The long journey

 This week, I decided to take up Charlotte's question about managing time and juggling the various aspects of a writer's career. My system has changed immensely over the years. My first novel, DO OR DIE was published 24 years ago, before social media, websites,  goodreads, etc. Many of the readers I was hoping to reach didn't even have email. It's difficult to imagine how we coped, but we did! I developed a database (using D-Base) of all my friends and family who might be remotely interested in reading my books, and I added each new contact and reader to this database. I could generate mailing lists and print address labels from that database. When I released a new book, I printed postcards and mailed them out, announcing the book and, if they were local, inviting them to my book launch. The book launch was a huge way to get the word out. I also connected with bookstores within a reasonable driving distance from Ottawa and tried to arrange signings. Signings had two purposes - to sell books and to make a connection with booksellers. Sybil's advice to treat editors with respect applies equally to booksellers and librarians. They are your biggest ally.

At the beginning I was still working full time and had to find time to write as well as do all this promotional stuff in the evenings and weekends. Exhausting! Once I went down to part-time (and even more when I retired from practice entirely) I could use my off days to write and to travel around to stores, attend book clubs, and slowly learn about the internet. Email was a game-changer. As I accumulated the emails of readers, friends and families, I began to transition to emailing launch invitations and sending out announcements about signings and new books. Many of my colleagues, more savvy than me, developed newsletters and reader contact lists through platforms like mailchimp. I didn't. With my latest books, I did use Eventbrite and Facebook event invites to spread the word as well, but I still relied on group emails. I have come a long way into this technological age, but it's hard to make an old dog like new tricks!

My Facebook author page and my website are two other avenues through which I try to engage people and keep them up to date on my writing career. I cross-post info on Facebook and Instagram about book signings, launches, etc. When I look back, what a long way we've come in twenty-five years.

But the other aspect of my writing career - the actual writing - has barely changed at all. I write my first draft longhand using pen and pads of lined yellow paper. I began by squeezing writing time into the evenings once the family was settled, but since I've retired, I write every morning for three to four hours when I'm writing the first draft, saving the afternoon for the social media and promotional stuff. First I warm up my brain with coffee, social media browsing, and various internet fiddling, and then I get down to work. My goal is a scene a day, usually five to six handwritten pages. At that rate the first draft usually takes about four to six months. I do no editing until I have written "the end", and then my first task is to transcribe the illegible mess onto the computer. Initial editing occurs during this process, as well as creating a fat file of things that need to be fixed, added, changed, or deleted. Then comes all the rewrites to fix those. That process can take two to three months. I find the whole process from the first research to sending it in to the publisher takes about a year. 

Of course, I was usually contracted to one book a year, so this schedule was born out of necessity! Now that my most recent books are spread farther apart, I am enjoying a more leisurely pace, with time for other interests and fun while still getting the book done on time.

More thoughts on promotional outreach

Frankie's Friday post about promotional outreach touched close to home because my latest Amanda Doucette book, WRECK BAY was just released last week and I have been wrestling with how to promote it. Frankie was hoping to initiate a discussion about what works and what doesn't in this evolving world of book promotion. Evolving is a key word here. Social media is changing rapidly, as is software for presenting promotional material, and the nature of book selling itself. It's really difficult to keep up, let alone guess the next trend.

I was sorry no authors put forward their thoughts in the comments section, but the problems are complex and the answers perhaps too lengthy for a quick comment. I hope the post initiated some discussion and reflection beyond the blog. I decided my thoughts merited a whole blog, so here we go.

It's been twenty-three since my first novel was published, so I have been in the promotional game for a while. Wow, has it changed! When I started, I held in-person launches with food and wine in the gorgeous, marble-columned lobby of National Archives Canada, which hosted many author events for free (you just had to supply the food and drink). In 2000, the online world was very limited; no social media and only the beginnings of email and websites. Many potential readers didn't use the internet for communication, so I designed and printed out rudimentary post cards. I had a d-base file of readers which printed sticky little address labels on my dot-matrix printer. I bought reams of stamps. One by one, I mailed them to friends, family, and anyone I thought might be interested. 

My second promotional activity was throwing a box of books into the trunk of my car and driving around to every bookstore within a day's drive. I introduced myself as a local author, gave them a sample copy, and said I'd be happy to do a signing. This netted me a personal connection with most of the bookstores that remains helpful to this day, even though a great many of those bookstores have closed or changed owners.

About a year later, my friend Mary Jane Maffini and I (both at similar points in our book careers) decided we needed that new innovation called a website and I enlisted my then-teenage son to set one up for us, using html. It was clunky and impossible for us to edit, but at least we had a presence! A couple of years later, we decided we each needed our own website, and a techie friend volunteered to design them. 

