JASON HUNT created a song and video for his novel “A Midsummer Night's Gunfight.” This is a must-see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHTQ3FJMPKA

The latest edition of Tricks of the Trade, put out by MORGAN ST. JAMES (“Who's Got the Money?”) includes an article on shopping for ideas by  J.L. GREGER, “Building a Better Mousetrap” by SUNNY FRAZIER and excerpts from “La Bella Mafia” by MORGAN and DENNIS GRIFFIN. All that, plus conference info and much more.

http://writerstricksofthetrade.blogspot.com/

J.L. GREGER, author of “Coming Flu” and “Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight,” made an appearance on July 16 at Oasis at Macy's in Albuquerque. She spoke of invisibility cloaks, cloning, Jurassic Park, flu epidemics (all examples of science in modern fiction).

CINDY LADAGE and JANE AUMANN (“My Name Is Huber”) received a book review in the Capital City Parent, which is part of the Illinois Times.

http://capitalcityparent.com/

MARILYN MEREDITH's “Dangerous Impulses” is in the All Mystery eNewsletter. http://allmysteryenewsletter.com/

BERYL REICHENBERG, author of children's books, met with a class of preschool children, part of the Mommy and Me Program, on Wednesday May 15 to read her books and talk about story telling. She reports the class was full of joyful three and four year olds and all had a delightful time.

BLOG CORRAL

STEPHEN BRAYTON,  “Alpha,” heard a weather forecast that struck an irritation with him so he decided to discuss four instances of common language misuses.

www.stephenbrayton.wordpress 

LORNA COLLINS, author of “Ghost Writer,” hosts Debi Sullivan, the intrepid chair of the EPIC eBook Awards, over at her blog:

http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/  

CAROL CRIGGER author of  “Three Seconds to Thunder” and “Two Feet Below” blogs about dancing in the 1890s, and an excerpt from Three Seconds to Thunder.

www.cowboykisses.blogspot.com  

JOHN DANIEL, author of “Behind the Redwood Door,” has 9 stories, 99 words each, from a variety of talented writers, all with the theme "Yes, You May."

http://johnmdaniel.blogspot.com/ 

SUNNY FRAZIER (“Fools Rush In,” and “Where Angels Fear,”) rants about blogs that promise more than they deliver:

http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2013/05/ye-olde-bait-and-switch.html?spref=fb

MARJA MCGRAW, author of the Bogey series, says in a brief moment a life can change, and that includes characters in books.

http://blog.marjamcgraw.com/  

MARILYN MEREDITH (“Dangerous Impulses”) explains why she chose the two small presses to publish her series:

http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

It's all about muffins this week at SHARON MOORE's blog. Sharon is the author of the upcoming novel “Mission: Impastable,”

http://sharonarthurmoore.blogspot.com/2013/05/million-way-muffins.html

SHARON also shares her business plan:

http://samwriteaway.blogspot.com/2013/05/getting-down-to-business-part-i.html

CHRIS SWINNEY, author of soon-to-be-published “Gray Ghost.” scored an excerpt from Melodie Campbell's latest book.

www.clswinney.wordpress.com

IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE BOOK

Marketing any book can be confusing and frustrating if you fail to put all the pieces together. When creating your plan remember that it’s not always about the book, sometimes it’s the message or it can be about the author. If you get bogged down with the notion that book marketing is all about the book you will miss other opportunities.

Effective book marketing is a puzzle and must include consideration of many factors such as format, price, category, audience and setting. The one issue you cannot overlook and give strong consideration is how you plan to announce your release, special offer, promotion, discount or re-launch. Pre-publication planning is crucial.

Book marketing is also about testing and failing. No one, especially the major publishers ever hit on a perfect formula, it varies title to title and many times the initial plan fails and has to be readdressed. If you’re under contract and the marketing plan is a failure, your career may also fail. For those who self-publish your window of marketing opportunity is open as long as you want.

Seven out of ten traditionally published books fail to earn back the investment the company makes, that percentage is much higher for self-published. No plan is perfect and not all plans create the desired level of sales. The key is to keep trying and testing until you hit upon the recipe that works for your book.

