November 1st: The Most Wonderful Date of the Year

And no, it has nothing to do with NaNoWri Mo. I have never done National Novel Writing Month in November, although I would like to at least once in my life. This year will not be the year, however.

No, I love November 1st because that means October is over! The last 10 days of October are a whirlwind for me: parents’ anniversary, my anniversary, my daughter’s birthday, then Halloween and all the concurrent festivals and festivities. For an introvert like myself, that’s a lot of socializing in a short amount of time. It’s also quite a bit of planning and errand running to pull off the birthday and Halloween so close together.

So when November 1st dawns, I take a deep breath and revel in the sudden silence of my social calendar. Not that November won’t be busy—I am the mom of an elementary school child, a working author, and there’s that whole Thanksgiving thing—but the month goes back to the normal level of crazy.

Although I am not doing NaNoWriMo, I plan on doing NaNoEdMo—National Novel Editing Month. I got my latest manuscript back from my editor in August, and didn’t get to look at it until October. So now I intend to buckle down and finish the revisions this month. By the end of November, I want to have a shiny manuscript ready to be sent out to agents.

Then I can spend December compiling my list of agents, readying the materials needed to send to them (query, synopsis of varying lengths), and be ready for a query storm in the New Year.

So now that I can breathe, that is my plan for the month. We shall see how well my plans pan out, since we all know how often life derails our plans!

What are you doing for November?

VPL FanCon 2017

at VPL FanCon 2017Last week I spoke about having a selling drought at book events, and how even a “dry” event could be worthwhile. I pointed out that I had learned of the FanCon event while at an event where I didn’t sell a single book. I called the next day and they still had table space, so I got in under the wire!

VPL FanCon 2017 was my first ever actual “con” event. All of the rest have been more typical book festivals or other bookish occasions. I didn’t quite know what to expect.

The first thing I noticed was the variety of vendors. A couple of us had books, but there were also comic vendors, artists, game sellers, paraphernalia hawkers, toy sellers, and even a ghost hunting table. Literally something for everyone.

my table at VPL FanCon 2017

Costumes ruled the day. Kylo-Ren and Stormtroopers walked the halls next to the Flash and Green lantern. A man dressed as Wonder Woman balanced a woman dressed as Alexander Hamilton. Pint-sized Pokemon mingled with various gaming characters near the life-size TARDIS.

at VPL FanCon 2017

Panels, drummers, games, caricatures, and making your own lightsaber kept people busy all day. The staff of the Vineland Public Library ran around all day, making sure everything ran smoothly—including ensuring the vendors got lunch from the food trucks outside or the vendors upstairs.

VPL FanCon 2017 was a smashing success. As the first year of this event, no one was quite certain what the turnout would be like. One staffer confided that she had hoped for at least 25 people. Far more than that came—the crowd milled all day, and many of the con-goers stayed for the bulk of the day. As one person said to me with a sigh, “The sight of all these nerds under one roof makes my heart happy.”

I thoroughly enjoyed my first Con, and hope to go back if they repeat it next year. Aside from meeting interesting people, both vendors and con-goers, I not only broke my book drought but sold just one shy of my single-day sales record.

And to think that I would not have been there at all if I hadn’t gone to that “dry” event the week before.

photo courtesy of Vineland Public Library

 

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The Value of “Dry” Book Events

Book Events - River ReadsThe reality of the book business is that sometimes you go to book events and end up selling zero books. I had two events this weekend, and I hit a sales drought. However, I would never call those events “wasted” time.

There is much to be gained from every event you attend, whether you sell any books or not. Not least is your expanded geographical knowledge. I am not an explorer. I do not like going where I have never gone before. But because of these events, I know places now that I never would have gone to otherwise.

Marketing knowledge is another reason to go. I learn a lot from watching other authors. I get ideas for display, for giveaways, for ways to entice people to your table. I also listen to other authors. How do they pitch themselves and their books? How do they hook the customers?

Networking happens at events, too, unless you don’t talk to anyone. This weekend I met cover artists, illustrators, librarians, and people creating a podcast. I found out about another event I can attend, and a podcast that specializes in interviewing authors. You never know who you will meet, or how they will eventually impact your career.

The final reason I like events, even when I don’t sell, is because of the camaraderie. There’s something special about being in the sales trenches together. Spending time with other writers, sharing war stories or marketing advice or craft tips, is invigorating. Being surrounded by people who “get” writing is comforting, relaxing, and uplifting.

