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Posts Tagged ‘book tours’

Writer on the Road

Posted in book tours, Choosing the writing life, indie publishing, location free living, middle grade fiction, mining stories, RV lifestyle, West Australian goldfields, tagged , , , , , on May 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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This is the logo for my ‘Writer on the Road’ interviews…like it?? Our book touring schedule is Townsville in July/July, 2016, Bateman’s Bay for the Bateman’s Bay Writers Festival in September, 2016, and our biggie, a two month trip across the Nullabor to the wilds of Western Australia and Norseman to launch Money, Murder and Other Men’s Wives, starting December, 2016. Note the interesting correlation between these dates and school holidays. That’s the trouble with teaching, it limits my playtime:)

 

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The Good, Bad and Damned Good Fun of Book Tours

Posted in book tours, Choosing the writing life, indie publishing, marketing fiction, middle grade fiction, Stories, writing life, tagged , , , , on December 18, 2015| 1 Comment »

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  1. Today, I had someone special to share a selfie with, the owner of Coffee Club, Kotara, who also happens to be my favourite niece
  2. I chatted with Coffee Club patrons about all sorts of things that reminded this writer there’s a world of stories out there to source
  3. I people watched and, being only a week till Christmas, there sure was plenty to watch…since when did store shopping bags get so fancy?
  4. The very old and very young still share a cuppa together
  5. People still give books as gifts
  6. it’s easier to say what my books are about with practice
  7. I need to get my next novel finished
  8. Kids still read
  9. Kids write
  10. The new Star Wars movie rocks (so my daughters tell me)
  11. My graphic artist is a whizz because people stopped because of his cover design
  12. i don’t look like my author pic…big mistake
  13. Never play the matching game with a six year old and expect to win…if she doesn’t beat you honestly, she’ll beguile you with her smile
  14. Make sure you have a paddock and horses to escape to when the day is done…our horse was chest high in the dam munching on water-lilies when we got home and there’s no better reminder as to why I’m a country girl at heart (and in this heat, it was tempting to join the horse in his play)
  15. Book tours remind us of our humanity…we may sell more books online but we don’t get near as much tactile pleasure out of the experience.

Thank you to Naomi, Shane and the Coffee Club gang for hosting our book signing. Your hospitality, generosity and love are much appreciated by me and my entourage (and the burger was great:))

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The most thoughtful Christmas Gift

Posted in author signings, book tours, Choosing the writing life, indie publishing, Uncategorized, tagged , , on December 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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What better Christmas gift than time with my favourite people in the world talking about the things we love the most…books.

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Coffee, cake and a good book, anyone?

Posted in book tours, indie publishing, marketing fiction, social media, writing life, tagged , , , , on December 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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Book Tour: Week 3

We’re off again, this time to the Coffee Club, Kotara, in Newcastle to sign and sell a swag of books…or at least drink copious amounts of Nomi’s coffee trying.

And, as we did in Coffs Harbour, we will try to tweet our day (maybe this time it might even work).

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Ready and waiting at Coffs

Posted in Book stalls, book tours, indie publishing, tagged , , , on December 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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On Tour – join us tomorrow at our book stall

Posted in author signings, Book stalls, book tours, indie publishing, marketing books, marketing fiction, middle grade fiction, writing life, tagged , , , on December 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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10 Steps to Running a Successful Book Stall

Posted in Book stalls, indie publishing, marketing books, print books, tagged , , , , on December 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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  1. Choose your market wisely – is the market popular with locals and visitors? Will the market have a large through traffic?
  2. Does it sell artisan products and crafts that will attract the kind of customer who may be interested in your books?
  3. Does the market have room for you? Make sure you ring ahead and check out the requirements and responsibilities – these vary, depending on rules set out of each market
  4. Be aware of the costs involved – each markets has a different fee structure
  5. Do you need to fill out forms and pay in advance or can you just turn up on the day?
  6. Do you have Public Liability Insuance? Is it a requirement of the market you are attending? The minimum seems to be $20 million and costs around $200 a year here in Australia
  7. Do you have the right equipment? Do you need a marquis (is the market outdoors?)? Do you have table, chairs, banners, and an enticing layout for your books?
  8. Do you have bookmarks, business cards and prices for your books clearly displayed?
  9. Reviews – have you laminated a good review of your book so potential buyers can see what others are saying about your writing?
  10. What else can you add to your display to maket it visually appealing (remember to maintain a professional image)? Think about taking your computer and showing a youtube clip if you have one – or make a simple interactive slideshow

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The Caravan Goes On: The Four P’s of surviving an Australian Christmas Book Tour

Posted in author signings, book tours, indie publishing, middle grade fiction, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 15, 2015| 1 Comment »

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‘Oh, yes, I almost forgot. She was a writing phenomenon.’

In 1932, Enid Blyton wrote a 90,000 word novel in a month for adults titled ‘The Caravan Goes On’. It was never published so I’ve purloined the title for our book tour next month…actually, the title could very well suit me for some time to come.

