Today I received copies of my book, to discover that the errors I'd paid to have fixed were not fixed. Additionally, 12 copies have thus far been shipped out to sellers through Xlibris. So there is a possibility that if you purchased the book between January 8-25, the manufacturer may have sent out an error copy instead of the copy that you were supposed to receive. My deepest apologies. I emailed Xlibris tonight to see what might be done. You will easily know if you received the wrong copy, because the cover title will have a ghost image of larger letters behind the title. If you aren't sure, another easy check is to look at page 63, second line from the bottom. If the last word in that sentence says "would" instead of "wouldn't" then you received the error copy.
I believe it is not the fault of the Xlibris Indiana people, despite their very best Pomba Gira party efforts. It may in fact, be the Canadian manufacturers who actually process the work. The second review copy I received and approved for sale was fine, so I think that it was an order mix up. It's entirely possible your copy is fine, and they only sent me the wrong books. One can but hope.
After I got past hyperventilating about this, I just took it in stride and thought, you know, things are far worse that are going on in this world than 12 people getting the wrong copy. The Xlibris folks, despite all my blog teasing, have actually been wonderful thus far, and I fully expect peaceful resolution based on past experience of working with them. They've been really lovely folks.
It occurred to me that one solution to the problem is activism. I blog about it, I write in order to generate some, and by and large I believe in activism. But activism's gotten a bad reputation these days. I think it's because a lot of people mistake waving an angry fist for being activism. Maybe it's because the opposite of activism in some people's minds might be being passive.
As silly as it sounds to have to say this, the root word of activism is "active." It's not "aggressive" or "blaming" or "passing the buck." If it were, we'd call it aggressivism, blamism or passing-the-buckism, now wouldn't we? Those all sound terribly idiotic, yet that's what some forms of what we refer to as activism have actually become.
According to Merriam-Webster, the term activism means "a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue" and was first used in 1915.
I find it interesting that as a society we've tipped the scales in our emphasis of the "or opposition to" part of the definition. We're all "power to the people" which in theory, I love, but in what I've seen involves angry jeers, yelling, fist waving, flag burning and trash can tipping. Activism is fast going the way of feminism, moving so far in one direction as to make most of the people who could benefit from it want nothing to do with it.
For me, I'm heading toward the other side on this to see what happens. Just about anything can happen, and it's entirely up to me to see where it goes. I view activism as taking some action and being active in a process. I have no problem with direct, vigorous action, in support of something, namely, peaceful resolution of a publishing glitch.
Well, no, perhaps I'm not up with the "vigorous" part. That usually involves some level of force. I'm not at all against using my power, but I believe that all power must be balanced with some wisdom. Instead, Merriam-Webster provides synonyms for "vigorous" and my, they have quite a range...Go look it up if you're trying to avoid housework. I'm selecting "lusty" because it's got a nifty definition I find somewhat to my liking:
Lusty - implies exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment. That would summarize my outlook on my better days, so I've determined that I'm going to operate as if this was one of my better days.
I shall take my exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment and use it in direct support of my cause to see this peacefully resolved. Let's see where this goes!
Showing posts with label The Summer of Pomba Gira. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Summer of Pomba Gira. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Why I wrote, why I write
I had a great appointment with a Jungian analyst tonight. A therapist - a psychologist no less. Who knew? What does a writer go to a Jungian analyst for, you might ask?
The process of self-exploration.
It was interesting that I came full circle in this process, because tonight we talked about why I'm doing this writing thing at all. It wasn't my question, it was his, but he wanted to know and to understand. Understanding me on my terms is a complex thing, so he must be a courageous sort. He knows I've got my day job, which has got nothing to do with writing fiction, and he knows I don't make any money off of doing this kind of fundraising writing project that I'm doing with The Summer of Pomba Gira. He wanted to understand if I'm looking to do a career change or something, and I said no.
I don't think I'd want to be a writer chasing after dollars. There's something for me about that that takes away from my pure enjoyment of the process and what it is I'm trying to accomplish. If I write for money, there's an expectation of sales, and a narrowly defined path where success if measured on somebody else's terms. I'd rather do it as a fundraiser for someone else, something I care about.
I explained it's about a sphere of influence. In my line of work, my regular career, we're not trained to be activists. Most people aren't trained to be activists, and frankly, if you try to learn it in a classroom setting, it's not partcularly easy. I learned from the people who were on the streets doing it, in communities, facing off with struggles every day that most people don't even realize exist.
Honestly, I didn't know how much I picked up from these folks. It seeped into me gradually, over a period of time. One day, a woman I worked with was reading Saul Alinsky for a class and said that she was on to me now, that I sounded a lot like him. I looked at her and blinked and said, "who?" About a year later, another woman I know said much the same thing, and was reading Paulo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Again, my response was the same...who? I eventually got curious an read them both, and saw what they meant. I thought about the people in my life I'd been inspired by, and they were all activists who taught me the meaning of DOING.