Book events are what you make of them. If sales are your end all and be all, you are missing out on the myriad other benefits of spending time with other authors. We’re all on the journey together—let’s enjoy the company.

Book Events - Indie Author Day 2017

Book Event Season Begins

New Providence book event

With J.R. Bale, founder of the New Providence Book Festival

September through Christmas tends to be a whirlwind of book events for me. In the last few weeks, I have done 3 events, and I have 2 more this weekend.

The first event was the inaugural New Providence Book Festival. It was well attended and enthusiastically embraced by the locals. We had sunny, if hot, weather, but whenever your event us outdoors, heat is preferable to rain!

I was supposed to be on a two-person panel, but a last minute cancellation gave me my first ever solo reading and Q&A at a festival. I was up first in the morning, and the handful of people who came to my panel were interested and knowledgeable. The event went well, and I look forward to next year!

My next event was Eastampton Day. Once again sunny and hot, but a good crowd, better attended than last year when it was chilly and overcast. I shared a tent with the local PTA, and we had a fun time together—although I think I would have sold more books if I had stuck some on their table. They were selling machines!

Collingswood book eventI also had good neighbors at my last event, the Collingswood Book Festival. This year the weather cooperated and we were outside! My neighbors helped put up my tent, and we passed the time chatting about books. It was a good day overall, but the best part for me was the young boy who came up to my table and said, “I read that book. It was amazing!”

Nothing lifts the spirit more than a happy reader!

By busy run continues this weekend with Indie Author Day at Vineland Public Library on Saturday, and the second annual River Reads Book Festival at Prallsville Mills on Sunday. If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello!

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Public Speaking: 4 Circles of Fear

Speaking at a Christmas time author eventOne of the scariest things for many authors is public speaking and public reading of their work, but it is a necessary skill for the author toolbox. I am no exception to this fear—I hate being out in front of people. Since my book came out almost 2 years ago, however, I have had to deal with this issue, and I have learned quite a bit about myself and being center stage.

For me, there are 4 circles of fear when it comes to public speaking/reading:

  1. Reading
  2. Panels
  3. Speaking
  4. School Visits

Speaking at my book launch in 2015I’m not too bad with the reading. As the mom of a 7-year-old who loves books, I have had many years experience reading aloud, and my daughter assures me that I am “the best reader ever.” When reading my own words, I get excited because I can read them as I meant them to be read, rather than how the reader might interpret them in their own heads. Reading has the added advantage that I am, well, reading, so I don’t have to worry about forgetting what I’m supposed to be saying.

The idea of panels made me very nervous at first. After all, they weren’t scripted, and often you don’t know the questions ahead of time. As an anxiety-ridden individual, the idea of not coming in fully prepared shook me deeply. My very first panel ever was at my high school alma mater, where I sat onstage with 4 other alumnae authors and faced some 500 girls and their teachers. And you know what? I enjoyed it. Being up there with other authors meant I was not the sole focus of attention—I could “relax” while others were talking. And I didn’t have to carry the entire weight of the conversation—I could bounce off what another panelist said, not always be the original thinker. I am a writer who enjoys collaboration, and in many ways a panel is a synergistic collaborative effort.

Public speaking solo is another story. Now we are moving past trepidation into panic attack areas. However, thanks to a mandatory semester of Speech class in high school, I can give a good speech. When I have time to prepare and practice, I can not only get through a speech without a meltdown, but give the audience an enjoyable presentation. An extemporaneous solo speech, on the other hand…

Speaking at a writing workshopFinally, we have school visits, which are awkward for me because they land somewhere between a speech and a performance. While I can give a speech, I am not much of a performer. My skill set is in being invisible, not in keeping people riveted to what I am saying. My single experience in teaching a workshop was rewarding but did not do much to bolster my confidence.  I have not yet done a school visit, and frankly, the thought of doing one terrifies me. My greatest fear is that the kids will get bored. After all, I do not consider myself all that interesting—imposter syndrome rearing its head. When I finally break that last barrier, I will tell you how it goes!

I have found that the more casual the encounter, the more at ease I am. I enjoy chatting with the kids, because the kids that come up to speak to me are already interested and engaged. Perhaps the key is to make even the more formal occasions seem casual.

What I’ve learned so far is that usually my intense fear is unfounded. So go through those circles of fear confident that you will emerge stronger and with a new skill in your author toolbox.

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Trippin’: Where I’ll Be When

Summer seemed to last FOREVER this year, and now all of a sudden we are halfway through September and my life is frantically book-busy. My first event has snuck up on me!

