September 23rd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! I tried, but I just didn’t have it in me yesterday to make a blog post. I was wrecked after the two day book signing. Sunday, I had intended to walk the festival after the signing and get pictures of all the displays so you could see, but I was spent. I was literally fighting to stay awake during the drive home. I will be back at Peddler’s Village next weekend (not this weekend), and I will get the photos for you then.

I did well on Sunday, not as good as on Saturday, but it was a good day nonetheless. It wasn’t quite the same without the two Karens there. Karen Scheuer was not feeling well, so she was unable to return on Sunday, and Karen Hluchan had a prior commitment. I did however get to spend some quality time with Joanne Holliday, and I have decided I thoroughly enjoy the woman. Her and her sister Lucy were a riot! I look forward to seeing both of them at future signings.

I did have a nice surprise on Sunday. Do you remember me telling you about meeting Jessica at a previous signing? She was the aspiring writer and jewelry maker (I told you about an upcoming craft fair she will be attending). Anyway, she stopped by to say “Hi”, and it really made my day. She brought along her husband and her mom, who barely looks old enough to be her big sister, let alone her mother, so I got to meet her family. It’s moments like these that warm my heart.

Yesterday the only writing I did were email correspondences and I did jot down some notes on a story idea which popped into my head. It may or may not turn into anything, we’ll see. If it does, you’ll be the first to know.

I also spent part of the day hammering out details for this weekend’s event – Milford Alive. I’ll be honest, I have no clue where Milford even is, but I am happy to report, it is only about half an hour away. I really should do a little more research before I agree to do these things. My friend, Kathi Kurz, an author of children’s books, will be joining me this weekend. I am picking her up early, we are packing up my car, and heading up there. We will be sharing a tent, so if you happen to be in the Milford, New Jersey area on the 27^th, please come by and say “Hi”.

So my big sale started on Sunday, and things are going a little slow which is surprising. I’ve only sold about twenty books so far, and they have all been on Amazon.com. Not a single one has sold on Amazon.co.uk, and I’m not sure why. All three books are either at $0.99 or £1 – that’s a 67% discount. I created an event on Facebook and invited over 800 people. If they’d each share it with two friends, I’d be able to get the word out.

The last time I ran a sale, I did almost no advertising for it, and the amount of sales surprised me. So this time I figured, if I put forth a little more effort, they would be even better. Logical, right? This is just one of the many mysteries of book marketing for me – truly not my forte, but a necessary evil all us authors must endure.

I have received several direct messages requesting the link to my radio interview. Really? WOW. Thanks! At the risk of no one seeing this post on Facebook, I have decided to chance it, and post the link here. (If you are reading this directly from my blog, this comment won’t make much sense to you. You see, if I include any pictures or any links within my posts, Facebook severely hobbles the number of followers the post reaches. It is very frustrating.)

Okay, I should go. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

I’ll set the stage: A crowded room, lots of people are chatting, you notice one person standing alone…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.