Welcome to my home on the Internet. Here you can find where I'm doing book signings or convention appearances, a bit about writing and more on my books. Make sure to check out the Forums where a lot of really cool people hang out.
Newest Books
- July 2011 Naked City: An anthology, my story is Fairy Gifts
- August 2011 Home Improvement: An urban fantasy anthology, my story is called Gray.
- October 2011 Down These Strange Streets: Yet another anthology. My entry is called In Red With Pearls.
Upcoming Books:
- March 2012 Fair Game: Book 3 of the Alpha and Omega series.
- Spring 2013 Mercy Thompson #7, not yet titled
Authors Behaving Hysterically
By: MikeJan 16, 2012
Over the past several years, authors have been repeatedly admonished to promote themselves. This started as good advice. Over a few years it gradually became dogma, and eventually some sort of pseudo-religious obligation. This summer we were at a very nice convention (and I won't tell you which one, hah!) and attending the obligatory, but always interesting, panel on author promotion. There were the usual chestnuts of "blog daily, twitter several times a day, don't forget to re-tweet and engage the reader, and make sure you promote your work on at least twenty (but not more than thirty) percent of your posts. Heads were nodding, notes were diligently taken.
I sat in the audience feeling much like an unrepentant sinner in church. My thoughts running something like this: "That's probably good advice, and we're not doing it."
"Should we repent? We have a Twitter account . . ."
"It doesn't matter, I just can't do that. It's not who I am."
"Stop your sniveling and suck it up, cupcake. This is business. What do you think you get not-paid for? If those books don't sell, Patty won't be the only one eating grubs and twigs!"
"Better grubs and twigs than learning to, ugh, re-tweet the posts of popular posters."
"Pathetic whiner!"
"Despotic Tyrant!"
Yes, I might have schizophrenic tendencies, but I agree with both of me. In the front, the speakers were talking about the importance of free giveaways, and the opportunities presented by offering outtakes, bonus scenes, and exclusive on-line stories for your readers. And then it happened, a single hand was raised and a hesitant neophyte addressed the panel. His concern was that, with a day job, a wife and two children he wasn't sure he could do all of this and still find time to write.
My ears pricked, and I raised my head from the posture of contrition. This man had dared voice what I have privately held true, that authors should spend most of their workday crafting stories. After all, wrestling with viewpoint, characters, pacing, dialog, plot and setting is challenging enough without single-handedly wrestling the internet into submission as your personal marketing machine. I breathed a hopeful breath . . .and heard the panelists chanting "Shun the unbeliever. Shun the unbeliever. Shun! Shun!" or something vaguely along those lines.
Still, I have wondered how dedicated authors find time to actually do all the things the author promotion religion demands suggestions recommend. Today, Patty and I found the answers. Meljean Brook is a tremendously talented author. Over the past several days, her blog has contained an absolutely charming series entitled, Diary of an Author, which explains exactly how this marketing should be accomplished! Meljean is my Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I see clearly now.