Last week I posted a blog expressing my elation being invited to be one of seventeen authors participating in the 2014 Irish Book and Music Celebration October 3-5 in Chicago, www.ibam.com.  I will be meeting readers and signing books six hours each day on Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to selling books I will be participating on an authors’ panel.  The panel will be an hour discussion with questions and answers from audience members on the topic of:  Since the late 19th Century, Irish Literature has caught the attention of the world.  What is it about Irish writing that gives it such a universal appeal?   The celebration organizer, Cliff Carlson, let me know that Frank Delaney may also be participating on the panel.

NPR has called Frank Delaney the most eloquent man in the world.  No pressure there, participating on a panel with the most eloquent man in the world.  Delaney is also a respected Booker Prize judge, an author of fiction and non-fiction, a journalist and a broadcaster.  If he joins the panel it guarantees a large audience.  To be honest, it’s also frightening.   I think most would agree that Mr. Delaney is a scholar of Irish Literature and his view on the topic will be informed and persuasive.  The topic is very broad and open to many subjective viewpoints.

I decided that in order to contribute anything useful to the discussion I would need to do hours of research so I began that process this week.  All I can say is thank God for Google.  I spent about fifteen hours this week surfing the net to learn more about the history and influence of Irish literature.

The first thing I learned was that not everyone agrees on defining the question.  Some include drama in the definition and the creation of the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899 by W.B. Yeats and others which became the Abbey Theatre.  Drama from Yeats,  G.B. Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Lady Gregory and J.M. Synge were performed there.  Since both Yeats and Shaw received the Nobel Prize for literature I think drama should be included in a comprehensive definition of Irish literature.

Next, I learned there is some dispute on what is meant by Irish Literature.  The purist would argue that Irish literature is written in the Irish language.  When Irish authors write in the English language I learned the correct term is Anglo-English.  For me this is academic even though technically it is certainly correct.  When the international community reads Irish authors they are reading English so I don’t think this point is worth arguing.

Another problematic question is the issue of expatriate authors such as Joyce and Samuel Becket.  Becket presents a real problem because he also published in French and was both a novelist and dramatist.  While Joyce lived on the continent all of his published work was set in Dublin, psychologically he never left his homeland.  From the average readers’ perspective I think this is also an academic argument.  Becket received the Nobel Prize as an Irish writer and for me that settles the question.

From a novice’s perspective the most perplexing aspect of the research is that there are so many questions, I haven’t covered all of them in this blog.  In future weeks I’ll share with you my continued journey to research and prepare for participating on the author’s panel.

I need your help.  Let me know why you think that internationally Irish literature has a unique appeal and popularity with readers.

Personal note:  Tomorrow is 9/11 – we must never forget the innocent sacrificed to terrorism.

  

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog called The Downsizing Blues, and now I have house selling STRESS.  We spent a week getting the house clean to the standard that our realtor sets.  That means NOTHING sits out.  We’ve replaced carpet in the master bedroom, had the lower level and staircase professionally cleaned, power washed the front of the house and done some touch up painting.  All this and not one person has viewed our home as a potential buyer.

My Mom was a stay at home mom, in those days, three out of four of my best friends Moms also worked at home.  Our house was always very neat.  I know now that Mom could best be described as fastidious, it’s just the way we lived, and I didn’t know anything different.

As an adult I’ve in my own home I like a bit of clutter.  I like to have fruit, utensils, a, a coffee maker, baking supplies and kitchen equipment on the counters.  We store our boots and wallabies on a matt at the main entrance.  Our floor to ceiling bookcases are not orderly and in addition to books store nick nacks and family pictures.  My office has a large oak desk that weighs in at about 500 pounds.  The top of the desk has several plants, more family pictures, mementos from our travels and miscellaneous stuff.

 Living like this is comfortable.  Now, everything is put away.  The garage has been transformed into a holding area.  Every day I spend at least a third of my time searching for something.  It’s frustrating both because of the time wasted and the fact that I can’t remember where my stuff is. 

