Here it is only 2 weeks to Christmas and we are still doing Christmas Craft Shows … what did I say about being a busy lady!! Two more days and the show season is finally over and I am still writing and editing our new book (that didn’t get out for Christmas).

But I have some great news … we have re-titled it “Yesterdays” due to it’s historical content (Robert’s biographical stories and also some stories of old times). I have just finalized the cover and will get it up on website asap. The subtitle is: A Collection of Short Stories. It will be available mid-March but as I mentioned before, please watch our website for up-to-date info. I don’t always have time to update our blog(s).

After Christmas, Australia and my aunt’s 90th birthday beckons so I will be ‘Down Unda’ until mid-January soaking up the scorching heat!! I may be slightly glad to get home to colder temps.

So back to the manuscript it is for the next 2 weeks and hopefully I don’t have to take it with me!!!!

All the best to our book and blog reading friends … have a lovely Christmas (Season) and a healthy and prosperous 2010.

Joyce and Robert

Joyce Sandilands and J. Robert Whittle, Authors
from the balmy corner of Canada in
Victoria, British Columbia

Amazing that my last post was so long ago … yes, it’s been a wonderful but very busy summer. Robert survived his 6-month stint at the Bastion Square outdoor market as well as helping me at one of my markets in Sidney.

One of the reasons I’ve been so busy is that I’m trying to complete our new book … “A Collection of Short Stories” … it always takes more time than I anticipate and you just can’t turn on and off your writing talent!!

I’m hoping it will be out in December with at least time for locals to purchase a copy for Christmas presents. I’m putting updates on our website http://www.jrobertwhittle.com so keep an eye on that if you are waiting for the new book.

So today I am working on both the cover and one of the stories … no rest for this lady, but then I did have a wonderful cruise to Alaska 2 weeks ago. First holiday in 8 years!

So back to work … until next time …

Thanks for your interest.

Joyce Sandilands

Originally posted on our company website which is now a blog.

The role of a writer/author in this 21st century is one of hard work and fabulous rewards–not necessarily monetary rewards unless you are exceedingly fortunate, but your life will change as you attend meetings, readings, conferences etc., and meet hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who are in awe of you for even writing a book. Of course, you will also meet many who laugh with scorn (perhaps thinking why you bother because they don’t even read and can’t understand) or envy (believing you are now rich!). But trust me, your journey will be fascinating and anything but dull for if you face the challenge squarely, it will enrich your life and also that of your readers (and best of all, they will tell you about it!).

1.  Decide what YOU can do to market your own book and do it well. No matter how you choose to market your book, you have to do something … so you might as well do a good job of it. You will have a major investment in this book through time, and eventually, money. Don’t allow your book to stagnate on a shelf/ a website or in your basement.

2.  Learn the “3 Foot” Rule – talk to everyone who comes within 3 feet of you. Always carry a book, bookmark, business card or info. sheet. If they don’t buy a book, don’t be disappointed, you will be surprised how else they might help you. Don’t expect anything. Be yourself.

3.  Invest in a few well-known marketing books, or visit local library, and read them! Here’s a few of the classics to start you off:

Marketing Without Megabucks by Shel Horowitz  www.frugalfun.com
How To Promote Your Book by  Dan Poynter  www.PARApublishing.com
The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Marilyn and Tom Ross  www.about-books.com

4.  On the internet, you’ll be deluged by thousands of sites with marketing tips. A small selection are on our links page found to the right (in category list).

5.  Join a ‘useful’ Internet Email List (Yahoo group, etc) and subscribe to topical newsletters but be careful not to get sucked into their own marketing endeavours to sell you the BEST marketing plan ever!! Most of what they sell can be found free if you search the web.

6.  Networking with local groups is a great way to advertise for little money but membership fees need to be assessed first. Make sure the group is suitable to your needs.

7. Trade books with other willing self-published authors. A good way to pick up gifts and get your books out there.

Now get out there yourself, write, plan and then, if you decide ‘to go for it’, market that book you’ve dreamed about.

Good luck and all the best.

Updated and reposted March 2009. Originally posted in Jan. 2007.

So you’re an author, wannabe or self-publisher and you think I might have some valuable information you can use to market your book(s). I hope that is true because I have learned a lot in 9 years of being the (self) publisher of my husband’s bestselling and popular novels (http://www.jrobertwhittle.com) and as time allows, I would love to share it with you.

As I have now changed the title of this entry and added more suggestions — I should explain — no, self-publishing is not complicated but it is VERY time consuming. Yes, I am shouting this out so you get the message. You will learn from this blog and our website just how we do our (successful) marketing and any self-published, or otherwise, author can do it … I don’t want to appear crass but you get in their face and promote, promote, promote.  If you’re not prepared to do that, don’t expect that allowing your book to sit on a shelf in a bookstore is going to sell it for you. And when this promo thing gets so tiring for you that you begin to hate your job, it’s probably time to quit!  No, I haven’t reached that point yet, but after 10 years in the business (and at my age!), trying all kinds of promotion imaginable (some successful, some not), I can tell you I love to take a break a little more often!!!

