What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?

[Bill Frank]

I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.

[albertasequeira]

Hi Bill,
Thank you for the support. I'm really getting excited this past week. I feel strongly that I'm on the right road to get my name out there.

No matter how scared I am, and believe me I am, it won't stop me from going ahead. I've come to the conclusion that the THOUGHT of doing something is worse than actually doing it. Once you get into the process you move along.

Writing a book is a lot easier than talking in front of people. I signed up with Steven Harrison to see if I will be one of the 65 picked to have him work with you for a year. I'm afraid that the price may be too steep for me. I'll wait and see if I'm picked and then worry about that later.

You are a great person with the desire to help writers and authors. I'll keep everyone up-dated to my progress.
Alberta

[Bill Frank]

Thank you for your kind words about me. Good luck and good selling for your book.

[Theresa E. Grant]

My biggest challenge is placing my book in book stores and getting people to buy during book signings. they'll look at the book and ask questions, and they say that the book sounds interesting, but won't y buy. they do the same with the next author as they move down the line in the room.
Most of my books have been sold to family, friends and on my website.

[Bill Frank]

Your experience is not unique. Many authors sell their books to friends and family. Initially. Who is your publisher? How are your books distributed? Who's your distributor? How do the books get into the bookstores for your book signings?

Book signings, per se, have been replaced by book events. Few book buyers in a store want to buy a book from someone hawking their book. Your own experience shows that. If, however, you have an event, then buyers may be more likely to buy your books. What type of event? Perhaps you can do a talk on your book's subject matter. Perhaps you can talk about what it's like writing a book. Perhaps you can talk about a place or event described in your book. There are numerous topics that you can generate from the subject matter contained in your book. And who better to talk about it than you?

Next time you have a chance to be in a bookstore to sell your book, change the perspective a bit and hold an event. Talk on a subject related to your book. Answer questions for the book shoppers. The buyers may buy more books. And the bookstore will be more inclined to host you because you're delivering content to their customers instead of merely sitting, waiting to sign books.

One tactical thing you can do at your book events that you may not be doing, but it will help with book returns from bookstores. While in the bookstore, tell the manager you're going to autograph all copies of your book in the store. The manager will most likely not mind because a signed book is more valuable than an unsigned book. The positive impact for you, however, is that autographed books are not returnable to your distributor. That means the bookstore cannot send your book back after 90 days for a full refund. They must keep your inventory and SELL it to their customer instead of selling it back to your distributor.

[Theresa E. Grant]

Hi Bill,

My publisher is Publish America. I was in the Indie Pen Series at Karibu Books, The Black Author Showcase and with The Black Author Association. We get to talk about our books and answer questions about writing and why we became a writer and the cities were mentioned in our books. Some of the bookstores don't want to stock books published by my publisher. I hired a publicist to handle my book. I'm all over the internet.

[Bill Frank]

Hi, Theresa. Congratulations on your success with your book. You've had some great opportunities with the Indie Pen Series, the Black Author Showcase and the Black Author Association.

I've heard of bookstores reluctant to carry books published by Publish America. In many cases, their reluctance has to do with the publisher's "no returns" policy. Most bookstores are accustomed to being able to return a book to the publisher for a complete refund if the book doesn't sell. You may want to check with Publish America to learn what their returns policy is.

For some suggestions on cracking into bookstores, you may want to contact Paul Coates at Black Classic Press, 410.358.0980. He is one of the oldest and best known African-American publishers. He may be able to help you. Another source may be Dr. Rosie Milligan, [e-mail]. She is both a publisher and owner of a bookstore featuring books by African-American authors.

[albertasequeira]

HI Frank,

What great ideas you gave to Theresa on Book Events instead of Book Signing. Sept 29th I had a book signing at B&N in Braintree, MA and they had me autograph ten books to leave. I was thrilled. That was my dream to get my book on the shelves at B&N. I know it doesn't mean they will fly out the door. Sandy, the manager, encouraged me by saying that the readers love the shelf with autographed books.

I wanted to update you on my speaking engagement. The director from the Gosnold Rehabilitation Center in Falmouth call me today. They scheduled November 1st for me to go to their center to speak to 39 women who are alcoholics. This is where my daughter had been admitted twice before she passed away from Cirrhosis on November 22, 2006. My husband died 1986 from the same terrible family disease.

It's going to be a very emotional moment for me just arriving at this location because I went to visit her so often.
I have written a speech (5 pages) and hope by then most of it will be memorized so I won't be looking down at a piece of paper constantly. I want to talk from my heart. This is my first time so it's normal to be uptight.

My question is: Is it considered professional to come into a speaking engagement and have a paper to look down at? I realize it would be great not to have one. This is a more laid back Recovery Center. After a few times, I hope to be able to speak without notes. I know we all have to start somewhere. The women may not even sense that I'm feeling this.

