What I'm enjoying most about having books on hand is giving them away! They are a precious gift of myself that I hand over with no agenda whatsoever. The powerful cover and intriguing topics speak for themselves.
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to gift the woman who purchased the land that Sun Bear lived on for many years in Northwestern Washington. She was the officiant at a wedding we were attending near Colville. She's a tiny woman whose face reflects a quality of listening and attention we rarely encounter. We had maybe met in the past, for we both said how familiar the other looked. When I returned from our car with a book tears filled her eyes. Now we are sisters and will remember the grace of our relationship. I hope we get to sit down and visit at length in the near future.
Another opportunity came when an old friend of my daughter's arrived yesterday. We hadn't seen her in seventeen years. She is still as beautiful and even more competent in the world, speaking perfect Chinese in the business world of China, raising an adopted daughter and creating fantastic art for marketing. She had no idea of course that I'd published; in fact, she didn't even know I wrote! Her astonishment was a delight, and having my red and black bundle ever-handy, I giggled at all she will come to find out about me!
This next week I'm attending a gathering of professional practitioners of Therapeutic Touch, a process of healing using the hands in the body's field that is used for pain relief, relaxation, and sometimes diagnostic reflection. I'll have the opportunity to join the dialogue and offer the book several afternoons during the week. I'm looking forward to spreading MR seeds to the East and West Coasts!
So instead of coveting the money each copy brings, I am offering them as tools for transformation. In that act perhaps they will travel, seed and I will see the sales increase without me! By the way, the next 4 boxes of books have arrived. Now where will I store them for the short (!) time they will be with me?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
RE-ORDERING BOOKS
The old platitude "strike while the iron's hot" must come from horse shoeing, iron being maellable when red hot. In this case IUniverse is the red hot iron, and today I'm ordering 100 more books at a 50% discount with free shipping. The discount ends Friday.
Once I'd banked enough book profit to pay back my dear lender (who said it was an open ended gift/loan) the question arose: pay her back or take half the money and get more books. Thanks to my friend Elisabeth Hallett (THE LADY IS DELICATE) who informed me of the IUniverse deal, I'm going for it.
Not that books have been selling like hotcakes. But they will, any month now. It's like panning for gold. Keep sloshing the water through the pan, looking for glints and sparkles, which means keep searching all the leads looking for a vein that will lead to a great audience knowing about my book.
And I've committed to the Flathead Writer's Conference in October which might lead to something. Last time I went I found an agent who actually "loved" the book. Unfortunately she couldn't find anywhere to "shop" it, so our relationship was short. But it gave me the confidence that I had written something valuable to someone "in the know!"
Okay, I'm putting aside the platitudes to make the call to IU. Here we go again! May they all be sold by February, 2011!
Once I'd banked enough book profit to pay back my dear lender (who said it was an open ended gift/loan) the question arose: pay her back or take half the money and get more books. Thanks to my friend Elisabeth Hallett (THE LADY IS DELICATE) who informed me of the IUniverse deal, I'm going for it.
Not that books have been selling like hotcakes. But they will, any month now. It's like panning for gold. Keep sloshing the water through the pan, looking for glints and sparkles, which means keep searching all the leads looking for a vein that will lead to a great audience knowing about my book.
And I've committed to the Flathead Writer's Conference in October which might lead to something. Last time I went I found an agent who actually "loved" the book. Unfortunately she couldn't find anywhere to "shop" it, so our relationship was short. But it gave me the confidence that I had written something valuable to someone "in the know!"
Okay, I'm putting aside the platitudes to make the call to IU. Here we go again! May they all be sold by February, 2011!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
SUMMER LEISURE
It's the hot days of summer, although we've had a cool one so far here in Montana. I've been wondering if folks still read all day during the summer like I did as a child. My hangout was the public library. I was quite content to be rummaging around the stacks alone and often spent days on end just reading. I adored Nancy Drew mysteries until I got on the the rhythm of them, and could figure them out ahead of time!
I've just finished THE HELP, which I found fascinating. I uncharacteristically spent several mornings in my lovely recliner absorbing the tales of Southern aristocracy through the eyes of their black maids. I loved the various personalities of the female characters. (I want to develop that facility to truly delineate one character from the next.) And I felt the humidity, the seething rage, and the suppression of 1962 for people of all skin colors whether they were aware of it or not.
Now I'm diving into MAO'S LAST DANCER, an autobiography, that takes me to rural China during the worst Maoist period when children who drew on walls with chalk were considered counter revolutionaries and their (starving) families were threatened with dire consequences. My privilege and freedom humble me.