To clarify that bit about why it’s called self-publishing and don’t listen to those negative people who might say to you, ‘you couldn’t find a publisher so you decided to do it yourself?,’ … if a couple fund and publish their own book, it’s called self-publishing. Even if a wife publishes her husband’s book and it becomes a bestseller, yup … it’s still classed as self-publishing by all those high and mighty people (read publishers who want an exclusive on the term) who want to give out awards only to their ‘class’. Why? because they are still in the dark ages and figure a wife is dependent financially on her husband.  I know I could do a post about this subject but enough said … google it … it frustates me too death to think about it because we’re told we sell more books than most Canadian published authors and fans tell us our books are the best!! That’s good enough for us.

I figure I started the year on the right foot by working on my webpages … do you have one yet? That’s a must to start with and one way to start is with a website from Author’s Den. Here you can add your stories, poems, books, blog, newsletter, etc. It has stats so you can see how many people are visiting; you can entice people to request your newsletter. It’s an invaluable site and thousands of people visit it every day. We get up to 100 hits/day for our little site and I look forward to seeing that increase.

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You should also check out my links page which is now on this blog … look in the category list to the right.

You’ll find some invaluable help here if you are just starting out as a writer or thinking about self-publishing.

You’ll find Robert’s site at Author’s Den here: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?id=2469

Have a great day!

Yesterday was not only my birthday, it was also our first show of 2009.  It was the local senior’s trade show … now entitled “50+ Active Living Celebration.”  We were part of the “Book Nook” for the 3rd year where local self-published authors are highlighted and sell their books. It was a good day for us and sales were better than expected, thankfully they have increased each year at this venue.

We love that show because we see so many of our readers and, this year, they lowered the participant age so there were many more ‘younger’ people about. A great venue and a wonderful informative show all about seniors. Check out the website link to this very informative show (above).

It’s also just 21 days to the beginning of the Bastion Square outdoor market in downtown Victoria, BC … we can now organize Robert’s boxes (this year they’re rain-proof!) but we’re also keeping our fingers crossed for warmer weather.

Till next time …

A new year has begun but 2008, for Robert and I, will amazingly be remembered as the year our stand-alone novels Whispers Across Time and Race For A Treasure proved to us what a great idea they were. They followed our two successful historical series – Lizzie and Victoria Chronicles. Both personal sales in 2008 (markets, craft shows etc.) and internet sales, surpassed 2007 and 2006, proving that people still purchase books even when times are tough and we are sure grateful. We’re told that our books provide entertainment when spirits are low, they encourage kids to read, and they bring families together with a common interest … all important when we need a boost in morale.

It also proves to us that not only are new people discovering our unusual and ‘refreshingly different’ Family Friendly novels, but also that we still are a long way away from saturating the market. Just what an author loves to hear!

On the Internet Front … we’ve try our best to offer specials on our website and to keep our shipping costs down. We also realize it is difficult when most of you can’t simply walk into your local bookstore and find our book easily.  Distribution across country and also to Amazon.com became an expensive endeavour for a small company such as ours, so we now distribute our own books locally and use free sites on the internet. This enables us to keep going and allows you to find our specials on our website.  We also have discounts on purchasing sets of our series when you find us in the flesh! There are also directions on the website for you to phone us directly.

We would like to take a second to thank all our supporters and fans and if we can ever help you with orders or questions about books etc, don’t hesistate to contact us either through our website or by phone.

Comments to our Blog entries would also be appreciated and even better … we both have Facebook pages and if you are interested in our books, look for our “J. Robert Whittle Fanclub”.  We always need more members. We know there are tens of thousands of you out there. Help us get the word out – our readers are wonderful, they seem to tell everyone about our books – now tell your friends and family to find us on Facebook. Thanks so much and all the best for 2009.

Our Latest Novel

After only two weeks on the market, readers are already reporting in that they have read parts or all of Race For A Treasure and are ‘loving it!” Music to an author’s ears for sure. With the numbers of this book (many boxes) that has already been sold at our Christmas Craft Shows, there are bound to be some that will not have to wait for Christmas to be read … many of our fans reported they were eager to get their hands (eyes) on it!

Yes, Race For A Treasure arrived a bit earlier than expected and I’ve been working all day to package our pre-orders for mailing and shipping tomorrow. It looks FABULOUS, even better than expected, and Robert and I are very pleased. Now … to await the public’s reaction!

Race For A Treasure our 2nd collaboration in a historical novel is at the printer and will be released soon … approximately November 13th … we hope!!  Watch our website for updates.

Delays have made it a bit later than we had hoped but it is now in the printing department and the countdown can finally begin. You might say this has been a typical example of trying to rush things that shouldn’t be rushed … another painful lesson in self-publishing learned this month! (more details in next post).

Now that the stress is over, I can catch up with all the things I have been putting aside … and with Christmas Shows beginning this week, I better get a move on cause Christmas is just around the corner. Oh my, but it will be delightful this year as my family is coming home … hurrah!!!!

