The Art of Book Signings

I always try to be extremely witty on blog posts but I think I only ever manage to be informative. Take for instance this post... I was going to talk about the strategy of holding a book singing and all the ins and outs. (And then I hear my readers begin to snore) So instead, I think I'll talk about how hard it was for me to even leave my house to hold a book signing event...

In just a little over a month I have gone from an overly-excited extrovert to an extreme-pathetic introvert. I don't know how it happened. The idea of having to go out into public and sell my book, my name, my ideas, my face, the inner longings of my heart seems just too much for me. I feel a bout of hives creeping up my neck every time I think about holding a book signing.

My first book signing was so easy. I went to a close friend's Stella & Dot party and she said, "Hey, bring some of your books with you to sell." And so I did. I got to her house early, set up my small display and everyone bought a book that night. I felt like a gigantic success. Selling books was going to be a breeze!

My second book signing was a private party for another good friend of mine and she was the only one that bought books... fifteen to be exact! We went to lunch after the book signing and ran into a couple of friends at the restaurant who followed me to my car before my meal arrived and bought two books right out of my trunk! The ledge of book singing fear was getting farther and farther away from me!

And then suddenly the date of my BIG book signing at my church grew closer and closer. I watched the days pass faster and my anxiety rise higher. You see, the other book signings were easy because I knew everyone and somehow knew they would buy a book to support me. That's comforting. But to be at a book signing with tons of people you have never met before, that's a whole other story.

On April 20th, after a long and wonderful day at a retreat, I headed over to the main church to set up my table. My husband graciously carried all of the boxes in to the church and helped me set up the display. I hadn't even brainstormed about how the table would look! Fortunately, my wonderful friend and therapist had thought ahead for me and had a lacy table cloth in her trunk and a vase full of Gerber daisies for me!

Long story short, I met a lot of people that night and then all day the next day (I held a book signing after all five Masses that day). Some were eager to buy my book. Many walked away without buying a book. Some wanted to talk. Others asked questions that I was not prepared for and yet the Holy Spirit didn't let me down. I found out that my answer to "What's your book about?" was not enticing enough and that people really want to read memoirs. So many people asked if the short stories in Mended Fences were stories about real people. I was hoping to sell every Mended Fences book I had in my possession (which was over 400) and have people groping for more copies. I walked away from that weekend with a sense of purpose and a more humbled expectation of book sales and tons of people to pray for.

And that leads me to my most recent book signing. It was held at Coffee Waves coffee house on a Saturday afternoon. I was much more prepared for display this time, except that I left the outside signs at the house. So my husband dropped me and my cargo off at the coffee house and went back home for the signs. I was left all by myself ... exposed to a world I was not willingly wanting to be a part of. I thought the anxiety of holding a book signing would wear off after my first one, but the idea of hiding in the bathroom for the next two hours was growing more and more appealing by the second.

After I got everything set up, the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear to pass out push cards to everyone in the coffee house. I ignored him. He got louder. I ignored him louder. Finally when I saw my husband outside it was guilt that got me out of my chair. I didn't want him to find out that I was allowing my fear to keep me from doing the work of the Lord. And so I courageously passed out push cards to everyone. A couple of people came up and talked to me for a little while. One woman, Sandy, bought five books for all of her PhD study club and asked for prayers. Sandy - we're still praying for you! And another woman, Charlotte, came over to talk to me and said she loved to review unknown authors on her kindle. Charolotte, thank you for talking with me and I'm looking forward to hearing about your son and your story.

All in all, I have learned a lot about exposing myself to the world-wide public. It's not easy to be an artist (all you artists out there know what I'm talking about) but it's worth it, you know. To be able to share a piece of yourself, even if it is rejected, is what life is all about. And I'm learning to embrace this experience. I'm sure in time it will get easier and I will handle rejection better. Until then, keep me in your prayers and buy Mended Fences - it has something for everyone in those nine short stories.

God bless you all,
Angel Seidenberg
Author of Mended Fences

Social Media

 

To a bookworm and word-lover like me you would think that social media would be almost like a trip to the local carnival; full of fun and new things! Unfortunately, I feel a little behind the times with all of the avenues you can reach people. From the moment Mended Fences (soon to be on shelves May 7, 2013) went into the marketing phase I went into social media frenzy mode. And I haven't stopped... well, I've taken a few days off here and there, but for the most part I'm doing my best to keep up with everything and everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Google Circles, and Istagram.

