Just a quick post to say that today, this lovely Friday the 13th, my novel, River in the Sea, is free via the wonderful WoMen’s Literary Cafe. Head on over there to download a copy for your ereader, or even to read on your computer in between checking your Facebook. :-) But hurry - this is for today ONLY.
Happy reading!
Like so many out there on the interwebs, I’d like to post my 2012 goals. But I’m still mulling those over, and in the interim, I thought I’d share a little tale about the wonders of social media.
In December, I had a goal of selling 100 books online.
NOTE: Before I go further, I know some of you might smile and think to yourself, shoot, I sell that many per day. And to you I say, WOW. (I also say, “Good for you” and “grumble grumble I am jealous but I know you worked for that so I won’t hate you”.) I also know some of you might read this and think, holy cow, I haven’t sold that many yet and it’s been <insert time period>. To you I say, keep going. We’re all in this biz together, from the crazy sellers to those who haven’t caught on yet.
Anyway, I wanted to sell 100 books via the Internet, ebook and paperback combined. I was part of a promotion that priced my ebook at 99 cents (and still is on Amazon), and I figured I might have a shot at it. I was also promoting quite a bit. And sales were picking up. But the end of the month was creeping close, and I hadn’t hit 100 yet. But I was so, so close. In fact, around noon on December 30, I was at 99.
I was at the computer (where else?) and my hubby came round and kissed me on the cheek. I was feeling a little hungry, and I turned to him and said, “If you really want to show me your love, you’ll get out that sausage.” I waggled my eyebrows up and down. Hint hint.
He paused, blinked, and then burst out laughing.
A second later, so did I. I shouted, “I meant the soppressata! I meant the soppressata!”
And then, like a true modern couple, we both mused how we should post that.
Which I promptly did. I posted a quick tweet about it, and then a gentleman I hadn’t interacted with before replied to me, poking fun at my Freudian slip. I noticed he was from the UK, and that was about it.
Then, about ten minutes later, I checked my sales (which I admit, I was doing religiously all day, on the hour). No movement on the American site. Then, on a whim, I checked the UK site. Now, I hadn’t sold a single solitary copy of River in the Sea to a UK reader. In fact, I have one review there, a 3* (my ONLY 3*, by the way). It’s not exactly helping me across the pond.
But lo and behold, there was a sale! A nice “1” in the sold column. I did it! I reached 100 books online! And, it was my first UK sale to boot!
Of course you know where this is going. I go back to Twitter and that same gentleman sent me a tweet that said he checked out my novel and bought it, remarking that it sounded fascinating. WOOHOO!
All this from telling the world of my waggling eyebrows and asking my sweet hubby to get out that sausage.
… and went out like a, like a… a delightful fairy? Something happy and light but definitely not inconsequential. (I’m in the thick of my paranormal WIP, guess I have that on the brain. Except I’m not writing about brain-eating dead people or ethereal sprites, just one lonely ghost!)
This year has been, for lack of a better word, FULL. Lots of heavy things of a personal nature that I won’t go into were still weighing me down when January 1, 2011 rang in, but over the months they began to shift and change and eventually lighten the load for me and many others, too. For that I am very grateful.
But as this is a blog and site primarily writing-focused, I’ll go there.
January 2011: Still a bit touchy from a rejection that came after the press really liking the book. I just looked at my FB posts from that month and they all feature me saying I have no motivation and talking about work. Egads. (I was also teaching FIVE classes. Never again.)
February: Per my dh’s prodding, start reading a lot of Konrath’s blog. Amanda Hocking’s archives. Posted this to FB: “Maybe, just maybe, going to dip my toes into the indie (self) publishing pool….” Also changed my profile pic to this:
Yep, still in a funk. But I also started revising Chapter One. All the way to the beginning again.
March: As step one of my move to self-publish, I bought a Kindle. Hey, I needed it for research! And it was love. Hello, lover. Push a button and buy a book? Why yes, I think I like this very much.
April - May: Reading still, but one article caught my eye: Amazon selling more ebooks than paperbacks. Generally working a sh*tton and dreaming about summer. Bookmarked endless web sites about self-publishing.