Publishing independently gives you a chance to retreat from parts that are not working and redesign your plan. Be patient, be persistent and be aware that your confidence may be shaken when you fail the first time. That’s all part of marketing your book. Pick yourself up and try again, perseverance is also a key ingredient of good book marketing.

Check out my work on www.walterluce.com    www.ShopOTPbooks.com

Meeting My Public

For all of us who write books, it is always a delight to meet our audience whether they are adults, teens or children. To be able to see what books or stories appeal to them, which covers they reach for or what questions they may have about our process, makes us better at our craft.

I had such an opportunity this past weekend at a Mini Maker Faire in San Luis Obispo’s Mission Plaza. Organized by the local Art Museum, this faire was based on other such events around the country. The Plaza was lined with booths and tables where various tinkers, innovators, and others demonstrated. This was billed as a family event, the day was sunny and the turnout was brisk.

While it was not a sales event per se, I believe any event where my name is out in the public as an author and illustrator of children’s stories is worth my time and effort. I demonstrated and taught children and adults how to make accordion book forms. I had my books available for viewing and of course, my usual pile of stuffed animals along with my banner, brochures, business cards, an email sign up list and a list of where my books can be purchased in the immediate area, etc.

Here are some highlights: I met one woman who was going to Bulgaria for the summer to work at a camp for gipsy children. She was interested in the folded book form to teach the children. One woman wanted to write and publish children stories, and we talked about the process. Teachers came by to see what I was doing and possibly use my folded form in their classes. A fellow from the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum wanted to know if I would demonstrate at his event in July. Of course, the biggest highlight was the many children and their parents.  One child wanted to take my stuffed frog home; I said he could play with it instead. Another little girl, I had met at an event in the library some months ago came by with her parents.  I remembered her because she was a very focused five-year-old, intent on writing her own story. Her parents remembered me as well. 

Many of the parents and children looked at my books and asked where they could be purchased. Many said they had seen my books in local stores. It would have been nice to sell my books on the spot, but hopefully the day will result in later sales. I did give them my list of local places that have my stories. And, of course, I am delighted to hear positive feedback.

I talked about my two upcoming books from OTP, “Butterfly Girls” and “When Caterpillars Dream” and acquired an email list of possible future sales. One woman was especially interested in “Butterfly Girls” because her granddaughter has a birthday coming up and loves butterflies. Another fellow who helps purchase books for the Natural History Museum in Morro Bay and the Butterfly Sanctuary was interested in these as well. But I had already been in touch with the Museum and Sanctuary about these books and will follow up when they are published

I have a similar opportunity in two weeks; this time at the Paso Robles Arts Festival. Again, no direct sales possible but an opportunity to meet my public and interact with my potential readers, children and the people who buy their books, their parents, grandparents and teachers.   I delight in talking with these children and their parents about stories and above all encouraging them to read, read, read. I guess I'll never stop being an educator in one guise or another. Besides, who knows what future sales will result from this event.

Beryl Reichenberg has three children's books published by OTP including, "Ants on a Log", "Camouflage" and "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Birthday Cake". Watch for her upcoming books, "When Caterpillars Dream" and "Butterfly Girls" to be released soon. For more information, visit her website at www.berylreichenberg.com.

Spenser novels stay alive -- Boston Globe article

Hi Folks:

Interesting article in today's Boston Globe Magazine on how the family of the late Robert B. Parker has kept the series going. Ace Atkins, as many of you may know, has been writing the Spenser novels since Parker passed away.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/05/11/how-robert-parker-family-has-ensured-that-spenser-adventures-continue/Ae3xng4kdtXGUi1lawut3L/story.html

I'm still a bit iffy about the whole thing. I read the first Spenser novel by Atkins/Parker and liked it. I'll most likely read the second one, just released. Still it's a bit ... well, strange-ish. If there is such a word.

And as the article makes clear, this move is not unprecedented in book publishing.

What say all of you?

THE WEEKLY ROUND-UP

Woodstock is history, but Wordstock is happening in Portland! And, this year, Oak Tree will be there with a booth. We want to bring together our Northwest authors and look for new ones. Wordstock is the largest celebration of literature and literacy in the Pacific Northwest. The festival is being held Oct 3-6 at the Oregon Convention Center.

