A Success!

I didn't have time to blog this weekend, so I'm several day behind.

On November 21, I had my first book signing at Barnes and Noble on Stevens Creek Blvd. I wasn't nervous, until I saw the bookstore come into my view. Then my stomach churned. I wondered...what am I doing here? I hope I won't embarrass myself....

When I walked into the store, I saw the poster stand with my book cover and my picture and I thought, here I am. At a real bookstore, like a real author. When I introduced myself at the customer service center, they started moving things around a bit to make room for a small table with a stack of twenty books. I was joking with Kelly (the community relations manager at Barnes and Noble) that I was hoping I won't be an embarrassment. She smiled and told me not to worry about it. I tried not to worry about it, but as person after person walked passed my table to the bestseller bookshelves (which was conveniently located very close to my table), I was thinking...one. Can I get one? Just one? Pleeeeease?

Then I saw friends from Matheson (where I worked in the mid 90's) come and I was so happy. These are the guys who wouldn't read a book like mine, but they came out to support me. Then one after another, my friends (still from Matheson) came and bought books. Then people from my church came and bought books. Another friend bought six books. Just over an hour, I had sold thirteen books! I had hoped to sell twenty (I didn't know they only had twenty ready). Even though my book signing was only for an hour, I stayed for another hour and sold one book to a total stranger! I told her she made my day.
When I was getting ready to go home, Kelly told me to sign the rest (six books) for them to sell as signed copies, and that it was better than expected turnout for a books signing. Yipee!

On this day, I've learned that I am blessed to have such good friends and that book by book, I'll find my audience. That one sale to a stranger gave me a lot of hope for the future. I have another book signing coming up on 12/1. It's on Tuesday. 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. I'm afraid this is going to be a deadzone time slot. Getting off to work. Going home to family. Stop by at Barnes and Noble to check out Waiting for Appa? I still believe in miracles and I'm hoping to sell five to ten books.

Right now, I'm still celebrating the success of my first book signing.

Last minute marketing efforts....

I know I should have done this sooner. Ideally, on Monday or Wednesday, but working against the law of the Universe conspiring to make your dreams come true (The Alchemist) is the Murphy's law. So, here I am, the day before my very first book signing, I'm driving up and down El Camino and Stevens Creek looking for a place to post my flyer and get the word out. This would be a prime example of WHAT NOT TO DO, but I'm hoping that this is better than nothing.

Here are some of my triumphs:

* Starbucks on Lawrence and El Camino was AWESOME. Very friendly. Very visible.

* I've posted flyers on the bulletin boards in Korean grocery stores (they are located in the most visually challenged wall space between the two bathrooms down a long and narrow hallway). I'm not holding out too much hope.

* Cafe Java on El Camino and near San Thomas. Very Friendly. Very visible.

* Starbucks at Valley Fair. Very Friendly. Very visible.

Note to anyone who is going down this path: Not all Starbucks are open to flyers. Some are only open to flyers from non-profit organizations (I thought I saw a flyer of other persuasion, but I wasn't going to argue. What would be the point?)

So, after two tall decaf cafe lattes and an Odwalla I don't need, I feel quite happy with what I've accomplished this morning. Of course, I've posted the events on my accounts on Facebook and Goodreads.com as well as sending out emails to my friends and acquaintances who may be interested. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I'll have a decent turnout.

On another front, I just learned that my book is now available through Borders. Yipee! Next week, I'll be driving around Palo Alto, Milpitas, etc. to talk to Border's stores. I'm hoping that the books lovers I don't know, yet, will think $15 for a signed book is a good price for a present/stocking stuffer for another book lover. Is it merely a wishful thinking in this economy? I don't know.... Wish me luck. I need it.

Excitement building

I'm getting excited about this Saturday. It's my first book signing, ever! And the fact that it's at Barnes and Noble on Stevens Creeks makes it all the more sweeter. I used to walk along the aisles of that store and dream about seeing my books on the bookshelves.

I've got the posters. I've got the bookmarkers. I've got business cards for my book. I'm glad that this 1st foray into the public realm is not a talk. The book talk is coming up in December (December 1st in Newark) and this event will help me get my feet wet nicely.