This Saturday, September 16th (weather permitting), I will be at the New Providence Book Festival, from 9 AM to 3 PM. I will have a reading and Q&A at 10:30 AM.

Then I will have a whirlwind week helping out at the Book Fair at my daughter’s school, which isn’t at all related to my personal book business, but is still a book related event and a great deal of fun.

The next Saturday, September 23rd, will see me at Eastampton Day (unless the New Providence Festival gets rained out, then I’ll be at that rain date), from 12 to 4:30 PM.

I get a bit of a break until October, when I am booked into 2 events. The first is the Collingswood Book Festival on October 7th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Hopefully it will not rain this year, as I want to experience the festival in its full outdoor glory.

The second event is River Reads on October 15th from 10 AM to 4 PM. I was at the inaugural event last year, and it was a lot of fun! This year they have added a River Reads Workshop as well, so if you are a writer, check it out!

Another event for November is in the works, but nothing has been finalized yet.

So that’s my busy book schedule so far. All these events felt so far away, and now the first of them is right on my doorstep! I thought with my daughter back in school, things would get a little less crazy for me, but it seems things are simply going to be crazy in a different way.

Any of you going to be at cool events in the next few months?

My Biggest Takeaway: Philadelphia Writers’ Conference 2017

My biggest takeaway from PWC 2017At the Opening Speech at this year’s Philadelphia Writers Conference,  Yolanda Wisher, the Philadelphia Poet Laureate, coined the word “kinfluences”, meaning the family and friends whose stories influenced her life and informed her writing.

My biggest takeaway from the Philadelphia Writers Conference this year was my own reconnection with people in my writing family. “Kinnections”, if you will allow me to play off Ms. Wisher’s word.

The conference itself was a forum for connecting with people in real life who I usually only see online. Mary Mooney, Doreen McGettigan, and Kelly Deeny crossed my path this year. So did Uriah Young, who I met at his first Philadelphia Writers Conference a few years ago. At that time he was a newbie with a story to tell, this year he’s on the Philadelphia Writers Conference board.

The biggest blast from my past was Jonathan Maberry‘s visit to Doylestown. I met him more than a decade ago, and he has been a large influence on my writing career. He moved to California a few years back, so it was good to see him.

Keith Strunk is another writer friend of long standing. He was part of a group project that stands as a major turning point in my writing life, and also in my personal life, as I got married during the project. Connecting with him both at Jonathan’s book signing and at the Philadelphia Writers Conference was great fun.

Perhaps my biggest career-related reconnection at this year’s Philadelphia Writers Conference was with Denise Camacho, head of Intrigue Publishing. We first met three years ago at the 2014 Philadelphia Writers Conference.  At that conference, I pitched a novel to her at the pitch session. Not only was she interested in that novel, but she was very excited about a novel that I had literally just begun. This year, that novel is essentially finished, and she is still excited about it, so I will send it to her after I get final edits back from my editor.

So my biggest takeaway from this year’s Philadelphia Writers Conference were my “kinnections”–relationships built on previous years’ attendance, relationships cemented or expanded by shared experiences. Some people ask why I go to the same conference year after year. There are numerous reasons, of course, but the ongoing connections I build and strengthen every year are a part of it.

Writing can be solitary,  but publishing is a communal effort. For me, the Philadelphia Writers Conference is a large part of finding the publishing community to help me succeed.

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BooksNJ 2017: Hot, but way cool

Author Kerry Gans at BooksNJ

photo by J.R. Bale

On Sunday I skipped the last day of the Philadelphia Writers Conference to attend the BooksNJ festival in Paramus, NJ. For those of you wondering where Paramus is, it’s WAAAAY up in north Jersey. You pretty much pass New York City to get there.

Still, the hour and a half ride was pleasant, no problems at all. I got there early and found a nearby bank easily. Then I got lost coming back from the bank because even with the GPS the roads were too confusing (and poorly signed). But I eventually arrived at the Paramus Library, which hosted the event.

I should add that we were having a major heat wave that day. Temps in the 90s, and this was an outdoor festival. Luckily, we authors were under a tent, so we had shade all day, and enough of a breeze to make the weather not unbearable. The library also provided us with cold water and an air-conditioned room to retreat to if needed.

Because the festival grounds were rather large and there were panels ongoing all day, judging the crowd size was a bit hard. I talked to a good number of people who stopped at my table, gave them cards and bookmarks, and signed some bookmarks for some tweens. I got to spend the day with fellow authors J.R. Bale and Kristina Garlick, so I had good company to pass the time.

