Hello again, friends. I’m back this week to entertain you with a tale of sudden realizations, and the wonderful thing it is when you figure out what you really want. This will appeal most to my fellow independent and self-published authors, but if it doesn’t appeal to you, may I suggest that you scroll down to Part 2 where I’ve provided links to some of my friends’ activities that you may find entertaining.
Okay, here we go. A few weeks ago, I was listening to my local Public Radio outlet, and they aired an interview with one of the co-owners of a local bookstore that specializes in fantasy and sci-fi called Mysterious Galaxy. The charming young lady by the name of Maryelizabeth Hart talked about their author promotions, and mentioned that they like to promote local authors, and they have even done launch parties for local indies. Without taking too much time to think about it, I e-mailed them to ask for more information. Ms. Hart herself answered my e-mail. “Oh yes,” she says, “we support local authors regardless of their status.” Encouraged by that information, I told her that I have never made a public appearance for the book, and asked if she could give me some idea of what to expect. She did that, and further suggested that I attend one of their events before I set one up to see first-hand what it was like. She included a link to their event calendar, and I clicked on it…
Great God Almighty! Appearing in the month of January at this little store in San Diego are Jamie Metzl (Depth of the Sea); Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Tied for the Aurealis Award for the best Young-Adult novel of 2013); Amber Benson (Four series of books, including one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show on which she appeared as a character); Thomas Perry, author of 21 books and winner of the 1983 Edgar Award for mystery; Alan Russell, winner of multiple awards for his nine novels; Pierce Brown (Red Rising series); Brandon Sanderson (the Mistborn series, and many others); Gini Koch (the Alien series, and many others); and Greg van Eekhout (having a launch party for his sixth novel).
I don’t know who’s bringing in these guests, but the one thing that is certain is that they’re playing in a different league than I am! If I owned a bookstore, I would consider presenting this lineup to be a successful year. These are their guests for f**king JANUARY, people! How are these folks even returning my mail? I’ve tried to think of something comparable to put this into perspective, and the best I can come up with is to imagine that the San Diego Chargers invited me to put on Philip Rivers’ uniform and play a few downs at quarterback. How do you spell imposter? Hint: There is no “A” in Tyler!
Running up against this veritable wall of luminaries brought me to a complete stop, and afforded me time to think about the road I was charging down headlong. Thank God! It is one thing for me to self-publish a print-on-demand book, and then go in to work and bask in the glow of coworkers to whom I’m maybe a little more than just the drone in the next cubicle. It would be quite another to travel to a professional literary venue and present myself as a literary professional. I picture myself sandwiched between Brandon Sanderson and Gini Koch for example, facing the regulars of this bookshop, and the only question I can imagine them asking is, “How did you get in here?”
See, J.K. Rowling is a literary professional. Robert Salvatore is a literary professional. Jack Tyler is an enthusiastic hobbyist. And that’s how I’m going to keep it. I have realized in the midst of this particular tornado that I am where I want to be. Writing has been my companion, my outlet, my relief, and my joy for over fifty years. I have a mind-numbing job that I am despised for doing and that nobody could possibly care less about, that leeches away bits of my spirit every time I do it, and I don’t want writing to become another one. How many events like this will I get lined up before I realize that I have obligated myself to a schedule of commitments that I don’t really want to perform? I write when I feel like it. I post to this blog when I feel like it. I curl up with my wife to watch a good mystery when I feel like it, and I shoot zombies on the Xbox when I feel like it. There are no lurking dates on the calendar telling me that I have to drive to Orange County to sign books for two hours at Finnegan’s Read next Saturday. I'm not going to let greed ruin that. I sell a book or two a month and keep a score (maybe) of fans happy, and that’s just fine.
But maybe what I'm trying to avoid is exactly what you're trying to cultivate; like Candy Dulfer says, "My funk ain't your funk!" I would be pressed to believe that one little book store in San Diego is the only place on earth that has a program like this, so here's what I suggest you try: Do a web search for local bookstores in your own area. Check their home pages to see if they offer a program like this. If they don't, bring up their contact form and suggest that they do so. What it will cost you is your time, of course, and a dozen or so promotional copies of your book, and for that investment, who knows what might develop? If wider exposure is what you're after, I would suggest that this might be a good way to get it. Go after your dreams, tigers, and best of luck!
Okay, here we go. A few weeks ago, I was listening to my local Public Radio outlet, and they aired an interview with one of the co-owners of a local bookstore that specializes in fantasy and sci-fi called Mysterious Galaxy. The charming young lady by the name of Maryelizabeth Hart talked about their author promotions, and mentioned that they like to promote local authors, and they have even done launch parties for local indies. Without taking too much time to think about it, I e-mailed them to ask for more information. Ms. Hart herself answered my e-mail. “Oh yes,” she says, “we support local authors regardless of their status.” Encouraged by that information, I told her that I have never made a public appearance for the book, and asked if she could give me some idea of what to expect. She did that, and further suggested that I attend one of their events before I set one up to see first-hand what it was like. She included a link to their event calendar, and I clicked on it…
Great God Almighty! Appearing in the month of January at this little store in San Diego are Jamie Metzl (Depth of the Sea); Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Tied for the Aurealis Award for the best Young-Adult novel of 2013); Amber Benson (Four series of books, including one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show on which she appeared as a character); Thomas Perry, author of 21 books and winner of the 1983 Edgar Award for mystery; Alan Russell, winner of multiple awards for his nine novels; Pierce Brown (Red Rising series); Brandon Sanderson (the Mistborn series, and many others); Gini Koch (the Alien series, and many others); and Greg van Eekhout (having a launch party for his sixth novel).
