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Oregon Book Awards Author Tour + Alone Time Tomorrow night at 7pm I will kickoff the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour at the Eugene Public Library, followed by K.B. Dixon, Jill Kelly and Linda Zuckerman. The event is hosted by Susan Denning of Literary Arts. Tell your Eugene friends and relatives to come on down and listen and enjoy. Each of us will read for about fifteen minutes, followed by a question and answer session and book signing. Books will be on sale at the library--remember that The Brides of March is a "same-sex memoir you can bring home to mother", so urge a copy on your pals and let the debate continue in homes across Oregon (the Multnomah County Library invested in a dozen copies, so they are readily available there, too, check them out!). For more info on the reading in Eugene, click on: The following night we will be reading in North Bend, so let your friends and relatives in North Bend and Coos Bay know too. Meaning that I will be meandering in my flower-power minivan for almost three days without the fam', an unheard of amount of alone time. I plan on sleeping, reading like a crazy woman and pondering the fate of my protagonists in my latest book. I may eat irresponsibly, too. |
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Come to QLiterati! On Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm at Portland QCenter
Join hosts Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, featured authors Ariel Gore (founder of Hip Mama and author of several books, including her most recent, How To Become a Famous Author Before You’re Dead*), Tammy Stoner of Pink Pea, and me, Beren deMotier (Curve contributor and author of 2008 Oregon Book Award Finalist The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage), for an evening of queer lit, cookies, and book signing among an enthusiastic and curiously well-dressed crowd.
For more info on this cool event for both queer and straight-but-not-narrow readers, go to: http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/C
See you there! And please, alert anyone you think might enjoy the event.
Beren
*I’ll be buying a copy and getting it signed |
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Oregon Book Awards Even sixteen months after publication, cool things can happen with a book. On Sept. 5th, I found out that my book, The Brides of March, is a Finalist for the Oregon Book Awards Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction. Deep sigh of artistic satisfaction and gratitude. Months ago, when I sent in the application (as a self-published author, this job comes to me), it was an obvious long-shot. I thought that if I was a Finalist, that itself would be a win. And it is. I will go to the 22nd Annual Oregon Book Awards ceremony on November 9th with my spouse, happy just to be there among such amazing authors. I love Oregon. It is a great place to be a writer. http://www.literary-arts.org/index.php?a |
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The Glamorous World of a Writer On a single day (June 17th) I had the thrill of taking part in a literary round-table on the state of GLBT literature on KBOO, and the potentially devastating disappointment of having not a single person show up for my reading at In Other Words, despite ample publicity including a plug on the radio that day. I say "potentially devastating" because while my spouse told me she'd have cried, I saw it as forty-five minutes away by myself (while awaiting my no-show audience), and then as an opportunity to spend unscheduled family time together since my spouse wasn't working late because she had to be home while I was gone. The volunteer at In Other Words was apologetic and cast out reason after reason for the resounding silence in the store, but I was truly cool with it. As referred to in my last entry, having a kid with a cutting edge condition (and one that takes a lot of focus), helps keep things in perspective. In fact, this moment at the computer is a rarity these days. Summer vacation is never a vacation for a stay-at-home mom with young kids--it just means more people to feed, amuse, transport and clean up after, day after day. But full-day school is an oasis on the horizon, and in poor poor pitiful me moments, I remember that and take a deep breath and know that words will flow again in a few weeks. |
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And the Good News Is I won the Gold in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards in the gay & lesbian non-fiction category. I nice thing to happen during Book Expo America, and hopefully a stepping stone to other things. Below is the invite to the reading at In Other Words. Pass it along to friends, acquaintances and anyone you want to have a healthy debate about same-sex marriage with. Walk Down the Aisle With Me at In Other Words Bookstore Remember those giddy days when same-sex marriage happened here, in Tell five friends about the reading, suggest it to your book group (guaranteed to get discussion cracking while domestic partnerships are edging closer to the ballot), drag along your reluctant in-law, and enjoy an evening of laughter and tears in a cozy atmosphere guaranteed to give you flashbacks of freshman year. The Brides of March won a Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, a National Indie Excellence Award, an Independent Publisher Book Award, a Reader Views Award and an Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards. In Other Words Bookstore is located at 8 NE Killingsworth (at |
