The Northeast isn’t the only victim of Snowmaggedon.
Seriously.
Imagine.
You drive 10 hours. The last two in sleet.
You arrive at your destination, and because you’re hyperactive in the presence of friends…..
You forego bed in favor of talking. And TALKING.
You drive one hour each way for four appearances in 72 hours. Everyone expects you to be fresh. Happy to see them. On fire.
You drink two margaritas and nail it.
You give a newspaper interview in the car and hope the reporter can’t hear the engine running….or the unexpected blast of “Black Widow” from a passing vehicle. It rocks your ride sideways.
You drive the entire Natchez Trace in the equivalent of two days. You take an unscheduled event and sell one book. You call on everyone with a connection to said book and convince them to read and sign it, because really, you’re psyched to see familiar faces from months ago.
But no matter your harried-ness. You’re in NOLA. They’ll laissez les bon temp rouler, right?
WRONG.
You sell a total of seven books in the state of Louisiana, further thrown in the hole by breaking the car windshield on a drive through a storm.
You’ve lost count of how many hours you’ve been in the car.
But, hey……you have a king cake in the back seat. Surely it will keep you company for the two-plus hours to Jackson, the three hours to Cleveland, Mississippi, the three hours back and the eleven hours home. After all, you sold sixteen books in Cleveland. (Thank you, Miss Virginia at Cotton Row Bookstore.)
But you’ve arrived, right? Because a national outlet reviewed your book!!!
You check your stats and realize just how little one major endorsement drives sales. Authors basically need one major endorsement every four hours to sell enough books to make a living.
Or maybe every two hours.
Or every hour.
You’ve lost track, because you’re blotto.
And you’re gearing up to do it again. Next week!
The life of a writer. It isn’t glamorous. You’re begging everyone to promote you, purchase your books and mention you. And you feel like a freaking prostitute. A depleted one. Who’s driven hard for two weeks straight.
Who thinks she’ll never stop pushing the snowball up the hill.
But I won’t quit.
*************
Several big things are percolating for Not Without My Father. Not one an hour, but several. In the meantime, please continue to like and share the HuffPo review, because the editors select books to feature in lists based upon traffic. More likes and shares = more consideration for additional recommended reading lists.
Please click HERE to like and share. Multiple shares do not constitute stalking. Thank you!
36 Comments
Okay, Okay, Okay… I will. MTM’s PsychoBabe on display! (I’d follow this up with a little heart if I knew how to do it)
p.s. I just read the review… NICE! (and did as
beggedordered)This is pretty tame, Ted. Not what I wanted to post, but I figured I’d spare everyone that much rawness…….
People who are dedicated and work hard get results, Andra. You do both, and will never stop pushing that snowball. You do it with humor and grace and that’s why you have a dedicated following.
Already shared it 😉 Keep smiling Andra!
No point in not smiling.
Now that you’ve made it, it sounds like you’re working harder than ever, Andra! I hope you’re finding time to unwind. 🙂
No time to unwind. Always more to do than I can get done. But it’s fun.
Ah, yes, but you are having a mad, passionate affair with words! So much so, that a post like this, even though it tells of difficulties, is so full of energy that it is compelling to read!
If energy and passion gets one anywhere, maybe I’ll arrive eventually. 🙂 Thanks for the FB post this morning. I loved seeing my book in the UK.
I am sure you will. It already seems like you’re doing great. You’re welcome! I’d been willing it to arrive every day and I was so pleased when it did!
I just finished Not Without My Father, and … Oh, my! I’ll have to message you because I’m so full of things to say, and I need to thank you for it. I’ll leave reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, but I can’t say there just what the book has meant to me. Go, Andra, go!
Anything you CAN say there to compel others to read it would be great!! People need to hear, like a billion times, why the MUST READ a book.
I admire your perseverance. I’ve known a few other authors irl, but they’ve not been as doggedly determined to sell their books. Instead, they’ve taken a more [shall we say] passive approach to book promotions– and gotten nowhere. It may be difficult, but you’re doing great, which is way cool, if you ask me.
What frustrates me most is how passive other people are. I make investments, and some outfits (I won’t name names) do nothing but passive marketing. Doesn’t help me at all. I’m making all sorts of adjustments to my strategies going forward. It’s a constant learning process.
Mmmm…. King Cake. Glad you made it back in one piece.
Me too. Glad to be home. Hope you got the baby.
The beauty of pushing snowballs up hills: they do eventually melt. The fuckers do eventually melt. That’s what I keep telling myself.
NO!!! I don’t want the snowball to melt. I want it to crest over the top of the mountain and roll down the other side, getting bigger and bigger and bigger with every turn of momentum. THAT’S WHAT I WANT.
I believe in the end it will all be worth it and you will have memories to last a life time.
The memories are awesome, regardless. For as long as I can afford to make them.
In my experience and in the experience of my friends (some of whom have won real book awards), with most projects you’re lucky if you make $1.50 and hour, all told. An agent can help with film rights, foreign rights, all that stuff, which is important. Promoting a book is a daunting series of elations and disappointments. It’s almost a bipolar endeavor. You have to be resourceful, gritty, determined, and tough. Guess what? You are.
Agents won’t consider someone like me these days until I’ve sold 10,000 copies of one title. And I’m not sure I want an agent. I’d rather have a publicist with a billion connections. (And I have a hard-working, very determined publicist who’ll get there eventually.)
I’m pitching Ochoco Reach this Saturday. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Go, Andra, go!!!
Praying for strength for you to persevere.
I think I wrote this to point out that one big review doesn’t mean I’ve arrived. I still have a long, long way to go. I understand, and understanding somehow makes it easier.
I will like, share, tweet AND finally write my review, because I finished your book while in Atlanta last week. I cursed you for writing something so compelling that it kept me up way past my bedtime 3 nights in a row, and then denied me the pleasure of reading it during my quiet time on the flight home (because I couldn’t stop reading, and finished it in my hotel room late at night).
Things are bonkers for me, but I promise to write my review shortly and then start promoting it in all the social media vehicles I participate in. Because I loved it. And I love you.
xoxo nancy
Thank you, Nancy. I’m glad to hear the book impacted you. I hope we’re in Atlanta at the same time soon. MTM is there next Monday and Tuesday, but I can’t go with him because of appearances. Basically, he’s there every two weeks on Monday and Tuesday. I tag along when I can.
I’m not likely to get back to Atlanta until late Feb. In Vancouver all next week, then in the UK 2 weeks later. Oh, and I still need to buy a house because my ass is out of this one at the end of March. Good times.
Safe travels. We ate at this place in Vancouver and loved it. http://bao-bei.ca/
I can’t wait to see you snowball crest the mountain, Andra! Thanks so much for the bookplate it arrived yesterday and when I showed Ryan he said “A real author wrote my name? And said hi? Cool. I’m famous!” From the mind of a teen, he thinks you’re the best. 🙂 I’m so sorry about the icy driving but your hard work is paying off and I’ll be sure to share your links again this afternoon.
Thanks, Lisa. I’m glad I make Ryan smile. 🙂 🙂
Hard work has to pay off eventually. I’m impatient, though. 🙂
keep on keepin’ on, sister!
Will do, Beth.
Just keep swimming, Andra! (You enthusiasm for this whole thing is inspiring!)
Ha. You don’t have to live with me, Dina. 🙂 But I’m glad to inspire.
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