June: I hit the ground running! The weekend of Finals Week I treated myself to a weekend away at the Oregon coast, where the order of business was an immediate 3-hour nap, a walk on the beach, and then revision. The rest of the month I revised every day, Sun-Sat. By the end of June, I had only 100 pages left. My FB posts are very telling - I am posting about writing, sunshine, and gardening. Mood has dramatically lifted.
July: This was when it started to become real that I was doing it, I was really going to self-publish. Kai, my cover designer, sent the first mock-ups. I put them up on Facebook to get feedback, and for days I was glued to the computer. My friends and family got really into it and gave me their honest reactions. I could feel my excitement building. Got very close to the end of revision; hubby started to read through it.
August: Visited my parents in the early part of the month. The cover was getting finalized and while there, I started writing back copy, blurb stuff, signing up for accounts, etc. People were asking me when it was coming out, and I kept saying, soon, soon… Mid-month I went camping and when I came back, I proofread like a maniac, making over 800 corrections and edits. Yes, 800. My stomach was the flattest it’s ever been because I was clenching it so tightly; I knew I was getting close. I might have been a bit grouchy. (A smidge. Just ask my husband. I was delightful!)
I formatted for the paperback and ebook (re: the latter, Scrivener saved the day) and then, a day before I went live, my dh suggested a change to the second chapter. In a fit of craziness, I added a new scene and made minor changes, touched up the formatting, and on the night of August 26, I hit “Publish” on Kindle Direct Publishing. When I woke up on the 27th, it was live. LIVE, I tell you! I went up to Portland to see friends and while there two of them downloaded the book and we screamed like little girls, and then like grown-ass women, we drank champagne. It was great. I announced on Facebook and my friends started to buy. I was astounded. This was REAL!
I then proceeded to tear my hair out getting a high-quality PDF for the paperback version. Abandoned the high-quality route and used a regular old PDF which ended up looking just fine.
August 30: I got my first reader feedback! Squeeeeeeeeeeee! “Beautifully emotional.”
September: Vacation, ahhh. Upon our return I received the proof for the paperback version. That went live the middle of the month. I was receiving online reviews (I used a service that matches up anonymous readers with free copies in exchange for honest reviews) that were quite positive and wow, just wow.
October: First book club. Look at this face, I think this tells you how I was feeling:
I am also marketing like a maniac. Constantly submitting review requests, tweeting, facebooking on my writer page, etc. I signed up for a review with the Portland Book Review and wrote to Powell’s asking if they would carry my book.
November: Get the review from the Portland BR. “Boscha has bestseller potential.” YES!!!!! GIDDY. Go to my second book club, which was a blast. Go around to local bookstores. Feeling comfortable, feeling good. Not selling a ton, but happy. Set a goal of having 20 reviews by the end of the year.
December: I hear from Powell’s. They are stocking my book. THEY ARE STOCKING MY BOOK! I receive my 21st review. I drop my ebook price to 99 cents and hope to sell 100 books online. On December 30, I sell my first book on the UK Amazon site. It is also, you guessed it, my 100th sale!!!!! My best month ever; I know some folks sell that many in a day, but for me, this is AMAZING.
I receive my first book blog review that states “With River in the Sea I did not feel like I was reading any less than the best work that this author could put out. The editing was top-notch. The book flowed, grammatical errors and typos were to a minimum, characters were flawed but real, and I really REALLY liked the writing style. So props to Tina Boscha for having an extremely talented group of professionals behind her making her work shine.” This was the first time someone mentioned the quality of the editing, which makes me SO giddy, as my team of pros was me, myself, and I! Really proud of this one.
I’ve also made a ton of friends via Twitter and Goodreads, participated in giveaways, and in general, found a new online community. Feel connected and part of something.
And so here we are, at 10:08 am on Saturday, December 31.
I’m leaving many small victories and dramas out, but thinking about where I was last January and comparing to how I feel now, I can’t even explain the difference. I feel so much more grounded, happy, alive. I feel like I’m doing what I am meant to be doing. I have much to learn, and I haven’t realized my bestseller potential (yet!), and there are times when I need to step back and chill out. But this has been a wonderful experience. I am halfway through the first draft of my WIP, I feel like I might have some momentum building, and I have the greatest group of friends and family who have helped spread the word about River in the Sea.
