Earlier this week, authors Robert Locander and Richard Shaw told members of the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association how Texas politics really works. They signed copies of their book, The Real World of Texas Politics, and even let Loren Steffy, who wrote the foreword, chime in with his two cents. With the history impeachment proceedings against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton underway in the state Senate, the timing couldn’t have been better — or more relevant.
I wrote a book, and that was a major accomplishment, especially at age eighty-five. However, I never knew how writing a book would change my life – not because thousands of books were sold and I am now basking in new-found wealth. No, the change came about from book signings, making appearances at book festivals, speaking to women’s clubs and book clubs. The contact and support that I have received from strangers was a complete surprise and renewed faith in my belief that most people in the world are kind and encouraging.
I also have discovered that I am “living” with my characters now with the help of my readers. My last two book club meetings were amazing. I discovered just how involved people actually got with words that I had written. The first hostess made copies of my book cover and turned them into coasters that she used to decorate the table and give as favors to the guests. I was amazed by the trouble she went to in preparing a wonderful dinner and making everything perfect for the presentation.
The most recent book club was done in a way that brought my characters to life for me. Since the story takes place on a cruise ship headed to the Panama Canal, the hostess cooked some of the same items that I had written about when describing the character’s dinners on the ship. I was especially impressed with the “infamous” French onion soup she prepared — soup plays a rather prominent role in the story. She had also made crème broulee for dessert just as the characters ate during the cruise.
But there was one thing that totally caught my eye. In the middle of the table, there was a wonderful figure of a pirate that the hostess, Diane, has borrowed for the occasion. She added a large letter “E” (for Edward) that hung from his belt, and she draped a pocket watch over his body to capture the time travel aspect of the book. He was beautiful and a perfect fit for the backdrop of the dinner.
Looking around, I felt that the setting of the dinner and the table talk of the guests was similar to the dinners my characters share in the book. It seemed as if my characters were with us, enjoying the repartee and the meal.
At home later that evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about the pirate statue. I just felt that if he were in my office, I would be motivated to write the next two books of the trilogy with lightning speed. The next day, I contacted Diane to see if the figure had any markings that would show who made it or where it came from. Unfortunately, there weren’t, and the pirates I found on Amazon just didn’t have the same character as the one she used.
A couple of days later, I received an email from Diane telling me that the owner of the pirate was getting ready to down-size, and he agreed to exchange the “Edward” for a signed copy of my book. I offered to give him a book plus buy the figure from him but he insisted on just making the exchange. I am extremely happy with our deal. It’s just one example of how supportive everyone has been.
I live my life now as the writer of a fantasy romance novel and everything that surrounds me supports that life. I have been changed and the change agrees with me. I can’t wait to finish the second book — which begins with some rather surprising news!
From all of this, I have discovered that an author may be the one who puts words down on paper to write a story, but the readers – as observers – are the ones who bring the book to life. I want to thank every person who has read my book for helping me attain this life-transforming experience at an age when it is difficult to be taken seriously. Maybe I can convince people that eighty-six is the new fifty-six!
Let’s talk about something that none of us like to discuss here in the Word Mines — social media.
When I started Stoney Creek Publishing, I thought I had everything I needed to publish good books: editors, designers, proofreaders, indexers, a great distributor. The part of publishing I liked least was promotion. So, I wouldn’t do it. Most publishers do a lousy job of promoting books anyway, I figured. And most authors, me included, wind up thinking their book would have succeeded if only the publisher had supported it more. So Stoney Creek would encourage authors to handle their own promotion.
Such naivete. I quickly realized that most authors have little idea how to market books. And while authors may think they would have sold more books if their publishers did this or that, they don’t know that for sure.
In fact, almost no one knows how to market a particular book because each book is different.
The other thing I realized is that, like me, most authors would rather spend their time writing their next book than marketing the one they just finished. After all, it’s done, right?
Wrong. Whatever effort you put into writing the book, you need to put twice as much into marketing it. Book signings are great—it’s always a thrill meeting your readers—but a good signing might sell 20 books. That probably doesn’t meet your definition of success. Some bookstores are now requiring authors to guarantee a certain number of attendees before they’ll host a signing.
In the 21st century, we have a better way to meet large numbers of people. Most authors don’t relish social media, but if you don’t have an online presence, you’re guaranteeing that you won’t sell many books.
Indeed, many traditional publishers factor social media followings into their contract decisions.
To be sure, a strong social media presence doesn’t ensure strong sales. In fact, the correlation between social network activity and sales can be maddeningly disconnected. But if you aren’t on social media, you’re at a tremendous disadvantage. It is the most likely way that readers can connect with you.
The more posts followers see from you, the more likely they are to check out your book.
If you have eschewed social media, it’s time to embrace it. It may seem annoying and trite but think of it as a global book fair. No single platform is most effective. Find the one you like best, and build an audience there. Don’t use AI to write your posts. You’re trying to build a genuine connection with your readers. You can’t do that if you let the robots write for you.
Make no mistake, social media takes a lot of time. Just look at the gaps between entries on this blog and you’ll see that I, too, fall victim to online pitfalls.
I don’t have all the answers for making social media effective. And I’ve been at this long enough to tell you to be suspicious of anyone who claims they do.
I now realize the folly of thinking I could build a publishing company that left the marketing to the author. I hoped Stoney Creek would build better partnerships between authors and publishers. Marketing is part of that. Authors and publishers must work together to give books an opportunity for success. No matter what else you do as an author to promote your books, social media must play a role.
At Stoney Creek, we’re constantly working to improve our online marketing. And we can help new authors build their social presence. But ultimately, effective social media connections are up to the authors themselves.
We’d all rather be writing the next book, of course. But if you want people to read the book you just finished, you can’t expect a modern audience to find you.
Margie Seaman wrote her debut novel, Someday Belongs to Us, at age 85. Stoney Creek was thrilled to publish it. Now, we’re waiting for the second installment in what Margie promises will be a trilogy. We just hope her popularity on the book club circuit doesn’t slow the writing process.
I am writing from two points of views. I am a reader who has read thousands of books in my 86 years. I have always been thankful to authors for writing words that unlock my imagination, visit fantastic worlds, and meet wonderful people.
I am also a new author. My first novel was published in June 2022. Over the past year of book club experiences and other speaking engagements, I have come to know how much authors appreciate readers.Two recent book club appearances have demonstrated how readers contribute to making an author’s book as interesting as possible. One hostess made coasters with my book cover as the design. Another decorated the table with a pirate statue, pocket watch, and plates with clocks on them (my book is a romantic comedy using a time-traveling pirate as the muse for a 72-year-old female writer who writes about love but never made a love connection herself.)
Most of the action in my book takes place on a cruise ship going to the Panama Canal. One of the book club hostess planned the group dinner around menu choices that were mentioned in the book — even down to the infamous bowl of French onion soup. I cannot express how wonderful it was to be a part of my story and to see how everyone enjoyed the meeting.
Someday Belongs to Us came alive, and we were all caught up in the wonder of Edward Peregrine, a drop-dead gorgeous 18th century pirate, author Kate Caldwell, and all the other characters.
I want to thank everyone who has read my book and been so positive about the story—and everyone who keeps after me to complete the second in the trilogy!
To book Margie for your book club meeting or other event, contact us at info@stoneycreekpublishing.com.
Life in the Word Mines 