Heard back from my printer. The books are scheduled to ship out in late July, so that’s when I start jumping up and down and exclaiming excitable things in English, Spanish, and possibly Japanese just for the hell of it. That means I have that much time to assemble my final review mailing list, create a bunch of packets, stuff them in envelopes, and have them all ready. That way, when the books arrive, my girlfriend and I slip a book into each envelope, seal it up, and *whoosh* send them out, in the process compiling the largest postage bill of my life ^_^
Things seem to be moving along with Biblio. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve sent them all the necessary forms and application materials. So I guess it’s pretty much official now that they will be handling the distribution for Solstice.
Of course, while it’ll be cool to have my book available at major bookstores, I’m really hoping people buy the book direct from me (hey, you get an autographed copy that way! ^^; It’ll be worth millions…never! ^^;;;). And, I’m going to give folks an incentive to do so. What will it be? Hmmm, you’ll have to wait to find out…
One change to my plans, though: I think I’ll be pushing the start of the main marketing campaign until late July or even August. Since I won’t be able to get review packets out until July 23 or so anyway, it makes sense to hold off on posting the trailer, and creating the rest of my characters’ MySpace pages, until later. (Did I say “rest of”? Why yes I did! My main character, Io, already has one. Want to look her up?) Does that mean I won’t post up at least a “teaser” book trailer on my web site soon? Hmmm…
Speaking of which, I’m discussing revamping the Solstice site with my webmistress ^^; In anticipation of the start of the marketing blitz, I want to make it more robust, give visitors more to check out. That should be fun.
And, seriously, because I have SO LITTLE TO DO, I figured, I should add more things to my list of tasks. Like possibly starting a small freelance art-and-music-video-for-weddings business. After doing the Solstice book trailer, I made a couple of music videos for my friend, Dan. A couple of people, after seeing them, suggested I try and start a side business doing that for wedding parties. So, before Sunday, I’ll have to put up a quick “Portfolio” page on my main TMP site.
Wow, this was a long, babble-filled entry, wasn’t it? ^^; I imagine, as the big day (October 1…maybe…hint hint) approaches, I’ll have even more to babble about. Much to your chagrin.
Oh, and a special HELLO to Tsubashi-san, who has the distinction of being the first person to leave a comment! Arigato gozaimashita!!! And thank you very much for your kind words about Solstice ^_^
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
We’ve got distribution!
So things are really starting to pick up speed around here. With the books already in print and scheduled to be delivered to me in July, and as the marketing campaign is almost ready for its official launch, I received some encouraging news on Tuesday. Turns out Biblio Distribution has agreed to distribute Solstice ^_^
While there are many pros and cons with using a distributor (one of the main cons being the percentage they take, which is higher than what bookstores and wholesalers will take), there’s no denying one simple fact. How else am I going to get a bookstore in, say, San Francisco to purchase a few copies of Solstice? Like Dan Poynter says, let a distributor handle the big chain bookstores, so you can focus more on niche markets and independent sales. It’s like outsourcing a big, and messy, part of your fulfillment process.
So I’m pretty excited to now have a distributor who’ll help me get the book into actual bookstores (although I still hope most people will buy it directly from my web site, hint hint! ^^). To me, it feels like Solstice is now a completely legitimate endeavor with some strong backing (first Acid Mothers Temple agreeing to let me use their song, now a national distributor that works with all the big names in the bookstore and wholesale industries). My girlfriend and friends have argued that Solstice was always a legitimate project, but at least it’s starting to feel that way for me.
Of course, I still have to do my part to promote the book. Having a distributor will be nice, but unless I promote Solstice, they’re not going to get any orders from bookstores. The trailer, I hope, will be key in doing this. So far, everyone who’s seen a sneak peek of it has said it is awesome, and creepy! I can hardly wait to officially launch it. I figure its launch will be a good indicator of potential interest in the book. Because it’s one thing to have friends and significant others say good things about your work. It’s a completely different thing to have perfect strangers say them ^^;
As if I don’t have enough to do, I’m also plodding away with my next novel. Already starting Chapter 5, and having a ton of fun writing it. See, unlike Solstice (a happy, apocalyptic tale ^^), the new novel is a comedic satire. I guess it’s a much welcome, and needed, distraction from the rigors of managing a self-publishing venture.
Going to work with my webmaster (or is it, webmistress? ^^) on updating my web site. In anticipation of the marketing campaign, I want to bolster my main site, make it more robust, add in an “author page,” things like that. I also need to connect with my fellow Latino/a authors, because so far I’ve been very insular about all this, and there’s a large network of Latino/a authors out there that I need to start connecting with.
This is, in many ways, all very odd for me. See, I’ve always been a fairly low-key, humble person. I’ve never been one to do shameless self-promotion, but in this business, it really seems that you have no choice but to be shamelessly self-promoting. Maybe even have a bit of an ego. While I’d rather not develop the ego, I guess I have to quickly learn how to promote myself and my work. Oh well.