House selling/buying has hijacked our summer.  We’ve been bike riding once.  Our kayaks are getting dusty in the garage.  We haven’t been hiking and we haven’t found the time to take our grandson swimming.  I’m tired all the time. We have found time to tend the garden and of course the lawn is perfect because that’s part of the ‘selling image.’

Last week we began the process of negotiating buying a home and the stress has become unbearable.  I’m short tempered, not sleeping, eating poorly and worst of all – I lost all focus on writing.  I wrote less than 1000 words last week, less than half of my weekly goal.  I spent a day researching for details in the current chapter but couldn’t squeeze out any words.  Since I set up a weekly word goal for myself I’ve sailed along.  In fact, I moved my target complete date for the first draft from Dec. 31 to Oct. 31.

So, if I knew several weeks ago what I know now about the changes in my life that home downsizing would mean, I just might reconsider . . .

I was one of seven authors invited to participate in the 2014 Milwaukee Irish Fest in the Literary Corner.  This year the Literary Corner included two book stores, a vendor selling coffee and hot tea, an IBAM (Irish Books Arts & Music) and in a small corner,  a desk with two bookshelves behind it for the authors.  A volunteer sat with me to collect all the money or credit cards from selling books.

Irish Fest was a learning experience, not a book selling experience.  Stuffed into the corner of a tent on a +85 F degree day is not exactly a halcyon day.  My first shift was at noon when the Fest opened.  The Literary Corner is located at the far south end of the festival grounds and in the first hour the crowd didn’t make it that far.  I didn’t have a single person make their way to the author’s corner, although the two bookstores sharing the tent did robust business.

The person from the Festival was generous, kind and well intentioned but had not a clue on how to sell books.  I pointed out that both book stores had long table displays where customers could browse books.  The Festival staff didn’t want customers touching our books, she was afraid they would get soiled.  I sat behind the desk, as instructed, for an hour.   As I left the person from IBAM suggested that at my next stint on Saturday I stand in front of the desk and my wife suggested I hand out bookmarkers to attract customers.

I did make great contacts at Irish Fest.  I met fellow author David McDonnell who has written a wonderful book, Clan Donnell  on his family history.  David and his wife Linda are spending the summer selling books and making presentations at Irish Fests across the country.  I also met Cliff and Kathy Carlson from the Irish American News.  They invited me to participate in the IBAM conference in Chicago on October 3-5.  Cliff introduced me to Frank West the Irish American News Book and Theater reviewer.  Frank agreed to review Murphy’s Troubles  for the newspaper – an incredible stroke of Irish good luck.  I also learned about the irishbooksite.com a good place for me to market my book.

On Saturday I followed all the suggestions I received and didn’t behind the desk.  I passed out bookmarkers and engaged customers as they strolled by.  I sold four books in my hour.  I also learned that the one of the bookstore sponsors of The Literary Corner, The Little Read Book of Wauwatosa was selling my book.  I also autographed a book sold through the bookstore.

For what it’s worth, I learned two lessons.  First, I need to always be myself when participating in author events.  Sitting behind a desk is not me.  I like to engage people, have conversation and if that results in a sale fine, if not fine – but it’s interactive.  Second, all author events, regardless of the format is about networking with people.  By networking I was invited to another event, will have a book review and learned from the experiences of another peripatetic author.     

Cead Mile Failte – a thousand welcomes to Milwaukee Irish Fest 2014!   I spent the weekend preparing my presentations for the Milwaukee Irish Fest, which runs from Thursday, August 14 through Sunday, August 17th.  I received my presenter about a week ago and noticed I am the only one without a traditional Irish surname.  To remedy the situation, for the weekend I will go by O’Owens.  It’s only fitting.  The surname Owens is Welsh, another Celtic people and there are records that Welsh Owens’ immigrated to Ireland.  I’m sure I descend from the Irish Owens clan.

My presentations will take place in The Literary Corner which is part of the Cultural Village.  Ireland has such a rich literary tradition that The Literary Corner is a key element of the festival.  Only Ireland can boast more Nobel Prizes for Literature than any other country.  The Literary Corner features books for sale on all aspects of Irish culture and history.  In addition, every year a small number of authors are invited to make presentations on their books.  I will be one of seven authors making a presentation during the Fest; I will be among an elite group.