KINGS RIVER LIFE EZINE this week featured several Oak Tree Press mystery authors. First off is a review of TERRY AMBROSE latest mystery "License to Lie," an interview with Terry & a chance to win a copy of the book

http://kingsriverlife.com/05/04/license-to-lie-by-terry-ambrose/  

Two more Oak Tree Press mystery author reviews & giveaways: "Murder's Last Resort" by MARTA CHAUSEE & "Sea-Duction" by DOUGLAS DANIELSON.

http://kingsriverlife.com/05/04/oak-tree-press-mysteries/ 

And, a mystery short for mother's day by JOHN LINDERMUTH:

http://kingsriverlife.com/05/09/dangerous-to-mess-with/

CAROL CRIGGER author of  “Three Seconds to Thunder” and “Two Feet Below,” participated in a fund raiser for her old hometown's newly formed historical society. She brought along her Westerns and the historical mystery series to sell. This event was held at the Worley, Idaho, Grange Hall.

JOHN LINDERMUTH, author of Pennsylvania mystery “Fallen From Grace,” “Practice To Deceive,” and “Sooner Than Gold” received a write up:

http://newsitem.com/news/lindermuth-s12th-novel-published-1.1483665

BERLY REICHENBERG had two of her books, "Ants on a Log" and "Camouflage" mentioned in an Australian online magazine in their wildlife books for kids section. The magazine, Wildlife Rescue
Magazine is devoted to wildlife rescue and conservation. View at:

http://wildliferescuemagazine.com/kids-books-and-games.html 

MORGAN ST. JAMES, co-author of  “Who's Got the Money?” wrote in the Examiner Online about creating fiction from real life situations:

 http://www.examiner.com/article/writers-tricks-of-the-trade-create-fiction-from-real-situations-and-knowledge?CID=examiner_alerts_article

MORGAN also talked about her book over at blog radio “Crime Time” along with PI Vito Colucci 

http://archives.warpradio.com/btr//Crimetime/050523.mp3

COMING EVENTS

J.L. GREGER, Coming Flu,” “Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight”JL Greger will do two book signings. One is May 11 from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Alegria Community Garage Sale (Desert Willow Court, Bernalillo, NM). The second is May 18 from 11-2 at Under Charlie's Covers (120 E Hwy 550- next to Walgreen's, Bernalillo, NM).

BLOG CORRAL

JOHN BRANTINGHAM, author of  “Mann of War,”has part two of crime cliches:

http://www.johnbrantingham.blogspot.com   

JOHN also got a rave review:

http://www.amazon.com/Mann-War-John-Brantingham/dp/1610091965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368039320&sr=8-1&keywords=mann+of+war

STEPHEN BRAYTON ( “Alpha”) was a guest blogger at Shelf Pleasure discussing critique groups.

http://www.shelfpleasure.com/love-hate-on-critique-groups/

LORNA COLLINS, author of “Ghost Writer,”interviewed the president of EPIC, the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition. Read about it and why all industry professionals should join. ttp://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com

WILLIAM DOONAN (“American Caliphate”) talks about flash fiction over at Novel Spaces:

http://novelspaces.blogspot.com

MARJA MCGRAW, author of the Bogey seriesThis week's blog is on being passionate about writing and how I got that way. I hope you'll have a moment to stop in at

http://blog.marjamcgraw.com/

MARILYN MEREDITH (“Dangerous Impulses”) asks “Do you write when you're away from home?”

http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/ MARILYN'S also visited with Terry O'Dell and is giving away  and I'm giving away 3 books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. All you have to do is leave a comment. http://terryodell.com/terrysplace/ And you can see MARILYN posing with the Central Coast Sisters-In-Crime: http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/    Rabbi ILENE SCHNEIDER, author of  “Unleavened Dead” writes about THE UNLIKELIEST OF FRIENDS on her blog: www.rabbiauthor.com

MORGAN ST. JAMES, co-author of  “Who's Got the Money?” was on Bob Sanchez's blog talking about using life experiences when writing fiction.