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Keeping a blog takes more time than I would imagine, or can imagine, at this particular juncture. That said, it is lamentably true that I have neglected this space, but here are one or two news items for those who care and read this: I WILL be reading at the amazing In Other Words on June 17th at 6:30 pm. come on down and walk down memory lane with me. The Brides of March has had some award activity. I think I mentioned my Reader Views Honorary Mention award, but since then I won the NIEA (national indie excellence award) under Current Events Politics/social category, which was pleasing, plus a Bronze Award in the IPPY's, under gay & lesbian. This week I will discover whether I go (the book really) from Finalist to Winner in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year awards, but not til Thursday or Friday. More on that then. It is nice to know that The Brides of March will have a Book Expo presence of some sort. On another note, it has been my pleasure to have an article in Curve Magazine for three issues running: one on trying on wedding dresses, one on being an invisible minority with our autistic son, and this month's on camping, lesbian-style. Check them out if you have time, and let me know what you think. I have been hiding out in Harry Potter on headphones for a few weeks now, but I'm six tapes away from the end of The Deathly Hallows, and J. K. Rowling has been a good therapist while processing lots of new information on the parenting front--having a child with a cutting edge condition means endless amounts of "new research" and "Must Dos." It is all this muggle can handle at the moment to listen to Jim Dale tell the story of one wizard on a hero's journey while scrubbing dishes and catching up with the laundry. But more posts are coming soon. |
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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 |
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One Month Later Ah, so much has happened. First, I wasn't a finalist for either the Lambda or Publishing Triangle awards, long shots, but meaningful. I had a bummed out day and ate ice cream and watched Star Wars on the plasma TV and got over it. Pity party for one. Second, I forgotten I'd even entered the Reader Views Awards, so was pleasantly surprised to learn I'd won Honorary Mention in the Gay & Lesbian Non-fiction category. Good publicity always helps, and they sent pretty gold stickers to put on books and logos to put on my website, which I have yet to do, but will get to soon. I continue to wait on February sales. Probably there will be no big surprises there, but one can always hope. Perhaps there was a run on copies in the midwest, when the Midwest Book Review ran a review awhile back. A podcast seems an intriguing way of garnering exposure, and I hope to enlist my technically savvy children for help. My oldest son is currently developing an animated short preparatory to filming a longer series, and I'm blown away by his ability. It's nice to have talented children. More soon. |
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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. |
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And the book goes on... The reading at St. John's Bookseller was an intimate reading and enjoyable to me. It is always lovely to preach to the choir, and there were even two folks there who weren't already card-carrying members of my people. You never know what will lead to another avenue to readers. The best part of a reading is always when someone laughs out loud. There is almost nothing as satisfying, though hearing that someone has cried is a pretty close second. Thanks to anti-anxiety medication, readings aren't as terrifying as they might be, even for this stay-at-home mom. Which is good since I've been invited to speak to a church group this weekend with a week's notice. They shared many of the experiences in the book, so it will be an especially meaningful event. I did a count today and discovered that I am 119 copies away from standard wholesale terms. This begins to seem doable and I am crossing my fingers that they will be sold before the book is one year old in late April. Is that too much to ask? Making the book available to stores on a wholesale/returnable basis has always been one of my goals, and it seems in sight. The first week of March the February sales will post, and I will know whether I am closer to the goal, and by how much. I'll be crossing my fingers. |
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And One of Those E-mails Reaped an Unexpected Benefit After sending information about my book to all independent bookstores in Oregon, one bookstore sent an e-mail back, sparking an exchange that resulted in a reading/signing at St. John's Booksellers on February 13th at 7:30pm. The owner, Nena, was a delight when I met her, and just visiting the store made me feel like "Ah, this is what a bookstore feels like, like home." But I'm putting the other announcements on pause. I need a reason to contact out of Oregon booksellers who don't have a same-sex marriage issue in the headlines to make them consider carrying the book. So I'm hoping one of the contests/awards bears fruit, crossing my fingers and entering just one more before letting that avenue be. And write. It is almost a year since I did the rewrite on the book that preceded sending the file to iUniverse to begin publication. It is nearly four years since the book begun. It is time to begin something new. Not just another article gazing at my navel or trying to make good people laugh, but something longer, something deeper, something to sink my teeth and brain into. Where I'll find the time I do not know. But one place is to not spend as much time promoting, and concentrate on doing good work. The best work. The work I should be doing. And respond to marketing opportunities as the arise instead of spending hours ferreting them out. My lists are ready in case of an award win, the resources are organized, I know where to market the news. But that is in a file folder, not staring at me on the desk (which I moved late Saturday night in a flurry of activity, reorganizing my workspace). I'm not sure what the big project will be. Or how much time I will scrape together to make it happen. But I will remember write and friend Alich Bloch who wrote half an hour each morning to make a book. It can be done. |
