When you’re stretched a little too thin, this is the sort of thing that happens. The president of an organization in which I’m active asked if I would update the design for a billboard that our group intends to display in October. In October! That’s so far in the future, it’s barely on my calendar. When I got her message, I sort of lost it, and I texted her back in a tone that was about as snappish as I’m able to be with such a good friend as she is. I wrote:
Yes, I’ll update the billboard design, but later. My March priorities:
😊 Support the March 18 launch of my new book. Social media, blogging, creating “Buy” links to the various retailers for both editions, ebook and paperback … the to-do list is long.
😵 Shepherd a $300 box of the paperbacks through UPS so the driver doesn’t leave the box sitting on the country lane outside my gate, in the rain this week.
😍 Wish for a friend to organize a book-launch party for me, maybe after the County Convention on March 21. I should have books in hand by then, and will be ready to sell and autograph them. $15 each, and each comes with a lovely print of a professionally drawn map of the book’s setting. (They retail for $18. For everybody who gives me $18, I’ll donate $3 to the scholarship fund.) Know anybody who might organize a book-launch party for me? 😉
🙏 Recruit more Safety & Security volunteers for our local No Kings protest on March 28. We have a Safety Lead plus ONE de-escalator. We need more people with the ability to stay calm and collected around MAGA hecklers. Know anybody with calmer-downer skills? ClearChannel won’t need the new billboard design until September. We have all summer on it. Let me survive March before I give it any more time or attention. 🙏
One Step at a Time
Happily, my friend was not offended by my somewhat snappish, whiny response. 😊 And after a good night’s sleep, I can tackle my to-do list in a calmer, more methodical manner. One step at a time.
Social Media: For me, that’s pretty much Facebook and Instagram, where I’m constantly stymied by the algorithms. If my post mentions “pre-order” or “where to buy” or “available wherever books are sold,” the algorithms cut the audience to nothing. I’m sure I should be more active on Goodreads and BookBub, but neither of those stir my interest. I tend to forget about my Amazon Author page, and I’m not convinced that many readers ever look at it. Any and all advice is welcome — let me hear from you if you’ve solved the puzzle of social media.
Blogging: That’s this, my scattershot blog which serves more as an online diary, a collection of random thoughts that are of limited interest to anyone except me, I fear. But I keep on, because some people do find and appreciate my annual reports about the effectiveness of book-promo sites. Those summaries are my small contribution to the writing community.
“Buy” Links: For my new book, those may be found at Books2Read.com/AdverseReactions. The ebook edition is currently available at 10 retailers. The paperback is available from Bookshop, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
My $300 Box of Books: It’s on the way! UPS tells me it’s on the truck for delivery today. And though the sky is heavily overcast, the soaking rain from last night has stopped. A cold front is due through by midday, which will clear away the clouds but bring gusty winds. If my luck continues to hold, I’ll have the box of books inside and safely dry before the front arrives. 🙏
UPDATE ON THE BOX: The Universe continues to smile on my latest endeavor! 💫 My big box of author’s copies and pre-orders arrived this morning AFTER the rain had stopped and BEFORE the cold front comes to blow us off our feet this afternoon. 🎉 That perfect timing, combined with the snakeskin which was earlier shed in my garage (a hat-tip to my male-main-character’s hatband), makes me think the great grand Universe might be on my side with this book. 😁
Paperback Sales and Very Little Profit: I paid $300 for 24 books, ordered direct from the printer. If I sell them for $15 each ($3 off the list price) I’ll make a grand profit of $60 on the carton. That’s $2.50 a book. And people wonder why writers are poor.
The Swag: In my snippy response to my friend, I mentioned “a lovely print of a professionally drawn map of the book’s setting.” Here’s the map, by Tiffany Munro, cartographer, of Feed the Multiverse. I’m having the map printed on heavy, glossy paper, and everybody who buys a book from me in person will get a copy. 😍 It’s quite a lovely piece of work.
Fighting Fascism: ADVERSE REACTIONS: A Novel of the Paranormal is “Dedicated to every antifascist who joined the fight, from 2025 on, to defend American democracy against would-be dictators.” From that, readers may safely assume that I’m an antifascist, and I’m in the fight. Of course I’ll be in the street protesting the current badministration.
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