Author Tag for BooksNJ

J.R., Kristina, and I were on a panel together, along with author Stephen S. Power. The topic: Worlds Beyond Reality: Fantasy and Science Fiction, moderated by Laurie Meeske. We discussed the difference between SciFi and Fantasy, why people are drawn to one or the other, what drew us to writing those worlds, and why we feel those genres are important. Although we were in the final time-slot of the day, our panel was well-attended. This was my first panel at a book event ever, and I greatly enjoyed talking with these knowledgeable and entertaining authors.

After that I packed up, sweated my way to the car, and let the miles unfurl under my tires as I headed back south. I enjoyed the day, and when the next BooksNJ festival comes along in 2019, I will certainly plan to attend.

Kerry Gans at her table at BooksNJ

 

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A Writing Weekend: Philadelphia Writers Conference and BooksNJ

PWC - part of my writing weekendMy writing weekend kicks off on Friday, when I make my annual pilgrimage to the Philadelphia Writers Conference, my home away from home. I’m looking forward to the classes, the camaraderie, and the energy I always get from the conference.

I find it electrifying to be with so many other writers. Okay, so maybe the electricity doesn’t really start crackling until after the coffee stations open, but the energy ramps up as the day goes on. The confined spaces of the conference rooms trap inspiration and send it ricocheting until some of it inevitably hits me.

I will probably pitch at the conference (I usually do), but I haven’t decided yet. I have two manuscripts ready to go, so I certainly have something to talk about. Oddly enough, I have found that I pitch better if I don’t think about it too much beforehand. That seems counter-intuitive for an anxiety-beset introvert, but it works—provided I know my story well enough to speak fluidly about it (which I do). I think it’s because if I don’t admit to myself that I am going to pitch, it tricks my anxiety into staying calm until it’s too late to paralyze me with fear.

While I love the Philadelphia Writers Conference, I will miss Day 3 because I have a book event. On Sunday, I will be in Paramus, NJ, for the BooksNJ festival. This is my first time at this event, so it is a new adventure for me. I am even on a panel—Worlds Beyond Reality: Fantasy and Science Fiction with fellow authors J.R. Bale, Kristina Garlick, and Stephen S. Power, moderated by Laurie Meeske. It should be fun—just pray for sun, please!

I have quite the busy 3-day writing weekend ahead, chock full of adventure and fun. As is tradition, I will be reporting on the Philadelphia Writers Conference each night on the Author Chronicles blog, although I will not have a post for Sunday’s session. And come back here next week when I’ll tell you about my BooksNJ experience.

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SciFi Fantasy Day 2017 in Washington, NJ

SciFi Fantasy Day with the Mad Hatter and Queen of HeartsSo on May 20th, I rose with the sun and drove through the rain to Washington, NJ, for their SciFi Fantasy Day. This was my first SciFi Fantasy focused event, and I looked forward to seeing fellow authors Marie C. Collins and Kristina Garlick there.

The rain had me worried, however, as I had no tent (on my list of things to buy when I have money again). I DID have “emergency rain gear” (a sheet of plastic) and an umbrella. As I arrived, the time for the rain to stop was 10 AM, the official start time of the outdoor event. Waiting in the headquarters for the rain to let up, the time changed to around 1 PM. Was I going to have to simply turn around and head home?

Luck was with me. I set up a little before 10 AM under cloudy skies, outside Misty’s Pet Grooming & Boutique and Gaia’s Gifts . I utilized my emergency rain gear three times in the next two hours in the occasional light drizzle. The plastic did nothing to enhance my display, but the rain also meant that there were no customers browsing, so it worked out well!

After noon, the clouds stayed but the rain stopped. The crowd would have been larger with sunny weather, but the people who came had a good time. Positioned close to the tail end of the street due to getting my application in late, I could not see many of the activities going on, but I could hear the music and enjoyed hearing favorites like the Beatles echoing down the street.

I glimpsed elves and steampunk, storm troopers and knights errant, belly dancers and Darth Vader. Vendors included crystals, tapestries, geodes, chain mail, lightsabers, jewelry, games, plush Pokemon, and books. I did not have a chance to explore, but it seemed a vibrant mix of customers and vendors.

In spite of the damp start and the chill air, I enjoyed Washington’s SciFi Fantasy Day. I intend to apply for next year as well, and hope the weather is better.

SciFi Fantasy Day in Washington, NJ

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