My presentations are scheduled for:   

Friday         August 15       4:00-5:00

Saturday    August 16      2:00-3:00

Sunday       August 17     7:00-8:00

Signed copies of my novel, Murphy’s Troubles will be available for sale throughout Irish Fest.

Following the each presentation I will have a book signing and talking with readers informally.

For more information about all events go to:  irishfest.com

Milwaukee is a city of festivals during the summer.  Each summer in August Milwaukee hosts Irish Fest, which runs from Thursday, August 14 through Sunday, August 17th.  The Fest begins Thursday night with the Grand Hooley, a traditional Irish celebration with music, food and dancing.

A special feature this year is the Brian Boru Millennium Celebration commemorating the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.  Brian Boru was the first high king of Ireland and the battle ended Viking influence in Ireland.



I submitted my novel MURPHY’S TROUBLES to Fest organizers to be considered for The Literary Corner.  The Literary Corner is part of the Cultural Village.  Ireland has such a rich literary tradition that The Literary Corner is a key element of the festival.  The Literary Corner features books for sale on all aspects of Irish culture and history.  In addition, every year a small number of authors are invited to make presentations on their books.

I have been honored to participate in the 2014 Irish Fest Literary Corner.  My novel, Murphy’s Troubles will be available for sale and I will be giving three presentations:

                                 Friday         August 15       4:00-5:00
 
                                  Saturday    August 16      2:00-3:00

                                  Sunday       August 17     7:00-8:00

Following the each presentation I will have a book signing and talking with readers informally.

For more information about all events go to:  irishfest.com

I subscribe to the blog, Live, Write, Thrive by C.S. Lankin.  It is an excellent blog and would recommend it highly (www.livewritethrive.com).  She posts several times a week and is very open to guest posts.  The topics range from inspirational to craft to grammar.  On July 24th there was a post called ‘Redefining Success in order to Stay Sane.’  The topic is so important to Lankin that she encouraged readers to re-post.

I would like to share some of the material from the post along with my own comments.  First, the desire for success can wear you down (success defined as selling a lot of books).  Defining success only in terms of book sales is limiting.  Writers suffer disappointment, frustration and despair over sales numbers.  The truth is no one has an idea of what sells books.  That’s the simple truth.   If the number of books sold is your measure of success prepare for a rough pot hole filled road.

Lankin offers the following “truths” which she is also working to embrace:

Success is not defined by numbers or money earned.  Writers need to believe in themselves and their work.  You need to believe that what you write is significant and important.

You are not writing to please the masses.  There are some writers who write in a specific genre to attract the masses.  Mystery writing tends to fall into that category; they are often serial books and have the same protagonist in every book.  There is mass appeal to mystery books, it all started with Sherlock Holmes and I admit, growing up I too was a Holmes addict.  For most of us we don’t appeal to the broad commercial market.  My understanding of “commercial fiction” is fiction written with the sole purpose of huge sales.  For example, paranormal especially vampires is now all the rage.  Writers need to know who their audience is and write with passion and sincerity.

Don’t validate yourself based on others’ opinions of you or your writing.  A local bookstore owner had someone read my book for their opinion.  The bookstore owner went from being enthusiastic about scheduling an author presentation/signing to not being willing to schedule an event for me.  The mystery reader didn’t care for my book and thought there were “errors” in it.  I never did find out what that meant.  However, I submitted my book to the annual Milwaukee Irish Fest; they loved my book, offered to sell it for me and offered me two presentations during the four day event in August.  It happens.

Find a few really supportive writer friends to be on the journey with you.  In my case, I have one writer friend on the journey with me.  I asked him to content edit my first novel and the made several stunning recommendations which added depth to my story.  In exchange, I’ve read his behemoth 400 page manuscript and offered my suggestions on plot and especially the ending.  We trust each other and will never be critical.  We respect each other’s talent.  I’m lucky.