I'm hoping that some of my friends will come out and buy books there. I would consider it a major success if I sell....20 books. I don't know.... I want to sell enough so that I wouldn't be embarrassed to ask the bookstore if I can come back in six months or so. Wish me luck. I need it.

I'm scared. I'm excited. I can't wait for this first experience of meeting people in the bookstore as an author.

Returnability is what made this possible. Returnability. Returnability. Returnability.

New Hope

Lately, I've been struggling with keeping myself motivated when things get so discouraging.... But I did get some good news today.

Returnability is very important if you want to sell your book through book stores. Well, I didn't realize this when I first started this whole self-publishing process, but I did catch on this summer and bought the returnability package from iUniverse in August. Because of how the update cycle works, Waiting for Appa wasn't marked as returnable until October. Having gone through all that, it didn't show up as returnable from the wholesaler that Borders buys their books from. So, now with December right around the corner, Border's wholesaler confirmed today that it is marked as "returnable" in their systme. But I still have to wait a couple of weeks before my book will show up as "returnable" at Borders. Yikes! I can't wait.

I need to go around to businesses around the bookstore to see if I can post a flyer about my upcoming book signings at the Barnes and Noble stores.

Here are my upcoming events:

Books signing at Barnes and Noble, Stevens Creek - Nov. 21, 2009, 1pm - 2pm

Books signing at Barnes and Noble, Fremont Hub - Dec. 1, 2009, 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Book talk at the Newark Library in Newark CA - Dec. 1, 2009, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

A good news from Cleveland

Good friends are the greatest treasures a person can have and Robin Roch is one of them. She buys five or six books and takes them to places she goes and hands them to people she knows. Her friends. Her family. I appreciate that so much. She not only read my manuscript and gave me good feedback, but she's supporting me in so many ways....

She had given one of my books to her grandmother and her grandmother really liked it. She liked the book, but she equally liked the cover (which my brother Fred designed). This was just what I needed because I've been feeling pretty discouraged about all this. Thank you, Robin and Robin's grandmother!

I'm usually a confident person, but when it comes to writing, I get scared and insecure. I think that's a good thing. I want to tackle uncomfortable topics and try to become a better writer every day. I hope I can do that.

A better day

Got posters printed for the talk and book signing events. The red in the cover almost bleached out to...bluish red? How could that be possible? But that's what it looks like right now.... But they're still good enough to keep. Now, I need to find a frame for 16x20 poster.

I met a poet today and had a lot of fun talking to her. She has about 100 poems written, in Spanish, and wanted to talk to me about publishing. We talked for a bit and exchanged emails addresses. I'm going to forward some info about iUniverse and which options she should consider. I think it's very important that we, all of us, help each other. I'm going to write to her either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Sometimes I wonder....

I need to keep this up more regularly than this. I shall try my best to write every M/W/F (when my daughter goes to pre-school and I actually have some time to myself).

Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Right now, I've hit a marketing hurdle and I really haven't sold many books since July. The royalty for my Sept sales was...$0.75! That means I sold one book online. I did sell about 100 books on my own from the 250 books I've purchased, but it is definitely depressing.

I need to think positively about all of this. If I can come to US without speaking any English, learn the language, get into Berkeley for Mechanical Engineering and graduate, and get where I am by sheer will and hard work, I think I can make this work, too. But my fear is...what if it takes more than hard work? This whole Santa Clara Country library system debacle is a big lesson. I still don't know what I could have done differently and what I did wrong. I just don't know.... I'm supposed to dedicate my M/W/F to marketing Waiting for Appa, but on the days when I have nothing to go on, I should keep working on The Seed Gatherer.

I'm learning that the most difficult thing about self-publishing is that all the contacts must be made on my own without any guidance. After I get through all this and find some measure of success, I'm going to write a book/pamphlet about self-publishing. I might even give it away as a free download if I don't have to worry about money too much.

Still, I have much to be thankful for - my family and the fact that I have the luxury to do this in the first place.