Book Signings:

A Sea of Monsters?

When I first started this blog I envisioned a site that would offer all sorts of information for authors who were considering using Print-On-Demand technology to publish their books. While I’m proud of the work that I’ve done on the blog, it has not yet realized my original vision. In general, the blog has featured anecdotal information from POD authors who can be called successful in one way or another. I’ve mixed in the occasional traditionally-published author for their perspectives as well.

Anyway, I’ll be striving to get a broader mix of topics into the blog in the New Year. This should be easier as I avoid doing my homework in my MBA classes at all costs. With that in mind, I’ve run across a couple of posts on other blogs that talk about book signings and there place in every authors marketing campaign. I’ve only attended a few book signings, but enough to know that first-time authors come into them with high expectations and are often sorely disappointed. I’ve seen authors become angry and even cry after failing to sell a single book at an event.

A small consolation may be that book signings are a challenge for even some well-established authors. Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson juvenile fiction series and the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults, recently blogged about his early book signing experiences.

“I remembered one of the first book signings I ever did, ten years ago, when Big Red Tequila first came out. I was invited to Waldenbooks in a shopping mall in Concord, California. They set up a table at the front of the store. They allotted two hours,” Riordan writes. “I sat there in my coat and tie and watched people pass by, steering clear of me like I was an insurance salesman. I gave directions to Sears. I explained several times that I wasn’t an employee at the bookstore and I didn’t know where the self-help section was. I signed a napkin for a couple of teenaged boys who thought the title Big Red Tequila sounded slightly naughty because it had to do with alcohol. I sold no books.”

Riordan’s book signing struggles ran through the publication of The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, the first and second books in the Percy Jackson series.

“I remember when Sea of Monsters came out, a year later, I was still having anxious conversations with my editor and agent, wondering what I could do to improve sales,” Riordan writes. “Were we missing something? Was I wrong to think the series would connect with kids? It took almost two years before I really felt like things were turning around.”

One of Riordan’s big breaks came when The Lightning Thief was selected for Al’s Book Club for Kids on NBC’s The Today Show. That honor came just prior to the release of the third Percy Jackson book, The Titan’s Curse. It was also just prior to the release of the last Harry Potter book, when interest in juvenile fiction was at a peak. Timing is everything.

I’ve read all three of the Percy Jackson books and enjoyed them thoroughly. Greek mythology is a central element in the books. The stories of Apollo, Athena and Poseidon helped establish my love of reading early on, so it was great to see that world featured in new adventures.

The fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, is available for pre-order and set to be released May 6, 2008.

Over on R.W. Ridley’s blog, The Self-Published American, authors are being encouraged to think beyond the book signing and take advantage of the many marketing opportunities that the internet offers. Ridley references a recent article from the Christian Science Monitor, Why Book Tours are Passé.

“Among the many reasons for this shift are marketing tools that have made it possible to orchestrate a virtual encounter, without the hassle or expense of travel,” the article states. “Publishers and authors are now touting books through podcasts, film tours, blog tours, book videos, and book trailers.”

Ridley is an award-winning, self-published author and is also a sales and marketing consultant for Amazon.com-owned POD Company BookSurge. His blog features a number of other helpful marketing hints. Be sure to check out his books on Amazon as well, The Takers and Délon City.

Litigator Publishes

Chasing Hunter

Chasing Hunter, a new novel published through BookSurge, has author Cort Malone running toward success. The novel follows Jake Hunter, a summer associate at a prestigious Manhattan law firm who finds himself caught up in a harrowing game of cat and mouse that puts his friends and family in grave danger. When Jake discovers his mentor, the firm's biggest rainmaker, lying in a pool of blood and near death, the attorney's final words lead Jake to evidence that could topple the highest ranks of the Russian mafia.

A few of the reviews on Amazon have compared Malone’s work to John Grisham. An insurance coverage litigator with the Manhattan law firm of Anderson Kill & Olick, Malone would like to emulate Grisham and his Rainmaker character Rudy Baylor, with success in the court room and on the bestseller list.

He recently took time to share his experiences writing and publishing Chasing Hunter.

What kind of marketing are you doing for your book? What have you found to be most successful? What has been least successful?
Chasing Hunter became available on Amazon on October 25th, so it has only been out for about 7 weeks, and I feel like I am still in the early stages of marketing. At this point, I have focused more on getting all of my family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances to read the book. To that end, I emailed everyone I knew with about the book, and asked them to forward the email on to anyone they thought would be interested. I also had postcards made up and mailed/distributed them to over 1000 people. We have hosted two book launch/signing parties (in New Jersey and Long Island), and I have also brought the book into several bookstores in an effort to get them to carry it. Finally, BookSurge helped me compile a press release, which was distributed to close to 800 media outlets. The email campaign and the launch parties were the most successful marketing efforts, and the press release appears to have been the least successful.

