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What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?

I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.

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I will check these out as well. Thanks for tip...I went on this website called Book Tours and posted my upcoming book signings..It cost a dollar but someone called me from that and asked me to be a featured author at a book festival. Maybe I already told you all this...If so sorry for repeat
Just to let you know my book QUANTUM WOMAN CELESTIAL MAN will be on display at the Maryland Library Association 2010 Annual Conference held at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleu Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland, April 21-23, 2010.You are welcome to come...

Regards
Kamelia
Hi Kamelia,

Your book will also be showcased at FoxandQuill.com in the April issue.

John Wolf
FoxandQuill.com
JohnWolfBooks.com
Right now my biggest challenge with marketing my book, The Santa Louise Kid - Murder, is my publisher. When my book first came out in January I contacted book stores and asked them to carry my book in their stores. My publisher told me my book was in the Ingram Catolog with a "normal discount." A couple of book store owners e-mailed that Ingram only had my book at list price. I contacted my publisher and he told me he would take care of it. Yesterday I start contacting book stores again and they tell me it's listed at a 25% discount, not the normal 40%. I'm also having problems trying to find out who is distributing my books in Europe, my publisher doesn't know.
Selling it has been the biggest challenge for me. I honestly never thought of it that it was as crucial a part as producing it.
I think writing a book is the easy part. Marketing and promotion is the hard part. On my internet radio show, most authors I interview have the same problem. The best advise I have gotten so far is using the web as much as possible. Facebook and such and promoting your website. Good luck with your book and promotion.

Martin D. White
President
Poetic Monthly Magazine
www.poeticmonthly.com
I'm in this same boat - as Martin said, a lot of authors are. In today's economy publishers are doing less and less to market a book and leaving it all up to the author. I sort of like that as I am making wonderful connections and knocking on doors I never thought even existed.

Our books will get there. If you believe in yours as much as I believe in mine something will happen soon. Something great and we'll wonder why we ever thought it was difficult.
My latest book's challenge has been taking the risk of promoting my book on facebook.com. (Explorers Cookbook and Travel Guide). I have a video posted; a suggested TV-trailer based on the book, along with detail information about the book and soon recipes. This new way of promoting myself has resulted in frustration of the many 'polite' rejections from querys and proposals sent out. Even though I have had great success with my first book becoming a publisher and getting the book on the physical shelves of B&N, I would like to experience what the very successful authors have of being published by a large publisher. I am a graphic artist and have already put the book together (camera ready). I realize these large publishers could give a hoot, although I did manage to get my foot in the door to Random House's acquisitions editor who did get to see the physical book/galley and politely said, "even though it was very interesting, she was already representing someone with a similar book". Argh! That old saying: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!" Is really starting to wear on me. What do you suggest?
Yvonne Addario,
You have a great outlook and a very positive perspective on the real value of our business. I admire your efforts and wish you continued success. I am one of those who has never cooked a thing indoors in my entire long life, but just based on your outlook and presentation, I am sure I would be interested.

With my best regards,

Dr Robert E McGinnis also an author
The Paradise Series
The Little Eagle Series
The White Panther Series
and that thirty plus years mainstay of my effort, In Search Of Paradise just out in the fourth edition.
Be persistent, Yvonne. You never know when the day will come that your book will top the bestseller charts and it'll all be because of the hard work you're doing now.
Making characters unlikable so they can grow to be likable.

I love my characters, but having all characters being lovable from the start is boring. So some of them need to be unlikable at first so they can grow to be a likable character. So some of them have to start out with traits that make them unlikable, but not so horrible that the reader hates them. It's a tough balance.
Age old proposition, every Good Book ( I am speaking in Biblical terms of all religions ) have the good guys and the bad guys and some of the bad buys become good guys and even the other way around as in the case of Judas (which has several interpretation, I will let you take your choice). So your situation is characteristic, but it is how you explain the transformation and the results that make it interesting or not. Fiction being what fiction is, we can make anyone, anything and of any value that we want. That is the beauty of it all.

I love writing, and especially fiction because I can design the world the way I want it and produce characters of my liking. This, of course, has drawback because not everyone is looking for all good guys, not even in fiction, but then again, I have learned to write for myself and what I like and then let my books find people that think like I do. See how much fun this business is? I wish you well and it is my hope that you will be encouraged to write what you enjoy writing.

Dr M (Paradise Series)

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