I have friends who have blogs and friends who have websites. I have musicians, artists and book-lovers alike who I want to keep up with. My little world gets bigger and bigger every day and I feel like I stand on the cusp of the unknown. It can produce a bit of anxiety - I'd rather just be at peace with it all.

So my question to you is this... how do you keep up with it all? Do you check certain social media websites one day and the others the next? Is there a routine that you follow that doesn't seem to zap all of the time in the day? Do you read everything that everyone posts or just scan for what looks interesting?

I'd love some helpful advice on how to not feel so overwhelmed with the amount of information I can gain from the world in one day. It's a blessing that we have this amazing technology that can reach people clear across the world if we wanted our information to go that far. I want to feel like it's a blessing and not a second job. I know there's hope...

Many blessings to you!
Angel
Author of Mended Fences

Published!

Three years ago my life changed dramatically, almost overnight. And if you had told me then that a dream would come true for me... well, I probably wouldn't have believed you.

On April 20, 2012 my husband and I decided to have a date night. It was a wild and crazy one too! We had a lovely dinner together and then... we sat down at the computer and worked on finding publishers that we could send my short stories to. (Told you it was wild and crazy!)

The Holy Spirit kept sending us back to Tate Publishing Company. So we compiled the stories together in a Word document with a introduction letter and a table of contents. By the time we got done it was almost midnight and we were both tired. We prayed together and then submitted the short stories. (Tate Publishing Company is a traditional publishing company that allows you to submit unsolicited manuscripts)

It was the only publishing company we sent my stories to. We planned to send more out the next day...

That was Friday.

On Saturday, Eric from Tate Publishing Company called me about my manuscript. He gave me some really great information about Tate Publishing and said he would begin reading my manuscript that day. I was delightfully shocked and excited that he wanted to get started right away. He told me he would give me a call on Monday...

It is now December and I am four months into the eight month publishing process with Tate Publishing Company. The beginning of next week I will have in my hands an actual book to proof read! I'm not sure how I will respond but it will more than likely look like the scene in Julie and Julia when Julia Childs received the first cookbook she wrote from her publisher.

In just a few short months Mended Fences will be read by many in America (and I'm hoping those in other countries too!). And I'm excited to see the impact it will have on my fellow country-men and women. I'm still in shock at my dream coming true and at this remarkable chance to live the life I've always dreamt about.

How great is our God? I continually stand in awe at His mercy and compassion for us, but most especially at the amount of love He shows us if we but turn our face to Him.

Here's to the great success of Mended Fences!

God bless,
AS

Query Letters

I have just spent a good deal of time researching query letters for the short stories and novel I'd like to have published.

I thought the letter was going to be super hard to write and worse, boring. It turns out, though, that the query letter is a lot like the back cover of a book. The only setback is that I have zero... nada... no credentials. So I'm going on a hope and a prayer that the stories I've written will be intriguing enough to wet the appetite of a literary agent.

My goal is that all of the short stories I've written, which share a similar theme will be published together in a book. Kind of like Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize Winner "Interpreter of Maladies" - the main theme deals with men and women from India who have to adapt to the American culture... in an essence, but you get the picture.

I am currently editing the eight chapters I've written so far on my novel by monitor light (kind of like candle-light only brighter) while the whole house is asleep. Sssshh... I don't want to wake anyone up, but I'm pretty excited because I feel like my dream is coming true little by little.

Hope all is well in your world! Any new accomplishments?
God bless,
AS

A Good Read

I just finished reading a book called, "Jane Austen ruined my life" by Beth Patillo and what a yummy delight it was! At every twist and turn of Emma's (the main character) journey we find a succulent puzzle piece to the mystery she has fallen into.

Completely fictional, aside from locations that Jane Austen lived or visited, the book wets your appetite about the true nature of Jane Austen through "hidden" letters. It almost convinced me to chuck all of the information I have learned through my literary tenure of Jane Austen and accept a new truth. Fortunately, Beth gives us a brief note at the end that the information that Emma, her main character, procured was fictional.

