Getting reviewed: the deafening silence

Greetings gentle readers. Happy to announce that the Three Women, Three Books reading and panel discussion at Library and Archives Canada was an awesome success! I was delighted to be sharing the stage with Jasmine Aziz, author of Sex and Samosas, and Nerys Parry, author of Man and other Natural Disasters. We had a lot of excellent questions about the pros and cons of traditional vs self publishing, a lively discussion, and of course, animated readings from three very different books. So now on to reviewing. As a result of sending our press releases and backgrounders, I got a few nibbles for review copies, which I dutifully sent out. But now I have been faced with a deafening silence...everyone said they were looking forward to reading the book, and hopefully doing a review or a profile, and now....nothing. Am I too impatient? I know it isn't because of the quality of the book....so far reader reviews have been wonderful. So why should I care? Because I want to reach people....a wider set of readers, and sometimes a good review is all it takes. More on this soon, but for now, it seems a frustrating business, after all the hooplah of the launch and the anticipated success of the book. Thoughts?

Goodreads author program

Well, it has been while, as I know you are tired of hearing but I am ecstatic to report that I had a fantastic book launch at the Raw Sugar Café and I am now in the process of trying to get my book out to a wider audience. I sent out media advisories and press releases, which netted me interest from two magazines and a weekly newspaper, as well as some interest from the CBC, although in the end All in a Day did not pick it up. Oh well, once I win the Leacock, hahaha. Meanwhile, I have been checking out the Goodreads Author Program, which is great fun for booklovers everywhere -- writers, readers, reviewers, of which many of us are all three! Through this program you can participate in an online Q&A session with your readers, publicize upcoming events, share excerpts, post videos, and recommend books, among other things. Check out my profile, which is still in progress, and if you feel inclined, become a fan! Thanks....www.goodreads.com/author/show/652387.Sandra.Nicholls

Canada Post strikes again

I have been heartened to receive emails and Facebook messages from friends across the country who want to read And the Seas Shall Turn to Lemonade. However, I had not bargained for the greed of Canada Post. My book fits nicely in a small bubble envelope, and innocently I set off to post one to a friend in the Maritimes, with an invoice for $15, the selling price of the book. Canada Post charged me $12 to post it. No express delivery. No special priority. Just regular mail. Add that to the cost for me to purchase the book for sale, and I find myself in the ridiculous position of losing money on the sale of a book. I am now going to have to rethink things. Even if I charge shipping costs, if I charged enough to make it worthwhile it brings the cost of the book into the prohibitive range. Suddenly the ebook format seems especially appealing. Which I will do eventually. But for all of you out there who want to read it in a print form, and hold the book in your hands, please order it through the following link -- it will be the best for me as the author: https://www.createspace.com/3562582 . Anyone with thoughts or suggestions to share in this regard? I would love to hear from you....

Amazon customer review

Well, my book is on Amazon.com and I now have a five star customer rating and review. Honest! But still, who really knows the book is there (except you, faithful blog readers). I have many promotional ideas but also want to ensure that if these efforts succeed, people will be able to actually walk into a bookstore and buy it. This involves the kind of thing writers hate: selling themselves. But sell I must, and apparently, I must also "populate the inventory" of Amazon.ca if I want my book to be available there. In plain english, send them copies. And as far as book retailers such as Chapters go, there is a distribution company associated with Createspace, but the choice as to whether the retailer takes the book is up the the retailer. So it is up to me to convince that bookseller that I will bring people to their door to buy my book. Chicken, egg, chicken, egg. I have now prepared a press kit, I have a snazzy author photo, and I never leave home without ten copies in the trunk! One never knows. More soon, on the promo journey, the hardest part of this whole equation so far. And of course what I want to do now is work on novel number two, but there isn't enough time, because I am trying to sell this one. Go figure. Book launch, by the way, October 5 at the Raw Sugar Cafe in Ottawa. See you there.

THE BOOK IS OUT!!!!!!

It is with tremendous excitement and a slight amount of pride that I can announce today the book is out: on Amazon, in a box in my office, and on my createspace estore!!!!!!! Now it is time for shameless self promotion.....and the organizing of a book launch. I will be blogging about this too....what I learn, what works, what to avoid. At the moment it sits in a lonely virtual space undiscovered.....so it's up to me, and to you, dear readers, to change this and put Tabitha and Nathaniel into the lexicon of quirky and unforgettable Canadian characters! If you want to order a copy for a friend, or if you just can't wait for the launch, or you live out of town, or whatever, you can order from Amazon.com or my createspace estore, at https://www.createspace.com/3562582 . The good thing about the store is higher royalties for me, but Amazon sales are also good. Remember, Christmas is coming. Hahahaha. More soon -- now I am trying to discover how to get the Search Inside feature put on my book on Amazon.com, and also sign on for Author Central and Listmania. More soon.....with much excitement, I bid you adieu. Oh, and here is a funny story...when I was typing in my name on Amazon.com to see if the book was listed, I kept getting this sub-listing: Sandra Nichols found dead!!!!! I checked it out -- it is actually someone's novel -- can you believe it!!!I feel like ordering it for a, well, a souvenir????? LOL. Anyway, help keep me alive folks and order my book!!!!! Ciao....more soon on the launch date and location.

The book arrives!!!!

The actual physical book arrived, and it is a joyful thing. I can't really describe how different it is to see the thing in book form, as opposed to "flat" covers and pages.....I started to read it, since I must now approve the book itself, and it felt like a new work, something different, another life form! Createspace did a terrific job -- it looks perfect. The paper quality is excellent, all the lines are straight and even, the finishing is clean, the cover looks awesome, it is everything I could have hoped for and more. Now if the IRS would only send me my tax identification number I could be off and running....ordering copies for the launch and starting to market. I think I will get that started anyway. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for reading my blog and keeping me honest -- couldn't have done it without that. And I have to say, about this self publishing thing -- it is an incredible high you get when you look at the book and realize you did it all yourself -- took all the chances, made the decisions, carried the process forward...fanfuckingtastic. More soon on my adventures in self promotion!

Five days to a book!

Physical proof has been shipped.....and promised within five business days. Can't wait to see it in book form. I will let you know more about the quality of the book once it arrives -- paper, cover stock, and all that cool stuff.