But I have also been looking for independent bookstores around Flathead Lake since I'll be up there for 10 days in August. I found quite a list on the web and the phonebook. I felt confident and ploughed right in sending my MEDICINE ROCK post cards and emails. A few weeks later I followed up with phone calls. The recession makes its inroads: BORDERS, closed; three other stores: phones dead; one, used books only. So I guess it's the "walk in cold" approach to the ones still standing when I get up there.
I've decided to go to the Flathead Writers' Conference in October. I attended two years ago and truly enjoyed rubbing elbows with other people who worship words like I do. Prior to the gathering I submitted a MR synopsis & other information to an agent from Tennessee. When my appointment time came (15 minutes allowed), the first thing she said was, "I love it! Believe me, I don't often say that at gatherings like this!" Well, I was just floating for over an hour afterwards wandering around the grounds of the junior college catching my breath. A professional loved my work. Wow!
So I'll set up a table this time and see what happens. And glean evermore ideas on how to proceed. I'm pretty convinced there's a "back east" connection out there with a big email list, or blog, or twitter, or whatever, that will begin a new limb of sales for MR on the east coast. But I'm a little impatient! It would be an excellent book to read summer or winter, actually. But road trips are usually in summer!
I've just finished THE HELP, which I found fascinating. I uncharacteristically spent several mornings in my lovely recliner absorbing the tales of Southern aristocracy through the eyes of their black maids. I loved the various personalities of the female characters. (I want to develop that facility to truly delineate one character from the next.) And I felt the humidity, the seething rage, and the suppression of 1962 for people of all skin colors whether they were aware of it or not.
Now I'm diving into MAO'S LAST DANCER, an autobiography, that takes me to rural China during the worst Maoist period when children who drew on walls with chalk were considered counter revolutionaries and their (starving) families were threatened with dire consequences. My privilege and freedom humble me.
But I have also been looking for independent bookstores around Flathead Lake since I'll be up there for 10 days in August. I found quite a list on the web and the phonebook. I felt confident and ploughed right in sending my MEDICINE ROCK post cards and emails. A few weeks later I followed up with phone calls. The recession makes its inroads: BORDERS, closed; three other stores: phones dead; one, used books only. So I guess it's the "walk in cold" approach to the ones still standing when I get up there.
I've decided to go to the Flathead Writers' Conference in October. I attended two years ago and truly enjoyed rubbing elbows with other people who worship words like I do. Prior to the gathering I submitted a MR synopsis & other information to an agent from Tennessee. When my appointment time came (15 minutes allowed), the first thing she said was, "I love it! Believe me, I don't often say that at gatherings like this!" Well, I was just floating for over an hour afterwards wandering around the grounds of the junior college catching my breath. A professional loved my work. Wow!
So I'll set up a table this time and see what happens. And glean evermore ideas on how to proceed. I'm pretty convinced there's a "back east" connection out there with a big email list, or blog, or twitter, or whatever, that will begin a new limb of sales for MR on the east coast. But I'm a little impatient! It would be an excellent book to read summer or winter, actually. But road trips are usually in summer!
Friday, July 2, 2010
GOOD FEEDBACK
This past week I've had lovely feedback about the book from folks around town: "It moves right along!" Another woman remarked "Can you believe it? I used to receive MANY SMOKES back in the seventies!"
I was pre-occupied in the grocery store when I felt a soft arm around my shoulders. "Hey Star, I'm reading your book. Got it at the public library!"
How the book was submitted to the library is a mystery. I certainly didn't approach them, but I probably should have. It's on their "New Books" shelf, available for 10 days. What a concept, my book in the library! You should understand, my middle school years were spent in our local library wandering around, reading whatever struck me, doing research about various topics, and loving the quiet and order. Libraries are places of stability and predictability to me.
Another friend told me our mutual acquaintance who is an author approached Hastings Bookstore to move his book closer to the cash register. He added some money to the offer, and up went book sales. I'm trying that one next trip into Missoula.
Like mushrooms popping up after drenching rains, these serendipitous reflections offer delight to my heart and inspire me back to the computer.
I was pre-occupied in the grocery store when I felt a soft arm around my shoulders. "Hey Star, I'm reading your book. Got it at the public library!"
