A Little Bit of History

The Novel Neighbor

Yesterday a group from the Missouri History Museum took a bus tour in St. Louis, learning about the history of printing and publishing in this area. The tour ended at a local bookstore, The Novel Neighbor, which recently celebrated its one year anniversary. The tour organizer thought it would be interesting to add a segment on self-publishing, so she asked me to come and speak to the group at the bookstore. It was quite convenient for me as the store is located about a mile from my house.

There were 28 tour-goers crammed into a craft/meeting room in the back of the bookstore. Because my presentation was only 30 minutes, I did not need to use any audio-visual equipment fortunately. There would have been no room to set up a projector. I began my talk by asking if anyone knew what the following books had in common:

 A. A Time to Kill by John Grisham

B. What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles

C. In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters

D. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Morrow

E. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

F. The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer

G. The Plant by Stephen King

H. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

J. The Martian by Andy Weir

Following suggestions that the authors were all from Missouri, or the books were all best sellers, someone correctly guessed that all of these books were originally self-published. And these authors were in good company, as Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Martin Luther and Walt Whitman also self-published their books. This sort of information certainly makes people think of self-publishing in a different light.

My talk covered the evolution of self-publishing, why authors self-publish, pros and cons of self-publishing, how to self-publish a book, and how I got my three books into print/ebook format. I wrapped things up by discussing the recent trends in publishing before taking questions, of which there were few. I think this topic is far removed from what the group usually encounters on their tours, but I hope some of them found it to be interesting.

It was good preparation for me as I get ready for the next community college class on November 7th. The St. Louis Publishers Association is again offering a four hour workshop on book publishing. This time instead of just being the organizer of the class and moderator for the day, I will be covering the section on getting your book into print and into the marketplace. The workshop is always very well-received, and I look forward to working with the students twice a year.

Getting Your Book Published

book publishing class

Last weekend the St. Louis Publishers Association again offered the class "Getting Your Book Published: What You Need to Know" at the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College. This is the fourth or fifth time we have done this, and the student reviews are quite positive. My role is pretty simple: I coordinate with the community college and moderate the four hour class, keeping things moving and offering comments as appropriate. After first having the students introduce themselves and tell what they are writing about, the following topics are covered: traditional publishing versus self-publishing, getting a book into print, book design, ebooks, and getting a book into the marketplace.

It is a lot of material to cover in four hours, but our goal is to get writers thinking about what they will do with their books once they are finished writing. We also offer resources on where they can find more information about publishing, including how to evaluate legitimate services versus the companies who are out to take advantage of new authors. As always, we had an interesting group of students who asked great questions, and it was a joy to take part in the class again this year. Hopefully a few of them will come to an upcoming St. Louis Publishers Association meeting, where they can find many people who are willing to share their own experiences in publishing or working with authors. If there is a similar organization in your town, I highly recommend checking them out.

Missouri Authors Expo

my book table

Last Friday night the Webster Groves Public Library held its first Missouri Authors event. Nearly three dozen authors gathered to meet readers and sign copies of their books. In addition many of the authors signed up to read a sample of their books. All genres were represented including fiction, non-fiction, mystery, children's and young adult. Wine and light food items were available in the lower level of the library. The event was very well organized, and valet parking made set up a breeze for the authors.

It was interesting to meet the other authors, some of whom I know from the St. Louis Publishers Association. While the attendance was probably lighter than we all would have liked, despite some good publicity, the people who came out were genuinely interested in talking with the authors. I had some great conversations about WWII and also house research. I even sold some books, so that was a nice bonus. It was gratifying to hear several members of the library staff tell me that my house research book is one of the most referenced (and stolen!) books in the library. It is nice to know that it is reaching the people who are trying to find out who lived in their homes.

The most amazing thing for me, though, was seeing Patricia McKissack. A renowned children's author, Patricia has also taught classes on writing for children. More than 25 years ago I took her class, along with another woman with whom I worked. Through the class I wrote a book entitled "Pierre, the Cat with No Hair." It was an anti-bullying book before this was even a buzzword. I even submitted the book to numerous publishers, to no avail. Sadly, Pierre only exists on the hard drive of my old Mac SE, which has long since given up the ghost. I cannot locate a hard copy of it anywhere. I introduced myself to Patricia, explained that I had taken her class, and told her that while I have written three books, none of them are for children. She smiled and said, "Maybe someday." Maybe someday, indeed.

For a first time event, I think it was quite a success. I certainly hope that another one is held next year so that I can participate again.

People Are Sh!T

Poodi

I debated whether or not to write about my new endeavor on here as it contains a swear word. But we all know how imperative it is to get the maximum exposure on the Internet, and I need to tap into all of my existing contacts and relationships to get this off the ground. So, I will apologize in advance if I offend anyone, but today I launched my new website peopleareshit.com. The intent of the website is to give people a forum for writing their stories. While it may sound a little negative at first glance, I am thinking folks may find out that their parent, kid, teacher, boss, etc. isn't so bad after all when they read what someone else has to put up with. All submissions are anonymous and names of people, places and things will be removed if the author hasn't done this already. If things go as planned, I envision a book or series of books containing the stories being produced down the road. So, to all my writer friends out there, submit your stories!