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I am awaiting news of the Stonewall Book Awards, announced last night at the Midwinter American Library Association conference. Certainly my book, The Brides of March is a longshot, but I can still hope. Less of a longshot is the Publishing Triangle Award--I've learned I made it past the first judging, so that alone has me chuffed. And getting listed as a Lambda nominee can't hurt, though that won't be announced for a few months. Self-publishing requires these little highs, since the lows can be so long. But there has been movement: My Reader Views Review has been posted on Amazon, making it the fourth five-star review, the St. Johns Bookseller is holding an author event on Feb. 13th at 7:30--more on that later, and Curve magazine has plans to promote its writers with interviews and author chats via its website, www.curve.com. It has been ten months since I submitted The Brides of March to iUniverse, and eight since it was published. The ball is only beginning to roll. |
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The Biggest Challenge to Self-Publishing Is it is all up to YOU! This blog was created to follow my book’s path to publication, and then what happens next after the book is in the author’s hand and aiming for bookshelves worldwide. Stuff happened and then, nothing… I stopped pushing the book while life got in the way. Not that I did nothing—as detailed in a 5 Part interview with Numbers matter in self-publishing, especially with iUniverse. All print-on-demand publishing works on the basis that the fees paid by the authors make the profit for the company, not copies sold. They make enough whether the books sells ten copies or ten thousand. However, once it sells a certain amount, 500 in the case of iUniverse, it becomes potentially profitable for the publisher to push the book and put in extra effort on the author’s behalf. I am over halfway there, though my exact numbers are unknown since the delay in posting numbers is significant. I won’t know how many books sold in December until March. Since I am one of those individuals motivated by a new chance, a new year and a new day planner on my desk, I’ve chosen to jump start my marketing by sending out an e-mail to independent bookstores across Oregon giving an overview of the book, the book’s blurbs, and mentioning the awards it has already won and been nominated for. I’ve started with I also sent out the notice to well-known glbt bookstores, and will go on to send it to Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho bookstores (Northwest Booksellers Association stores), before sending it on to independent bookstores across the country. Hopefully soon! This is important because a) even if they don’t carry The Brides of March on their shelves, those who read the e-mail are potential buyers. Everyone knows someone who is impacted by the legislation around same-sex marriage. We are everywhere. b) If I sell another 125 copies the book becomes available on standard wholesale terms and will be presented to Barnes & Noble buyers who buy for 500 locations across the country. Being able to reach chain stores may make all the difference. With luck, the book will be presented with new wins to wave around as proof of its merit. Check back in to see. And keep on writing.
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Lesbian Carebears Making a Difference My daughter’s friend was over this afternoon, excitedly anticipating a sudden OK from her family to purchase a pet guinea pig (about which our daughter is an expert), when a stuffed animal fight began in our youngest son’s bedroom. A stuffed animal fight is a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon—though this was a gorgeous sunny winter day with a high of 40 degrees—and I’m proud to say that no one was harmed in the ruckus, even the sixteen year-old brother who walked into the fray, innocently intent on nosing into whatever was in play. In the middle of the fight, our daughter picked up a tiny figure and pointed out to her friend that it was a lesbian CareBear (it had a rainbow T-shirt), and commented, “I don’t know where her partner went though…” The lesbian part didn’t faze her friend, though when our daughter pointed out the heart shaped tattoo on the bear’s bum, the friend considered it a bad influence in the household until I reminded her that I had three tattoos. Somehow she considered hidden ones (or maybe just ones inscribed on a bear’s behind) naughty, but I don’t get it. However, the topic of my tattoos reminded the friend that she was reading my book (The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage), and enjoying it, and that she’d become an advertisement for it in her literature class because she couldn’t stop laughing while reading it at one point and was causing a distraction in class. When someone is a distraction, she told us, they must stand up and explain why they are diverting attention away from the topic at hand (which was silent reading at that moment) so she’d stood up and told the class about my book and told them all that they should buy it when several told her they wanted to borrow it. “Really?” I asked her. “Really,” she told me. Moreover, now there are several kids in her 7th grade class who are reading it, and she overheard one extremely Christian boy fighting with his mother about it outside the school recently. My daughter’s friend retells it as “she was telling him he shouldn’t have it” and “he was telling her she should read it and she’d know there wasn’t anything wrong with it”--meaning same-sex marriage. Aren’t kids cool and amazing? And then the girls went guinea pig shopping together and came home with a blonde boar. Lesbian Carebears and same-sex marriage propaganda in 7th Grade, it doesn’t get much better than that. |
