Getting Noticed

I'm hardly a shrinking violet but when it comes to getting attention for my work I struggle. I'm great at writing but not so good at self-promotion. It may seem like I am because I'm beating the drum right now for my recently-published e-book, Tiger Lilly. The truth is that I'm preaching to the same choir. You have all heard about my struggle to get published in one form or another for some time. What I need is a much bigger audience for my work—and when I say bigger I mean HUGE.

When I go into a bookstore, be it Tome on the Range here in Las Vegas, or to a major retailer, I'm overwhelmed by the numbers of books on the shelves. It's staggering. Throw into the muddle the phenomenon of the e-book and it quadruples the numbers of writers trying to get your attention. In this highly competitive marketplace you have to practically wear meat to get attention. Oh, right, Lady Ga Ga (gag gag) already did that.

My point is that the job of marketing one's work is more angst ridden and time consuming than writing the book. Right now I'd like to be working on any one of five other projects I have cooking in my pea brain, but that has to be put on hold while I put together a strategy for getting attention for Tiger Lilly. While I have marketing and advertising sales experience the focus has always been on something else or for someone else. This time the spotlight is on me, or at least on my books.

My other books, which are in print, are available locally from me and at Tome on the Range. Hopefully my e-book will also be available on Tome's new website bookstore with e-book downloads.

My publisher for Tiger Lilly is a fairly new kid on the block, fastpencil.com, but I like their model. Basically you sign up and proceed to work on your great American novel, or self-help book, or cookbook, or how-to book, or whatever unique idea you may have. The book formats as you write. If you want print books, those may be ordered as POD (print on demand) but there's an upcharge for that driving up the price to the point of ridiculous. I may opt to go that route, because I've already had folks turn up their noses at the e-book concept, but then again, maybe not. Las Vegas, NM has not entirely embraced the digital age but it's happening, slowly but surely.

The downside of fastpencil.com at the moment is that while they do provide you with an ISBN and shoot your work out into the greater marketplace (Ingram's the premier book inventory publication, Amazon, and others), how do I know anyone will notice my baby among the thousands of others on the shelves? Well, I don't, that's why I have to be ready to hit the streets and get my message out there that I have a fantastic, funny and touching book full of engaging characters and enough drama to keep readers turning pages. Don't get me wrong, fastpencil.com offers publishing packages that help with marketing but again, everything they do increases costs. Like any other business person a writer has to judge how much to spend on marketing and how much is a waste of resources. It's a tough call.

Anyway. Buy Tiger Lilly, it's worth every cent of the $9.99 you spend to get to know this modern-day family with its quirks and chaos. It is available in PDF and as an e-book. Ipad owners will enjoy reading it from their ibook collection.

For more about my other books and about me the author go to vandermeerbooks.com.

Tiger Lilly is published and available!

Okay, I'm a proud mama. This is a terrific book from page one right to the finish. It's a funny family drama (and no, it's not about your life or my life) but it hits on all the high points and low points a family can go through. Well, not all, but a bunch.

It's straight forward and goes right to the heart. You will enjoy Tiger Lilly. The book, serialized in Happenstance, is now available in e-format from fastpencil.com, an online bookpublisher for people like me who are great at writing but who haven't hit the magic formula for getting an agent or a traditional publisher.

Unfortunately for those of you who have asked, it is not available in print format, only as a PDF or e-book. Don't let that prevent you from buying and reading Tiger Lilly. It is a great story with lots of laughs and a heart warming conclusion.

Tiger Lilly is the story of widow Lilly Irish who takes in her niece, Annie, someone she hasn’t seen in more than 15 years. Along with Annie come three children, and a dog of questionable breeding. From the moment they blow into her life on a windy fall night and Krank the dog pees on her carpet, Lilly begins a life-changing journey.

Tiger Lilly begins with a family in flux and reaches its climax with the kidnapping of Caleb, the oldest of Annie’s children. Caleb is a boy torn between protectiveness of his mother and siblings, and rage at a life with no stability. On his first day of school he tangles with gangbanger wannabes whose leader is a troubled boy quick to single out someone more conflicted about life than he is. Their school-ground clash leads to horrifying consequences. 

Lilly and Annie join forces to find Caleb before it’s too late, and Lilly finds out what Annie has been running from since her mother’s death years before.

Tiger Lilly is available at fastpencil.com for $9.99, downloadable as a PDF or as an e-publication.

Happenstance for March

This is what the March issue looks like but you can't access it until March 7! There are great articles from previous contributors and a new feature from Connie Mack. Her mind works ninety miles an hour and she has a lifetime of accumulated wisdom to share in prose and poetry form.

There's a great article about line dancing that looks at the healthy benefits of an activity that is just plain fun! Denise McElroy is the instructor. Hilda Wales sent in a beautiful thoughtful poem about spring. Her submission is one among several featured in Spring into Being: Poetry.

Look for the new issue on Monday. There is much, Much, MUCH more in it.

On a different note, I'm working like mad on the website. My grateful thanks to Intuit who has created a Mac compatible version of their website software. It is making my life so much easier! Not easy, mind you, easier.


PDF Books for Sale

Tiger Lilly and Someone's in the Kitchen are both available in PDF format for $9.50 (p tx) each. If you want a CD version add $4 for shipping and handling (unless you plan to drop by the office to pick up your CD). E-mail fsharon@msn.com and let me know which version you want and I'll give you the exact price. Mail your check to Happenstance, PO Box 187, Las Vegas, NM 87701.

March Contributors:

Kathy Allen
Nancy Colalillo
Pamela G. Daves
Robert Gallegos
Connie Mack
Maggie Romigh
Kayt Peck
Niki Sebastian
Hilda Wales
Moi (Me)

Have a happy...

Windy City

Flags at attention

Mark Ronchetti of KRQE is my favorite weather caster. Apart from the fact he has such enthusiasm for his job, he actually acknowledges Las Vegas, New Mexico exists in the real world. We are not Brigadoon. We do not disappear into the mist except when something bad happens. We're here all the time. Thanks, Mr. Ronchetti, for noticing us. He makes note of how windy it can be in our little corner of the world when it isn't all that windy anywhere else. He'll have a lot to talk about tonight, if he chooses to do so. It is a windy, windy day.

Fortunately the winds only last for a time, and then they're gone, whistling up some other town's streets, flinging Wal-Mart bags into trees and plastering them against fences. Farewell to you, Mr. Wind, and I'll be glad to see the back of you.

So, I don't sell advertising and a subscription isn't required to receive Happenstance, however I will accept sponsorships. If you think Happenstance is worth keeping around, your support will be welcomed. You can send your check to Happenstance c/o PO Box 187, Las Vegas, NM 87701. There will soon be a Paypal icon on the website for your convenience. From the website can also purchase Kathy Allen's recipe book, Someone's in the Kitchen, on CD, and a digital PDF copy of Tiger Lilly, a contemporary novel by moi. The novel is being serialized in Happenstance, but if you can't wait to get the rest of the story, it is for sale in digital format only. The novel begins in the October 2010 issue.

I have Tiger Lilly out there in the netherworld looking for an agent or a publisher. So far no luck.

In the March 7 issue of Happenstance look for a two-page spread featuring poetry, some about spring and some about life. Connie Mack comes on board as a contributing writer and if you know Connie you know to expect something a little different. There's more MUCH more to look forward to.