Back to me and the Jungian analyst. We talked and I was able to convey that when you're doing something from deep inside of you, it may not be something that is fit for mainstream. Mainstream isn't going to like it, because it bucks the pre-ordained, pre-conceived ideas of what is marketable and ought to be distributed to the masses in order to keep us all well drugged.
There's a part of me long before I became this crazy writer chick, where I took the unconventional path, and defined success on my own terms. In my regular day job career, it's suited me well in terms of spheres of influence about the things that matter to me most. It's not too different with my writing. There are things that we don't talk about, things we do and experience on a mindboggling daily basis that never get talked about. Going to therapy is one of them, by way of example. Experiencing racism and internalizing it is another, one that we save for "safe" friends to talk about it with. Facing off with a constant bombardment of what are "ideal" ways to experience womanhood (or manhood for that matter) is another.
There are little islands of us everywhere, struggling with what we believe and who we believe and if we even believe in ourselves at all. We put on the smile and keep moving on. Except where is it we're moving to, or what is it we're moving toward? Is it that ideal of somebody else's expectation of us? Or the one we told ourselves was really ours, and that if only we "make it" to that something on the horizon, then we'll be acceptable? That day will never come, if we don't start with knowing that we already are.
So my writing has no answers. If it gives pause momentarily from the grind we find ourselves in, to find some magic or something sacred in what's presently and currently surrounding us that has nothing to do with escapism, but brings forth some awareness, then that's good. Then the sphere of influence I'd hoped to accomplish has been achieved. Make it your own. Host a Pomba Gira party and be sure to invite me. Better still, be inspired and live your dream.
The process of self-exploration.
It was interesting that I came full circle in this process, because tonight we talked about why I'm doing this writing thing at all. It wasn't my question, it was his, but he wanted to know and to understand. Understanding me on my terms is a complex thing, so he must be a courageous sort. He knows I've got my day job, which has got nothing to do with writing fiction, and he knows I don't make any money off of doing this kind of fundraising writing project that I'm doing with The Summer of Pomba Gira. He wanted to understand if I'm looking to do a career change or something, and I said no.
I don't think I'd want to be a writer chasing after dollars. There's something for me about that that takes away from my pure enjoyment of the process and what it is I'm trying to accomplish. If I write for money, there's an expectation of sales, and a narrowly defined path where success if measured on somebody else's terms. I'd rather do it as a fundraiser for someone else, something I care about.
I explained it's about a sphere of influence. In my line of work, my regular career, we're not trained to be activists. Most people aren't trained to be activists, and frankly, if you try to learn it in a classroom setting, it's not partcularly easy. I learned from the people who were on the streets doing it, in communities, facing off with struggles every day that most people don't even realize exist.
Honestly, I didn't know how much I picked up from these folks. It seeped into me gradually, over a period of time. One day, a woman I worked with was reading Saul Alinsky for a class and said that she was on to me now, that I sounded a lot like him. I looked at her and blinked and said, "who?" About a year later, another woman I know said much the same thing, and was reading Paulo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Again, my response was the same...who? I eventually got curious an read them both, and saw what they meant. I thought about the people in my life I'd been inspired by, and they were all activists who taught me the meaning of DOING.
Back to me and the Jungian analyst. We talked and I was able to convey that when you're doing something from deep inside of you, it may not be something that is fit for mainstream. Mainstream isn't going to like it, because it bucks the pre-ordained, pre-conceived ideas of what is marketable and ought to be distributed to the masses in order to keep us all well drugged.
There's a part of me long before I became this crazy writer chick, where I took the unconventional path, and defined success on my own terms. In my regular day job career, it's suited me well in terms of spheres of influence about the things that matter to me most. It's not too different with my writing. There are things that we don't talk about, things we do and experience on a mindboggling daily basis that never get talked about. Going to therapy is one of them, by way of example. Experiencing racism and internalizing it is another, one that we save for "safe" friends to talk about it with. Facing off with a constant bombardment of what are "ideal" ways to experience womanhood (or manhood for that matter) is another.
There are little islands of us everywhere, struggling with what we believe and who we believe and if we even believe in ourselves at all. We put on the smile and keep moving on. Except where is it we're moving to, or what is it we're moving toward? Is it that ideal of somebody else's expectation of us? Or the one we told ourselves was really ours, and that if only we "make it" to that something on the horizon, then we'll be acceptable? That day will never come, if we don't start with knowing that we already are.
