For the second consecutive year our friends Deb and Robert in Waupaca have hosted a book event for me.  Last year they invited a group of their friends to their Bed & Breakfast, Crystal River Inn.  Everyone brought something to share and we dined on a traditional Irish meal.  Robert lit the wood fireplace in their parlor and we talked about writing, publishing and my first book Murphy’s Troubles.  The conversation lasted until midnight.  It was a special, magical night.

This year Deb and Robert again offered to host an author event with a twist.  Some of the guests were family but most of the guests were people staying at the Inn for the weekend.  Deb and Robert invited the Bed & Breakfast guests to listen to a presentation from me then enjoy a traditional Irish coddle with brown bread, cultured butter, coleslaw and Irish soda bread.

While we shared a few drinks and some snacks I talked about writing, publishing and my two novels, Murphy’s Troubles and Out of Darkness.  They were generous with their time and allowed me 45 minutes to speak and with questions the entire presentation was 60 minutes.

During the drive to Waupaca my wife kidded me that I was the entertainment for the evening.  For some reason I struggled with that notion.  After my presentation Deb thanked me and told me that all the people in the room had booked the bed and breakfast to hear my talk.  I told her, “Well, I guess I was the entertainment.”    

It’s simple.  Write me an e-mail at:  [email protected].  Request a copy of my second novel – Out of Darkness.   Agree to post a book review on Amazon within 30 days.

I will send a free book to the first 5 people responding.  I trust readers.

As an independent author the biggest job isn’t writing the novel and having it published.  The biggest job is finding readers once your magnum opus is published and available for readers.  In the past week I’ve found readers is both a very likely place and in a very unlikely place.

I write historical fiction.  Both of my novels:  Murphy’s Troubles and Out of Darkness are about the Troubles in Ireland.  Every year the Irish American Heritage Center (IAHC) in Chicago hosts the Irish Book and Musical Celebration (IBAM) in October.  The Irish have influenced all aspects of Chicago life for decades and there is a robust Irish population in the city.  Obviously, attending is a must for me to reach out and find readers interested in Ireland and its’ history.

When I attended last year I had one book for sale.  I was scheduled to make a presentation about my book and participated in a panel discussion with Frank Delaney and others on the topic of the attraction to Irish literature.  It was a big weekend for me and I sold out of all the books I took to the event.

I attended IBAM this past weekend in Chicago and the experience was different.  The number attending was down significantly.  I made a presentation which was held in a room at the end of the library that was difficult to find. One person and the moderator attended my session.  The person speaking prior to me thought they had an hour to speak rather than 30 minutes.  By the time the previous speaker finished I had only 20 minutes.  Also, the one person who attended bought both my books earlier in the day.  In a word – it was a bust.  At the end of the day Saturday I was discouraged and uncertain about meeting readers and having sales on Sunday.

We set up about 30 minutes before the event started on Sunday.  Three women stopped by after mass and in less than 10 minutes I sold six books.  Throughout the early afternoon people strolled by my table in waves and I kept attracting readers.  By 3:00 pm I was sold out of books – two hours before the event ended.  I plan to return to IBAM next year.

This past week I was invited to speak at the local Rotary meeting.  The person inviting me wasn’t sure how many would attend but said I could sell books following my presentation.  Sixteen people attended the event and following my 30 minute presentation I was given a robust round of applause.  I stayed after the meeting to answer more questions and people began buying books.  I ran out of books and took orders for books that I would deliver the next day.  I sold 14 books in just a few minutes and had to make three deliveries the next day because I hadn’t anticipated that many sales.

So where does an independent author find readers?  Everyplace – often in unexpected places.

The Wisconsin Book Festival attracts thousands of attendees every year and all events are free to the public.  It is THE event for authors.  This year the Festival is showcasing indie authors with two events over two weekends.

On October 3rd the Middleton Public Library hosted 21 authors in a single day.  On October 9 and 10th the Pinney Library will host 25 local authors.  The organizers of the book festival are providing an unprecedented number of authors the change to have an audience.

I was selected to participate in the event hosted by the Middleton Public Library on October 3rd.  The format was the most unique.  Every author was given 15 minutes to present whatever they wanted and or to read from their work.  After three authors presented there was a 15 minute break and we moved to another room for an opportunity to meet with audience members and sell books.

I have been giving presentations for two years and have developed a series of “talks” based on the make-up of the audience.  I am very comfortable on my feet and enjoy question and answer sessions during presentations.  To be honest I was terrified of the 15 minute format.  How could I possibly condense 30 to 60 minutes of material to 15 minutes and allow questions? 

I asked several author friends; including one who was participating in the Pinney Library event what they would present.  The answers varied widely and didn’t provide much guidance.  I put myself under a great deal of pressure and the thought this is your 15 minutes of fame lodged in my mind.

I was able to cover the material I wanted, read for a few moments and responded to a few questions with my 15 minutes but I stumbled several times and suffered those terrible “blanks” when the brain freezes and jumbled words drop out of my mouth.

Moving to the separate room to sell books was a disaster.  Not a single person came to meet me, ask more questions or buy a book.  It was 15 minutes of hell.  Of the three authors in the room one woman, writing chick lit, sold about 3 books.  The other two of us didn’t sell a single book.

The pairings of three authors was very odd.  In my segment was a chick lit author, an author on childhood food allergies and me with historical fiction we had absolutely nothing in common.  Would the chick lit reader want to sit through a presentation by a historical fiction author?

The event at the Pinney Library has the same odd mix of authors.  One pairing includes political nonfiction, women’s fiction and medical nonfiction.  Really?  What were the organizers thinking?   

Another unique aspect is that the authors received a generous stipend for participating.  This is the first and I expect only time I will be paid for speaking to an audience.

I hope that the Wisconsin Book Festival continues to support local authors but I hope they ask us for our experience so that we can improve the format in future years.

How did would I characterize the event?  I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame – it was ok.