http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com/2013/05/fodder-for-fiction-interview-with.html

Morgan was also a special guest on the radio show Crime Time with Vito Colucci PI May 5. Vito is a very high profile PI who has worked on many cases that made it to national TV. Morgan will be co-authoring his next book with DENNIS GRIFFIN (“Vegas Vixen”), “Rogue Town II.” This is the true story of crime and corruption in Stamford, Conn.

http://www.businesstalkradio.net/weekend_host/ctvc.shtml

CHRIS SWINNEY, author of soon-to-be-published “Gray Ghost.”Was fortunate enough to get a little snid-bit from Melodie's recent release to share on my blog.

Please check it out at www.clswinney.wordpress.com

Tracing the Path of a Purchase

Why do we buy books? Of course the easy answer is we love to read. 

But why do we choose to buy the books we buy? Another easy answer–because we like a particular genre or a particular writer.

So the final question–of all the books and authors in that genre, how do we ultimately make the decision to spend our money on a particular one?

If we knew this answer, we would know how to make the most of our promotion time and for those who have one, promotion budget.  Unfortunately, the path to purchase is not always an easy one to follow.  So I decided to review my most recent purchase decision to see if I could translate it to use in terms of my own promotion.

A few minutes ago I bought a book by Tom Adair on Kindle.  I saw a post that included Tom Adair’s area of expertise, which is forensics.  I read a lot of forensics in my job as a criminal appellate attorney, and tried many, many cases with forensics as a prosecutor in the ‘90s.  To be honest, the forensics part of the case file usually gets only a quick skim unless it is going to be extremely relevant to my case.

Ordinarily, crime lab does not solve cases in Orleans Parish.  There are the occasional cases that rely solely upon DNA– I’ve had three recent cases where the defendants were convicted of decades old rapes due to CODIS hits.  Every day new DNA information gets added to the national database and to local databases, and so hits off of old cases are not that unusual.  In those types of cases, the conviction is almost always based only on the DNA, so I pay real close attention to every aspect of that evidence.

So, knowing that forensics is not necessarily near and dear to my heart, why would I buy a book that will heavily feature forensics? Three short reasons.  First, the story line was interesting. It was a story that would definitely keep my interest.  Second, the Kindle price was only $2.99.   It was worth the risk if it turned out I didn’t like it.  Third, the writer was good looking. 

Reason three may seem to be an odd deciding factor.  I’ve been married for seventeen years, but I can still certainly look.  And all other things being equal, there it was.

Another day there may have been another factor I considered that could have made the decision different.  And that is where the big problem lies in trying to decide promotion that works or doesn’t work.

Most people will use genre, story, and price as decision makers.  Others, though, might use the title, or the book cover, or some other factor that seems completely random.  Someone might not like the way a writer looks, or where the writer is from.  It is virtually impossible to account for the randomness of book purchasers.

The one thing I can say for sure is that if I had not seen Adair mentioned in a post with his photo, I would not have known about him, and I would not have visited his website to see what his book was about. 

This leads me to what I think most of us have probably already figured out– a writer needs to figure out how to get their name and whatever else they can out there, to put it in front of people who may end up making a purchase.

My husband is an aspiring actor. They shoot a lot of movies here in New Orleans, and lately he has been getting featured roles.  He has given copies of my books to Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Wahlberg, Jasom Momoa, Brad Pitt, and probably a host of other actors I can’t remember at the moment.  Right now, he’s shooting a movie with Jason Statham and Stanley Tucci.  (He gets to man handle Jason Statham, which is something I wouldn’t mind myself!)  I’m pretty sure both men will end up with a copy of at least one, if not both, of my books.

Do I think one of these huge movie stars is going to fall in love with my book and make it into a movie? Doubtful.  There’s not a role in these books appropriate for any of these stars.  Chances are, the stars aren’t even going to read it. 

But do you know what I think happens when the other cast and crew see these stars holding my book, or sees one of my books in the star’s dressing room or car?  They think the star might be
considering my book for something, and my sales pick up slightly. 

Not every writer has a spouse crazy enough to put a bow on his or her book and pass it off as a gift to a movie star.  But it’s illustrative of the idea that creativity counts in promotion.