So my writing has no answers. If it gives pause momentarily from the grind we find ourselves in, to find some magic or something sacred in what's presently and currently surrounding us that has nothing to do with escapism, but brings forth some awareness, then that's good. Then the sphere of influence I'd hoped to accomplish has been achieved. Make it your own. Host a Pomba Gira party and be sure to invite me. Better still, be inspired and live your dream.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Coast to Coast, Pomba Gira Makes Her Rounds
I've checked on the Xlibris site today to see how sales of the book are doing. There have been 9 officially shipped out so far, although word has it that there are more sales in the pipeline. The sales portion tells me what cities the book has shipped to thus far. So far, the book is making it's way to Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina, California and South Dakota. Very nice! 9 copies sold = $45.00 in author royalties, or $22.50 each for the two American Indian organizations I've committed to donating the royalties to.
It's nice know where she's going to excert her influence next. I didn't count the Canary Islands, because technically that was a trade and not a purchase, but the book made it there, too!
It's nice know where she's going to excert her influence next. I didn't count the Canary Islands, because technically that was a trade and not a purchase, but the book made it there, too!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Fame, Family and Friends
The head cold must be going now, or the Nyquil's kicking in. I'm feeling - Inspired!
So I've got this famous relative in the Main family, that no one's ever met or talks about. Except her mother, and I'm sure her mother wouldn't make things like having a famous daughter up or anything like that. The problem is, we share the same name, Oleander Main, and boy is she going to be pissed off when someone figures out that we're related.
It's not like I haven't tried to contact her before. Her mother gave me her address and I wrote some years ago. I even found a way to email her just recently. But I doubt she's going to contact me. She's probably thinking I want money or something like that. I'm sure all the Main's hit her up for money, or "Can you get an autograph from Castro for me next time you're in Cuba?" or "Can we just stay a few weeks with you at your chalet in Harlem?" Sure, I know just how pesky family can be, but really now, I'd think she'd want to know that her second cousin twice removed was staking a claim to fame in self-publishing this crazy novel. But most likely she thinks, "Oh damn, it's Oleander again, probably going to go on about us flying around like hawks in the day and wanting me to send my spit to Utah again."
Actually this time, I just want to warn her. I'm thinking the fame of a blockbuster like The Summer of Pomba Gira will be too much for her. She's the refined sort, you know the kind, eats with a fork and knife? I picture her at the posh, jet-setting parties she's known to frequent, having fans (my fans) coming up to her with a pen (or pen knife, depending on how they take the novel) and asking for an autograph (or thier money back) and her not really knowing what to make of it.
We've actually never met, but we've likely both got a certain level of popularity (piles of hate mail) due to our charm (ability to offend large masses of people). So I'd like her to know that this is coming so that she can be prepared (duck and cover). Particularly, I'd like to warn her so that when she sets foot in Brazil again, she's well aware that her distant cousin namesake has achieved fame in a way unique to our family.
It doesn't help that we somewhat resemble one another, or that her photo on her book (Managing Your Proctology Exam - 1st edition) would do equally well as the face to launch a thousand dartboards. I'm quite sure, like the readers of this blog, she has no idea of who or what Pomba Gira is. Frankly, I believe that being the namesake of possibly the first American author to publish a fictional novel with Pomba Gira in it would be lost on her.
Failing in my stalking attempts on my famed cousin, I've proceeded to stalk my less famous family on Facebook. I'm sure they've reached the point of thinking "If I just friend her, will she go away?" This comes after having emailed them 600 times to ask them to buy the book. Some have come up with clever ways to hide, but to no avail, I find them anyway. However, owing to the previous family history of having a published author embarrass the family, they aren't going to touch me with a 10 foot pole. you certainly won' find any Mains on my list of friends in Facebook. The nerve!
Friends, on the other hand, are a wonderful thing. Most of my friends haven't read my book, and let's face it, my cousin's hasn't made the New York Times best seller list. So they're blissfully unaware of being associated with me being anything more thana good time with a Sea Monkey-ish kind of gal. Besides, they've been advertising my name for years, on the bathroom walls of only the finest establishments. It probably accounts for my cousin's fame. So now, they have a different kind of wall: The Facebook Wall.
This is the place for each and every one of us to make our mark on the virtual world. We can all be famous on Facebook, at least, among our ever-widening circle of friends. I like my Facebook friends, and enjoy reading their posts. They can use my name as often as they like, because really, if somebody gets offended, I'll just blame it all on my erstwhile cousin.
So I've got this famous relative in the Main family, that no one's ever met or talks about. Except her mother, and I'm sure her mother wouldn't make things like having a famous daughter up or anything like that. The problem is, we share the same name, Oleander Main, and boy is she going to be pissed off when someone figures out that we're related.
It's not like I haven't tried to contact her before. Her mother gave me her address and I wrote some years ago. I even found a way to email her just recently. But I doubt she's going to contact me. She's probably thinking I want money or something like that. I'm sure all the Main's hit her up for money, or "Can you get an autograph from Castro for me next time you're in Cuba?" or "Can we just stay a few weeks with you at your chalet in Harlem?" Sure, I know just how pesky family can be, but really now, I'd think she'd want to know that her second cousin twice removed was staking a claim to fame in self-publishing this crazy novel. But most likely she thinks, "Oh damn, it's Oleander again, probably going to go on about us flying around like hawks in the day and wanting me to send my spit to Utah again."
