In a previous post I explained how I’ve used setting a weekly word goal to motivate myself and provide structure to THE BIG GOAL of completing the first draft of my second novel this year.  I’ve been humming right along and have found that most weeks I exceed my goal which gives me a wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling.  Most important it’s proven to be a fantastic tool to subdue Editor Man, that pesky super hero that insists on editing as I write.  I’ve found his kryptonite.

When I set my weekly goal I forget one very important fact.  Some weeks I have other activities that render writing next to impossible.  For example, later this month we’re driving to Omaha to spend a week with our son, his wife and our 18 month old granddaughter.  I intend to devote myself that week exclusively to family and will give writing a rest.  The result will be that week I miss my writing goal by a country mile.

This past week having that realization sent me into a panic.  I didn’t sleep for two nights trying to figure out how to squeeze in more writing time before the Omaha trip.  Then I realized I’ve made other commitments and I’ll lose another three days in writing.  For the month, I won’t be able to write for eight days (that’s a quarter of the month!).

So much for my astute planning; this week I bore down for serious writing.  As my Dad used to say, I was in a tizzy.  This week I cranked out over 6700 words, three times my goal and 65% of my goal for the entire month.  At the close of Saturday’s writing session I realized I would attain my word goal for the month – I could relax.

I found myself a slave to the goal I had created.  That isn’t healthy.  The loss of sleep and emotional trauma was too heavy of a price.  I did learn that with enough effort I can be very productive.  In fact, I may have given myself to small of a weekly word goal.

Goals are great but you can’t let them own you.  I’ve learned my lesson.    

Benediction is the title of Kent Haruf’s most recent novel (published 2013).  The novel takes place in now familiar Holt, Colorado some 100 miles north of Denver in the plains.  To finish my recuperation from the norovirus last week I read this novel in just three days.

Haruf successfully throws out the formulae approach to novel writing with a primary protagonist, conflict and story arc.  Instead, this novel gives us a “slice of life” view of about an eight month period.  There are multiple stories of Dad Lewis dying, the Johnson’s, a grandmother raising her granddaughter after her mother dies of cancer and minister who has the audacity to take Jesus seriously.

Haruf has his own unique style, doesn’t put conversations in quotations and rarely uses “he/she said” clauses.  The affect is to draw the reader closer in to the conversation almost as if you were sitting in the scene with the characters.   

The book begins with Dad Lewis learning of his terminal diagnosis and ends with his death from lung cancer.  Haruf gives the most accurate yet unsentimental description of death I have ever read.  A decade ago following my mother’s death I volunteered at a hospice.  I learned to care for the dying in the most human way.  Being a male, I was asked to bathe and shave the men because they were uncomfortable with female nurses or volunteers helping them with these tasks.  A great deal of comfort can be found in simple, everyday aspects of life.

From a writer’s perspective it’s refreshing that novels don’t need to be plot driven, conflict laden stories.  Novels can be about what happens to ordinary people, in a small town on the desert.      

Last Friday evening I came home after some pre-Memorial Day home project shopping in the early evening.  I felt nauseous and decided to lie down before dinner, which I never do.  In a few minutes my stomach growled, my gut twisted and I was running to the bathroom to bury my head in the toilet and vomit up what I thought was my entire food consumption for the day.  That was only the beginning.  For the next five hours I was wrenched with both vomiting and diarrhea, I was exhausted.

The second day I had only clear liquids, a few wakeful hours but mostly sleep.  By day three I was too tired to much more than read, but I had a special reading project for a friend to complete.  My friend and mentor Marshall Cook recently completed his latest novel manuscript – EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.  It’s a completely developed long story coming in at 400,000 words.  The story is well paced, draws you in without noticing and left me eager to reach the final chapter.  He’s trying to interest an agent or publisher in the manuscript now and I wish him success, this is a story the world needs to have.  If the traditional publishing world turns its shoulder I hope he takes the time to independently publish.

So, my convalescence had a silver lining, I read a great novel.  

Last week I attempted to negotiate with two independent bookstores to host an author reading/signing event for me.  One of the bookstores currently carries Murphy’s Troubles on consignment; the other is out of state, in Omaha where our son lives.  I had made the assumption, maybe leap of faith, that there is a natural bond, relationship between independent authors and independent bookstores.  I frankly was under the naïve notion that all I needed to do was ask for a date and like magic, I would be scheduled.