Adair had little to do with getting me to buy his book, but he had a connection to writer Mike Befeler, who posted about him on this blog.  Then Adair had an easy to read website, with enough information on his site to make me want to look at Amazon and read more about the book. 

Incidentally, I also bought one of Mike Befeler’s books on Kindle.  I learned about his books from his post and his stories appealed to me.  But the deciding factor this time was the final reason I sometimes buy books– he has a great publisher.  Mine.  And I try to support Oak Tree authors whenever I can.

Holli Castillo
www.hollicastillo.com

Julio with Stanley Tucci (My husband is the big guy)

Lessons From a Book Signing

A couple of weeks ago, I was "volunteered" to set up a joint book signing here in Dallas as a charity event to benefit Kevin Tipple and his family in Plano, Texas. The signing would include Earl Staggs (mystery author from Fort Worth), Jenny Milchman (best-selling Ballantine author with her first novel now out in hardcover), and little old me.

I jumped for joy. "WOW! What a score! I get to sign books and have a little party with well-known authors! And all I have to do is find a venue, make the food and decorations, get the door prize/raffle basket ready, call everyone I know to attend, and invite any other authors who'd like to join in (I invited Janis Susan May Patterson). Oh, and keep track of how many books are sold so we can do the charity donation. Simple, huh?"

How tough could it be?

First, to set the venue. I'd get the biggest bookstore in the fancy part of Dallas, for sure.

Um. It turns out that Barnes and Noble is not impressed with your idea of a book signing unless you are employed by a New York City publishing house and you are offering Stephen King. Other bookstores (including Half Price Books, believe it or not) rebuffed me as well. I began to despair--but then I realized that a funky independent store, Lucky Dog Books, would be perfect. They have three gorgeous locations, and the one on Garland Road has an excellent Event Room. After a few false starts, I finally got in touch with the proper authority and got clearance for us to sign on Sunday, April 28th.

I set the agenda with input from the others. We would start right at 1 PM, have Jenny Milchman talk and do a Q&A session, let the other authors stand up and give a brief hi-ho and hold up their books, sign books, and schmooze for a while until 3 PM rolled around, at which time we'd raffle off the basket of donated books and pick ten extra names out of the hat. Those ten would get to have a special 20-minute session with Jenny so that she could talk to them about her path to publication and how they should proceed. Then all the authors and their families would exit with alarums and excursion to El Fenix for lunny-dinny.

Ha. HA. HA!!

We did have a blast. However, it was more of a salon/flash mob than an official signing. My intended agenda went bye-bye. After I set up the food, the decorations, the raffle basket (into which everyone threw a couple of books), and my own books (ahem), Earl and Kevin sat down with me and my entourage (all right, just my mom) and waited for the action to kick in. Several authors marched in as 1 PM rolled around and the event opened. They plopped down in the comfy chairs and proceeded to talk about their books and themselves. (LOL) Not really, but we all began to schmooze and compare notes. Everyone contributed to the overflowing raffle basket until there were 22 books in total for a prize!

Jenny brought two clerks from the Grapevine Mills location of Books-A-Million, and they carried copies of her book from their store. They were recruited by my 83-yr-old mother to blow up balloons. Children began to arrive, and they immediately started bouncing balloons off authors (politely, of course). We put balloons on the store's sign and arrows pointing to our signing (in the back room where they hold events--it is REALLY NEAT and you should set something up there the next time you're in town! Tell John I sent you.) We might have been a little noisy, but that's why they have a special events room. Jenny did get to give a brief talk, but it wasn't organized. I was too tired to stand and supervise, so I just let things roll, and it turned out fine.

See?



Notice my mystery NICE WORK, available for perusal. . . .



(You can read more about our event at deniseweeks.blogspot.com.)

Despite the signage, the joyful noise, and all the FOOOOOOD (I took home several bags of cookies and candy). we didn't have a super-huge turnout. The people we had were incredible (a reporter, two Facebook friends, and one of my best friends from high school along with her entire family) and bought books. But we didn't have media coverage and everything was done on somewhat short notice. It could have been a far bigger event.