Actually this time, I just want to warn her. I'm thinking the fame of a blockbuster like The Summer of Pomba Gira will be too much for her. She's the refined sort, you know the kind, eats with a fork and knife? I picture her at the posh, jet-setting parties she's known to frequent, having fans (my fans) coming up to her with a pen (or pen knife, depending on how they take the novel) and asking for an autograph (or thier money back) and her not really knowing what to make of it.
We've actually never met, but we've likely both got a certain level of popularity (piles of hate mail) due to our charm (ability to offend large masses of people). So I'd like her to know that this is coming so that she can be prepared (duck and cover). Particularly, I'd like to warn her so that when she sets foot in Brazil again, she's well aware that her distant cousin namesake has achieved fame in a way unique to our family.
It doesn't help that we somewhat resemble one another, or that her photo on her book (Managing Your Proctology Exam - 1st edition) would do equally well as the face to launch a thousand dartboards. I'm quite sure, like the readers of this blog, she has no idea of who or what Pomba Gira is. Frankly, I believe that being the namesake of possibly the first American author to publish a fictional novel with Pomba Gira in it would be lost on her.
Failing in my stalking attempts on my famed cousin, I've proceeded to stalk my less famous family on Facebook. I'm sure they've reached the point of thinking "If I just friend her, will she go away?" This comes after having emailed them 600 times to ask them to buy the book. Some have come up with clever ways to hide, but to no avail, I find them anyway. However, owing to the previous family history of having a published author embarrass the family, they aren't going to touch me with a 10 foot pole. you certainly won' find any Mains on my list of friends in Facebook. The nerve!
Friends, on the other hand, are a wonderful thing. Most of my friends haven't read my book, and let's face it, my cousin's hasn't made the New York Times best seller list. So they're blissfully unaware of being associated with me being anything more thana good time with a Sea Monkey-ish kind of gal. Besides, they've been advertising my name for years, on the bathroom walls of only the finest establishments. It probably accounts for my cousin's fame. So now, they have a different kind of wall: The Facebook Wall.
This is the place for each and every one of us to make our mark on the virtual world. We can all be famous on Facebook, at least, among our ever-widening circle of friends. I like my Facebook friends, and enjoy reading their posts. They can use my name as often as they like, because really, if somebody gets offended, I'll just blame it all on my erstwhile cousin.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Outted and Out
I am feeling uninspired today, so I'll just share a true story of mine. A couple of years ago, I was working in this place and they did a diversity training for all 60 or so of the staff. One of the exercises they did was to have us all line up, shoulder to shoulder, out in the parking lot. So, there we were, facing the building, with the grass behind us.
In the place I worked in at the time, I wore suits sometimes. I've got a terminal degree, which doesn't mean you die once you get it, but it certainly feels like you will as you're headed toward it. I'm blondish and have blue eyes. This is just to give you a point of reference for what happened next.
So the facilitator asked us questions, and if the question applied to you, depending on what it was, you'd either take a step forward or a step backward. I don't remember what all of the questions were, but they were things like "If your parents expected you to go to college, take a step forward," or "if a relative of yours was killed by gunfire, take a step backward."
By the end of the exercise, everyone was standing in a different place than they were before. The facilitator asked us to look around and see where people were. One of my friends called out, "Hey, where's Oleander?!" This was because I was the farthest back, way back in the grass and almost hidden from view. Despite my terminal degree, assumptions based on how I look, and stylish suits. I should mention as well that I am short, so I don't take particularly big steps.
Insofar as diversity exercises go, it was a good one, and helped people to visually see things they hadn't before. But I left it feeling outted in some way. Like there are things I know about myself and who I am and how I grew up that I know and my friends know about me, but I didn't necessarily want 60 people at work to know about me.
I was irrationally irritable for the rest of that day. I could have stayed there with it, but at the time I was working on the Summer of Pomba Gira, and so I took some of what I was feeling related to that and put it in the story.
In the place I worked in at the time, I wore suits sometimes. I've got a terminal degree, which doesn't mean you die once you get it, but it certainly feels like you will as you're headed toward it. I'm blondish and have blue eyes. This is just to give you a point of reference for what happened next.
So the facilitator asked us questions, and if the question applied to you, depending on what it was, you'd either take a step forward or a step backward. I don't remember what all of the questions were, but they were things like "If your parents expected you to go to college, take a step forward," or "if a relative of yours was killed by gunfire, take a step backward."
By the end of the exercise, everyone was standing in a different place than they were before. The facilitator asked us to look around and see where people were. One of my friends called out, "Hey, where's Oleander?!" This was because I was the farthest back, way back in the grass and almost hidden from view. Despite my terminal degree, assumptions based on how I look, and stylish suits. I should mention as well that I am short, so I don't take particularly big steps.
