Talk About It by Jenny Gardiner

Sheesh! When I started writing novels, it was because I just kept reading books and thinking "I could do that!" After all, I was already a writer; my overwrought Christmas newsletters no doubt kept recipients on the edge of their seats each December (make that February, as I was always late with them). And my grocery lists, well, let's just say I compose a mean grocery list.


In truth, I have long been a little too fascinated with the stories of peoples' lives -- be they the sordid tales of famous people, the unfathomable actions of "what-the-hell-were-they-thinking" criminals, or the simple stories of average peoples' lives (I am so addicted to reading obituaries), I guess I'd stockpiled enough information that I was ready to make up my own characters with their own issues. Throw in a slight obsession with what motivates people, and I guess I needed to become a novelist, or a psychologist.


However, I hadn't bargained for the whole other side of writing a book, which is promoting the thing. This aspect of publishing has eclipsed the mere writing of a book over the past few years, with the growth of the internet and the vast and boundless world of social networking. Sadly, in many ways, promotion efforts by necessity dwarf writing duties. I suspect most writers would far prefer to just get to work on another book, rather than jumping through the many, many hoops of fire in order to sell the previous one. By the time I've finished writing a book, I'm sort of finished with it: I lose perspective on the story and couldn't begin to tell you if it's good, bad or indifferent. Plus I then promptly forget the names of my characters and much of the storyline. I've loved them and left them behind.


But like it or not, promotion happens. And one of the aspects of promotion with which I have a love/hate relationship is public speaking. I hate it because invariably I become slightly terrified. I suppose this is natural -- think Jan Brady having to imagine her audience at a debate in their underwear so she didn't freeze in fear. I worry that I won't say the right things, entertain my audience, and provide them with their money's worth (not that anyone is actually paying for the performance!) all while sporting a fat piece of parsley on my teeth the entire time. I guess it's not fear of public speaking so much as fear of making a fool of yourself in public. And then having it end up on Youtube.


But the reality is, I end up loving speaking to groups. Whether they're book clubs, or at conferences, or civic organizations, book festivals, writing workshops. I am comfortable with my subject matter, which I suppose would mean the contents of my vivid imagination. I could go on for hours about the weird stuff I can fantasize about if given the chance. And if I can fantasize about it, I can write about it. And I've been around long enough to know about the vagaries of the publishing industry.


I think that's the thing: by the time a writer ends up in the position of having to speak publicly, usually said writer has been through the wringer, has suffered the slings and arrows of defeat in this business, and has experienced the great good fortune and joy of being published, which in itself is almost akin to winning the lottery. I enjoy sharing my experiences with the many people who might harbor a secret desire to write and publish a book some day. And I'm thrilled to find people who have enjoyed my writing enough to put on an outfit, hop in the car, and make it to that venue where I'm speaking. It doesn't get more awesome than that. Well, maybe even more awesome when I can elicit laughter. There is something magical about being able to entertain your audience enough that you've made them forget bad things even for a second, long enough to laugh. It's a great feeling.

Ultimately I view public speaking as a real privilege, something that came about as a result of many years of toil to get to where I am professionally, to hone my craft, to learn the business, and to do any and everything required of the world to get me to where I am as a published author. It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it, every step of the way, every mistake, every misfortune that might have befallen me even, because it seasoned me enough to be able to share my experiences and my world with others.


And if I've been able to help even one writer on the path, to pay it forward by easing their way, it's all the more sweet an accomplishment.


  Sleeping with Ward Cleaver

Slim to None

Anywhere But Here

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me

Accidentally on Purpose (written as Erin Delany)

Compromising Positions (written as Erin Delany)

I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship (I'm a contributor)

And these shorts:
Idol Worship: A Lost Week with the Weirdos and Wannabes at American Idol Auditions

The Gall of It All: And None of the Three F's Rhymes with Duck

Naked Man On Main Street

find me on Facebook: fan page
 find me on twitter here
 find me on my website

Writer Chats: Hits and Misses by Jess Riley

Public speaking is something most of us have an innate anxiety about. But if you've been doing the writing gig for a while, you will probably be asked at some point to speak to a large or small audience about your experiences. And at that point, you need to make friends with your "public speaking" self, which is a side of your personality you may avoided. (We'll never know why, but it tends to hang out somewhere behind the spleen, which isn't very good at parties either.)

Still practicing what to do with my hands during photos.

The month I sold my first book, I attended a reading by Jennifer Weiner. I remember her talk being candid and charming and breezy, but what really impressed me was how FUNNY she was. She had us laughing, engaged, and panicking. Okay, I was the only one in the crowd who was having a panic attack, because I thought to myself, Oh dead God, she's hysterical! She's in my genre! Do I have to be this funny when I talk to people in the future? I can't be this funny!