CreateSpace Part Four

After much thought and input from others I have decided to go ahead and place From Buckeye to G.I. and Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed(room)? on Amazon through CreateSpace. If you do not have the original print books in front of you, I don't believe you will think anything of the ink intensity that is used by CreateSpace. I approved the book proofs and they immediately became available on the CreateSpace e-commerce site. It will take 7-10 business days for them to appear on the Amazon website. It will be interesting to see if I get any sales on Amazon.

On Saturday I will be doing a presentation on how to research the history of a home in conjunction with the City of Richmond Heights. The city is celebrating its centennial in 2013, and they have a year's worth of activities lined up. I am honored to be part of the festivities, and am hopeful we will have a good turnout. If I sell some books at the event, that would be great as well.

Speaking of House History...

Century Home, Webster Groves, MO

Thursday night I gave a presentation on how to research the history of your home to the Kirkwood/Webster Groves branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). I was unfamiliar with the organization, but apparently one of their members knew of my book on researching house history and they asked me to come to their monthly meeting. In case you also have not heard of the AAUW, it is an organization dedicated to advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

Because my topic is obviously so focused on house research, I was a little concerned that some members of the audience would not be interested. I should have know better with a group of women (and one man) who live in or near Webster Groves and Kirkwood. Once we finally got the provided projector to recognize my laptop, things went smoothly. They had a lot of great questions, which always makes for a more interesting event for everyone.

It was helpful for me to do the presentation at this point because I am giving a talk in Richmond Heights after the first of the year as part of their centennial celebration. From the questions raised at the AAUW meeting I can see that there are a few more slides that would be helpful if included in my slideshow. Though I did not sell any books Thursday night, I did have the opportunity to talk about all of them. I was also able to give a little insight into why people should be writing stories down - their own, an ancestors, or those of their house.

Nora Roberts and Book Marketing

Nora Roberts books in Turn the Page Bookstore

As a long-time fan of Nora Roberts, I have read every book she has ever written, including the In Death series she writes under the pen name of J.D. Robb. Did you know that she began writing back in 1979 while stuck in the house with two small children during a blizzard? Because I write non-fiction I am exceedingly amazed by writers who spin stories out of their own imaginations, and Nora's books are always filled with interesting people that I would like to meet in real life. Her women are strong and independent, the men sexy and intriguing, and the romance scenes...well, let's just say they are hot!

The latest trilogy from Nora is set in Boonsboro, Maryland, which is near where she lives. They involve the remodeling of a 1790s era inn and the people and places in the town. What is interesting about the series is that many of the places in the book actually exist. Nora bought the decrepit inn several years ago and had it remodeled into an eight room bed and breakfast. Each of the rooms, with the exception of the Penthouse, are named after famous literary couples. The inn really was mostly furnished with pieces from Basts of Boonsboro. Vesta Pizzeria is real, and is owned by her son Dan and his wife. Turn the Page Bookstore, also in the trilogy, is alive and well on Main Street. The bookstore is owned by Nora and her husband. The fitness center (owned by Nora) and new restaurant (also owned by son Dan) discussed in the second book are now open to the public.

Inn Boonsboro

At first glance you might think that the Inn Boonsboro trilogy was just a way for Nora to market her inn, bookstore, and the restaurants owned by her son. That thought did briefly cross my mind. But last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Boonsboro and stay at the inn. What I realized is that Nora has taken her time and resources to breathe new life into a town of 2,800 people that, without her help, might dry up and blow away like so many other small communities. The inn and restaurants provide food and lodging to the hundreds of women and men who flock to the town every year for one of Nora's book signings.

Turn the Page Bookstore

In speaking with the woman at Turn the Page Bookstore, it became clear that Nora Roberts and her book signings are the reason that this store has been able to survive when so many other independent bookstores have closed their doors. It also offers a venue for local artists to display and sell their crafts.

At the end of my visit I came away with a whole new respect for the woman who has enabled me for so many years to slip away into the lives and worlds of her fascinating creations. Beyond the characters in her books, Nora has helped many others in Boonsboro to live their happily ever afters.

Class-less in St. Louis?

Thursday I contacted the woman in charge of continuing education at the community college regarding a question I have about my class. The course description indicates that the students receive a workbook as part of their registration fee. In fact over the years the workbook has evolved into an actual paperback book on writing, publishing and promoting a non-fiction book. In the past the author of the book has simply invoiced the college $10 per book, and the instructor passed the books out.

However the author has a new edition of the book out, and it retails for $20. She can no longer afford to sell the books to the college at $10 per book. But the college didn't know this when the course catalog went to press. In fact I didn't know this until a couple of weeks ago. The woman from the college is going to contact the author to see if they can come to an arrangement. If they cannot, I am not sure what will happen. The course follows that book exactly, so it would be hard to teach without it. And I certainly cannot come up with my own workbook in two weeks. But it may all be a moot point. The class so far only has three people registered, and the college requires six in order to hold the class. I will call the woman back on the 24th to see what the registration looks like. At this point if I don't have a book available, I hope there are not enough registrants so I can re-group before the fall semester.