I recently watched the movie Attack the Block and the characters (15 year old English boys) never said “Trust me” or “Believe me”; instead, their slang was, “Trust!” and “Believe!” I’m sure 2012 will be crazy busy and full of challenges I can’t foresee and that self-doubt will creep in as it inevitably does. And clearly the world is not in the best shape it could be. But in my small corner, I feel ready to move ahead, now that I finally told myself yes, you can, and my wish for everyone in the new year is that you all realize success, however you define it, and that you never stand in your own way.
Amen to that. Trust. Believe.
… would you head over to Readinista instead? She was kind enough to interview me and host a giveaway of River in the Sea. Two lucky winners will receive either an ebook or paperback copy - your choice (mostly; if you’re international I prefer to give away ebooks. I’m not a bestseller with oodles of royalties…yet!)
P.S. The ebook of River is 99 cents for a few more days. Just sayin’.
Or a Nook? Sony e-reader? Estimates suggest that FIVE MILLION people got Kindles for Christmas this year. WOW.
So I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that River in the Sea (historical fiction, WWII era), is available for download for 99 cents. The price will be going back up on January 1, 2012.
Here a couple of recent reviews to whet your appetite:
Ready for an absorbing coming-of-age story? Okay, go!
Amazon Barnes and Noble Smashwords Sony
Need a little more?
Book description:
At fifteen, Leen De Graaf likes everything she shouldn’t: smoking cigarettes, wearing red lipstick, driving illegally, and working in the fields. It seems the only thing she shares with her fellow Dutchmen is a fear of the German soldiers stationed nearby and a frantic wish for the war to end. When a soldier’s dog runs in front of Leen’s truck, her split-second reaction sets off a storm of events that pitches her family against the German forces when they are most desperate - and fierce. Leen tries to hold her family together, but despite her efforts, bit by bit everything falls apart, and just when Leen experiences a horrific loss, she must make a decision that could forever brand her a traitor, yet finally allow her to live as her heart desires. Inspired by the life of the author’s mother, River in the Sea is a powerful and moving account of one girl reaching adulthood when everything she believes about family, friendship, and loyalty is questioned by war.
(Or any e-reader, for that matter. But I’m partial to the Kindle.)
Let me explain.
Every spring I teach a seminar for freshmen college students called “Romancing the T(w)een: Sex, Love, and Gender in YA Literature.” It is the most fun I have teaching; we read Twilight, Forever, Rainbow Boys, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and more. We also read some pretty academic work, including journal articles on gender and the panopticon - heady stuff. We watch a documentary on American sex ed and the first half of Twilight the movie - and within ten minutes all of us are cracking up over how ridiculous it really is. (Yes, I said it. It’s ridiculous.)
Want to guess how many men are in my class?
You’d be right if you said NONE. The class is pretty popular and fills up in less than an hour, which makes me feel pretty great as a teacher. But I will admit that it’s disappointing to read over the class and waiting lists and see that there are no Matts, Mikes, Brents, or Jasons. Gender-neutral names give me a little jolt but inevitably the person who shows up is female.
DON’T GET ME WRONG - I love that women are interested in my class! Most of them are voracious readers and come in with strong opinions about YA literature and a desire to question things they have never thought to question before. But that’s not the issue here. Males have sex, are pressured to conform to gender ideals, fall in love, etc.
So why aren’t they lining up to take my class?
The answer is complicated, but part of it is because most young men don’t read. At least not novels, and certainly not a lot of YA. (Disclaimer: I am not an expert here, and I am also not offering up a lot of research on this topic. But as a teacher of 18 year-olds, I hear - and see the outcome of this - this a LOT.)
I do know two little boys who read a TON. One, let’s call him M, is 11 and is an avid reader. He falls asleep every night with a book on his chest. Last year for Christmas he received a shocking number of books and was thrilled about that. His sister received a spiffy camera and tried to tease him about it. His response? “Oh yeah? Well books make you smart so HA!” I love that.