Over the last six years, I've spoken to 60+ book clubs and given dozens of library talks and readings, and each semester I speak to a captive audience of eighteen and nineteen-year-old freshmen enrolled in my father's English Composition class at UW-Oshkosh. Regardless of audience, I'm always a little nervous before I walk in the room. It used to be worse, but practice and time have wore down the sweaty palms and racing heartbeat.

I always reserve a front-row seat for my invisible friend Becky.

My favorite groups to speak to are the book clubs, because usually everyone is drinking wine, which makes me seem much funnier in person. Most club members are relaxed & open and ask engaging, thoughtful questions.

Library groups can be hit or miss; if you're not a marquee author, you never know if two or sixty people will show up. Half of them will be aspiring authors wanting to know how you broke in, and half will be there because they got lost on their way to the blood drive. I'm totally joking, of course. (My last library talk was awesome, and I was so grateful to all the folks who braved the cold to come see me.)

Anyway, and here are some tips I've found most helpful:

Scarves! Glorious winter scarves. And a cat.

1) Practice: If you're brand-spanking-new at this, practice. In the mirror, to your dog, to your spouse. Have something of a rough draft in mind before you begin. I used to need notecards (yes, I was that terrified I'd forget *something important,* which is crazy-lady-think). Now I pretty much wing it, based on the audience. (Note: this has not always been a good strategy.) Think of what YOU like to hear when you listen to other authors speak, and be inspired.

2) Pre-questions: If you're meeting with a book club, send them a question guide before you get together. If your publisher has a list of questions, great! If not, make your own. For ideas, check out a few sample reading guides / "Questions for Book Clubs" from other books like yours.

If you're meeting with a group of students, ask their teacher/professor to solicit questions from the students in advance, to be passed on to you before your appearance. I've learned from experience that most college freshmen,* for example, WILL NOT be brave enough to ask you anything when you pause for Q & A. But having them submit questions in advance has led to some very thoughtful, entertaining discussions.

I'm lucky enough that I also get to read the response papers students in my dad's class write after my visit. This has also helped me become a better guest speaker.

(*Second graders, however, will ask you a question every twenty seconds, so they're good to go.)

3) Give away a book or bag-o-swag. This is another fun way to engage your audience.

4) Choose your reading material wisely: If you're doing a reading, keep it brief and entertaining. Hook the crowd and convince them they need to buy your book to hear the whole thing. Also (most importantly), consider your audience when selecting reading material. This has been something of a stumbling point for me in the past.