I don’t know who’s bringing in these guests, but the one thing that is certain is that they’re playing in a different league than I am! If I owned a bookstore, I would consider presenting this lineup to be a successful year. These are their guests for f**king JANUARY, people! How are these folks even returning my mail? I’ve tried to think of something comparable to put this into perspective, and the best I can come up with is to imagine that the San Diego Chargers invited me to put on Philip Rivers’ uniform and play a few downs at quarterback. How do you spell imposter? Hint: There is no “A” in Tyler!
Running up against this veritable wall of luminaries brought me to a complete stop, and afforded me time to think about the road I was charging down headlong. Thank God! It is one thing for me to self-publish a print-on-demand book, and then go in to work and bask in the glow of coworkers to whom I’m maybe a little more than just the drone in the next cubicle. It would be quite another to travel to a professional literary venue and present myself as a literary professional. I picture myself sandwiched between Brandon Sanderson and Gini Koch for example, facing the regulars of this bookshop, and the only question I can imagine them asking is, “How did you get in here?”
See, J.K. Rowling is a literary professional. Robert Salvatore is a literary professional. Jack Tyler is an enthusiastic hobbyist. And that’s how I’m going to keep it. I have realized in the midst of this particular tornado that I am where I want to be. Writing has been my companion, my outlet, my relief, and my joy for over fifty years. I have a mind-numbing job that I am despised for doing and that nobody could possibly care less about, that leeches away bits of my spirit every time I do it, and I don’t want writing to become another one. How many events like this will I get lined up before I realize that I have obligated myself to a schedule of commitments that I don’t really want to perform? I write when I feel like it. I post to this blog when I feel like it. I curl up with my wife to watch a good mystery when I feel like it, and I shoot zombies on the Xbox when I feel like it. There are no lurking dates on the calendar telling me that I have to drive to Orange County to sign books for two hours at Finnegan’s Read next Saturday. I'm not going to let greed ruin that. I sell a book or two a month and keep a score (maybe) of fans happy, and that’s just fine.
But maybe what I'm trying to avoid is exactly what you're trying to cultivate; like Candy Dulfer says, "My funk ain't your funk!" I would be pressed to believe that one little book store in San Diego is the only place on earth that has a program like this, so here's what I suggest you try: Do a web search for local bookstores in your own area. Check their home pages to see if they offer a program like this. If they don't, bring up their contact form and suggest that they do so. What it will cost you is your time, of course, and a dozen or so promotional copies of your book, and for that investment, who knows what might develop? If wider exposure is what you're after, I would suggest that this might be a good way to get it. Go after your dreams, tigers, and best of luck!
Now, on to my friends. First, Steve Moore, a Londoner, offers Royal America, Southwest of what might have been, through amazon's Kindle reader. It is a work of alternate history in which Britain never lost their American colonies, and are now interacting with the native Americans as they push westward. I have to warn you that this fairly new work has received a single review, a spiteful hatchet job of one star. It may be legit, I haven't read the book yet (I am a Nook owner), but it's real abrupt and curt, and offers no detail at all on what the supposed problem is. It just says the book is "boring" and he or she couldn't finish it. All I can say at this point is that I am in nearly daily contact with Steve through the auspices of Scribblers' Den, and he is anything but boring there.
Second, my Irish friend, Tara Sparling, has blogged about her predictions for 2015. The girl is witty, insightful, and wields sarcasm like a heavy cudgel. If you want to know what will happen in the world of literature in 2015, get over there and have a read, and remember, you saw it here first!
Second, my Irish friend, Tara Sparling, has blogged about her predictions for 2015. The girl is witty, insightful, and wields sarcasm like a heavy cudgel. If you want to know what will happen in the world of literature in 2015, get over there and have a read, and remember, you saw it here first!
Finally, one year ago today I was admitted to the hospital with a flu. Turned out to be two strains plus pneumonia simultaneously, and I began a two month fight for my life, most of it conducted while in a coma. I won. My daughter has named it our official "Get the f**k outta here, Death!" day, and I arrived home at 3:00 AM to two lovely cards and a stack of presents. This wasn't a bunch of dollar store stuff, either. They got me the complete 65-episode series Secrets of War, the Blue Sun expansion to the Firefly game that has been such a titanic hit around here, a tablet with a keyboard-incorporating case to do my writing (among other things) on, and a set of speakers for said tablet, or this computer, or wherever I feel like I need them. It's good to be loved!
And as for you... Yeah, you! I'm done here. Now get out there and live life like you mean it!
And as for you... Yeah, you! I'm done here. Now get out there and live life like you mean it!