My third promotional activity was probably the most valuable yet in my nascent mystery career - attending literary festivals, particularly mystery conferences. So many benefits! The most obvious being networking and sharing writing and publicity tips with other writers. Making connections with book industry people like librarians, booksellers, and reviewers not just in my own backyard but around the the world. Forming friendships that continue to be nourished through social media, notably Facebook. I started with Bloody Words before my first book was even published, and have attended Malice Domestic, Bouchercon, and Left Coast Crime, as well as smaller regional festivals. If it weren't for finances and the pandemic, I would go every year. My list of contacts grew as my books got out there.

The mailed launch invitations continued for several books, and the d-base grew with each book. Sometimes I held joint book launches with local crime writer friends like Mary Jane, which increased both our reaches as well. But at some point we decided to ditch the paper in favour of email. I admit to being haphazard about collecting reader contact information. As people emailed me about my books or invited me to speak at bookclubs, I collected their emails in a dedicated folder in my email program, which gave me a record of sorts. I would painstakingly go through these to invite people to my launches or to inform them of a new release. Inefficient and old-school, but it did work. 

The next big leap forward was the arrival of Social Media. I created a personal Facebook page in 2009, and my editor created an author page and urged me to use it. I kept forgetting to, and instead used my personal page for a combination of friendly chat and book information. Facebook was, and still is, an interactive platform, and readers often became Facebook friends who enjoyed stories about my cottage, my travels, and my dogs as much as the book information. But social media platforms kept multiplying, and we authors were urged to keep up. I joined Twitter a few years later, but found it of limited use except to make very specific announcements about a new release, a signing, or good review. Posts seemed to disappear into the void within a few minutes of being posted, and I made no effort to cultivate connections there. Amid the recent controversy and the increasing toxicity of the platform, I have cancelled my account there. Meanwhile my plugged-in daughter urged me to join Instagram. Facebook is a medium for people you already know, she said, but Instagram will allow you to reach new readers, particularly a younger audience. She made a valid point, so I did join and I do post upcoming news there (and occasional photos of dogs) but it's no place to cultivate connections unless you're a celebrity. It takes little extra time and effort, however, and maybe it increases my visibility. 

The last ten years have seen an explosion in online promotional options. Mail chimp and other software to organize your contact lists, newsletters, blogs, Goodreads and Amazon pages, youtube channels, book trailers, TikTok, and probably others I've yet to hear about.  More and more of this online engagement falls on the author's shoulders, with only the bestsellers and those rich enough to hire PAs and other publicity machines getting outside help. It's become overwhelming. Many of these new avenues required time and some tech expertise to master and maintain. There are authors who love this kind of thing or have handy family members to help, but not me. I have little patience for spending hours tearing my hair out online. It ranks above housekeeping (another necessary evil) but below dog walking, skiing, kayaking, and seeing friends. Plus I usually have a book to write.

I did create an Amazon and Goodreads author page, but I don't do anything with them and don't know if they're any use. I created a Youtube channel but have not put anything on it, and I have dreamed about a book trailer but once again - no technical expertise to turn the dreams into reality. I have run like a madwoman away from the supremely narcissistic TikTok. Because I can't figure out Mail Chimp, I do not have a newsletter, and although I now have a website that I designed and can edit on my own, it is frequently neglected. The one other online presence I maintain is this blog. I no longer use my onerous and often out-of-date email lists to promote events, but instead rely on Facebook invites, Instagram, and my website.

The pandemic accelerated a seismic shift in book promotion. The shift to virtual appearances had begun earlier, with some book clubs hosting virtual talks with authors. Video chats allowed authors to attend events and connect with others much farther afield. When March 2020 shut down the world, however, all book signings, tours, festivals, and other events came to a crashing halt. All my events through the next two years were cancelled, and many since then have been doubtful. It was a very isolating and lonely time, but virtual technology had its up sides. I held virtual launches for my last two books, and invited friends on both my email lists and Facebook from all across the world. More people attended those than could possibly attend my in-person events. In that sense the reach is far greater. 

But I have always loved meeting with readers, friends, and fans in person. I love seeing old friends, sharing laughter, hugs, and love of books.Virtual appearances - staring at thumbnails or, worse, that little green camera light - lack that sense of human connection. And without knowing that our stories touch people, what is the point of writing them? So I am planning two in-person launches, in Ottawa and Toronto, to introduce this latest book over the next week. And I am planning a number of bookstore signings and library readings over the next few months. It's probably not the most efficient way to reach a bigger audience, but it feeds my soul.