What did I miss? Check out this fantastic recent Writer Unboxed post for more tips, and please comment here with some of your own!

~~~

Jess Riley is the author of Driving Sideways, All the Lonely People, and Mandatory Release. Check her out on Facebook, Twitter, or her badly-neglected blog.

The Girls’ Guide to a Book Launch

by the Kenny Powers of Publishing, Jess Riley.

Some of you know I just released my second novel. It’s been four years since I shepherded a book into the world, and I forgot what a stomach-clenching stress-bomb launch day can be.

The day of your book release feels a little like a Christmas morning in which any of the gaily-wrapped boxes under the tree might actually contain a turd. You begin terribly excited: how low will my amazon ranking go? Who will retweet the exciting news? How many fabulous reviews will be posted? How many copies will I sell? Will someone send me flowers? Will I have that special glow about me that people can’t help but compliment so I can blush and say, “Thanks, I just delivered a book baby.”

(Sidebar: did I actually just use the word “gaily?” Moving on. )

As word gets out, you start to wait for that one person to mention it, to say they bought it or loved it or simply acknowledge the fact that you have a new book out, to throw you even the rattiest of bones. The great majority of your friends and family are beyond the moon for you, shouting your great news to the heavens, but you zero in like a laser beam on the fact that ONE fellow author, relative, or friend totally ignored you. This is probably because: they hate you/think your book sucks/hate your politics/think you are a potty-mouth damned to hell/are the meanest, biggest doodoo-heads in the world and probably steal from the elderly and laugh at sick children, they steal from the elderly and laugh at sick children WHILE they’re leaving you a one star review and why won’t they just love you? Why? (sob) You’ll change! You will! You’ll buy them lunch, babysit their kids for free, be their personal chauffeur, change your politics and taste in music if they only validate your existence! Please!

I am NOT like that.

Actually, they’re probably just busy, but we’re funny like that. My dog is like this too, because she always sucks up to the one person in the room who wants nothing to do with her.

And WHOA SALLY if you’re indie publishing your book! Traditional publishing puts little muscle behind your promotion to begin with (unless you’re a Marquee Name, in which case hello! My name is Jess Riley! Do you need someone to pick up your dry cleaning?) When Driving Sideways came out I bent myself into a pretzel for 50 hours a day promoting it: contacting book bloggers, coordinating contests and social media, sending hand-written cards to every indie bookstore manager in a million mile radius, setting up signings and readings, streaking naked through my alma mater’s homecoming game wearing nothing but my book cover in body paint.

Just kidding. I didn’t do that last part. There was one awesome thing I did, and still continue to do: meet with book clubs. They give me wine and laugh at my jokes, and I always drive home afterwards singing along with the radio and feeling like a rock star.

Despite working my heiny off to be noticed in a sea of worthy books, the ONE THING that made all the difference in the world for me was being picked up by Target. One thing that was beyond my control. Well, you write the best book you can, but that’s a given. There are a lot of them out there.

So what advice do I have for you if you’re counting down to your own book launch? If you have a traditional publisher, you still have to promote the hell out of yourself (which most of us hate), but you’re incredibly lucky, because at the very least you will have distribution and consideration by old guard reviewers. People won’t give you the stink eye and say things like, “I only read real books.”

Now.  After rigorous editing and careful consideration, are you indie-publishing? Okay, great! Do you feel that little whinging around the edges of your soul? That’s your ego. Take it in the back yard and shoot it. Now roll up your sleeves and get to work. Email your writer friends for support, and make a huge pot of coffee. You're standing on the edge of a cliff, naked, waiting for someone to either shove you over or wrap you in a blanket and say, "Oh honey, let's get you back to the yurt." But while you wait, there are a thousand book bloggers to put in that spreadsheet ...

Jess Riley just launched her second novel, All the Lonely People. It's about crazy family members and holiday angst and Christmas dinner in a cafe full of dogs. BOOK GIVEAWAY: Email her, leave a comment below, or "Like" her Facebook page by December 1st to win one of three signed copies!

Don't Blink, There Goes the Year!

By Laura Spinella

Given the post-holiday, pre-New Year date, not to mention the one-year anniversary of my debut novel, it seems a foregone conclusion that I write a retrospective blog. I saw a really good year-in-review on the Christmas Day CBS Morning Show. Of course, that one was dedicated to well-known personalities who’d passed, the montage segueing beautifully from Elizabeth Taylor to Steve Jobs to the guy who invented the teleprompter—sometimes, it’s the invention we recall, not the inventor. Thankfully, sadly, the major loss at my house was the cat. While I’d tear up over a photo-filled post devoted to Ted’s memory, I assumed you might not feel the same. Aside from the dead, the other thing we regale over this time of year is lists: Best Of, Biggest Blunders, Most Popular, 2011 Trends. So in keeping with our GBC writing theme, and sparing you my personal life’s little inventory list, I chose to focus on a Top Ten Retrospect for the Newly Published, aka, As the Debut Light Dims.

1) Authors are accessible. Some of the smartest people I’ve met this year are writers working to become published authors. While waiting to get their ticket punched, or book bound, they’ve made great contacts and friends with published authors. From what I can gather, it puts them miles ahead of the curve. I’m impressed by their networking and appalled by my own lack of foresight.

2) Not everybody is going to love your book—soon-to-be-authors, take note! There’s no avoiding it or the sting. Suck it up. And the sting is equal whether it’s a place like Publishers Weekly or a live-wire on Goodreads. I believe the ego-annihilating phrase was, “Just halfway through and it is nauseating…” Well, if you felt compelled to post that, and my book made you physically ill, I guess we’re even (-;

3) Signings are fun, but they come with a level of tension that’s difficult to corral—at least this was the case for me. Note to self: gray long-sleeved blouse, pretty as it is, will show pit stains every time. I know; I have the pictures to prove it.

4) Promotion can be all consuming. Our very own Maria Geraci gave me some of the best advice early on: Figure out what you’re comfortable doing and do that. Every time I find myself overwhelmed, I check in with those words of wisdom.