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Who knew that the Internet could be so cool? For a busy writer/mom it was a goddessend this morning, when I discovered that the interview aired yesterday with Ed Goldberg, charming host of Between the Covers on KBOO here in Portland, was posted on the Just Out Blogsite. So cool because I didn't get to hear the whole interview, what with getting our youngest to preschool, walking him in, and scampering back to the minivan to hear what was left. Also, because my wife didn't hear a word of it--working natch--and it would be cool to me for her to hear the interview, which went pretty well for a first time, if I do say so myself. Though I discovered that I sound astoundingly like my Aunt Miranda from Missouri. This on top of my first reading at the Hollywood Public Library here in my Portland neighborhood means I am filled with confidence that I can survive these events, and that I am wasted with exhaustion since I did the reading with a dreadful head cold that continues to leave me running hot and cold as if menopause had struck with a vengeance. To date I have 2 booksignings, 1 reading, 2 radio interviews, 2 print interviews and 4 book reviews under my belt. Next month--Q Center Portland: Portraits and Memoir: the Art of Beren deMotier, selections of The Brides of March and an exhibit of my ladies of the 80's paintings!  |
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Writer Bliss I have been fortunate enough to have received praise about the "tone" of my book multiple times; each time I hear it, my heart swells with the thought that the hard work, long hours, and constant rewriting has paid off in a voice that tells the story, doesn't beat the point over the head of the reader, nor sound so flippant that any meaning in my story of same-sex marriage in Multnomah County is lost in sarcasm or silliness. But I got another ego boost the other day when a friend came over to buy copies of the book for a book group. She'd already chosen my book for her own book group, the eight copies she needed were for a colleague's book group--thank you Teresa for spreading the word! I'd never got the details about her own group's discussion of the book, she'd been unable to attend on discussion day due to a memorial for Bernard Harvard, a friend and beloved Assistant Principal at Alameda Elementary, Principal of da Vinci Arts Middle School, band member of Soul Search, and husband and father. However, when Teresa picked up the books she told me that she'd talked to a friend about how the discussion went, and that she was told that they'd discussed it for two hours--the longest they'd discussed any book previously--and that after going around and around they came up with the conclusion that tolerance was not the same as acceptance. They got it, they really got it. I felt like Sally Field at the Oscars. Not that it is a Message book; it is a memoir about a time, a place, a context, and the people involved. But there are definitely themes, my own beliefs, and conclusions that might be drawn from experiences that most straight people never know about the daily indignities of being lesser under the law, and in the eyes of many. I don't know if they got mad--I like to describe the book as a "you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get mad" memoir, just getting it was enough. It was writer bliss. |
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I have been fortunate enough to have received praise about the "tone" of my book multiple times; each time I hear it, my heart swells with the thought that the hard work, long hours, and constant rewriting has paid off in a voice that tells the story, doesn't beat the point over the head of the reader, nor sound so flippant that any meaning in my story of same-sex marriage in Multnomah County is lost in sarcasm or silliness. But I got another ego boost the other day when a friend came over to buy copies of the book for a book group. She'd already chosen my book for her own book group, the eight copies she needed were for a colleague's book group--thank you Teresa for spreading the word! I'd never got the details about her own group's discussion of the book, she'd been unable to attend on discussion day due to a memorial for Bernard Harvard, a friend and beloved Assistant Principal at Alameda Elementary, Principal of da Vinci Arts Middle School, band member of Soul Search, and husband and father. However, when Teresa picked up the books she told me that she'd talked to a friend about how the discussion went, and that she was told that they'd discussed it for two hours--the longest they'd discussed any book previously--and that after going around and around they came up with the conclusion that tolerance was not the same as acceptance. They got it, they really got it. I felt like Sally Field at the Oscars. Not that it is a Message book, it is a memoir about a time, a place, a context, and the people involved. But there are definitely themes, my own beliefs, and conclusions that might be drawn from experiences that most straight people never know about the daily indignities of being lesser under the law, and in the eyes of many. I don't know if they got mad--I like to describe the book as a "you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get mad" memoir, just getting it was enough. It was writer bliss. |