My nephew, little P, is 9 and loves to read as well. This past summer when I visited I let him play around on my Kindle and apparently he’s wanted one ever since. I just got this in my Facebook inbox from a relative: “…hope Santa Mom & Dad make it happen. He keeps telling me how ‘when my aunt was here I used her’s and I could look up words I didn’t know, and, and, and…’”
To me, there is the answer. Reading on an electronic device automatically makes it cool for most kids, who are used to iPads, iPhones, cell phones in general, PS3s, etc. This is what they know. So put a Kindle in their hands and they are jazzed about pressing buttons and having another cool gadget.
But make no mistake - they are reading. And please don’t say that ebooks aren’t real books unless you want me to punch you in the face. (Figuratively.) Is that music piping through your earbuds from your iPod not real? Or that touching email you received not real because it wasn’t sent through the post? And let’s face it - how many of us stop at a word we don’t know, look it up in a physical dictionary, and then keep reading? Shoot, I’m a teacher and I rarely did this pre-Kindle. I learned a lot of words in context and through a strict K-8 education but come on. It’s just not going to happen, especially when I’m cozily curled up on the couch with a book, warm and happy with my mug of tea and my novel of choice.
But on a Kindle you press an arrow and boom! The definition is right there. Press return and you get more. Press back and you are at your paragraph. It’s a 10 second process. So kids are not only reading, they are also far more likely to learn new words, synthesize meanings, and then the list of benefits that extend from there are extraordinary.
Keep buying books for all your kids. Read in front of your kids. Read WITH your kids. Limit your screen time - oh man that’s hard - and lead by example.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have more young men, eager and interested and bursting with four-syllable words, in my classroom. Hopefully sooner than later.
It’s getting closer and closer to gift-giving time, so I thought I’d share a few ways you can buy River in the Sea as a gift, either for someone else or yourself.
PAPERBACKS:
1) Buy from me direct:
Each book is signed and I will personalize it to whomever you choose. Email me to set this up (can’t get Paypal code to work, grrr.)
$12 per copy, with shipping at:
2) For folks in Eugene, Oregon, the book is available locally for 12.99 at:
3) Buy online:
4) You can also go to your favorite book store (online or in person), wherever you are, walk in and ask them to order a copy for you. They should be to do it with no problem.
To buy the EBOOK- now ridiculously low at $0.99 - you have many options:
1) Download it!
2) You can also buy it and MANY other 99cent ebooks by participating in the Indie Book Blowout. Oh, you can also win a free Kindle!:
*** DECEMBER 12 – 24 ONLY ***
The best ever INDIE BOOK BLOWOUT! To score dozens of FANTASTIC indie books for only 99¢, visit indiebookblowout.com. While you’re there, register to win a brand new Kindle & up to $ 100 in Gift Cards (entry form on the site).
3) Finally, you can gift ebooks pretty easily too. Just click “give as a gift” instead of Buy, and make sure you have the email address of the person you are sending the book to.
Happy Holidays!
A few weeks ago I posted here, telling both Amazon and Google that they kinda sucked. They each make it difficult for indie bookstores to sell ebooks, and thereby make it hard for indie authors (yes I call myself that even though some feel it’s not entirely accurate and I should just stick with self-pubbed) to sell their digital wares through independent bookstores. With print in decline and all that we already know, it seems that selling digitally is a way for independent bookstores to survive.
Okay. Well. That still stands. I haven’t figured a way out of that one yet.
But I am here to tell you that at least in the short term when paper is still sold, it is not impossible for authors like me to get their books on the physical shelves in their local indie bookstore. My experience and sampling is limited and very, very small, but I think it is worth sharing. Because as of today, my novel is at three different local independent bookstores and I’m on the cusp of having it at a fourth. (And this one, provided I can iron out a small kink and make it happen, is a BIG one. To which I will add: eeeee! And, !!!!!!!)
So, how did I do it?
The first thing I did, above all else, was to work like a fiend on the book so that the end result is of high quality. It may seem conceited to charge others to write a good book and then say that’s what I did, but well, I think I achieved that. That doesn’t mean the book is the BEST EVER. I’m not going to pull a Terence Trent D’arby and say my book is better than anything, say, Margaret Atwood has written. (She is one my all-time writing idols.) Please - I have much to learn. It doesn’t mean that my book is absolutely perfect (because nothing is). It just means that I worked very hard to produce the best possible book I could, and I believe I did that. (A topic for another day: reviews vs. sales. I have some really nice reviews but my sales are quite slow.) That means that the writing itself was the first thing I tackled.