** note to self: organising a book tour in five main shopping centers on the east coast of Australia at Christmas is not one of your better ideas, Hammo…

Today, the east coast of Australia and tomorrow who knows?? That’s the good thing about caravan book tours…they need never end…except for the fact that I’m traveling with kids, dogs, cat and cantankerous Cracker aboard.

**note to self: brothers and sisters should never lock themselves  in caravans together for extended periods of time, especially in summer, and especially at Christmas..

The four four P’s of surviving the hair-brained idea of a book tour on the east coast of Australia with kids and animals at Christmas runs like this:

  1.  Planning – complete book tour in three weeks leading up to visiting Cracker and just hand him the cash in an envelope on Christmas Eve…
  2. Preparation – remember that  all the last minute ‘to do’ things on the list are crucial and all of them must happen prior to departure…there’s nothing like the deadline of Santa coming and Cracker waiting under the tree with his hand out to point to the critical issue of time equally days left to actually finish, upload and print the third Cracker & Gilly novel. It’s called incentive…
  3. Promotion – press releases, caravan signage, itinerary and packing boxes and boxes of books in the caravan, keeping in mind weight distribution, tare and making sure the tow ball doesn’t collapse under the weight of my ambitions. **note to self: what does a fully laden caravan weigh with kids, cats, dogs, surfboards, bikes, billy carts and boxes of books actually weigh??
  4. Patience – all good things come to those who wait…and wait…thank you Cracker for your patience…the Cracker & Gilly Mystery Series Book Tour in gathering speed and rolling your way…here’s hoping you and Santa are ready for us. ** note to self: do not, under any circumstances, even in good cheer, especially in good cheer, mention Book 4 until the New Year…nobody, not even Cracker, would deny his family the joy of plotting another mystery in that good old Australian tradition, camping at the Abercrombie…who knows what mischief the Cracker & Gilly team could get up to with a whole new year in front of them??

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Cracker and Gilly Author Tour coming your way soon

Posted in Book launch, book tours, collaboration, Fiction, middle grade fiction, writing life, tagged , , , , on October 18, 2015| 1 Comment »

imageIt’s almost time to hit the road and celebrate the launch of our third Cracker & Gilly Mystery, Merinda’s Gold. Six weeks to go but who’s counting…

Call us intrepid or brave or downright foolish but we’re off to the place where Cracker and Gilly manage to get themselves into – and out of – so much trouble with the help of Cracker’s foot soldiers, Trann and Bone.

Two authors setting off on a grand adventure, meandering down the magical Southern New South Wales coastline – well, two authors, two kids, two dogs and a cat – to the the place it all began.

Did I mention the authors are related? That, in fact, all who know them are watching on in glee to see whether the brother and sister authors survive the caravan touring challenge at all. Will there even be a fourth Cracker & Gilly Mystery, they ask?

Bateman’s Bay may never be the same again but rest assured intrepid readers, Book 4 is not only started (well, Cracker’s written a chapter…somewhere…haven’t you Cracker?) but the coast is where we do our best – and only – planning.

Stay tuned for the details…and if you want to interview us, buy our books or set up and author signing just let us know. Otherwise, you’ll find us us the beach.

Bring on summer…

 

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Virtual Book Tours

Posted in book tours, collaboration, Fiction, indie publishing, marketing books, middle grade fiction, platform, social media, Teen Fiction, virtual book tours, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on February 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

on the road

Your book is finished and it’s time for the fun part, right? Time to hit the road and do the big tour. And, of course, if you’re anything like me, thinking big is the easy part. It’s what we writers do, isn’t it?

I was ready to hook up the Kimberly Kamper and head around Oz, stopping in at schools and libraries, selling books with gay abandon…I was a tad worried about being locked in a moving vehicle with my co-author for the several months this tour was going to take but, hey, I could always sit him in the back with the child locks on if he misbehaved.

But then I had to go and get this email from The Book Designer (www.thebookdesigner.com) with the title, 7 Top eBook Blog Tour Sites, written by Greg Strandberg at http://www.bigskywords.com.

Researching the marketing game has seen me write and discard several marketing plans in the last months as I’ve talked to editors, publishers, distributors, bookshops, school librarians and book fair co-ordinators. And I was ready to hit the road, even with my brother, actually he’d come in handy for flat tyres and such…

I mean, let’s face it, we writers spend all our lives cooped up in attics tapping away at our keyboards so can we be blamed for  dreaming of a few champagne celebratory drinks after the hard work is done, followed by a road trip to make us if not rich then at least famous…

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But it’s not how it’s done anymore…well, at least not exclusively…marketing nowadays means more time at the keyboard, blogging, tweeting and…err…touring virtually. Strandberg lists his top seven virtual tour sites in his blog but he’s written a book that lists fifty sites, Tour Your Book, 50 eBook Blog Tour Sites That Increase Amazon Sales, and it’s those last couple of words that has me unpacking the trailer before I’ve even begun…because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from my marketing research it’s that ebook sales are what drive sales nowadays and, according to the gurus who run sites like http://www.thebookdesigner.com and http://www.digitalbookworld.com there’s only one way forward for we wanna be marketers of our words…and it doesn’t involve sunsets on deserted beaches with fishing rods and celebratory drinks…

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Cheers…

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