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Monday arrived with the chime of an e-mail slamming into my InBox announcing that my book, The Brides of March, had won Honorary Mention in the Writer's Digest 15th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards in the "life stories" category. The first result of a handful of entries or nominations for the book in various local and national book contests and award. No slouch in the art self-promotion, I took a spare moment to send the announcement to Willamette Writers and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Half an hour later I get a forwarded e-mail from a radio interviewer who wants to talk to me. This is exciting, and astounding. I didn't contact her first, she contacted me. A definite milestone. What will come of it when she receives the book tomorrow and gives it a glance is anyone's guess--she could find it fascinating and whip me into the studio for some hard questions, or she could find it fluff and dismiss it with a brief e-mail saying her schedule is too full to fit me in. The third author shock of the day was turning in the library while searching for young adult books for the older kids and seeing my own face. It was a display advertising the upcoming reading and discussion at the Hollywood Library, and I half expected someone to say, "hey, don't I know you?" as I checked out books on werewolves, vampires, and how to express emotions when you're four. Is this what it feels like to be an author? The "good parts" that make up for the wall of rejection letters, the endless query letters and the months spent at the keyboard trying to get it right? Actually, the getting it right part was good, too. It was a good day for this Bride of March. |
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This last weekend my favorite writing retreat, the Lloyd Center Doubletree, hosted the fourth annual Stumptown Comics Festival, and I got the go see a roomful of creative people wearing a lot of printed T-shirts and holding pens or stylos. The older kids went along; they're into the Web comic genre, as well as graphic novels, so it was fun for them to see what was new at Dark Horse Comics, and what could be done with a Wacon Graphire and CorelPainter. No reasons that teens can't create comics in their abundant spare time. Go for it! My own interest in the Comicon was two-fold; for one, I wanted to see my good friend AskDr.Eldritch, aka Evan Nichols, who had a table this year and a bumper sticker with my name on it. No, not literally, but held for me to add to my minivan assortment of political, satirical and ideological statements. Keep Portland Eldritch ("Eldritch" is old english for strange or weird) is a natural addition. I even got a button because I know the artist/writer! My second motivation for going on a Saturday morning to a room full of zinesters, comic artists, small presses, illustrators and writers who somehow got gigs writing for Batman, Wonder Woman or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (also enough cat hair to have the three of us running for the door to get meds within forty-five minutes), is that I have a secret ambition to write and draw graphic novels. As a visual artist/writer*, the medium seems perfect, add in my two years studying screenwriting--virtually identical to writing for the graphic novel--with ideas to spare that would fit in book form just fine, and you've got a forty-three year-old comic artist wanna be. The kids weren't the only ones salivating over the computer tools for creating art. Nor were they the only ones going home inspired. But I will have to put those ideas on the back burner while continuing to promote the book, write more articles, put together a humor collection and paint portraits. Someday I'll have three kids happily in school, but that day is not today. The day at the Stumptown Comics Festival was not without promotional opportunity. In fact, thanks to anti-anxiety meds and age, I was able to hand out postcards for my book to presses, a library connection, several liberal members of the Portland comics community, and three artists and/or writers making lesbian porno comics, apparently a popular genre. My life motto is "you just never know." As both an artist and a writer I'm still looking for that perfect combination of medium. Perhaps graphic novels will be that, maybe picture books. I'm willing to give it a shot. *Here a a couple of samples of my visual work.   |
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Self-published authors bear the brunt of publicity creation, so it is not surprising that, as amateurs in that area, no matter the expertise as a writer, we don't do as well as the pro's. And sometimes there is simply not time to be on top of things and pushing as one should. This summer has fallen into that category. Parenthood has subsumed any energy for writing and with the exception of two excellent experiences selling books at writers conferences and one lovely review in Just Out, I've done little to get my book into the hands of readers. Fortunately, seeds planted at one of those conferences has produced a lovely plant; yesterday morning I spent a lively forty minutes being interviewed by Ed Goldberg* for KBOO, which will air sometime this fall. Soon, the interview I gave to The Hollywood Star should run, and on November 11 (two days shy of my oldest boy's sixteenth birthday) I will get to speak at the Hollywood Library. These are good things. Oh, and a New York agent is kindly considering whether she'll take my book on--she has a copy in hand and I'm crossing my fingers. But I must add to these efforts. Contests (the Writers Digest Self-published Book Awards are announced on Oct. 12), articles, and e-mail campaigns are my next move. While is seems every online book seller in the world has listed The Brides of March, that will do no good if no one knows it exists. Alerting every gay-friendly brick and mortar book seller in the US isn't that hard with e-mail and the fantastic design available on your everyday laptop. Then there are media outlets like more radio, local or national television and Podcasts to consider. Overwhelming but necessary. Additionally, it is time to attempt more celebrity supporters; bless you Kate Clinton for giving the book your seal of approval, it warmed my heart and made an author I know say, "oooh!" Maybe there are others who could endorse it and make the public interested in a memoir about same-sex marriage, life as a lesbian mama and legalized discrimination--with laughs. *I met Ed Goldberg at the Willamette Writers Conference, and when I thrust my promotional materials at him followed up with a request to read the book and consider interviewing me on KBOO. His bio is amazing (http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/EdGold |
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