Beren · deMotier · at · LiveJournal

 365 days ago, my book was published. I know this because the at-a-glance calendar I use to plot my due dates is still attached to my office wall, as if I would forget anyway. Publishing a book is a fairly big deal. Self-publishing is also a big deal, but a different deal from publishing with a house that pays YOU to put your book on shelves, however, here are some reflections from that process:

There was very little angsting about what "they" were doing to promote my book--I could take action, or not, as I chose

I was able to have influence on cover design, blurbs, bios and copy, and I'm pretty darned happy about the result

The book is still available--from what I hear, a book has six weeks to make it or break it, before it is pulled and sent back to the shredder; by self-publishing I have more time to gain momentum for this kind of book, which isn't exactly a blockbuster full of blood, action and post-apocalyptic threat

People are still buying it in venues all over the world--it may seem a little thing, but I love that copies are selling in the UK, my Scottish genes are happy campers

It may still get on bookshelves near YOU from a wholesaler--the countdown continues, every sale brings it closer to "standard wholesale terms" including returnability, the green light to bookstores to take a risk and slap it on the shelves

In the last year The Brides of March has:
Received an honorable mention in the Writers Digest Intl. Self-published Book Awards
Received an honorable mention in the Reader Views Awards
Become a Foreword Magazine BOTY Finalist
Been read by two book clubs
Been carried on 9 bookstore shelves, despite being a POD title
Had 6 positive reviews, including two author interviews
Been talked about on three radio stations, including two author interviews

There are also several kettles on the hob, hoping for steam:
The Foreword Book of the Year Awards approach, and The Brides of March is a finalist.
The IPPY finalists will be announced soon, as well as the  National Indie Excellence Awards and I'm crossing my fingers
A possible ad op through iUniverse featuring the book as an example of iUniverse's potential for glbt authors  
Other undisclosed kettles, check in for more...

Plus the always delightful Author Reading, the next is at In Other Words, the sole surviving feminist non-profit bookstore in the United States, June 17th at 6:30pm. Should be a hoot. Despite not being an incredible extrovert, I enjoy these because the anxiety of public speaking is always dwarfed by the concerns and foibles of family life, and by doing a reading, I am actually on a grownup outing! Plus, I'm passionate about same-sex marriage, it's hard for me to shut up about it.

Happy Birthday Book

 Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned

Or so I would begin if I were Catholic.

It has been too long since I've posted, and while I have plenty of legitimate excuses, it is still wrong to begin something and dump it to the roadside as life gets in the way. Especially if allegedly you are writing something with the purpose of illuminating your journey to help others. That was the idea when I started posting about the journey from submission to publication, from publication to publicity, from product to sales, and sale to...? Who knows! The reality is that self-publication, even through a POD, is hard work, and that someone with more time and energy to devote to it might do a better job, but we all work with what we have, right?

First, the good news: The Brides of March now has the Reader's Choice designation through iUniverse, meaning I've over halfway to standard wholesale terms, the holy grail of POD books, and the only terms that non-local bookstores will consider. This is a numbers game, and if anyone out there wants to begin a grassroots effort to promote the book via an e-mail chain, I would be eternally appreciative.  

The second piece of good news is that The Brides of March is a Finalist in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards. This MAY result in an award being announced at BookExpo in late May, or may not. I can but hope that the book is good enough, and that the judge it goes to doesn't have a thing against colloquial language and lesbians with long hair.

The third piece of good news is that I have an upcoming reading at In Other Words on June 17th, just after Pride in Portland, Oregon. In Other Words is the last surviving non-profit feminist bookstore in the United States, and when I'm there I am catapulted back in time to college days when I billed myself as a radicalesbianfeminist in letters to the editor, and was thinking of going into feminist theory (before taking up erotic entertainment for women as a hobby and meeting the "wholesome as a warm slice of wheat bread" woman who would change my life, leading me to my present career as a lesbian housewife/writer/artist, something feminism absolutely prepared me for, resulting in politically aware progressive kids). I love the smell of the place, the intelligent literature, the angry, ironic bumper stickers, and the belief that people can change the world for the better. I am extremely grateful to share the book with an audience there.

I await with great anxiety the announcements of finalists for the Lambda and Publishing Triangle awards. Both come this month, and the outcome will determine my next move in promoting the book and reaching readers. More on that later. It would be an honor to be a finalist, as well as a dream come true.

The fourth piece of good news is that there seems to be a lot of activity overseas about the book. Folks are checking it out online in many countries and I've sold several copies in the UK. How cool is that?

The bad news is that online sales seem slow. I await February sales figures with my fingers crossed. It will mean that many fewer copies before wholesale terms are reached. Wish me luck.