Did you seek a traditional publisher for the book prior to pursuing print-on-demand? If so, what kind of experience was that?
Before pursuing print-on-demand, I attempted to get an agent to represent me and attempt to sell Chasing Hunter to a traditional publisher. I did the research, studied the agent's guidebooks, and sent about 16-18 query letters to the agents who I believed were the best fit for my book. Unfortunately, the responses were all very brief form letters, often stating that the agents were not taking on new clients or did not feel that Chasing Hunter was right for them. Although this experience did not work out, I am glad that I went through it, and feel that it was a good learning experience for how to do a better job approaching agents in the future.

What led you to decide print-on-demand was the way to go? How did you go about researching the industry and what led you to decide on BookSurge?
I wasn't sure that print-on-demand was "the way to go" until after I began researching the industry. As with a lot of research these days, I think my first effort was typing the phrase "self-publishing" into Google and reviewing the websites that popped up. Other than my online research, I spoke with the few people I knew in the publishing field, and at least one person I knew that had self-published another book. One of the factors that led me to BookSurge was an article by a journalist about self-publishing. The article detailed the writer's own experience with self-publishing through BookSurge, and her experience had been extremely positive. After this article led me to BookSurge, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick, easy and inexpensive the process seemed. The more I explored it, the more confident I became in using BookSurge, and that is why I decided to use them to publish Chasing Hunter.

What are the strong points to the BookSurge process? How was there customer service? What areas could they improve on?
One of the strongest points to the BookSurge process is that they provide you with detailed information on exactly what is needed in order to publish your book. For someone like me, who took the publishing process extremely seriously, BookSurge gave me all of the information I needed to make sure that things would go smoothly. The customer service was very prompt and helpful - all of my inquiries (and there were many) were answered within a day, and often much quicker.

One area that could be improved is the quality control regarding the condition of the books. Although the majority of the books were delivered to the people who ordered them in pristine condition, there were at least a handful of orders that were unacceptable. Because the problem with these books included ink/color running over from the back cover onto the front cover, and splotches on the covers of several books, I am fairly confident that these were printing issues as opposed to damage that could have been caused during shipping by Amazon. After a few calls to complain about this, it seems that the quality of the more recent books has been top-notch, so I would give good marks again to the customer service department for responding to my concerns. One other random note - the books are occasionally different sizes, with some being slightly larger/smaller than others. Not sure how or why that occurs, but it would be better if all of the books had the same dimensions.

How was the cover designed and what is your impression of the final product?

I purchased the cover photo from a stock photographs website, which included an agreement granting me license to use the photo as a book cover. I had help with adding the graphics (title and author) to the cover photo from a friend at work, and I am ecstatic with the final product. I think the picture captures the plot of the book well, and my friend did an excellent job with the graphic design.

What prompted you to write this book? Have you always been a writer?
I have always loved writing, and the story for this book has been rattling around in my head for at least five or six years. Regardless of whether Chasing Hunter (and the sequel that I am currently working on, Serial Hunter) ever takes off, I would never stop writing because it is what I am passionate about, and what I truly enjoy doing. Although it is a work of fiction, several aspects of the book come from my own life - my career as a lawyer, interactions with friends and family, and my educational background all provided inspiration for Chasing Hunter.

How much did your work as a litigator influence this book? Can you describe your work? What type of cases do you deal with?
Although some people have called Chasing Hunter a "legal thriller," that description is somewhat of a misnomer. There is no trial or courtroom drama in the book, although the main character works at a Manhattan law firm. I consider the book more of a suspense thriller, and often call it a combination of The Firm and The Fugitive. Because there is not much "legal drama" in Chasing Hunter, my work as a litigator did not really influence the book. My specialty in the law is representing policyholders in insurance coverage litigation (a fancy way of saying that I help people try to get money from their insurance companies). I also have experience in commercial litigation and other general litigation matters.

Who are some of your writing influences or favorite writers/books?
My two favorite writers are Michael Connelly (especially the Harry Bosch novels) and Robert Crais (the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books). I've also read almost everything by Grisham, Baldacci, and Deaver (the Lincoln Rhyme novels). Much of my writing style is similar to these writers, as well as to Harlan Coben and James Patterson. Several of the Amazon reviews of my book have mentioned the works of Coben and Patterson as books to which Chasing Hunter compares favorably.

Are you working on a new project? If so, what is it about and how is it coming along?

I am working on the sequel to Chasing Hunter, which is titled Serial Hunter. It is a psychological thriller involving the search for a serial killer and the psychiatrist who thinks that he can cure the murderer before he kills again. Several characters from Chasing Hunter will be returning for another fast-paced adventure.

Please feel free to add any additional comments you'd like.

I would just like to thank everyone who has supported Chasing Hunter so far, and those who I'm sure will be supporting it in the future. As I've told everyone who knows me, I am always happy to discuss the book with readers, pass along advice about my writing/publishing experiences, sign copies, attend book club meetings, or anything else of that nature. Writing Chasing Hunter and getting it out to the public has been one of the most enjoyable, satisfying experiences of my life, and I am thankful for everyone who played a part in making that dream a reality.