The second thing was to put the novel in the best package I could. This means everything from proofreading (800 edits at the very end, oh my god, blerg) to formatting (thank you Scrivener and web tutorials) to cover design (a big wet sloppy metaphorical kiss to Kai Persons). For the sake of all that is holy, please make your book look as indistinguishable from a traditionally published book as possible.
Okay, but beyond that, how did I do this?
I asked.
This is the craziest thing I am learning about this whole process of chasing dreams. When something is a dream without a belief of success behind it, it makes it easy to not go for it. To think, erroneously, that no action can make it happen, keeps the dream remaining as it is: in the mind, imagined, fantasized. I lived in a dreamworld about publishing River in the Sea for years. But when I actually crossed over to doing, I realized that I was going to have to put myself out there a lot more. I couldn’t fall back on my stern Midwestern roots and hope that good work got noticed on its own. The only person who was going to get the book out there was me.
So I took a breath and I asked.
To get my book at the University of Oregon bookstore, I walked in and asked about the process at the info desk. I was given a contact name and I emailed the book buyer, asking if they might be interested in carrying the book. I sent links to the Amazon page as well as provided my background. This request was actually the easiest, because the bookstore’s policy is to support nearly every faculty member’s book. What has been brilliant about having the book there is getting to know the staff to the point that they called me to let me know they had sold four of the five copies and were reordering! They saw my excitement and it became their own. That was pretty amazing.
To get my book at J. Michael’s in Eugene, I walked in the store and asked the owner. I was upfront about being self-published and being published through Create Space (essentially Amazon), and stated I was open to putting the books on consignment so that the owner could avoid dealing direct with the enemy. I told him about my background in writing and overall I was polite but assertive - not aggressive - and had copies right then and there should he be interested. What happened next surprised me: the owner said yes and asked about pricing. Honestly, I didn’t think he’d say yes right away, and I stumbled here. I hadn’t thought ahead, but after working through some numbers with him, we ended up at a typical 60/40 split. I learned my lesson after that - be prepared to talk money!
Getting my book at Tsunami (also in Eugene) was both easier and more difficult. I learned later that in four days alone, 22 different self-published authors had come in the store hawking their books. This was what I had done, but was quickly directed to emailing. Which I did, including a bit about my background, why I self-published, a book description, a link to reviews and the online sample, and the financial split I was open to. The owner told me later that he appreciated the ability to verify information and the professionalism. Because of that, he said yes pretty quickly and is helping me set up a reading. WOOT!!!!
For the last one that is almosthereohpleaseohplease, I wrote two business letters, including a copy of the book with the first. I didn’t hear anything. I sent a follow-up, writing that I had an upcoming review that was quite positive and that I believed it was in both of our interests for them to stock copies. That was what got the reply. (Oh man, oh man. EEE! Sorry. More later.) In each letter, I was very, very professional and tried to adopt a confident tone but with some deference. No “you’ll be sorry if you don’t do this” but more of a “I believe in my work and would be delighted if you would carry it on your shelves” tone. The writing teacher part of me is very geeked about this, because I REALLY want to show my students these letters to say that a well-crafted pitch does work. Told you I was a geek.
I have stopped at other stores in nearby towns and am waiting on replies there. I don’t know if I’ll bat 100% but I do intend on following up. And if some say no, I’ll be just fine with it. After all, there’s always online. But the point is, ASK. Be bold, be confident, be open, be professional. It’s like asking someone out on a date - you really, honestly don’t know unless you open your mouth and say the words.
It’s worth it. I’ll try it now: Would you be interested in buying my book?
:-)
Here’s what I am thankful for this November 24, 2011:
And that’s the point. I have so much to be thankful for. I am filled with gratitude for the changes of the last year, externally and internally, and for the opportunities in my life - everything from writing and publishing to spending time with those who are dear to me, with a smile on our faces and needing not much else than a couple of chairs and a glass of something to drink to feel sated, engaged, loved, and happy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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