While there are many pros and cons with using a distributor (one of the main cons being the percentage they take, which is higher than what bookstores and wholesalers will take), there’s no denying one simple fact. How else am I going to get a bookstore in, say, San Francisco to purchase a few copies of Solstice? Like Dan Poynter says, let a distributor handle the big chain bookstores, so you can focus more on niche markets and independent sales. It’s like outsourcing a big, and messy, part of your fulfillment process.
So I’m pretty excited to now have a distributor who’ll help me get the book into actual bookstores (although I still hope most people will buy it directly from my web site, hint hint! ^^). To me, it feels like Solstice is now a completely legitimate endeavor with some strong backing (first Acid Mothers Temple agreeing to let me use their song, now a national distributor that works with all the big names in the bookstore and wholesale industries). My girlfriend and friends have argued that Solstice was always a legitimate project, but at least it’s starting to feel that way for me.
Of course, I still have to do my part to promote the book. Having a distributor will be nice, but unless I promote Solstice, they’re not going to get any orders from bookstores. The trailer, I hope, will be key in doing this. So far, everyone who’s seen a sneak peek of it has said it is awesome, and creepy! I can hardly wait to officially launch it. I figure its launch will be a good indicator of potential interest in the book. Because it’s one thing to have friends and significant others say good things about your work. It’s a completely different thing to have perfect strangers say them ^^;
As if I don’t have enough to do, I’m also plodding away with my next novel. Already starting Chapter 5, and having a ton of fun writing it. See, unlike Solstice (a happy, apocalyptic tale ^^), the new novel is a comedic satire. I guess it’s a much welcome, and needed, distraction from the rigors of managing a self-publishing venture.
Going to work with my webmaster (or is it, webmistress? ^^) on updating my web site. In anticipation of the marketing campaign, I want to bolster my main site, make it more robust, add in an “author page,” things like that. I also need to connect with my fellow Latino/a authors, because so far I’ve been very insular about all this, and there’s a large network of Latino/a authors out there that I need to start connecting with.
This is, in many ways, all very odd for me. See, I’ve always been a fairly low-key, humble person. I’ve never been one to do shameless self-promotion, but in this business, it really seems that you have no choice but to be shamelessly self-promoting. Maybe even have a bit of an ego. While I’d rather not develop the ego, I guess I have to quickly learn how to promote myself and my work. Oh well.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Moving along
It’s been a while since I updated this thing. With the official start of the marketing blitz for Solstice only two weeks away, things are definitely picking up.
For starters, the book trailer is done. And, thanks to some nice voice recordings provided by some supportive friends, the end result is something that has been called “gripping,” “intense,” “intriguing,” and “professional.” I used a lot of different kinds of stock photography from istockphoto.com and similar sites to pull off the visual narrative. And I used some sound editing software to create some very creepy sound effects. In any event, I’ll be posting that trailer on this blog, on my site, and on YouTube on July 1, so hopefully it’ll have the reaction I’m hoping for (“Wow, your book sounds great!” vs. “Uh-huh, and you printed how many of these things?”).
Second, I’m now in the proofing stages with my printer, Edwards Brothers. Yesterday I sent them the okay on the actual text part, and tomorrow I’ll be going to Ann Arbor to finalize the details on the cover. Turns out the proof of the cover was a little too red for my artist’s tastes. She recommended I show them the original painting so that the printers get a better sense of the color matching. So after tomorrow, I can officially, 100% say that the book is in print.
Third, since the book will be ready within six weeks, I have to start prepping the next round of review packets. Who knows if any of the ones I sent with the bound galleys will be reviewed, but hopefully some of my target publications will be intrigued by the book and the materials I’ve enclosed in these packets.
Regardless, it’s a real thrill to know that, sometime in July, I’ll have my first novel in my hands.
Now I just need to figure out where I’m going to fit all of them ^__^;
For starters, the book trailer is done. And, thanks to some nice voice recordings provided by some supportive friends, the end result is something that has been called “gripping,” “intense,” “intriguing,” and “professional.” I used a lot of different kinds of stock photography from istockphoto.com and similar sites to pull off the visual narrative. And I used some sound editing software to create some very creepy sound effects. In any event, I’ll be posting that trailer on this blog, on my site, and on YouTube on July 1, so hopefully it’ll have the reaction I’m hoping for (“Wow, your book sounds great!” vs. “Uh-huh, and you printed how many of these things?”).
Second, I’m now in the proofing stages with my printer, Edwards Brothers. Yesterday I sent them the okay on the actual text part, and tomorrow I’ll be going to Ann Arbor to finalize the details on the cover. Turns out the proof of the cover was a little too red for my artist’s tastes. She recommended I show them the original painting so that the printers get a better sense of the color matching. So after tomorrow, I can officially, 100% say that the book is in print.
Third, since the book will be ready within six weeks, I have to start prepping the next round of review packets. Who knows if any of the ones I sent with the bound galleys will be reviewed, but hopefully some of my target publications will be intrigued by the book and the materials I’ve enclosed in these packets.
Regardless, it’s a real thrill to know that, sometime in July, I’ll have my first novel in my hands.
Now I just need to figure out where I’m going to fit all of them ^__^;
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