I sighed a note of relief - and I'll be honest there was more than one moment that I questioned how this information could have been kept secret OR how we had not known it by now!

Mark of a great writer on Beth's part to be such a proficient at creating a fantastic story.

And now I'm off to put pen to paper... because I just can't help myself and the heart of a novelist must be heard!

Yours truly,
AS

New Year's Resolutions

I made a To-Do list yesterday and to my surprise I actually completed most of it with the exception of one very important thing...

• Make new year's resolutions

Insert deep sigh.

Every year I try diligently to not only put deep thought into my new year's resolutions but also to stick to them. I think I kept meaning to make new year's resolutions last year but never truly put much thought to it. The lazy bone set in and it was just better to be left to idly slip through 2010 than to be accountable for something.

So the year two-thousand and ten came and went with not a whole lot to show for it, that is on my part at least. Jesus, of course, gets all of the glory for the plenitude of gifts that he bestowed upon me. I am humble enough to know that I would not have survived last year without his great mercy!
With that being said, I'm not deeply thinking about my new year's resolutions this year but deeply praying instead. I have become best friends with the Holy Spirit. I call upon him now even to answer some of the most trivial questions: such as "Lord, should I buy these hamburger buns or the other ones?" And believe it or not, he gives me a solid, "Yes" or "No" answer. Guess what that leaves? Very little room for my mistakes.

What I have learned from my past unaccomplished new year's resolutions is to try your best not to use the word(s) 'always', 'everyday', 'every week', etcetera, etcetera. This will keep you from failing the first week when your indolent body continues it's same repetitive path it is accustomed to.
My best suggestion is pick one or two things that you genuinely want to accomplish in a years time and stick to them. If cleaning all of your closets out and getting your house organized is a goal you've been wanting to achieve then make that your new year's resolution. I heard a DJ for the KLOVE Radio Station this morning state that her new year's resolution is to live a simpler life. Rather than spend all of her energy keeping up with current trends she is going to turn the TV off and read the Bible more often. That hit a place in my heart and I thought that a simpler life sounds right up my alley.

So that is my new year's resolution (you were wondering if I was going to share, weren't you?). I'm going to find the simple things in life to enjoy this year; pray, read the Bible, so much that my very being will absorb the living word, play more music (it's so relaxing to get lost in the notes and sounds of melodies), and write. I know, you're saying, but Angel, you tried that last year and you only wrote three completed short stories. My rebuttal is this: I spent so much of my time on things that I am not supposed to control that I lost track of the gifts that God has given me.

He has blessed me with the ability to write and to enjoy writing, and I owe him at minimal the inertia to actually use my talent. Where it will lead me... only our gracious God knows the answer to that.
And for my sanity - no deadlines! I have grown to detest that word and pray that someday God will provide me the simple life that allows me to live outside of time and all of it's contingencies.
I would love to know what your new year's resolutions are and look forward to praying for you as you accomplish all that God is laying on your hearts to attain.

God bless you,
Happy New Year!
Angel

My passion has been found!

"Do you like music," the little seven year old girl asked the ten year old boy. "More than food," he said in reply.

Ever since I heard those two lines from the movie, August Rush, I wanted to know what it felt like to have that kind of passion for something. That all else stops just so you can do that very thing. No excuses. Nothing can deter you from the path towards that very thing you want to do.

This morning when I woke up I reached over and picked up my tablet and pencil from my night stand. I wrote for over an hour. It felt good to be able to start my day by allowing my creativity to flow before I did anything else. And last night, I found a well lit hole and wrote for over an hour because I felt like I was going to explode if I didn't.

I havn't finished another short story yet, but I have several stories in the making, which I think is a bonus because when I finally do finish them all then I'll have a lot done all at once. (I'm really trying to stay positive about it all.)

I have a great idea for a series of short stories. I'm going to start writing on them either tonight or tomorrow. I feel the calling and I have in-depth knowledge about the subject. I cannot wait to begin!

OH, I also tried a bit of free-style poetry writing this morning. My husband has a nice little poem written about him. Hope he likes it. If not, it was fun to write and no bruises will be sustained from the dislike. (Keats is my inspiration!)