Both bookstores routinely host author reading events.  My local indie bookstore often hosts at least one event a week.  To be honest, the local indie bookstore specializes in a specific genre and Murphy’s Troubles doesn’t fit their specific niche.  The local bookstore does support Wisconsin authors and in fact has an entire bookcase devoted to Wisconsin authors where Murphy’s Troubles shares self space.

I found it interesting that in discussing the potential for an event both owners asked if I could guarantee an audience of 20-25 readers at the event.    That doesn’t sound like a roaring crowd but I was startled at the question.  I have participated in four events to date and the largest crowd I had was 16 people, which I considered a fantastic turn out.  One of the bookstore owners explained that their experience was that advertising and promoting an event didn’t bring in readers – the author brings in readers.  

From the book store owners’ perspective the purpose of an author event is to bring in traffic to the store.  The hope is that attendees will buy the author/presenter’s book at a minimum and hopefully browse and purchase other books.  I’ve witnessed this phenomenon myself so it’s not some pie in the sky idea, it is reality.

I was honest with both bookstore owners and admitted that I couldn’t guarantee attendance of 20-25 readers with credit cards burning to be used to make $50 in purchases.  My honesty means I won’t be scheduled for a reader’s event at either bookstore.  I don’t really consider their request unreasonable.  However, it is sad.  Even independent bookstore owners must be risk averse and not support independent publisher/authors just because it’s the right thing to do. 

Book Review for

 

MURPHY’S TROUBLES

By

Rex Owens

 

Propelled by insatiable grief, patriotism, and youthful naivety into a decades-long double life, a popular Irish author’s secret ties to the Irish Republican Army finally implode in Murphy’s Troubles, Rex Owen’s soulful political thriller.

A Catholic from far southern Ireland, Ian Murphy joins the IRA after the violent death of his childhood friend, an IRA volunteer fighting to liberate Northern Ireland from British rule.

But after thirty years of living as both a best-selling novelist and the secret author of an infamous IRA training manual and other published IRA propaganda, Ian’s dual existence is upended by family tragedy and a lover’s betrayal.

Some of the story’s most wrenching scenes come as Ian’s lover, a married, aggressively professional, award-winning newspaper journalist, stumbles upon his secret and must weigh whether to share it with the world. The couple’s subsequent confrontation, in a dank pub cellar, is rawly emotive. 

Emotions run deep, in fact, throughout the story, as Ian deals with other deaths, the accidental maiming of his young niece in an IRA bombing, the demise of his affair and bitter recognition of the role he has played in the IRA-related deaths of thousands of people. His tortured existence is further complicated by an increasing propensity to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Ian’s struggles, however, lead him to chart a new course, working for peace rather than violent confrontation. Love – and love lost – can cloud our minds but can also clarify, is the message.

The story charts the characters’ motivations for setting their lives on a particular course, the hard choices they must make to stay on that path or divert from it, the courage required to do either, and the repercussions of it all.

Owens does his homework, offering a credibly researched, albeit fictionalized, primer on the IRA and its place in Irish history. Historical context is woven into the novel in a clear, concise way that will appeal to readers in and outside of Ireland, including those only marginally familiar with the country’s politics and past.

The novel could have been improved by clarifying one key point in the plot’s chronology, a scene early on in which Ian, in despair after his niece is injured, crashes his car into a British barricade. Owens places enough importance on this explosive crash to lead the novel with it. But did it occur before or after his lover’s betrayal? That’s never clearly stated, even in careful retracing of the text. Recapping this scene by coming fully back to it, rather than leaving its place in the overall course of events to the reader’s imagination, would have brought the story full circle and might have lent important context to Ian’s mindset.

This omission isn’t fatal, however, to this otherwise excellently researched and well-penned, deeply human story about life-changing decisions, reverberations and the potential for renewal.

-Inkspots Reviews

On April 4-6 the UW Madison held its’ 25th Annual Writers’ Institute.  I have been attending the Institute each year since 1997 so this was my 18th year.  Last year I was honored to participate on the Success Panel to share with attendees my experience publishing articles with The Writer Magazine.