Insofar as diversity exercises go, it was a good one, and helped people to visually see things they hadn't before. But I left it feeling outted in some way. Like there are things I know about myself and who I am and how I grew up that I know and my friends know about me, but I didn't necessarily want 60 people at work to know about me.
I was irrationally irritable for the rest of that day. I could have stayed there with it, but at the time I was working on the Summer of Pomba Gira, and so I took some of what I was feeling related to that and put it in the story.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Clearly, They Fear Me...Censored No More...
An interesting thing happened on my way to the blog...
I was considering where else I might post about The Summer of Pomba Gira, in order to generate some interest. So I posted to the Facebook Just Fans portion of the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, CNN, Fox News, and that wasn't a problem at all. Then I went to the White House, because I know that our President and First Lady, being as stylish and as well read as they are, typify my readers. I thought, hey, why not?
So I post on the Just Fans part of their site, and nothing shows up. I do it again, still nothing. I felt that I was being virtually censored by the MAN, so I emailed the White House directly.
I probably wouldn't have cared too terribly, were it not for the fact that one time I posted something serious to the administration, got no response to that, but found myself on their mailing list for their press releases and promotion of the administration's agenda. I did not ask for this, but apparently, David Axelrod liked me. He hasn't friended me yet on Facebook, but given his propensity for sending me unsolicited emails, I expect someday he shall.
So I figured, you send me your press releases, it's my turn, Bud! But then, when I posted them, they disappeared. I checked from my account, where it said I'd posted, yet I could not see them when I went to the page. So I emailed the White House.
A few hours later, I was looking for something on Google related to my book, and discovered instead they'd posted my wall stuff to a links board. So it's possible they never truly meant to censor me. I will take this under consideration when I draw up my list for the Summer of Pomba Gira Party.
I was considering where else I might post about The Summer of Pomba Gira, in order to generate some interest. So I posted to the Facebook Just Fans portion of the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, CNN, Fox News, and that wasn't a problem at all. Then I went to the White House, because I know that our President and First Lady, being as stylish and as well read as they are, typify my readers. I thought, hey, why not?
So I post on the Just Fans part of their site, and nothing shows up. I do it again, still nothing. I felt that I was being virtually censored by the MAN, so I emailed the White House directly.
I probably wouldn't have cared too terribly, were it not for the fact that one time I posted something serious to the administration, got no response to that, but found myself on their mailing list for their press releases and promotion of the administration's agenda. I did not ask for this, but apparently, David Axelrod liked me. He hasn't friended me yet on Facebook, but given his propensity for sending me unsolicited emails, I expect someday he shall.
So I figured, you send me your press releases, it's my turn, Bud! But then, when I posted them, they disappeared. I checked from my account, where it said I'd posted, yet I could not see them when I went to the page. So I emailed the White House.
A few hours later, I was looking for something on Google related to my book, and discovered instead they'd posted my wall stuff to a links board. So it's possible they never truly meant to censor me. I will take this under consideration when I draw up my list for the Summer of Pomba Gira Party.
The Joke's On Me, Bewildered Author Announces
If you've read the blog entitled "Oh Canada..." you'll know I was poking a bit of fun at Xlibris' related to how long it takes to get your book to you, the loyal reader, and why.
So you can imagine my surprise when today I get the mail, and I have a package from, you guessed it...Canada. Complete with a customs packing slip. I was somewhat startled, and opened the package to discover, yep, my book. I'd ordered one as a paying customer in order to see how long it would take the average reader to receive a copy. I'd ordered it prior to the changes I made to the cover and interior, and it took 14 days, which is less than I imagined that it would. There it was, my order, from Canada.
I can only take this to mean that the Canadians have now taken over, having realized it's much simpler to ship a book through customs than to go through it themselves.
Meanwhile, in order to keep me on my toes, the Xlibris New Jersey folks who apparently survived the wrath of God sent me on the same day a review copy of the new issue of the book. The cover looks much better.
I am perplexed because the Xlibris site (presumably in Bloomington, IN) specifically says that they cannot do international orders on their website. I believe that they are experiencing some identity confusion, and I will be sure to give them the name of a good psychologist.
So you can imagine my surprise when today I get the mail, and I have a package from, you guessed it...Canada. Complete with a customs packing slip. I was somewhat startled, and opened the package to discover, yep, my book. I'd ordered one as a paying customer in order to see how long it would take the average reader to receive a copy. I'd ordered it prior to the changes I made to the cover and interior, and it took 14 days, which is less than I imagined that it would. There it was, my order, from Canada.
I can only take this to mean that the Canadians have now taken over, having realized it's much simpler to ship a book through customs than to go through it themselves.