So that this doesn't happen to you, keep these points in mind when you are setting up any sort of promo event:

* START FAR IN ADVANCE. I didn't have this luxury, because I got the heads-up about two and a half weeks early, but you will probably have a lead time of a month or more. Use this time to set up publicity and recruit people. I had planned to have a couple of my good-looking teenage cousins in the store as plants who would direct unsuspecting shoppers back to the signing room, but they couldn't make it at the last minute. You might be surprised how many people will do what a cute young thing suggests--I mean, when they're directing you to notice an event in a store! Also, I think that if we had been able to publicize it with schools, churches, writers' groups, or wherever, we could have had a cadre of young aspiring writers who'd have loved to hear that 20-minute special talk. Jenny's publicist managed to snag one reporter, but with notice, we might've had the Dallas News.

* HAVE BANNERS AND SIGNS! I had somehow assumed that an author who is on a cross-country tour would have lots of banners, signs, and decorations, so I didn't try to do too much. But as it turned out, our star author had nothing of the kind (except her husband and two young children), so we went without the usual junk that I hang up at my own signings. I should have brought my own BOOK SIGNING TODAY and FREE BOOKS banners and the red/white/blue bunting that I generally hang up. I should have brought the three-way folding cardboard display sign that has all my book covers on it. But I hadn't wanted to usurp whatever she normally used, and I was soooo exhausted by the time the Big Day rolled around, so I didn't. Don't be me. When you do an event, even if you are told that others will bring stuff, bring banners and signage yourself. The worst that can happen then is that you'll leave it in the car. I don't think you can HAVE too many signs and banners. (You know what I mean by banners: those HAPPY BIRTHDAY letters that are on a string that you hang from the front of your signing table or from the ceiling? They are standard. Have them. But have them say BOOK SIGNING TODAY, of course.)

* BRING PRE-MADE FOOD. Originally, my mother was all pumped up at the idea of getting to feed a mob of readers and writers her special Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies and Snickerdoodles. However, my husband absolutely forbade it. The two of them wrangled for some time about this, and I finally invited a lawyer friend of ours over to make the call. He verified that if you feed the public something you've made with loving hands at home and someone says they got sick, you are liable and may be sued for everything you've got. The schools even prohibit kids from bringiing homemade treats to the classroom. So we had to go out a couple of days in advance and get Girl Scout cookies (they aren't good any more, sob) and cookies made by the elves in the hollow tree and wrapped candy and a deli tray that was sealed. Fortunately, we didn't have to run next door to Dallas' premier bakery (the Casa Linda Bakery, rated #1 by the Dallas Observer and other authoritiews) for more food. But you should have some sort of back-up plan in case your people get the munchies.

* NO BEVERAGES. This should go without saying. Even bottled water can ruin books and tables.

* CELL PHONES OFF WHILE YOU ARE SPEAKING. Duh.

* HAVE A WAY TO TAKE CREDIT CARDS AND CHECKS. Lucky Dog was cool! We arranged to sell through their counter. They took the standard 15% commission. This way, we sold more books to people with credit cards and didn't have to worry about rubber checks. You can get a device called "the Square" that'll let you process credit cards through your smartphone if this is not an option for you at your venue. You're on your own with the checks (your bank will charge you $25 and upwards if a check is returned, so be wary.)

* HAVE YOUR PROMO MATERIALS ON THE TABLE AND PRESS THEM ON PEOPLE. I pressed my business cards (both Denise and Shalanna) and promo postcards on everyone. Earl Staggs had a neat laminated page with info about his books. Janis Patterson had a pamphlet that looked really snazzy. If people aren't ready to buy when they meet you, be sure they can look you up on the 'net, read your blog, and see your Amazon page. I have a symbol on the back of my business cards that'll let people "flash" it with a smartphone and go directly to my website's page with my books' descriptions. I think this sort of promo is really valuable.

Be sure to have a good time! Don't worry too much if you don't sell more than, say, ten books or so. People are now aware of you. You got that exposure that you want! You ate ten cookies! You made contacts in the book world. Go forth and rest. You've earned it.

Nice work, eh? If I do say so myself.