World premiere book talk

A month ago, at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, our friend, Suzie, used her phone to video the world premiere of my “author talk.” Thank you Suzie! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwSLcu3qGCI&t=29s

Other news, my publisher tells me 55 hard covers and 17 paperbacks have been pre-ordered on Amazon. The ratio surprised him, but he called the data “good.” I have to trust him on that. And figure out where to find that info.

Did I already say I do something every day for Shanghaied’s promotion? The one clear message is that NOT promoting is a mistake. Total it up, and I am doing everything I can (this…is not cheap). It feels like I am using a shotgun instead of a sharpshooter when I would rather know where to aim, where the target is (at least the publisher has pointed me to lots of targets and I’m not “shootin’ in the dark.”). No one knows where Shanghaied will find traction. “Goin’ fishin’,” to supply another metaphor. This is the lot of first-time authors.

Pre-publication, there was structure. Deadlines. Do this now, do that later. Post-publication, I find myself re-inventing structure I thought was already out there. And the gifts that motivate me are “good sales data” and the unsolicited praises readers send (of advanced review copies).

Thank you.