How the book was submitted to the library is a mystery. I certainly didn't approach them, but I probably should have. It's on their "New Books" shelf, available for 10 days. What a concept, my book in the library! You should understand, my middle school years were spent in our local library wandering around, reading whatever struck me, doing research about various topics, and loving the quiet and order. Libraries are places of stability and predictability to me.
Another friend told me our mutual acquaintance who is an author approached Hastings Bookstore to move his book closer to the cash register. He added some money to the offer, and up went book sales. I'm trying that one next trip into Missoula.
Like mushrooms popping up after drenching rains, these serendipitous reflections offer delight to my heart and inspire me back to the computer.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
NEGLECTING THE BABY
After my son died, I had years of dreams in which I would be tending a baby, then called into some other activity, then would remember the baby and not be able to find him. My subconscious was working on overtime with guilt.
My relationship with MEDICINE ROCK sort of parallels this process. It has been my baby, birthed in February, that I've been tending every day which includes sending out copies, setting up readings, trying to get book reviews and entering "first novel" contests. The last two weeks has seen a lull in the activity as I continued training for a mental health center position, and concentrated on some health issues. And yes, guilt is arising. I know from Sun Bear, and subsequently from my own life, that if you don't water a creative project, it just don't grow!
I'll be in Billings, Montana, on Saturday to say hello to the Independent Bookstore there (Barjon's), but the time frame was too short to set up a reading. (Maybe they'll buy a few copies.) And I'm setting up readings in the Flathead area in late August. Our local "health food" store asked for a display, which I thought was so lovely of them. And there's always the web, of course.
When Sun Bear would come to a standstill on a project he was invested in, he would start going around stirring up information. So my next phone call will be to a book agent who works on an international scale. A visit with her should give me a jump start. And perhaps contacting the two Bear Tribe folks in Spokane who contacted me but couldn't come to the reading.
The fertilizer for doubling my effort is in the amazing feedback I'm receiving from my readers. The most common: "It brought back so many memories of that time." Or "I couldn't figure out how you were going to end it, because obviously your life goes on!" (But of course, we have phases, don't we?) And another one cropping up is how different that era was from our current political climate. As if yeast and honey had been dropped into flour and water, the culture was bubbling up; the bacteria were gobbling and growing in the women's culture, in minority cultures, in awareness of the environmental issues we had created, in sexual morays...EVERYTHING in motion. And we all thought the lasting changes would be made within five or maybe ten years. That was adolescent thinking!
Here we are with a President who refused to bring race into his campaign, with an environmental spill unprecedented in history, with a planet undergoing catastrophic changes, with women still being raped, with children still being abused, with aging baby boomers who don't want to attend meetings.
Do I feel the pangs of guilt? Perhaps we should be called the guilty generation even though many of us have worked long hours in various political and cultural efforts and still do. We didn't create this, but marching or not, we are deeply committed to creating the new paradigms that will move us all forward.
In the meantime I sent books to Wind Daughter to sell at the North Carolina Medicine Wheel Gathering in July. I've sold well over 100 since March. And I'm going to keep on keepin' on towards compassion, justice and book sales!
My relationship with MEDICINE ROCK sort of parallels this process. It has been my baby, birthed in February, that I've been tending every day which includes sending out copies, setting up readings, trying to get book reviews and entering "first novel" contests. The last two weeks has seen a lull in the activity as I continued training for a mental health center position, and concentrated on some health issues. And yes, guilt is arising. I know from Sun Bear, and subsequently from my own life, that if you don't water a creative project, it just don't grow!
I'll be in Billings, Montana, on Saturday to say hello to the Independent Bookstore there (Barjon's), but the time frame was too short to set up a reading. (Maybe they'll buy a few copies.) And I'm setting up readings in the Flathead area in late August. Our local "health food" store asked for a display, which I thought was so lovely of them. And there's always the web, of course.
When Sun Bear would come to a standstill on a project he was invested in, he would start going around stirring up information. So my next phone call will be to a book agent who works on an international scale. A visit with her should give me a jump start. And perhaps contacting the two Bear Tribe folks in Spokane who contacted me but couldn't come to the reading.
The fertilizer for doubling my effort is in the amazing feedback I'm receiving from my readers. The most common: "It brought back so many memories of that time." Or "I couldn't figure out how you were going to end it, because obviously your life goes on!" (But of course, we have phases, don't we?) And another one cropping up is how different that era was from our current political climate. As if yeast and honey had been dropped into flour and water, the culture was bubbling up; the bacteria were gobbling and growing in the women's culture, in minority cultures, in awareness of the environmental issues we had created, in sexual morays...EVERYTHING in motion. And we all thought the lasting changes would be made within five or maybe ten years. That was adolescent thinking!