This year I was able to sell my debut novel, MURPHY’S TROUBLES, at the mid-day Book Sale on Saturday.  Imagine having over 300 writers look over your book and considering buying it.  The room was huge for the Book Sale, with 45 authors competing for sales.

Initially I was asked to share a 24”round table with another author.  He hauled out two 8 ½ x 11 plaques and three books and placed them on the table, leaving me no room for my books and book marks.  I tried asking politely to have him display one book and one placard.  He didn’t budge.  Then I demanded that he remove all but one placard and one book.  He grunted and complied.

Before I turf war worsened he was moved to his own table.  I brought only 10 books to sell, expecting to sell none.  I didn’t have a fancy display, just my books and some book marks.  People passed by without saying a word and making direct eye contact didn’t work to gain their attention.

Next, as people passed by I offered them a book mark.  The book mark is a replica of my book cover and people would begin to read the back of the blurb on the book mark.  I then handed them a book suggesting it would be easier to read.  It worked.  When a person read the blub, it leads to questions and soon we were engaged in a lively conversation.

Competing against 45 other authors, some famous like Michael Perry, I sold 5 books.  I also talked with very interesting people who shared their experiences of traveling in Ireland with me.  One woman shared the story of how she was trapped in Northern Ireland with her parents because the border was closed at night.

Meeting other authors, hearing life stories and selling a few books, it doesn’t get any better.

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend about a book that our community will read together.  Our library director is initiating a program called Sun Prairie Reads this year which kicks off in late March.  The book selected is a young adult fiction, Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman which is a Newbery Medal winning novel.  I talked about the structure of the book, how the story built into a crescendo and how characters lives were woven together.  My friend looked at me and said:  "As a writer you read differently than I do.  I just liked the story."

His comment caused be to reflect on my reading life.  He was right, having completed the process of writing, editing and publishing a novel I do read differently that I did before that experience.  In the past I consumed Ray Bradbury novels, not for the science fiction, but the story.  I'll read any Wallace Stegner for his language and common life stories like going home after a lifetime away and learning about yourself.

When writers are asked for advice they often say that you need to read, deeply, exhaustively, in all genres.  In many ways this advice is self-evident.  I can't imagine a writer who doesn't also love to read.  I must confess that I don't read all genres.  I skip erotica, non-fiction, paranormal and dystopia just from personal preference, no judgment intended or implied.  I tendy to rely on my Tuesday Morning Book Club to introduce me to literature I might not choose for myself and that has proven very satisfactory.

This month I read my first Russell Banks, Continental Drift.  I don't know how I reached my age and be ignorant of Russell Banks.  Continental Drift was nominated for the Pulitzer and if I had voted it would have won.  I must admit that the point of view Banks uses initially confused me.  I felt like I was watching a movie about Robert Raymond Dubois and Vanise Dorsinvilles.  For perspective I contacted my friend and mentor Marshall Cook.  He suggested that the point of view was intentional because both characters often are just observers in their own life.  Eureka!

Reading Continental Drift taught me a lesson as a writer.  I'm working on my second novel and my worst problem, point of view, has reared its' ugly head in chapter one.  Reading Banks' book gave me a solution to my point of view problem.  So I agree with my friend that, as an author, I do read books from a wrtier's perspective, and that's just fine.

Since Murphy's Troubles was launched last November 18th I have been on a marketing roller coaster.  I was astonished at the local support I received.  Both our local coffee shop, Beans n Cream and the Sun Prairie Public Library agreed to host author book signing/reading events.  They also collaborated to design and print a poster advertising the events, I handled the distribution.  Our local newspaper, The Star, agreed to an interview and published an in-depth four column article announcing my book release. 

Yet, my presence in th internet world is almost non-existent.  I've had my website for several years and have been blogging once a week for a year.  I paid a consultant to review my website and made a lot of changes that resulted in about a 25% increase in hits.  It was worth the expense.

In January I took the time to develop a detailed marketing plan for myself.  Right away I learned about myself that my goal wasn't to sell books, my goal was to attract readers.  Really, the motivation to write is to have readers.  I have discovered there are numerous services to help independent writers/publishers but they all cost money.  Of course, the big wad was spent in bringing Murphy's Troubles into the world so there aren't a lot of resources to invest in marketing, which is a class catch 22.