Meanwhile, in order to keep me on my toes, the Xlibris New Jersey folks who apparently survived the wrath of God sent me on the same day a review copy of the new issue of the book. The cover looks much better.
I am perplexed because the Xlibris site (presumably in Bloomington, IN) specifically says that they cannot do international orders on their website. I believe that they are experiencing some identity confusion, and I will be sure to give them the name of a good psychologist.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Good Karma Marketing and Success
Hello,
Just thought I'd post an update on what I've been doing to promote the sale of the book for the fundraising.
1. Emailed organizations to whom I'll be sending the donations.
2. Emailed friends and family and select colleagues.
3. Posted a free press release.
4. Developed a Facebook page.
5. Contacted Geraldo Rivera at Fox News.
6. Contacted three major NDN Country newspapers.
7. Posted a listing of the book to another self-publishing site
8. Posted on relevant FB links, to anyone I thought might be interested.
9. Posted on Multiply to sites that might be interested in the book.
Additionally, I have traded a copy with another grassroots author who was kind enough to agree to it, and I have bought 4 boxes of girlscout cookies in trade for someone agreeing to buy my book.
In terms of the fundraising aspect, my goal would be to raise enough for these two organizations for it to be worthwhile having gone and done this at all. I could have just cut a check to each for the amount it cost me to self-publish and been done with it, not having published The Summer of Pomba Gira at all. But then, it would have been easier. Who likes easy? No, it would have been personally safer to hide behind a checkbook and sometimes we need a little adventure in our lives!
In terms of the readership, my goal would be to give them something to think about, some paradigm shifting, a different perspective. I've been told that I often put things out there that sit like ticking time bombs, that go "kaboom!" a few days later when they emerge in people's consciousness and they have an "ah ha" experience. I'd like this novel to do that for folks, but I didn't set out to do that. However, I don't generally set out to do that when it happens with folks I know, either. It actually did happen to me in relation to this book, after I read the review copy.
One pre-publication reader didn't like the ending of the book, and it was the first time I'd heard that. I respect her opinion, and would love for her to review the book on the review page, as I respect criticism as well and want readers to know all opinions. So when I was re-reading it at the review copy stage, I was mindful of this feedback.
I didn't change the ending, but I found myself reading it and wondering what it was about the ending that was challenging. As I read it, I went back to previous scenes and I realized that I'd done some foreshadowing at several points related to the paradigm shifting, and that I'd done it without consciously being aware of having done it. Tracking it back this way, I realized the importance of some key elements I included, and had several "ah ha" moment myself.
And this leads to the idea of success and how it's evolving for me. I'd feel the novel was successful if it raises money for these organizations, and if the readers can relate to some aspect. But it's also a success for me personally. Not because I self-published and gain acolades of my friends and family. It's because it conveyed some critical concepts to a viewing audience in a way that I haven't seen done before. I read a lot, and I admire the authors I read. I admire them because they say the things I'm thinking that I couldn't. I think I set the bar in terms of my own writing as being to make it to the base of the mountain that they've already climbed.
However, in reading the review copy, in some respects, I went beyond those mountain peaks and hadn't realized it. Not because I'm a great writer, but because I'm a bold one.
I had a situation that occurred a few years ago, where I went into an important meeting and needed to assist in a paradigm shift for something that influences a lot of people. No one there knew me, and I afterward, I felt very outrageous and bold. I called an activist friend of mine and processed it. I said I felt like Saul Alinsky had channeled through me, and that I'd made myself so extreme and radical in that meeting, that any message I might calmly convey afterward might actually seem reasonable.
He said to me that I kicked the door open so that others might walk through. I was really grateful he said this, and helped me to put what I'd done into perspective, because I felt organically radical and out there, doing what I'd done. And it feels this way, now.
So I've put a book out there to use as a fundraiser, that may not make me the most popular Sea Monkey in the brine. It's a major risk on many levels. Yet, if in writing what I have, if the very existence of it allows other authors or community members to walk through that door, then that's a monumental success.
So at least it exists now and it's out there.
Just thought I'd post an update on what I've been doing to promote the sale of the book for the fundraising.
1. Emailed organizations to whom I'll be sending the donations.
2. Emailed friends and family and select colleagues.
3. Posted a free press release.
4. Developed a Facebook page.
5. Contacted Geraldo Rivera at Fox News.
6. Contacted three major NDN Country newspapers.
7. Posted a listing of the book to another self-publishing site
8. Posted on relevant FB links, to anyone I thought might be interested.
9. Posted on Multiply to sites that might be interested in the book.
Additionally, I have traded a copy with another grassroots author who was kind enough to agree to it, and I have bought 4 boxes of girlscout cookies in trade for someone agreeing to buy my book.
