As young, budding authors, do you ever sit back and wonder what it would be like to see your books in print? Let me just tell you that it's nothing like I imagined it.
It has been about a year since I got my very first physical book in the mail. It was my final edit copy of Laminar Flow, which I, of course, still have. I do remember that day very well, and my wife even took pictures of that occasion, which for reasons of extreme unphotogenicity, will not be shared here. I was pleased with what I had accomplished, but I really didn't have any idea what to expect. I somehow thought that people would just run out and buy my books. Well, not quite...
As I've learned over this past year, making a success of it in the business of published books is hard work - really hard work. And there is no one but you really out there pushing what you've got to sell. I've been to book signings, with variable success. I've appeared on local TV, and I've had my book even advertised on network television, all with very limited success. But one of the things that I did find out is that there is nothing like a book club to promote your efforts. This seems to be about two things. The first is that you (the author) get to actually talk to people who are interested in what it is that makes you tick. And the second thing is that there is no off switch - so that you may give your whole spiel, for better or worse.
Now my second volume (Coaptation) has met with a bit more success than the first book, partly because it is a continuation of the stories in the first book. So, I've sort of got people hooked on what is coming. It is also (in my humble opinion) a somewhat better effort than the first. But so far I've gotten very limited feedback, such as reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Hastings and such.
And that brings me to the present. Today, I got in the mail the final edit copy of the third book in the Book of Drachma series - Turbulence and Restoration. Now this is the culmination of the trilogy, and the final book in this series. The book is a bit more substantial than the first two (358 pages), and it does wrap up many of the nagging questions that the first two bring to bear. I would say that this one is even better than the first two - but then that is again my own humble opinion. But I am again somewhat optimistic. As to when it will be available - I imagine that it should be available through the publisher, and through me, in around a month, with the release date nationally three months after that.
And what a cover!
It has been about a year since I got my very first physical book in the mail. It was my final edit copy of Laminar Flow, which I, of course, still have. I do remember that day very well, and my wife even took pictures of that occasion, which for reasons of extreme unphotogenicity, will not be shared here. I was pleased with what I had accomplished, but I really didn't have any idea what to expect. I somehow thought that people would just run out and buy my books. Well, not quite...
As I've learned over this past year, making a success of it in the business of published books is hard work - really hard work. And there is no one but you really out there pushing what you've got to sell. I've been to book signings, with variable success. I've appeared on local TV, and I've had my book even advertised on network television, all with very limited success. But one of the things that I did find out is that there is nothing like a book club to promote your efforts. This seems to be about two things. The first is that you (the author) get to actually talk to people who are interested in what it is that makes you tick. And the second thing is that there is no off switch - so that you may give your whole spiel, for better or worse.
Now my second volume (Coaptation) has met with a bit more success than the first book, partly because it is a continuation of the stories in the first book. So, I've sort of got people hooked on what is coming. It is also (in my humble opinion) a somewhat better effort than the first. But so far I've gotten very limited feedback, such as reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Hastings and such.
And that brings me to the present. Today, I got in the mail the final edit copy of the third book in the Book of Drachma series - Turbulence and Restoration. Now this is the culmination of the trilogy, and the final book in this series. The book is a bit more substantial than the first two (358 pages), and it does wrap up many of the nagging questions that the first two bring to bear. I would say that this one is even better than the first two - but then that is again my own humble opinion. But I am again somewhat optimistic. As to when it will be available - I imagine that it should be available through the publisher, and through me, in around a month, with the release date nationally three months after that.
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