Here we are with a President who refused to bring race into his campaign, with an environmental spill unprecedented in history, with a planet undergoing catastrophic changes, with women still being raped, with children still being abused, with aging baby boomers who don't want to attend meetings.
Do I feel the pangs of guilt? Perhaps we should be called the guilty generation even though many of us have worked long hours in various political and cultural efforts and still do. We didn't create this, but marching or not, we are deeply committed to creating the new paradigms that will move us all forward.
In the meantime I sent books to Wind Daughter to sell at the North Carolina Medicine Wheel Gathering in July. I've sold well over 100 since March. And I'm going to keep on keepin' on towards compassion, justice and book sales!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
AUNTIE'S BOOKSTORE
If you've never been to Auntie's Bookstore, be sure to stop by the next time you're in Spokane. It is housed in an enormous historic building. You could happily spend all day there if it's raining, which it has been here in Spokane. The owner is deeply committed to remaining open, the staff are so friendly and helpful, and the assortment of books is abundant.
I used a microphone for the first time to read to about twenty folks, half of them people I know and love. Then I moved back downstairs to the main floor to sign books. I was quickly approached by an older man, Joe Collier, who photographs noteworthy authors and artists. At 85, Joe has a collection of over 800 photos to donate to the Spokane Historical Society when he passes on. He valued MEDICINE ROCK because, he said, not only is it historical, it's true. He is quite a character who tells jokes and reassured me that he's on the level, no cost to me, I get to pick the picture, etc. Then he skillfully set me up so my scarred cheek was away from the camera! He works with NO GLASSES OR CONTACTS, sharing that he learned from a Chinese woman years ago to always, continually, shift his eyes from close to far, thereby exercising the tiny muscles and keeping the eyeball round.
A woman was interested in how much money I'd be making on the book. She loves to write and has considered publishing. I warned her that there really isn't any money in it; I again realized that this is some kind of lifetime task I need to complete, as was getting my college degree, both imperative whether I'm financially rewarded or not.
Another woman whom I'd met in Manitou Park earlier showed up. We walked together through the Japanese Gardens, got to talking, and there she was at the reading, and later asked me to sign the book. She was repeating that there just are no accidents, and what an exciting day it had been!
Exciting indeed. Sold 13 at Auntie's! When Lois, the Events Coordinator, asked what arrangement I'd like, I said bookstores were asking for a 40% discount. She seemed a bit surprised, and said that was quite generous. Hmmm, maybe I'll say 30% next time!
Coupled with the sales at Sufi Camp, it's 31 so far this week. I have one more reading tomorrow night here at my friend Quan Yin's home: her book club, and more Sufi's! Although in a panic I asked my daughter to send another box, it hasn't arrived, and probably I won't need it!
After this the schedule is empty. Gotta get going on the next few rounds. It sounds like the Okanagan would be excellent, as would Moscow, Idaho. It's hard to leave my yard in the summer, but July would be a great time for sales. I'll be in the Flathead in August.
I'm hoping more folks will find the blog and let me know what they think of the book, etc. It is really heartening when someone says, "I just couldn't put it down!" Another woman said, "Half way through I thought: how can this possibly end?" And of course some people are wondering what comes next? Probably a book of short stories from the years in Seeley Lake, Montana, filled with wilderness tales and quirky folks. After that? A novel not about me!
I used a microphone for the first time to read to about twenty folks, half of them people I know and love. Then I moved back downstairs to the main floor to sign books. I was quickly approached by an older man, Joe Collier, who photographs noteworthy authors and artists. At 85, Joe has a collection of over 800 photos to donate to the Spokane Historical Society when he passes on. He valued MEDICINE ROCK because, he said, not only is it historical, it's true. He is quite a character who tells jokes and reassured me that he's on the level, no cost to me, I get to pick the picture, etc. Then he skillfully set me up so my scarred cheek was away from the camera! He works with NO GLASSES OR CONTACTS, sharing that he learned from a Chinese woman years ago to always, continually, shift his eyes from close to far, thereby exercising the tiny muscles and keeping the eyeball round.
A woman was interested in how much money I'd be making on the book. She loves to write and has considered publishing. I warned her that there really isn't any money in it; I again realized that this is some kind of lifetime task I need to complete, as was getting my college degree, both imperative whether I'm financially rewarded or not.