I'm honored to be have been called and asked. I speak for two hours at my own Beginning Writer Workshops but that's not emotional. I hope to go far with speaking to alcoholics, not only rehabs but AA Meetings. I can reach out to the Al-Anon groups also.

Thanks, I appreciate your input. Any one else been in this situation.

[Bill Frank]

Being selected to speak at the Gosnold Rehab center is an honor. I can understand how emotional it will be for you. Many of your listeners will be there to hear you speak from your heart because this terrible disease has affected your life so poignantly.

As a general rule, the more professional the speaker, the fewer times he/she must look at notes. In this case, however, I think your audience will forgive you peeking at your notes because of the emotion this talk must have for you.

[albertasequeira]

Hi Bill,
I have a problem that has my head spinning. I'm writing about my husband, Richard, and my daughter, Lori, who were alcoholics. I've explained this to you.

I was up to 400 pages and a few authors had told me that I could get sued using real family names, etc. My first book A Healing Heart was a memoir and I've had no negative feedback.

My other daughter, Debbie, has no problem with me using her name and Lori's children Joe (19 years old) and Meagan (18 years old)are upset and want me not only to use their real names but also their mother's. To them, and me, its a book of love to show the honesty of life living with and losing two in our family from alcoholism.

The problem lies with my ex-sister-in-law. We have a fantastic relationship even with me remarrying. They love my husband. Richard's family is "very" well known owning a huge construction company. She was uncomfortable with me mentioning their names. Their daughter and Lori were cousins and drank together for years up to when Lori died. Her cousin still does. She is nasty when doing so. She is the one I get worried about.

I know there has to be fact in memoirs, which this one will have. If something is in a book containing all truth, is there a problem? I'm not writing anything against their character, except the cousin's involvement with drinking. Should I delete them out of the story and use another made up family in relationship to this and keep mine and my daughters including the truth to the name of the town and my past job. I was a dispatcher for the town police dept.

I have changed this book so much on where we lived, our names and everyone's occupation that it's almost fiction except the events. Now "my" family is upset that I'm not telling the truth with our names. The story isn't written deeply from the heart because I'm exhausted making things up. I wanted so badly to be able to have pictures of Lori and her father in the book.

I can't understand how some memoirs are written with nasty remarks and pulling a person's character down to the core, and yet they are published.

If you don't know the legal rights, do you know of anyone who can help me or a web page for these answers. Everything that I pull up is connected to Amazon with books or lawyer's pages selling theirs.

I'm sorry for this being so long.

[SusieSunshine]

Personal experience here.

I had a chapter (or 3) on a name I called my mother. I realized she didn't know it so I called and told her that I was writing and that what I was writing might hurt her. She said I couldn't hurt her. However, I sent her the first chapter. To make a long story short, when I called her she hung up on me and didn't talk to me for over a year. Our relationship is borderline still. I "know" that if I published the book with that chapter that way, she would have sued me. So I have changed the chapters to represent a lady in my life. People who have read the book have no idea it is my mother unless I tell them.

Perhaps you would want them to read it first and get their 'written' permission to write their real names in the book. Those who don't give their permission, change the names and make a disclaimer that some are real names and some are not for privacy reasons. I wouldn't see where using the relationship without the name would hurt. This I am not legally sure of tho.

I don't think I would change the location or things like that... It is your life we are talking about. Just keep their names out of is, I guess is the issue. Perhaps you are not speaking your truth and the book isn't really yours because of all the "fiction" going into it. OR... you could write it as a fiction book, based on true-life. I have thought about that for some areas of my life.

I also have put 3 disclaimers in my book that it is from my perception and mine only and that others who are involved in the situations may not perceive them the same way. I have tried to avoid using 'names' or 'relationships'. Everyone but my mother want me to use their names and I haven't, except for my hubby and then I use his nickname.

Good luck in your decision. I know what you are going through and it is difficult. If I can help in any way, let me know!

Blessings from my spirit to your spirit!

[Bill Frank]

I'm not an attorney and I don't want to dispense legal advice. Your issue requires a trained attorney. Let me recommend several: Ivan Hoffman, [e-mail]; Larry Jordan, [e-mail]; Lloyd Jassin, [e-mail]. All three attorneys advertise in the Publishers' Marketing Association newsletter. One of them will be able to help with your question.

[Rita Schiano]

My biggest challenge is getting into bookstores, particularly the chains like Barnes & Noble. But I think that stars on the distribution side of things. Although the book is carried by Baker & Taylor, I use the word "carried" loosely. B & T only orders the book one unit at a time when a bookstore places an order. yet, bookstores, like Barnes & Noble, tell customers the book is not available. We tried setting up a direct relationship with Barnes & Noble through the publisher, but received a letter that said "One of our challenges as a book retailer is to pick the best assortments of titles... Our experience with other titles similar to yours" (i.e. fiction??) " tells us that the customer is more likely to...purchase...online...." In other words, the shleves are reserved for the majors...Who are they kidding?