Know that traditional publishing is undergoing radical changes.  I had a contract with a traditional publisher and spent 2 ½ years revising manuscript and missing two publication dates.  I terminated the contract in disappointment and anger which lead me to independent publishing.  There are still a few vanity publishers that don’t have standards for either the writing or the quality of the hardcopy book, but they are dinosaurs.  Create Space and Lulu have revolutionized independent publishing.  I learned that independent publishing gives the artist complete control and has shaken the traditional publishing world – as it should.

The key is to NOT accept the worldly definition of success as book sales or money earned.  Take the time to define success for yourself, write the best damn novel you can and believe that you will connect with your readers.  “If you write it, they will find you.” 

Before publishing my first novel all of my energy went into both the art and craft of independent publishing.  I honestly didn’t think about how I would envision success.

Since publishing with Create Space in November 2013 I’ve thought a lot about success.  Initially after publication there is an emotional rush.  I was fortunate because I received tremendous local support.  The coffee shop owner, Jeff Gauger, from Beans n Cream offered both to sell books for me and schedule an author signing.  Jeff bought the first 30 books for sale in the coffee house during the holidays.  His business sense is keen and those books flew off the shelf.

The library director also offered to schedule an author presentation and signing.  However, it was December in Wisconsin and our winters are fickle.  We had a major snow storm the evening of my presentation but 10 brave souls showed up and some bought as many as four books each, a great holiday present.

The Friends of the Sun Prairie Library operate a bookstore to raise funds for special library projects.  The manager of the bookstore also agreed to sell my book for me.  I’ve also been lucky to have three independent bookstores sell my book on consignment.  A local book club bought my book and the invited me to lead their book discussion one evening.    Crystal River Inn Bed & Breakfast also sells my books and hosted an author presentation and signing this spring.

How many books have you sold?  I don’t know.  I could look up a report on Create Space but I don’t.  It’s often said that writers need readers.  The reverse is also true.  Readers need writers.  It’s a symbiotic relationship.  The standard definition of success is the number of books sold or the ability to financially support yourself through writing.

I’ve decided that success is creating a relationship with readers, preferably, face to face.  This is what motivates me to write along with a demanding interest in exploring big themes in writing.  So, there you have it.  Guess I’ve been successful.

How do you define success in your writing life?

I have noticed that I have a pattern for making the “big” decisions in my life.  I’m a volcano.  Long periods of time pass while unrest, confusion, potential and multiple options heat up in a molten mass deep in my consciousness.  Then it happens.  KABOOM!

This happened in December 2009 when I was laid off from my job and I decided to not return to the work-a-day world and concentrate on finishing my first novel and finding a publisher.  I had been working on my novel for almost ten years at that point and the poor thing had suffered so many revisions, critique classes and neglect I knew it would take a year to smooth out the rough edges and a good polish.  Well, I published my first novel in November 2013.

About two weeks ago my wife and I drove past a home not far from our current home that has been bought and sold at least three times since we moved to the neighborhood about eight years ago.  The sign said:  Price Reduced.  I casually said:  “Let’s look up what they want for it?”

“You want to move?” my poor astonished wife asked.

“Sure, why not, maybe it’s time to downsize.” I offered without a thought.  KABOOM!  When friends from out of state visited just two weeks ago I told them the only way I would leave our current home as feet first.  That didn’t matter to me now.

We’ve always said that we may need to move for health reasons some day in the far distant future.  I guess I didn’t want to wait for that eventuality and choices may be limited.  We don’t live in a palace about 2700 square feet two floor home, too big really for just two people.  We want a home on one level with not more than 2000 square feet.

We wanted a local real estate agent and realized that none of our friends had moved for the last ten years.  Through a friend of a friend we have found an agent but it took longer for that initial baby step than we anticipated.  My wife is the practical one of us and she forced me to sit down with her and draw up a list of amenities for our “final” home.  It was easy.  The test will be whether or not we can meet all of our desired features, especially because one key for us is to not move more than ten miles from our base of Sun Prairie, WI.

We’ve also decided to spruce up the current house by having new carpet and pad installed in the master bedroom and having the carpet in the two rooms on the lower level professionally cleaned.  Right now the house is a shambles getting ready for showing to potential buyers, we have our beloved possessions stuffed everywhere to make room for the work to be done.  I’m exhausted, and have the downsizing blues.   

