Being my own pimp.

Working at an independant bookstore continually gives me new insight into the workings of this industry. On a daily basis I'm interacting with and building relationships with my future readers, pimping the works of my friends and colleagues, discussing the brilliance of the masters, and otherwise being a bookaholic with our bookaholic customers.

I've been in this business for fourteen years and while much has changed, one thing has remained constant. Selling books is hard work. Let me say it again because this is the one of the universal truths of the publishing industry.

Selling books is hard work.

It's not laborious, per se. You're more likely to work up a lather than a sweat, but it's still hard nonetheless. You have to know what the customer likes, what they're in the mood for, what they have and haven't read, and know your stock well enough to find something that fits all of that criteria. If you fail to produce the perfect book, then you have to find something close and convince them that they want to read that instead. It doesn't matter if they want a fluffy romance and you read nothing but gun porn sci-fi. You still have to have a working knowledge of who writes what so you can at least fake your way through it.

I'm at the point where I don't have to fake it. I've gathered (from trusted friends and associates) enough opinions on works that will never see the dark side of my "to read" shelf that I can say with certainty "read this, you'll like it." However, what I'm still learning is how to sell works from the other side of the looking glass. More specifically, how to convince an editor and/or agent that they want to read my manuscript.

I like to think of myself as a humble person...(No, really... I do.) (Stop laughing.)...and as such, I feel guilty telling someone my own work is the greatest thing since the invention of the Tim Tam. (Mmmmm...Tim Tams) Granted, I don't have nearly as much practice selling my own work as I do with other author's works, but it shouldn't be that much different. Right?

Well...I'm not so sure. While I have fourteen years in the business, it's only on the retail side. On the creative side, I only have about three or four years (and most of that was spent writing). I know what you're going to say. The sales skills from one should apply to the other, and you're right. They do. The problem is that in my (paid) profession, I've come to rely on my tenure more than my expertise and knowledge. Most of our regular customers know I'm a tenured employee and trust my recommendations without question. I don't have to sell them on the story, I just have to hand them the book. Now, for newer customers, I do have to sell them on the story. I still have the skill, it's just that the muscle has....atrophied a bit. My inner pimp has become a little lazy, so to speak.

So, how will my inner pimp get their smack back? By going back to the universal truth stated above. Selling is hard work. You see, I've discovered that it doesn't matter what side of the industry you're on. Until you have an established name, selling is hard work. Once I've proven that I can sell though, or have hit the NYT bestseller list, I can relax a smidge. Until then I have to work on becoming the Harold Hill of writing. (If you don't get that reference, go watch The Music Man, starring Robert Preston.) I have to learn how to pimp my work, and myself, so that an editor that loves gun porn sci-fi will give my YA fantasy a try.

To the stars and back

Last week I promised you I would talk about the Superstars Writing Seminar and since I'm a woman of my word, I'm doing just that.

Ahem......

The seminar was freaking awesome!!!






What's that? You want details? I'm sorry, I can't do that. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  :)


Oh, alright. I'll give you more, but only because I'm a softie (and because it was freaking awesome).

If you're not already aware of what the seminar is, it's a nuts and bolts discussion of publishing presented by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Eric Flint, Dave Farland/Wolverton, Brandon Sanderson, and a few guest speakers. This year the guest speakers were James A. Owen (the A stands for awesome), Dean Wesley Smith, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch (who unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute).

I want to make sure that you noticed that this seminar is chiefly about publishing and not writing. We did briefly touch on the subject of writing but the primary focus of this seminar is publishing, which is why this seminar is so essential. The industry is changing so fast and if you don't know how to navigate the changing labyrinth, you're going to become someone's lunch.

Don't become someone's lunch.

If you're writing for your own enjoyment, then this seminar isn't for you. But if you're like me and want to make money doing what you love, then you need to pay attention to what these seasoned professionals have to say -- and believe me, they have a lot to say. I have 18 pages of notes.

If you're allergic to people and learning about publishing is more than enough awesome for you, then follow the link (http://superstarswritingseminars.com/index.php/dvds-a-mp3s) and buy the discs. If you want the full freaking awesome experience then you need to pull out the credit card and attend in person because the best parts of the seminar happen between the lectures. That's when you network.

This is one of the best and easiest places to network. There's a private Facebook group so we could get acquainted before we arrived (and stay in contact after we left) so many of us didn't need to break the ice. As for the attendees we didn't know, we learned really fast that asking "what do you write?" was the perfect ice breaker. During the seminar there were many short breaks, in addition to meal times and BarCon which gave us ample opportunity to break said ice and converse.

I don't want you to think that it was just the attendees getting geeky together. The pros were there too.  And honestly, if you go and don't ask at least one of the speakers to join you for a meal, you're missing out. Some of the best discussions with the pros happened after hours.

If you've been debating about going to a seminar, I highly recommend this one. Yes, it's expensive, but it's tax deductible and worth every penny. The friends, contacts, and opportunities I gained from this experience made it more than worth the expense.