In terms of the fundraising aspect, my goal would be to raise enough for these two organizations for it to be worthwhile having gone and done this at all. I could have just cut a check to each for the amount it cost me to self-publish and been done with it, not having published The Summer of Pomba Gira at all. But then, it would have been easier. Who likes easy? No, it would have been personally safer to hide behind a checkbook and sometimes we need a little adventure in our lives!
In terms of the readership, my goal would be to give them something to think about, some paradigm shifting, a different perspective. I've been told that I often put things out there that sit like ticking time bombs, that go "kaboom!" a few days later when they emerge in people's consciousness and they have an "ah ha" experience. I'd like this novel to do that for folks, but I didn't set out to do that. However, I don't generally set out to do that when it happens with folks I know, either. It actually did happen to me in relation to this book, after I read the review copy.
One pre-publication reader didn't like the ending of the book, and it was the first time I'd heard that. I respect her opinion, and would love for her to review the book on the review page, as I respect criticism as well and want readers to know all opinions. So when I was re-reading it at the review copy stage, I was mindful of this feedback.
I didn't change the ending, but I found myself reading it and wondering what it was about the ending that was challenging. As I read it, I went back to previous scenes and I realized that I'd done some foreshadowing at several points related to the paradigm shifting, and that I'd done it without consciously being aware of having done it. Tracking it back this way, I realized the importance of some key elements I included, and had several "ah ha" moment myself.
And this leads to the idea of success and how it's evolving for me. I'd feel the novel was successful if it raises money for these organizations, and if the readers can relate to some aspect. But it's also a success for me personally. Not because I self-published and gain acolades of my friends and family. It's because it conveyed some critical concepts to a viewing audience in a way that I haven't seen done before. I read a lot, and I admire the authors I read. I admire them because they say the things I'm thinking that I couldn't. I think I set the bar in terms of my own writing as being to make it to the base of the mountain that they've already climbed.
However, in reading the review copy, in some respects, I went beyond those mountain peaks and hadn't realized it. Not because I'm a great writer, but because I'm a bold one.
I had a situation that occurred a few years ago, where I went into an important meeting and needed to assist in a paradigm shift for something that influences a lot of people. No one there knew me, and I afterward, I felt very outrageous and bold. I called an activist friend of mine and processed it. I said I felt like Saul Alinsky had channeled through me, and that I'd made myself so extreme and radical in that meeting, that any message I might calmly convey afterward might actually seem reasonable.
He said to me that I kicked the door open so that others might walk through. I was really grateful he said this, and helped me to put what I'd done into perspective, because I felt organically radical and out there, doing what I'd done. And it feels this way, now.
So I've put a book out there to use as a fundraiser, that may not make me the most popular Sea Monkey in the brine. It's a major risk on many levels. Yet, if in writing what I have, if the very existence of it allows other authors or community members to walk through that door, then that's a monumental success.
So at least it exists now and it's out there.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Oh Canada! Discoveries made...
Hurray! We had our first Canadian visitor to the website! Welcome, Canadian!
I just discovered that in 60-90 days, The Summer of Pomba Gira will be listed with Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. Didn't know that! I did know that sales through other booksellers result in only a 10% royalty, and I'm not entirely sure of if that's on the retail list price, or on the actual purchase price they buy it at, which is discounted to them. This means that the book MAY be available to international buyers through those venues. However, the overall contribution to the fundraiser will be significantly less than if purchased through Xlibris directly. Purchasing through the other sites won't result in a faster ship time, because it's Print-On-Demand(POD) and therefore when you order, they literally make the book for you.
What I suspect actually occurs between the time that you order the book and when you receive it is that the Xlibris folks arrange to have a Pomba Gira party for you. I've heard they know how to party in Bloomington, IN, so I imagine it's like Carnivale or Mardi Gras, every time a copy of The Summer of Pomba Gira is sold. At the current rate, they're probably having a party every day! Thanks to YOU! If this keeps up, we'll generate new business for Indiana rehab programs, thus keeping the American economy strong! Just doing our part, since Joe Biden said we should. He's probably having his own Pomba Gira party over at the White House right now.
All I can say is thank God I didn't publish a book entitled "Managing Your Proctology Exam."
After the party they host in your honor, they send your order off to NJ. Why NJ, you ask? Because they REALLY know how to party there. No, seriously, aside from the physical publishing facility being there, I'm not really sure. So I Googled it, (New Jersey Famous For) and discovered that all answers to mundane questions may be found on the Internet. Apparently someone is trying to avoid housework as much as I am, and posted answers. If I piece it together, the nearest I can come up with as a reason to send your order to New Jersey is that they have lightbulbs there. That's very interesting, because I always imagined they did in IN, too. It only goes to show you how a Chicago hometown girl can learn a thing or two.
After they crank up the generator, and turn on the lightbulbs, they print your book and read it, cover to cover. Then they quote the characters and act the whole thing out an outdoor drama. It entertains the New Jersey folks to no end, or at least, until the generator goes out.
