Marketing Madness!

The marking madness continues for “The Healing Pool”! At the suggestion of the APL youth librarian I made a youtube video. It’s not what I would consider high art, but hopefully it is a positive portrayal of myself and my book. I used the video not only to showcase the book, but also to discuss my favorite thing about writing: naming characters! I want this little video to get the attention of teens in 2 minutes and hope that they are also interested in naming characters whether it is a fun process for them or a stressful one. So far the video has 10 views! Woo!

My second book signing is coming up! March 12th I will be doing an author visit at the Appleton Public library. This book signing is super exciting. I will finally be in an environment with (pre)teens who want to read the book! Since “The Healing Pool” is aimed for middle schoolers it will be nice to get a few young people there. I’m also excited to talk to and sell books to people I don’t know. The hardest thing about this business is selling books to people who don’t know me. The APL has been great so far for helping me advertise. They provided flyers for me and they have secret tips to getting teens to come (AKA snackies). The APL already has “The Healing Pool” on the shelves so hopefully a kid or two will be interested in picking it up.

My biggest project so far has been putting together a sample audio book. I have a handy voice recorder and a basic knowledge of Audacity to help edit the files. I’m hoping to finish recording the first 10 chapters of the book today and perhaps begin splicing and stapling the recordings together! Hopefully there’s not too much background noise…

In the mean time, enjoy my silly youtube video! I love feedback, please let me know if there’s anything you want to see me talk about!

My Business Project

This term in school I am working on a business plan/proposal to start my own publishing company. This class is designed for musicians to create a business for themselves whether it be a studio or website to connect composers and musicians, but the Dean of the conservatory is also thrilled to have non-music businesses in the class. Since I have already published a book on my own I am technically a business. I keep track of my sales, expenses, and profits. I have a basic but effective Xcel document that organizes my online sales and my personal sales. Createspace is nice since it keeps track of everything for me, but it can be frustrating since they wait so long to actually pay the author. At least everything is kept in a detailed record. I also have a blog, website, and facebook page to gain publicity and marketing.

So, in short, I have had a different experience in this class than my classmates. I am interested in maybe having a publishing company in the future, but for now the work I’m doing will be to gain knowledge on not only how to develop a publishing company but how to expand my current business. For example, part of the assignment is to have a name, mantra, and logo for the business to go on the website. The name I chose is an expansion of my current website: Garcia Originals Publishing. It’s pretty simple, but the name Garcia Originals came from my dad. Everything he makes from pasta sauce to wood carvings he dubs a “Garcia Original.” The name stays. My mantra is “See What Happens” since the original title for this blog was “Let’s See What Happens!”

The current “logo” for my website http://www.garciaoriginals.com is a fancy font. However, this class has given me the inspiration to get a fancier logo! I have my Book Bag which I carry around with me at all times. It has books to sell along with bookmarks and business cards to hand out. It even has a stuffed baby rhino named Rhodes. He’s been in the bag since the beginning and I think that he deserves to be my logo! I contacted a graphic designer friend and he’s working on a professional logo for me right now! I can’t wait to see what the final product is, but it features Rhodes holding a quill pen!

In short, some of the simplest details I’m learning in this class will help make my current business and mock-publishing business look professional and exciting. I am excited to create another website and share it with you all for comments and critique. If there’s anything on my current website you would like to see, please let me know! I am still new to the business of a self-published author and I will take all of the help and support I can get!

I will leave you with this picture of Rhodes. Have a great weekend!

Book Signing Recap

The book signing was a couple Thursdays ago, but I am still jazzed from the event! I got some good feedback and I even sold 7 books. I had been hoping to sell some more, but for my first official book signing I think it was a good turn out.

The signing was held in a small room at my school’s library. The room had shelves of beautiful, old books and some cozy furniture. People milled in the room, mainly the library employees and some friends from SAI. My poetry professor made an appearance and that made me very happy. It was clear she genuinely wanted to be there which was lovely.

I am not a fan of talking at people. The library director had a podium for me, but I declined and chose to sit in one of the comfy chairs. I like talking to people. I’m much more comfortable talking when I am at eye level versus standing and looking down on people. I want to be approachable but professional, and I think I achieved that.

I began with a brief history of my writing life. Starting from my attempted novels at the age of 10 to actually starting The Healing Pool and up to its completion. I outlined the battles and steps of self-publishing since most people there were unfamiliar with the process. I then talked about the book and read two chapters near the beginning to give them a sense of the characters. After the reading I opened the floor to a Q & A. Not many people had questions, but the questions they had were interesting. My professor of course asked me about the difference between writing poetry and writing novels in terms of how I organize and edit my decisions. In short, poetry for me is generally a one-and-done deal. It has to be in the moment, otherwise it will not likely exist in the future. Novels are easier to come back to since there are so many moving parts to work with.

Afterwards I had a table set up in the back with books to sell and sign. My roommate was kind enough to loan me her mini travel suitcase so I didn’t have to carry 40lbs of books across campus! The feedback I got from everyone was positive. People liked how I spoke and how I read. My friends wanted me to keep reading! One thing I want to do for the website and for advertising the next book signing is have a sample audio book. I need to learn how to use technology, but at least I read well!

The library took pictures of the whole event. Check out the link below! My trusty mascot Rhodes was also present and quite helpful. 🙂

https://www.flickr.com/photos/seeleyg/sets/72157648114843443/