I developed the strategy that the cost of any marketing dollars must be recovered through book sales.  Sounds like a rational policy.  Then I was talking with a consultant I trust and she said I could take that approach butr I had to realize I'm an unknown author and the effort to become known will cost money.  She was right and I knew it.

In my marketing plan my original goal was to devote at least five hours a week on direct marketing activities.  I also have the goal of finishing the first draft of my second novel this year.  In part, these goals were in conflict.  Part of my time devoted to finding readers for the first book while also devoting creative time for my second book.  I kept a calendar to record the hours I spent marketing and soon found myself a slave to that calendar.

By chance I found a blog, The 7 Worst Mistakes of the Indie Author and How to Fix Them by Joanna Penn March 4, 2012.  The seventh mistake is focusing everything into one book.  Her point is that yes, an author needs to market that first book but must remember that we're writers and not lose focus.  "Obsessing over marketing one book isn't as important as getting on with the next."

Eureka!  Now my marketing goal is to focus on one specific marketing activity a week and devote the majority of my time to writing my second novel.  It feels right.  I've found balance.  Thank you, Joanna Penn for blogging about your writing experience.    

Last week I shared with you my experience with a local independent bookstore that charges a $15.00 fee for consignment sales.  The other independent bookstore in Madison is Mystery to Me owned by Joanne Berg and is tucked into the Monroe Street neighborhood at 1863 Monroe Street. Joanne had a career at the University of Wisconsin and retired recently and opened a bookstore, her lifelong dream.  The previous store, Booked for Murder, was closing so Joanne bought it and moved it to the Monroe Street location.  As the name implies, the store specializes in mystery books.  In the eight months Joanne has owned and managed the store she has expanded the selection to include general fiction, children's books and local authors.

The bookshelf for local authors is in front of the store between the entrance and the checkout counter.  You can't miss it.  She also puts a bright orange sticker on the books, LOCAL AUTHOR.

I called her and she invited me to come in the same day, bring some books and discuss a potential author event.  I took five books.  Joanne had a form to fill out and the split was 60% for the author and 40% for the bookstore - NO FEE.  In addition, she will have my book reviewed and the review will be published in a bookstore newsletter and my book will be advertised on their webpage.  When the five books are sold, I get a check and we discuss how many more books she would like to have. Easy.

To support local authors Joanne has developed what she calls an Author Slam.  It's a three day event where authors get 15 minutes to pitch their book to the public.  The books can be any genre.  This year the slam will be February 20, 21 and 22.  Joanne has signed up 31 authors to make a presentation.  No other bookstore in southern Wisconsin sponsors an event like this.

The Author Slam is good for first timers because anyone should be able to survive 15 minutes on their feet in front of an audience.  It's good for the bookstore because it attracts traffic through the store for three consecutive days and those folks are readers. Most avid readers are not able to purchase only one book when they visit a bookstore so there are more sales which in turn supports future Author Slams.

My experience with Joanne Berg has restored my faith in independent bookstores and the collaboration between independent bookstores and independent authors/publishers.   

In researching elements of a marketing campaign for independent authors/publishers it was stressed that book reviews are essential.  In the traditional publishing world publishers send out either advance copies or copies soon after publication and tend to work with specific reviewers.  It is highly recommended that we self-publishers also send out advance copies and use the reviews received both as part of the back of the book blub and for initial marketing.

I didn’t send out advance copies of my book to reviewers.  I was caught up in the details of book production and was determined to hit the holiday market; there just wasn’t time for everything.  I met the goal of having MURPHY’S TROUBLES available for holiday book purchases (November 18th available on Amazon).  I did garner a satisfying number of readers locally and squeezed in two book signing events in December.

The truth is I have not attracted attention to MURPHY’S TROUBLES on Amazon.  I would like to have readers review my book.  I have had one local author offer to write a review, unfortunately, the offer came in mid-December through my website e-mail (which I rarely check) and it was a month before I responded to his offer.  I’ve responded to him but I’m not sure if he’s still interested.

What am I asking for?  I would like a one paragraph review of about 50-75 words, and approval to publish the review online and other appropriate places. If you are interested in reviewing MURPHY’S TROUBLES, please contact me at:  [email protected].  Of course I will provide a copy of the book.