Frankly, I've never been to NJ, but I'm looking forward to seeing them flapping their wings and climbing up trees someday, as one scene in the book has that. I'm envisioning new dialogue, where they nearly roll out of the tree from laughter, that you bought this book at all.
That's when lightening strikes and they have to get a whole new crew in from...you guessed it, Canada. They're not nearly as likely to fall out of trees as we Americans are. A whole new labor force recruited from Canada, where only one of them knows about the book.
This is what takes so freaking long in publishing your book: Homeland Security. America takes these things seriously and the TSA all have copies of "Managing Your Proctology Exam." Several weeks after the bomb sniffing dogs have had their way with their luggage, our new Canadian workforce rapidly works to mail off the book to you, so they can get back home to where the people are saner.
Several of you having ordered the book having:
1. Donated to some great NDN causes,
2. Gotten people in Indiana to rehab one step faster,
3. Brought the wrath of God down on New Jersey folks,
Have also,
4. Emailed me that you've purchased the book and wonder why I've not posted new sales figures here or on my Facebook page.
This is because they don't tell me until it's SHIPPED, rather than when it's ordered. I imagine it's due to national security interests. So they wait until the Canadians have gone past the border check and back into their own lovely country, and only then do I see that a book has been sold.
All of this being said, book buyers, just pat yourself on the back for having done some really amazing things with an internet connection and a valid credit card number. And don't be surprised if a Canadian punches you next time you say you bought a book through Xlibris.
I just discovered that in 60-90 days, The Summer of Pomba Gira will be listed with Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. Didn't know that! I did know that sales through other booksellers result in only a 10% royalty, and I'm not entirely sure of if that's on the retail list price, or on the actual purchase price they buy it at, which is discounted to them. This means that the book MAY be available to international buyers through those venues. However, the overall contribution to the fundraiser will be significantly less than if purchased through Xlibris directly. Purchasing through the other sites won't result in a faster ship time, because it's Print-On-Demand(POD) and therefore when you order, they literally make the book for you.
What I suspect actually occurs between the time that you order the book and when you receive it is that the Xlibris folks arrange to have a Pomba Gira party for you. I've heard they know how to party in Bloomington, IN, so I imagine it's like Carnivale or Mardi Gras, every time a copy of The Summer of Pomba Gira is sold. At the current rate, they're probably having a party every day! Thanks to YOU! If this keeps up, we'll generate new business for Indiana rehab programs, thus keeping the American economy strong! Just doing our part, since Joe Biden said we should. He's probably having his own Pomba Gira party over at the White House right now.
All I can say is thank God I didn't publish a book entitled "Managing Your Proctology Exam."
After the party they host in your honor, they send your order off to NJ. Why NJ, you ask? Because they REALLY know how to party there. No, seriously, aside from the physical publishing facility being there, I'm not really sure. So I Googled it, (New Jersey Famous For) and discovered that all answers to mundane questions may be found on the Internet. Apparently someone is trying to avoid housework as much as I am, and posted answers. If I piece it together, the nearest I can come up with as a reason to send your order to New Jersey is that they have lightbulbs there. That's very interesting, because I always imagined they did in IN, too. It only goes to show you how a Chicago hometown girl can learn a thing or two.
After they crank up the generator, and turn on the lightbulbs, they print your book and read it, cover to cover. Then they quote the characters and act the whole thing out an outdoor drama. It entertains the New Jersey folks to no end, or at least, until the generator goes out.
Frankly, I've never been to NJ, but I'm looking forward to seeing them flapping their wings and climbing up trees someday, as one scene in the book has that. I'm envisioning new dialogue, where they nearly roll out of the tree from laughter, that you bought this book at all.
That's when lightening strikes and they have to get a whole new crew in from...you guessed it, Canada. They're not nearly as likely to fall out of trees as we Americans are. A whole new labor force recruited from Canada, where only one of them knows about the book.
This is what takes so freaking long in publishing your book: Homeland Security. America takes these things seriously and the TSA all have copies of "Managing Your Proctology Exam." Several weeks after the bomb sniffing dogs have had their way with their luggage, our new Canadian workforce rapidly works to mail off the book to you, so they can get back home to where the people are saner.
Several of you having ordered the book having:
1. Donated to some great NDN causes,
2. Gotten people in Indiana to rehab one step faster,
3. Brought the wrath of God down on New Jersey folks,
Have also,
4. Emailed me that you've purchased the book and wonder why I've not posted new sales figures here or on my Facebook page.
This is because they don't tell me until it's SHIPPED, rather than when it's ordered. I imagine it's due to national security interests. So they wait until the Canadians have gone past the border check and back into their own lovely country, and only then do I see that a book has been sold.
All of this being said, book buyers, just pat yourself on the back for having done some really amazing things with an internet connection and a valid credit card number. And don't be surprised if a Canadian punches you next time you say you bought a book through Xlibris.
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