As a reader I joined GOODREADS several years ago but admit that I was an infrequent user.  In researching effective marketing tools for independent authors, GOODREADS, was ranked as a MUST DO.  It is the single largest group of readers on line.

In early January this year I began a twofold GOODREADS campaign to market MURPHY’S TROUBLES.  Their service is called Goodreads Author Program and offers options on an ad campaign, a blog, and book giveaway program.  I chose the ad program and book giveaway.

For the ad program a tutorial is provided and you design your own ad.  Their staff review the ad and make recommendations to attract readers.  The ad is viewed but the objective is for people to click on the ad to read more about the book and be given choices on how to buy your book.

In six months 316,120 independent people viewed my ad.  Wow! What a huge number.  However, only 60 of those have clicked the ad.  Goodreads says that an author can expect a click rate of 0.05%, so for every 100,000 views 50 will click the ad.  My click rate is a disappointing 0.02%.  I don’t have a clue why my click rate is less than half the “normal” rate.  Goodreads does review the ad and make suggestions if it isn’t working out and so far I’ve not been contacted with a suggestion to change my ad or target audience.

My book has received seven ratings, three of which are 5 out of 5 stars.  My overall rating is 4.3 – respectable I thought.

My book has received only two reviews with a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

I wanted to draw more attention to the book and have it reviewed by GOODREADS readers.  I offered 5 books to give away.  I don’t have any reason for selecting only five – maybe it’s just being cheap.  I had 501 people request the free book.  GOODREADS chooses the “winners”, I don’t know how.  The rules are strict.  Once I learned who the winners were I’m only given a name and mailing address.  I couldn’t contact the winner or request a review – it was a pure giveaway.

As it turns out, one of my reviewers was a winner of the giveaway, so that worked well and the reviewer gave the book a 4.3 out of 5 stars.

To date, 215 people have put my book on their “to read” list.  I think that’s important for two reasons.  First, if the book is on their list someday they intend to actually buy the book.  Also, their friends will see my book on their list and maybe that will be enough to pique their interest to either buy the book or add it to their “to read” list.

Being a novice, I didn’t have any expectations for my  GOODREADS campaign to its all good to me.  I allocated $100 to spend on the campaign and it will run until the money runs out.  At this rate my campaign will last another 14 months.  Maybe after a year I’ll seek GOODREADS help in sprucing up my ad.

Anyone out there a member of GOODREADS?  Anyone out there seen my ad on GOODREADS?  Anyone out there advertised or had a giveaway campaign on GOODREADS?   

I have an eighteen month old granddaughter, Vivian Grace, who lives with her parents in Omaha, Nebraska.  Distance dictates that we see her, in the flesh, about every six months.  We supplement these visits with an hour Skype visit every two weeks.

Last week we spent four days in Omaha visiting with parents and Vivy.  Our daughter-in-law, Sandy, had told us how she has taught Vivy sign language to help her communicate.  A friend of the parents taught their children sign language and claimed it made a significant difference in their language, reading and thinking skills.

Of course, I was skeptical.  When we arrived Vivy was in a playful mood and like any good grandparents we joined her on the floor to play.  Soon she was making these wild motions.  Her Mom calmly told us she was signing that she wanted water.  I gave Vivy a sippy cup; she smiled and took a long drink.  I was dumbfounded.  An eighteen month old was able to tell me what she wanted without verbal language.  She understood thirst, water and how to ask for the water.

Over the next few days the challenge was to get white bearded grandpa to complete a crash course in sign language, taught by my eighteen month old granddaughter.  Vivy can sign for:  eat, milk, tired, thank you, please, cookie, all done and book.  These eight words accomplish a lot in the life of a toddler.

One morning Vivy woke very early because she was busy cutting her molar teeth.  Her Mom was exhausted from being up tending to Vivy during the night.  I told Sandy she should return to bed and I would feed and care for Vivy.  I was able to “talk” with Vivy through sign language and understood what she wanted.  She had a breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, milk, and water.  She would ask for more cereal if hungry and let me know when she was finished.

Vivy’s life and mine have been enriched by the magic of sign language.