The one thing I have achieved this weekend is transferring our old Blogger Blog to WordPress and I am really happy I did. Now if I can just figure out the links and things I will be quite chuffed with myself (I think that’s a Yorkshire expression from my husband!)

Links:
A.  Audio
B.  Blogging
C.  Computer Stuff
D.  Children’s/Family Sites
E.  For Women Entrepreneurs & Networking
F.  Newsletters, Ezines and more
G.  For Teachers and Homeschoolers
H.  Writer’s Stuff and Fairs/Conferences
I.   Canada
J.   United States/International
K.  Great Britain
L.  More Links for Writers & Publishers
M.  POD, Epublishing etc.
N.  Marketing Help
O.  Major Publishers
P.  Highly Recommended Novels
Q.  Great Books by Self-published Authors
R.  Fun and Entertainment

Links – Part I

A.  Audio:
Moonbeam Series - old-fashioned fairy stories (chapter books) and audio books
Spoken Network - purchase audio books online
Laughing Through Life – Autobiography of bestselling author, J. Robert Whittle

B.  Blogging:
Blog Wild! - a superb book on how to blog for business
Blogpulse – lists
Shameless Self-Promotion – thinking, writing, business ideas
Self-Publishing Basics – sister site for Self-Publishing.com

C.  Computer Stuff:
Disabled Writers – Group at MSN
Website link check – This  domain is link checked by this company
Monica Works – Web design, development and graphics – View a sample here
Create free PDF documents
Lookup IP - find the address of your computer

D.  Children’s/Family Sites:
Moonbeam Series – old-fashioned fairy stories and audio books for ages 4-10
Violet the Pilot Series – great series about a little girl who is a pilot
Sunny’s Grand Adventure – children’s book for 4-10
Just For Kids Who Love Books – kid’s books recommended by a teacher
Children’s Writing Supersite
Canadian Children’s Book Centre

E.  For Women Entrepreneurs & Networking
TimeFinders.net - Resources and coaching for women
Small business loans - for Canadian Women-owned businesses only.
Tracy Lyn Moland, motivational speaker and author of Mom Management
Roaring Women – Networking, Motivation and Coaching
Wendy Hearn Coaching Services – Business, Personal and Life Coaching

F.  Newsletters, Ezines and more:
Author Marketing Expert – Penny Sansevieri’s self-publishing newsletter/blog
WriteABookNow.com - Steve Manning’s eLetter of fab tips on writing etc.
Write 4 Kids - Website with newletter on writing for Children
How To Write a Tips booklet – Paulette Ensign’s useful advice
Writers Weekly – free weekly newsletter for writers
Ask Jeeves – ask any question to search the internet
About.com – fabulous site to learn about anything!

G.  For Teachers and Homeschoolers:
Teens Read Too – Great Teen Site with contest for free books!
BC Ministry of Education – literacy site
BC Homeschool Association
Canadian Teacher Magazine
Canadian Federation of Teachers
BC Teacher-Librarian Assoc. (BCTLA) – Bookmark Magazine

Teacher-Librarian – Journal for T-L Professionals (USA)
Family Unschoolers Network
Useful Education Links
Homeschooling Today Magazine

H.  Writer’s Stuff and Fairs / Conferences
Surrey Int. Writer’s Conference, Surrey, BC – don’t miss it!
Publishers Weekly
Independent Publisher Awards (IPPYs) and book servicesThe Literary Fair, Victoria, BC – www.victoriaschoolofwriting.org/
Penticton, BC – Conference – http://www.penwriters.com
Vancouver Int. Writers and Readers Festival – a huge festival
Sechelt, BC – Writers Festival - small but very popular
Winnipeg, MB: Winnipeg International Writer’s Festival
Ottawa, ON: International Writer’s Festival
Science Fiction Convention – Calgary – http://www.con-version.org/
Other SF info: http://www.sfcanada.ca/links.htm#Conventions
Book Expo America
Novalearn.com – Writer’s Software
Bowker – purchase ISBNs, Online book databases etc.
Copyright registration forms
Small Publishers Assn of North America
The Publishing Law Center
Find a Publicist or Copywriter

I. Canada
Media Finder - Canada and USA
Assoc. of Book Publishers of BC - useful info for book publishers
Canada Literacy Award - it’s hidden (not a direct link)
Find a Canadian Postal Code
Association of Canadian Publishers
National Library of Canada - FREE ISBN’s / CIP’s – Canadian Publishers
Canadian Bookseller’s Association
Vancouver Public Library
Canadian Library Gateway
Canadian Writer’s Journal
Federation of BC Writers
On-Line Guide to Writing in Canada
Canadian Newspaper Assoc.
Canadian E-authors
Canadian Author’s Assoc. (CAA)

J.  United States / International
Media Finder - Canada and USA
Association of American Publishers
American Booksellers Association
Ingram Book Company (wholesalers)

K.  Great Britain:
Nielsen Book Data (formerly Whitaker) (UK)
Find a UK Postcode

see Part 2 for rest of them …