5) In the same vein, find the dividing line between what you wrote and what you’ve yet to write. Promoting a book and writing one are polar opposites. One requires you to be a social butterfly. The other is a cocoon. You have to figure out how to transition fluidly from one to the other.

6) If your book happens to get nominated for a nice award, go to the party. This is my big book blunder from 2011. I gave myself the, “It’s a thrill to be nominated,” speech and stayed home. In retrospect, it would have been really cool to have accepted the invite and the award personally.

7) Book clubs are God’s gift to writers. Again, this goes to my last-off-the-turnip-truck naiveté, but what an unexpected bonus! Where else can you make eight to ten instant friends by showing up? And even if they don’t love your book, they will congratulate you on the achievement of being published. Well, except for that one woman. I’m still considering having her comment tattooed to my ass. About Flynn, my protagonist: “He was just so… so dirty.” Silly me. I thought it was part of his charm.

8) “So, how much of your book is autobiographical?” Say what? For a lot of reasons, this question bothered me a great deal. I should have had the sense to let it go early on and just be glad they were reading.

9) Regarding BEAUTIFUL DISASTER and the college-age boys who emailed me: Glad you enjoyed it… So happy you learned something… These things take practice… And it’s probably best we’re not Facebook friends.



Me writing...



10) And my number one newly published author conclusion: I am happiest writing a book. It gives me a sense of self, peace, if you will, that tends to escape me in everyday life. Honestly? I’d probably be happier writing in the name of self-satisfaction. But for some reason, that mindset never seems to be the proper path. I am muddling my way through the rest, making it up as I go. And, well, there you have it, life imitating art. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and my best to you all in the New Year.

365 Snapshot & BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

By Laura Spinella

This seems like a good juncture for a reflective blog. I was going to go with the publishing mistakes theme, but realized how low we are on liquor. So, instead, I’ll drink what’s left, aptly setting the mood for reflection. Nudge me if I start to slur. It’s an appropriate pause point for a number of reasons, including the birthday I celebrated yesterday. I still get to hang with the forty-something crowd, but not for too much longer. On the upside, this time next year I’ll gape at people in their late fifties, saying, “Holy crap, I’m glad that’s light years away!”




The Ladies of Taunton's Booktini



I actually spent last year’s birthday wondering what this one would bring. The drum roll would have long since passed, and my much anticipated book on the shelf would, with any luck, be… restocked?? If it was a baby, by now it would have teeth and babble a coherent, “Mama.” Truthfully, I’d have it on three or four preschool waiting lists. I never was particularly adept at entertaining small children. Here’s what I didn’t envision a year ago, spending yesterday’s birthday at a book club. When the woman contacted me months ago, I casually mentioned that while I’d love to attend their BEAUTIFUL DISASTER get together, it was my birthday. Maybe another day that week would work? Nope, last Tuesday of the month, that’s their book club date. Fine with me. I was fairly certain I could drink their wine to celebrate, just as well as my own. Honestly, book clubs, by far, have been the unforeseen perk in all this. I thought the signings would be the icing on the cake. Some had their moments, and some were a total bust, but they all came with a level of tension that I could never dial down. Book clubs, on the other hand, were a more natural fit. You get to do a lot of listening, which takes the pressure off. And depending on the group, I often found myself feeling like a lifelong member. Booktini (which has to be the coolest name ever for a book club) in Taunton, MA was one of the best—hand monogrammed wine glasses, door prizes, BEAUTIFUL DISASTER refrigerator magnets, and some of the nicest women I’ve ever met. They made me glad I didn’t listen to people, close kin in some cases, who suggested I bag the book idea and pursue something less fanciful—like, maybe, an application at Home Depot.

In addition to that lengthy list of publishing firsts and author naïveté, which is still bumbling, though not quite as pathetic as it used to be, were contests. I never gave them much thought. There are only so many hours in a day. Subtract out every facet of life that has nothing to do with book writing and factor back in the 24/7 dedication required to write a book. I’m no math whiz, but I’m fairly certain this results in a negative number. So, whatever my reasoning, it just wasn’t something I paid much attention to before BEAUTIFUL DISASTER. A few months ago, I entered one. An invite came in the mail from NJRWA’s Golden Leaf contest. What did I have to lose besides four books? The only real problem was the competitive nature of such an event. Remember, I’m the author who has never visited her Amazon page. It’s not that I have an aversion to competition—I’m just more comfortable with armchair rivalry, preferably the kind where Vanna controls your fate. Yet, by summer’s end, there I was, a finalist in the contest. Go figure. Courtesy of complex circumstances, I didn’t make it to their Put Your Heart in a Book Conference where the awards are bestowed. But I did check my email late last Friday. Holy Moly, I won. BEAUTIUFL DISASTER was awarded NJRWA’s Best First Book in their Golden Leaf contest. Now there’s something I definitely didn’t envision a year ago.

Next week, I head back to the book’s roots, Athens, Georgia. The University of Georgia Alumni Association has been supportive of my literary efforts, and has invited me to participate in their annual Alumni Authors Showcase. I was quick to accept. Aside from the showcase, I haven’t seen that middle child since August, and I’m curious to see if she still knows how to say, “Mama!” I did a signing at UGA last January. At the time, I thought that was the full circle to my big book event. I really did. I’d revel in the moment, sign copies on the campus that inspired the setting, and look around longingly for characters who don’t exist. I’d go home, and that would be it. Well, as I said, bumbling naiveté. So when I take this pause, I see a lot of things I never imagined—at least when it comes to this curious thing we call publishing.

In celebration of BEAUTIFUL DISASTER’S win, and heeding good Girlfriend advice to put the book in readers’ hands, I thought I’d give away a signed copy! Just leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner by Friday.

You can always find me at http://www.lauraspinella.net/ or on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/BeautifulDisasterANovel?sk=app_150903068337795