IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU GOING

Now that the initial hype and excitement of getting my first novel published has waned, I continue to self-promote, make connections, set up dates for readings and am constantly trying to come up with new ways to keep Behind the Shadows on the radar screen. And just when I was beginning to wonder if I have drifted into oblivion, my morning coffee man told me that his wife told him to ask me if I was writing a sequel.

Yes, it is the little things that keep you going . . .

AND THE ANSWER IS . . .

This is what Amazon has to say:

“Simply put, we can provide a better, more timely customer experience if the POD titles are printed inside our own fulfillment centers... If the POD printing machines reside inside our own fulfillment centers, we can more quickly ship the POD book to customers -- including in those cases where the POD book needs to be married together with another item. If a customer orders a POD item together with an item that we're holding in inventory -- a common case -- we can quickly print and bind the POD item, pick the inventoried item, and ship the two together in one box, and we can do so quickly. If the POD item were to be printed at a third party, we'd have to wait for it to be transshipped to our fulfillment center before it could be married together with the inventoried item.” What I have to say is that if Amazon doesn’t carry the books customers want to purchase, they won’t have to worry about the speed in which they ship or “marry” inventoried items.

“AND SO IT GOES” Linda Ellerbee

AS IF IT WASN’T HARD ENOUGH!

You have heard me moan and groan about how difficult it is for new novelists to gain recognition and boost sales; and now Amazon has made it even more difficult. My publisher has informed all of their authors that Amazon is insisting on printing every PublishAmerica book they sell, in their own recently bought in-house digital printing facility. Their ultimatum implies that PublishAmerica must submit almost 60,000 separate book files (text and cover), and redo every single one of them so they conform to the complicated technical specs that Amazon's in-house press requires.

They also demand a huge increase of their own profit-per-book, which would lead to dramatically lower royalty payments for their authors (that’s me) on all books sold through Amazon.com. Amazon's threat: if you do not play ball, we will disable the "Buy" button for your books.

Not surprisingly, PublishAmerica refused to be swayed by Amazon’s strong-arming tactics, big name or otherwise, especially given the fact that budging would mean an additional expense on the publisher's side of tens of thousands of dollars, on top of the unacceptable royalty losses for their authors (that’s me again).

PublishAmerica's almost 30,000 titles remain available to Amazon. Amazon continues to be able to access their books; if they want to obtain any PublishAmerica title, they can at all times, as they always have.

Barnes and Noble remains PublishAmerica's number one customer: more of their books have always been sold through Barnes and Noble and that company's online store than through any other vendor. Given the new circumstances, they now fully anticipate significant sales increases through BarnesandNoble.com and other places.

I have contacted Amazon about their Draconian approach to the change in the way they do business; suggesting that they grandfather in existing titles and require adherence to their new business practices for future titles. If and when I receive a response from Amazon I will report back to you. In the meantime –

KEEP THE FAITH!

IT WAS JUST MY IMAGINATION

I have spent over 30 years working in structured corporate environments where everything was either black or white; and nothing was left open for interpretation. That is why when friends and family read Behind the Shadows they wondered how I came up with the storyline and all of the twists and turns that it takes. They were amazed that locked behind years of thinking about numbers, negotiations, employment laws and political landmines was a vivid imagination.

No one ever suspected that I had such a tale just waiting to be told.

IMAGINE THAT!

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

Over the past several days, every time I have tried to sit down to write, something has been getting in my way -- I have to finish a project, I have to get out marketing mailings for Behind the Shadows, the phone rings, nature calls, Riley wants to go out, or I’m just too tired from the day. I promised myself that tonight I would sit down and write and decided to write a post for my blog. So I sat down and wondered what topic I should discuss and then it hit me – write about not being able to write. Now I don’t mean being “blocked” because for me, writer’s block is looking at a blank screen and not knowing what to write. And believe me, I’ve been there, done that. What I am talking about now is knowing exactly what you want to write but you just can’t seem to sit down and do it.

Whether you are a seasoned best selling author, a new author trying to make a name for yourself (sound like someone you know???) or are a wannabe author, at one time or another, we all suffer from the same malady – no time to write today.

There is only one remedy for this maddening condition – sit down and write.

HAPPY WRITING!

YES, PEOPLE REALLY DO READ BLOGS

Each time I post an entry on my blog I wonder if anybody actually reads them. Well I am happy to report that they do. Recently I have heard from several new authors who are facing the same obstacle I am, “how do we get bookstores to stock our books?” No one seems to know the answer.

Today I wandered around in a Barnes and Nobel on the Upper Westside in Manhattan and saw thousands of books by authors I have never heard. Now I am not saying that I would know every author in the world, and I don’t begrudge them their coveted spot on the shelf; I just want to know why there isn’t room for just one more.

“Worry Looks Around, Sorry Looks Back, Faith Looks Up”

KEEP THE FAITH!

CATCH 22

Now that I have asked everyone I know to ask everyone they know to buy a copy of “Behind the Shadows” and have mailed out over a thousand promo cards, I feel as though I have hit a brick wall in the sales department. Of course, if book stores carried “Behind the Shadows” -- even if only a few copies -- things would be much easier, but they do not. I have now lost count of the number of people who have told me “I will stop at the bookstore on my way home and pick up a copy.” And each time I must explain that “Behind the Shadows” is not in bookstores, but they will order a copy for you, which, by the way, takes about 2 weeks to get; or you can order it online. With a look of amazement everyone asks me the same question “how can you sell if you are not visible?” -- I wish I knew. So in an effort to boost sales I am contacting PR firms. Many have told me that they do not handle new novelists and one actually hung up on me! But I will not give up. Each time I get discouraged I remember what a young wander recently told me (did I mention that I speak to everyone?) –

“The only place to find the light is to look “Behind the Shadows”

KEEP YOUR LIGHT SHINING!

KEEP DREAMING

Last night as I lay my head on my pillow I was obsessing about making time to continue writing the sequel to “Behind the Shadows” and as I slowly drifted off to sleep I promised myself that tomorrow I will write. This morning, as the sun streamed into my bedroom and nudged me from my sleep, it awoke me from a wonderful dream. I was dreaming about the characters in my sequel. It is no secret to those who know me that my characters talk to me and tell me their stories; but this is the first time that they have come to me in my dreams. So today I will sit at my computer and continue with their story and hopefully they will visit me again. Some may say I’m crazy; but I’m not. As I say about getting on the Best Seller List “I can dream can’t I?”

SWEET DREAMS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With every New Year comes new resolutions; and my resolve to complete the sequel to “Behind the Shadows” is a strong one. However, as a newly published author with little recognition, the need to promote “Behind the Shadows” has overshadowed my desire to write and I find my focus turning to sales, numbers and the knowledge that a sequel must have an audience waiting for it before it can be sent to print. And that is the root of the problem of all newly published authors. We are so consumed with the monitoring of our on-line sales’ rankings, which no one understands; and are so bemused by the notion that our publishers do not overtly promote our books; that we put off writing until tomorrow. However, when tomorrow comes, we are back to monitoring our rankings and brooding over the fact that our voices cannot be heard.

HAPPY WRITING!