In The Black

I have acheived my first milestone with my publisher and earned out my advance on my audiobook contract. My statement came and actually included a check. This is after 1 year and my second recap statement.

It is comforting to know that any additional sales will be a positive number.

Well done, DT! I'm proud of you!

Congrats, DT! Yes, getting a check is a Good Thing. Even better is having several books out there working for ya and bringing in multiple checks.

Good work, DT.

A well-earned milestone, DT. Congratulations!

Thanks for the feedback. I really consider that I have 3 out there with 2 paperbacks and 1 audio. Each one has its own marketing challenge.

Congratulations!!!!!

That is great, DT!
Bring on the band!

Dt,
that is certainly a measure of progress. Congratulations.

You have shared a lot of your marketing experiences with your author colleagues, and I am glad that these efforts are bringing rewards. Some days I run out of the "marketing frame of mind" and just need to keep checking off the list to keep going.

Thanks for your enthusiasm.

Speaking of marketing. I have never marketed my books, as it never occurred to me to do so. When my non-fic book first came out 19 years ago, I contacted two newspapers just because I was all excited and wanted to tell everyone about it, lol. But I didn't consider this "marketing" (I know, weird). They dutifully did stories. After that, the excitement went away and I never did anything else.

This past year I've read the marketing strategies discussed on writers boards with interest (I never even read writers boards until about a year ago). It has motivated me to actually do some marketing when the opportunity arises. I'm giving a talk about writing a nonfic book in a few weeks (as part of a much larger event), and I had bookmarks made to pass out to the attendees. Yes, I'm going to promote my book during the talk. LOL, I don't know why this sort of thing never occurred to me before, I've had all kinds of opportunities to promote in the past and never thought to do so.

My husband and I are doing a presentation next Monday for "Monday Music in the Library." I'm reading from my historical novel on the Civil War and he is accompanying me on his harmonica with Stephen Foster songs. (He complains that I picked remote Stephen Foster songs.)

We went today to see where we would be doing the presentation and it is a warm cozy area. We also practiced today and I am going to do some editing. (I always do editing.)

I have no idea how many people will attend but the librarian has distributed a very nice poster. And I'm wearing the clothes I am wearing in my avatar plus a very nice knit hat with a glitzy clip on it.

I might even sell some books, but more important, people will learn some things about how the Civil War affected families in Missouri. Some people don't even know the Civil War was fought in Missouri.

Our presentation isn't all doom and gloom, but a lot about history. My husband is a wonderful harmonica player and should draw an audience.

Carol

Congratulations DT!!

Carol, that sounds fun! Are those Civil War era clothes you're wearing? I thought it was just a regular outfit, lol. I don't think I could get my husband to play a harmonica for me. I'm not going to personally sell books either, but my bookmark has the Amazon and B/N logos on it, so if someone really wants it, they know where to go.

LC,

They are more early 1900s clothes. The blouse is embroidered and like some I've seen in pictures of my grandmother when she was young.

Since one of the goals in my writing history is to bring it up to the present, dressing in between the Civil War and today helps in that regard. I begin when my great-grandmother is born in a war torn town, and end saying I knew her sisters and still know her sisters' grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I want to make connections, and I'm really not much for dressing costume, so this will have to do. I'm not even much into acting, and maybe next time, if there is a next time, I'd like to have other people read some of the parts. My book is creative nonfiction and I love that genre.

I will also have bookmarks. There is a policy of not selling things in the library, so I might have to sell books out of the trunk of my car. I sell them much cheaper than on Barnes and Noble. They are published by that publisher that charges way too much for their books, but I have a few to sell.

Carol

Well, the outfit looks nice, you could probably wear it around town and people would just think it's retro, lol.

Carol Troestler wrote:

They are published by that publisher that charges way too much for their books, but I have a few to sell.

Cracks me up how you all refer to it, like He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned. lol.

Way to go. I've always been impressed with your positive and tireless efforts to promote your work. Just goes to show that if you believe in something, it will come true. Keep it up!