Day: September 9, 2014

September 15: Agatha Christie’s Birthday

Agatha-Christie-publicdomainDame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, (née Miller) was born on my birthday, September 15, although she made an earlier appearance than I did, in 1890. I always thought it was interesting that we shared a birthday and a vocation, so in honor of that special day this year, decided to find out more about her.

Most people know that she was a crime novelist, her books spawning such protagonists as Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Her work as a playwright is also well known, especially her play The Mousetrap, the longest running play ever produced. Less people know that she also wrote short stories and even romances. These last were under a pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. Perhaps there is something to the mutable nature of Virgo, because I, too, write across several genres: action/adventure, fantasy, romance, paranormal, spiritual and satire. Continue reading “September 15: Agatha Christie’s Birthday”

Making Indie Inroads at Libraries

Author Aron JoiceGuest Post
by Aron Joice

I just had my first book signing, and it was a bit different from the signings and launches previously shared by some of the IU family. The signing was held at one of my local libraries.

So many changes are taking place on a daily basis for writers that I decided to go back to a grass roots mentality. Chewing my cud (now there’s a disgusting mental picture), and thinking things over, I went back to the place that I called home: the library. I used to practically live there, doing research, using the computer lab, and receiving help from an unbelievable staff. This particular day, my objective was to see how many bookmarks they would allow me to leave. Free promotion, right? The assistant director expressed more excitement than I could imagine, and kept asking me for more. She put them everywhere. It was then that my old gray cells told me to hit every library around. Eureka! I hit gold, well, at least fool’s gold. Now I was ready to put my plan into action. Continue reading “Making Indie Inroads at Libraries”

How Do You Define Credibility and Legitimacy as an Author?

approved-29149_640I read an article recently where an author discussed the benefits of purchasing a review from Kirkus. He felt it lent credibility to his work. He claimed that there was no boost in sales from the paid review, so it did not help him connect with any new readers, but he thought it gave him credibility. Yes, credibility. Stay tuned, I have more; it’s been a busy month.

I attended a meeting a short while ago at a major library. The library management invited a group of local authors to participate in a think-tank and discuss how the library could connect with the self-publishing community. It was a really powerful meeting. Some of the authors were both self and traditionally published and I overhead a couple of them talk about how they felt legitimized by signing with an agent and being traditionally published. I heard the same comment when I taught a workshop recently. There were authors who felt they needed to be legitimized, and having an agent or publisher would deem it so. Continue reading “How Do You Define Credibility and Legitimacy as an Author?”