Another woman whom I'd met in Manitou Park earlier showed up. We walked together through the Japanese Gardens, got to talking, and there she was at the reading, and later asked me to sign the book. She was repeating that there just are no accidents, and what an exciting day it had been!
Exciting indeed. Sold 13 at Auntie's! When Lois, the Events Coordinator, asked what arrangement I'd like, I said bookstores were asking for a 40% discount. She seemed a bit surprised, and said that was quite generous. Hmmm, maybe I'll say 30% next time!
Coupled with the sales at Sufi Camp, it's 31 so far this week. I have one more reading tomorrow night here at my friend Quan Yin's home: her book club, and more Sufi's! Although in a panic I asked my daughter to send another box, it hasn't arrived, and probably I won't need it!
After this the schedule is empty. Gotta get going on the next few rounds. It sounds like the Okanagan would be excellent, as would Moscow, Idaho. It's hard to leave my yard in the summer, but July would be a great time for sales. I'll be in the Flathead in August.
I'm hoping more folks will find the blog and let me know what they think of the book, etc. It is really heartening when someone says, "I just couldn't put it down!" Another woman said, "Half way through I thought: how can this possibly end?" And of course some people are wondering what comes next? Probably a book of short stories from the years in Seeley Lake, Montana, filled with wilderness tales and quirky folks. After that? A novel not about me!
Friday, May 21, 2010
SMALL STEPS
Last night I had the pleasure of a reading/book signing at Fact and Fiction, in Missoula, on North Higgins. Barbara has had that bookstore since my daughter was quite young. I remember going in for books with Autumn's hand in mine, and enjoying her divese offerings in both the children's and adult sections. That part hasn't changed although her location is right on the main drag in old Missoula now.
I felt truly honored in this event. Barb had put a sandwich sign on the sidewalk, had copies of my book on the table as you walked in, and another big sign with a few notes about the book itself. Honored, that's the word, and welcomed! She introduced me herself, had read a bit of the book, and seemed really excited that I was there, along with the 12 or so folks that showed up.
Yup, more friends, bless their souls. Three came who had come to the public library reading just a week ago. That's friends! The good news is I sold 10 or so books, and Barb wanted four to have on hand that were signed already! Even my local Hamilton bookstore didn't bother to do that. They didn't value my effort for some reason. They will, soon enough!
Even more exciting to me was two women who didn't know me and purchased the book anyway. That was heartening.
Next event will be over Memorial Day weekend at Inland NW Sufi Camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Then on to Spokane at Auntie's Bookstore early in the week and my friend Quan Yin Lynn Williams' home on Friday.
I wish I had a picture to insert tonight, but alas, no time to do all the techno that requires. Will get to it maybe next week.
Book Recommendation for the strong of heart: WAR, new hardbound, $24.95. A journalist was embedded in a platoon stationed on the Pakistan-Afganistan border for a year. Harsh realities interpreted from the lens of why men love war, and how hard it is to return home sometimes. I'm bracing myself to read it very soon.
Thanks for checking in...we're headed to Pasco, Washington for the weekend. More soon.
I felt truly honored in this event. Barb had put a sandwich sign on the sidewalk, had copies of my book on the table as you walked in, and another big sign with a few notes about the book itself. Honored, that's the word, and welcomed! She introduced me herself, had read a bit of the book, and seemed really excited that I was there, along with the 12 or so folks that showed up.
Yup, more friends, bless their souls. Three came who had come to the public library reading just a week ago. That's friends! The good news is I sold 10 or so books, and Barb wanted four to have on hand that were signed already! Even my local Hamilton bookstore didn't bother to do that. They didn't value my effort for some reason. They will, soon enough!
Even more exciting to me was two women who didn't know me and purchased the book anyway. That was heartening.
Next event will be over Memorial Day weekend at Inland NW Sufi Camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Then on to Spokane at Auntie's Bookstore early in the week and my friend Quan Yin Lynn Williams' home on Friday.
I wish I had a picture to insert tonight, but alas, no time to do all the techno that requires. Will get to it maybe next week.
Book Recommendation for the strong of heart: WAR, new hardbound, $24.95. A journalist was embedded in a platoon stationed on the Pakistan-Afganistan border for a year. Harsh realities interpreted from the lens of why men love war, and how hard it is to return home sometimes. I'm bracing myself to read it very soon.
Thanks for checking in...we're headed to Pasco, Washington for the weekend. More soon.
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