Hey everyone, I realized it’s been a month since I posted anything. Real life took over for a bit – a family member had a health issue (somewhat ironically, severe left-side head trauma, among other major problems) and we’ve been dealing with the aftermath. I’m still writing the third Hidden Wolves book, currently about 3/4 done. And editing my Young Adult freebie collection.
My editor also had real-life issues with a death in her family, and Life Lessons #4 got buried for a while, but is now heading for Line editing. When I get any suggestion of a release date I will be letting you know – I’m looking forward to having some general time frame, hopefully well before Gay Rom Lit in October. The cover request also is in the works, and I’m looking forward to seeing what picture of Mac the artist can come up with – the guy has a ton of pictures on the stock sites, but… let’s just say he’s much more of a clown than the real Mac (literary Mac?) and leave it at that.
I have a couple of questions for you:
For those who got “And to All a Good Night” from Amazon – I just got a “quality notice” from Kindle Direct that someone reported typos in the story. The example they gave me was “Oliver was a close as he had’ should be “Oliver was as close as he had” (loc: 352) . I have to admit, that’s not egregious enough for me to go upload a whole new edition as they suggest. So I’m wondering… I know I had no beta or editor on this story, so I’m sure there are other typos. Were they bad enough that they were irritating to you when you read it? (I did fix one name error already with a new edition, but other than that?) Is it worth the effort to take the time to proof and reload it?
The second question is about Gay Rom Lit, the M/M writer-reader retreat in October; I actually signed up to go as an author this year. I’ll be on a question-and-answer panel, (oh my.) And I’ll have a space at the book signing. Which means I have two things to think about ahead of time. One is about bringing books for signing. Last year, many authors brought and sold copies of their books at the signing. But judging which books and how many is mildly boggling my mind. If you go to book signings, do you look for books to buy there? If you were going to buy one of mine in paper, which one would it be? If Learning Curve – LL#4 is out in paper, I’ll bring some of those, but should I bring any of the older stuff? Your input is very welcome.
And then there’s swag – the little stuff you pick up at conventions and mostly toss afterward or drop into a drawer. Or eat – edible swag is good. But I’d love to know – what did you ever pick up at a convention and really like/keep/appreciate? My favorite, I think, was a stress-relief squishy-rubber Holstein cow, although I doubt that comes in the appropriate shape for M/M (or that I’d have the nerve to hand them out if it did.) An MD friend I know did get a squishy prostate at a medical convention once… Anyway – swag. Any ideas?
Thanks for sticking with me – I’ll try not to go a month without saying hello next time.
I don’t know about which books to bring, though I think the first book in each series is probably wise (those that already know you, already have it. Those that don’t need to start at the beginning.)
As for swag, personally I love the flashlight key chains because they’re useful. I also am STILL using the purple body wash scrunchie thing that Rhys Ford gave away – cheap AND useful! I also kept the book bags (I keep them with my reusable grocery bags). I also still have the post-its I picked up, but have gotten rid of the pens (pens that are cheap enough to buy as give-aways are usually not very good to use) – though a Sharpie would be good since people need them for autographs while there.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Sharpies are a thought, although I’m not sure they can be swagified… 🙂 Thanks.
Hmm. If they can’t be personalized professionally, you could probably get clear address labels printed and personalize them yourself. I’m up for a swag prepping party sometime. 🙂
I’ve thought about do-it-yourself swag too. I love crafts…
Sorry to hear about the family problems. I was wondering when we were going to get an update on Learning Curve.
I haven’t actually been to Gay Rom Lit but here are my thoughts. Bring at least the last two releases in paperback. People are more likely to have the older paperback books and not the newer ones. Maybe check with some other authors on the number of books to bring or see if your publisher has thoughts.
You could do a wolf squishy, or do a ball with “Life Lessons”, you can also do key chains, bookmarks, pencils, pens, small notebooks/post it notepads that say “Life Lessons”.
oh yeah – I wonder if they make wolf squishies. I will check with other authors definitely, and see if there’s a reasonable range. Samhain may have copies of Rebuilding Year for sale, but MLR didn’t bring any books last year, so it’s up to me to bring those.
Since I’ve recently packed and unpacked, I looked at a lot of swag I’d picked up at Yaoi-Con in 2010 and GRL in 2011 and 2012. I probably don’t need to buy pens again in my lifetime – and I only took purple pens. I’m a fan of glasses/screen cleaning cloths. And things that won’t create problems when flying home – or take up too much space. Bookmarks seem to be becoming less and less relevant in an ebook world.
Hmm. I think that was spectacularly unhelpful. Sorry!
I also still have pens from last year, of varying qualities…
Just no decoupage, please…
LOL – I promise.
“and to All a Good Night there were some typos I say leave it I loved Mac and Tony so much it didn’t annoy me at all.
How about two squishy balls in a bag with one of the series names on the bag. OK so very bad idea. Any way I agree with the other posts. More recent books and squishy wolves or post-its. Many of my friends still read paper and barrow from the Library amazing place the Library. Book marks may not be out of the question especially if they have the book covers on them and a place for you to sign for those who have all you books electronic.
I love the two balls in a bag idea 😉 Fun!! I’m actually seriously going to consider that one, just for the silly suggestiveness of it… Thanks so much for the other info too. And I love, love libraries. Some here even have a bit of M/M available. I’m hoping one day to see a book of mine in a library…
I’ve read it twice “And to All a Good Night” and can honestly say if there were any grammar or spelling mistakes, they are negligible. Totally recommend not to reupload the book. Whoever sent that notice should be thankful and grateful that you gave your fans a free novel to read and not bitch and moan about one grammar issue. I’ve read enough M/M to know that your story shouldn’t have been given a notice quality notice. I’ve seen Amazon sell much worse.
I know people say bring the latest and greatest to the Gay Rom Lit. You should consider bringing “Life Lesson” and “Unacceptable Risk” if you have nothing new to bring or even if yo do. After all while there may be fans who might have all of your books, but you are also there to promote your work and to attract new readers to your writing. What better then the first book of two of your best series. Just suggesting.
Swag. Who doesn’t luv them. If you have to lug the swags on the plane with you then how about magnets. I always keep those on the fridge to hold stuff like recipes and drawings and stuff and it reminds me where and whom I got it from. It’s like being advertise everyday. Oh and I don’t mean those big bulky kind either. I meant the flat magnetic sheets where you can have a wolf or Life Lessons cut out of it with your website underneath it. It is small and lightweight enough to take it on the plane. Where ever they put it, it will always be a remind them of you and your books. I think that would be a cool swag. I don’t if that is doable budgetwise, It’s just a thought.
Also, thank you so much for letting your fans know about M/M Romance Group. I’ve really enjoy reading all those M/M stories and finding new writers to buy ebooks from. I luv your story “Nor Iron Bars a Cage.” It was very well-written. I can’t believe how much free stories you’ve give to your fans, and I really appreciate them all. Looking forward to Life Lesson #4 and hope that things will get better for you.
Magnets are certainly a possibility. They should be fairly easy to do – thanks for the suggestion. I might bring a couple of things, and they would be compact and simple.
I’m glad you haven’t found too many errors in And To All a Good Night. I think, since no one else seems to be saying they had a problem, I’d rather put the time into new writing than revising the old stuff.
I’m glad you liked Nor Iron Bars, and that you found the other stories on the group. There have been some great freebies released, and more still to come. I’ve also found new authors to read from the stories in that event. Plus it’s fun. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.