What works and what doesn't? I'm not sure, but part of the question is what are you willing to put work into? No writer can do everything and still have a life and write the next book. No writer is comfortable with all the platforms and online possibilities either. For myself, I will continue to use Facebook and Instagram for ongoing book news, as well as this blog and my website for a more detailed background. I will do virtual events as the opportunity arises, and I will be open to learning new things that seem exciting. But I will also continue to seek out in-person connections through book signings, readings, conferences, and tours. 

Promote, Promote, Promote!

A Previous Engagement

-Please join me, Donis Casey, for the launch of The Wrong Girl, 7:00 p.m., October 29, at Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’ll be appearing with the great Martin Edwards, who is also launching a new series with his book Gallows Lane. -

Don’t worry. I’ll remind you again later.

I'm getting ready for my book to come out, the first of my new series, The Adventures of Bianca Dangereuse. I’m in the midst of planning the promotional campaign - and not enjoying it very much, sorry to say. I'm one of those people who doesn't care for the planning part. I don't like calling up people who've never heard of me and trying to convince them that I'm the greatest thing since little green apples and they should by all means have me speak at their bookstore/library/club. It's not that I'm particularly shy, and I'm certainly not overly modest. I secretly suspect that I am the greatest thing since little green apples.

Writing is a - let us not say 'late' - but more like a 'mature' life career change for me. I put in my thirty-five years in the workplace, and now I find that getting out there and beating the bushes doesn't appeal. I like to be quiet for a change, and write. I like the public speaking. I've done a lot of it in my life and am good at it. But I don't like having to set up the gigs. If I had the money, I'd hire a publicist to do it for me.

It’s difficult to know what the most effective things are to do to gain attention for your books. I think sometimes that I’d be better served to do fewer signings and start concentrating on attending more big writing conferences. That way I’d get to know more of the mystery writers and readers around the country, and maybe get a little bit wider exposure. Sadly for me, travel is not easy for me to plan, since I don’t know from month to month if some family health crisis is going to intervene and I’ll have to cancel my trip at the last minute. When I first started, I was advised to concentrate on a narrower audience until I was better known, which I have done, and it has served me well. But the law of diminishing returns kicks in after a couple of books, and you have to keep finding new venues.

I think that I'm going to try to do more internet promotion. Which is pretty optimistic of me, since I don’t much enjoy that, either. Fortunately, with a new series that has a new setting and new character, I have lots of fun new stuff to write about.

However, when next I write my blog entry, Dear Reader, I’ll visit a familiar subject : What to wear for your launch! Stay tuned.

Another Year, Another Book, a Whole New World of Self-Promotion

Donis here,  kicking off my new year. My tenth Alafair Tucker Mystery, Forty Dead Men, will hit the streets on February 6, 2018. You can pre-order here. I am particularly proud of this book, which deals with the psychological effects of warfare on a veteran of the First World War. They called it shell shock back then. Now we call it PTSD. The early reviews have been stellar. Publishers’ Weekly starred review of Forty Dead Men says “Casey expertly nails the extended Tucker family—some 20 people—and combines these convincing characters, a superb sense of time and place, and a solid plot in this marvelously atmospheric historical.”

The official launch party for Forty Dead Men will be at Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, on February 24 at 2:00 p.m., when Poisoned Pen Press hosts Yours Truly, Dennis Palumbo (signing Head Wounds, A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery) and Priscilla Royal (signing Wild Justice, A Medieval Mystery) for a three author signing party! We will also be remembering another wonderful Poisoned Pen author, Fred Ramsay, who passed away late last year.

Trying to publicize a new book is a new adventure for me every time. Forty Dead Men is my tenth book in almost thirteen years, and just in that short time things have changed so much that I have to re-learn how to do it with each release.

Do you remember, Dear Reader, when authors had hard-copy press kits that they used to give to prospective agents and editors and to bookstore managers? That is a photo of mine, above. This is a left-over from the press kit batch I used to publicize of my third book, The Drop Edge of Yonder, a mere 10 years ago. NOBODY that I am aware of uses a physical booklet like this anymore. No, now it's either promote yourself on line or in person, and in person is becoming harder and harder to arrange. I have a website and a blog. I don't know how much either helps, but it can't hurt, right? This time I’m doing something most authors these days do automatically, and that is set up an author page on Facebook. It’s hard to believe, but Facebook was less than a year old when my first book was published in 2005, and nobody had an author page. I was finally convinced to create one because I can use it to push promotions and announcements. We shall see how this turns out. In the meantime, Dear Reader, if you would be so kind as to visit my Facebook author page, here, and give it a “Like”, I would be most appreciative.

Also, please remember that especially if you like a book, it is very helpful to the author if you write a nice review for it in Goodreads or on Amazon.

This writing game is tough. And when it comes to publicity, you just have to put your head down and go. What works for one may not work for you, so you try everything you can manage and do the best you can. The really important thing, though, is to do the best you can without making yourself miserable. Life is too short.