The Author Guy Blog

11th October 2024 Hello out there, Welcome back. I read a sign somewhere sometime that said: “I want patience … and I want it now!” That’s how I felt a few weeks ago when my new publisher, with whom I enthusiastically signed an exclusive contract last December, informed me it will most likely be next summer (18 months later) before the new version of my award-winning book Blue by You will be released. My sense of urgency is two-fold. First, last week I celebrated my seventh-fifth birthday and the sand in my hourglass seems to be falling more rapidly with each passing year. I reckon I’d feel different if it were instead my forty-fifth. Second, and more important, from a commercial standpoint I’ll I’ve been at a standstill, out of business in terms of marketing for those same eighteen months. I consulted with my wise and experienced marketing expert who lives in the high desert of Oregon, and we concluded this could be a good thing, indeed. More time for us to plan our “launch” – you kn...

9th August 2024 Hello out there, Welcome back. Since my author journey began eleven years ago, I’ve been a relentless student of both the craft of fiction writing and the business of marketing and selling books. One marketing endeavor has never made sense to me in terms of an acceptable ROIT — return on (the author’s) invested time. That endeavor is book readings/signings. I have so much to learn that I try to attend as many author presentations as I can when they come to our university town. My time investment is always satisfied if I come away with just one new tidbit of knowledge or insight, and I almost always do. But what about the authors? Even those who are household names may only draw a few hundred readers to an event, and these “name” authors are often paid substantial appearance fees because, if travel is involved, event book sales alone to every attendee wouldn’t even begin to cover expenses. I recently attended an author event at the library in my home town – the third lar...