Once a professor; now a writer for a magicians’ magazine, Daniel WhiteWood investigates the strange phenomenon of the planes.
Hello my Knightmares!
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered a copy in the last week! And again, a continued thanks to everyone who has pitched in along the way.
This is officially CRUNCH TIME. We need 60 pre-orders to hit our publishing goal, and we have to do it in a little over 60 days.
I know in my heart this novel deserves to get published. It’s a fun read that I have been dying to show to the world. Are you a fan of Ghostbusters (original)? Monster Squad? Big Trouble in Little China? Phantasm? Army of Darkness? Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Supernatural? Sleepy Hollow? Frighteners? Stranger Things? If any of these ring a bell, this book is right up your alley of weirdness.
If Leelu can’t get you motivated, I am not sure what will.
If you’ve already bought a copy and you want to help out in another way, get two friends to buy a book and receive this t-shirt, FREE!
In two weeks I will be attending a local horror convention called Monster Mania, and I will be handing out postcards to promote The Knightmares, so if you’re in the area and see me walking around the convention, say hello!
Terminus - by Jaye Milius - In a future where technology lets the living speak with the dead, the afterlife is big business. Families can be reunited, lost loves can be together again, aging rock stars can even play reunion shows with long dead bandmates... all for a price.
This book deserves to get published. I have been a fan since I first signed up on Inkshares. If you’re looking to back another book, go for it and do not waste time. Time is ticking away.
Blue Water - by Joseph Parcell - A little girl with a stuffed rabbit. The inescapable nightmares, whether awake or asleep. The words she keeps hearing like a song stuck in her head. For Emily Hunter, the time to discover the key to her madness has finally come.
I came across this book the other night, and it looks like another really solid book that deserved to be published. Time is also ticking away here, so please, take a look and give it the publication it deserves.
Please help these authors out!
I’ve been writing since 6 a.m. I’m looking forward to delivering the manuscript to my five beta readers in just a few days. It feels good to be moving with some real momentum.
I know you get a lot of email, Inkshares-related and otherwise, and it’s probably difficult to keep track of the myriad projects you’ve followed, especially one like mine where the updates are seldom but ... if you can muster some of that attention for which there are a million different stimuli vying, and give some of it here ... it would be an immense help for you to spread the word that Disintegration is ... ahem ... coming together ( :P ) nicely and that it’s worth ordering.
We’ve been hovering just over 400 orders for a while. It’d be really welcome to break that mark and start making progress again. If you’ve ordered already, please take your belief in my book and encourage at least one other person to order a copy for themselves.
If you haven’t ordered, send me a Direct Message and let me know what else you need to be enticed.
All right, now it’s time for a nice, big, second breakfast (ham, eggs and cheese on tortillas with arugula and hot sauce, a cup of tea, some yogurt ... I wish I had some toast and cherry preserves, but I don’t) and then ... more writing!
I approached these outlets in person with my book in hand as soon as it was printed and "orderable".
I came prepared with a short pitch on "why their customers will like the book." I told them it was orderable in their system at the standard industry discount.
If I got any positive reaction at all, I also pitched setting up a book signing at the same time. I never mentioned "crowdfunding" because at this point, it looks just like any book from an author who has a publisher. Talking about crowfunding after your book is out will only confuse people and take away from the central message you want to convey which is "I have a great book from a reputable publisher that your customers want because . . . "
I left a copy of the book with them along with my business card.
This approach worked out pretty well. I have made author appearances at three different Barnes & Noble locations so far and am working on booking more. I’m also in several local Indie stores.
Approaching store managers in person worked better for me than writing or emailing. They get way too much correspondence from self-published authors and don’t spend much time (if any) reading these correspondences because they aren’t interested. They don’t really want to deal directly with authors, mostly just with distributors, their salespeople and sometimes publishers.
Don’t go to bookstores or libraries on the weekend or near the end of a workday. Try and catch these managers when their location isn’t very busy. Around 10 am or 2 pm are good times. Don’t try and catch them just before or after lunch.
Even if you catch them when they have a little free time, they will evaluate your pitch in about 30 seconds and make up their mind very quickly whether they want to spend any more time than that on you or your book.
So be ready to impress them with your pitch right off the bat. "I have a great book from a reputable publisher - your customers want it because . . . . AND it is orderable in your system at the standard industry discount". Smile and hand them your book with your business card sticking out of it. Be ready to answer any questions they may have, but keep your answers short. Smile a lot. Tell the manager you like her shoes or something:-)