Hi everyone! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Between Saturday, March 21st and Saturday, March 28th, I had three book signing events. In the span of that week, I had my record high number of book sales, and my record low number of book sales. Today, I wanted to break down my experience at each book event, the sales I made (or didn’t make), and what information I’ve gathered from all of it.

Saturday, March 21st - Smutty Book Bash

This was an event that included bookish vendors and romance authors of all kinds. I had my own table, took my own payments, and got to chat with an absolute amazing bunch of people.

This event was five hours (11AM - 4PM), and rather than bringing my entire list of published works, I brought Bound, Severed, and Twice in a Lifetime, as they would be the best to appeal to the audience in attendance. I also had my book banner for the Bound Trilogy, which really drew some eyes. 

This was an amazing event, and I got so close to selling out of Bound that I actually had my husband bring me more books halfway through. 

I sold a total of 36 books at this event (with my prior record high being 29) and got a whopping 20 new folks sign up for my email list. It was incredible.

Thursday, March 26th - Literacy Night at Venture Academy

For this book event, because it took place at a school and was targeted toward young readers, I brought all my children’s books, as well as Azure Light, Emerald Shadow, and Clairvoyance. All books that are appropriate for kiddos between the ages of 5 and 15.

I got to talk with lots of kids and parents, got a couple new sign ups for my email list, and even got so attention from older readers for the Bound Trilogy, even though I didn’t bring the books with me. 

I sold a total of six books at this event.

Saturday, March 28th - Book signing event at Park City Barnes & Noble

This was the tricky one. If you’re not new to this blog, you’ll know that I have done several book signings at Barnes and Noble, and I particularly love this location. The customers are kind of hit or miss, but the staff are absolutely amazing, supportive, and so friendly. 

At this event, the store was slow for a Saturday, and most customers who came in actively avoided talking with me. I did bring all of my books, which I know can look kind of overwhelming or intimidating to folks just coming in to browse, but I thought it was strange that I didn’t sell a single book. This is actually my first event EVER where this has happened.

Perhaps I used up all of my luck earlier on in the week, but there are some things that I think I’d like to do to tweak my system a bit. 

1. Less options (at least at first). I think from now on, I’ll promote my most recent or most popular books by displaying them on the table, then if I get other kinds of readers who aren’t interested in what I have displayed, I’ll pull out a portfolio they can flip through with the other books. I do think it’s still valuable to have some of my other stuff available to buy, but maybe I just don’t put it all out on the table.
2. Nicer display. I’ve seen a lot of really great table displays, and I know this is an area I can improve. Some things I’ve thought of are…

• Lighting. Whether it’s candles or twinkle lights, I need something to illuminate the table.
• Shelving. I’ve actually found that (at least for me) the tables that are most frequented are those that have a taller display. Not clear up to the ceiling tall, but something at about eye level.
• Author banner. I’ve got the book banner, and it doesn’t an AMAZING job of catching eyes, but I do know that it’s helpful for readers if they can see my information as well.
• Other things that I’m considering… 
• Having a digital email list sign up rather than a paper one (my husband tells me it’s too scary to ask people for their “signature”)
• Having some greenery on the table (plants, fake vines, something)

Do you have any thoughts, ideas, or recommendations? Let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me at [email protected]​

I hope you all are staying safe, and that if you’re traveling, your travels go smoothly.

This last week, my husband, kiddo and I took a trip to Pennsylvania. Every year, we try to take a trip to somewhere we’ve never been before. And… while I HAVE driven through parts of Pennsylvania before and even stopped to see the city that’s still burning, I haven’t seen much of anything else the state has to offer.

You guys, this is one of the weirdest states I’ve ever been in, and we didn’t even see it all! We did see central to the far east, and let me tell you, Pennsylvania has a setting for everyone. We could see inner city scenery, rolling green hills, and Amish buggies and farms all in one short drive.  There was also no shortage of fun things for us to do!

On this trip, the only real writing related task I’ve had for myself was to get as much proof reading as possible done for myself next book. My goal was to finish it before I got back home. I’m so close (and writing this on the airplane, so perhaps I’ll be able to meet my goal). 

That being said, because I’m kiiiind of obsessed with writing, it’s never far from my mind, and this trip has gotten me thinking a lot about setting. Particularly, how a well crafted setting can do a ton for any given scene and even set the mood for your story as a whole. And, like Pennsylvania, the setting in most stories will likely change drastically.

I wanted to share just a couple of tips that I find helpful when considering the setting of a story or scene.

1. Make it significant. The setting your characters are in should have some relevance to the moment of the story they’re finding themselves in. You can do a lot to build your settings around what your characters are experiencing, and that will allow your readers just another chance to get entrenched in the story you’re telling in a really emotional way. This is also great because, as characters ourselves, we often notice things differently depending on what we’re going through. Our perspectives change, as does the focus we give to certain details. If my character is having a great day, they’ll likely notice the budding leaves on the trees, or the fresh scent of the spring breeze as they walk down the garden path. If they’re not doing so well, they’ll likely notice may ponder why the cold hasn’t subsided yet, or why there are still so many dark clouds in the sky, or perhaps how the ivy looks as if it’s choked the life out of the plants it climbs. 
   
   
2. Make the details count. I talk about imagery quite a bit, because I think it’s one of the best tools we have as writers to really paint the picture for our readers, but imagery can really bring a setting to life and give it depth. In addition to making your setting connect with what your character is going through, connect it also to the five senses. What can be seen? Heard? Smelled? Felt? Tasted? I wouldn’t go overboard with this descriptive imagery with every setting, but asking yourself these questions is a great way to really ground your readers in your setting.

That's it for this week's post! If you're interested in getting one of my books and you'd like it signed, I have some events this week and next!
1. The Smutty Book Bash (Even though my books aren't spicy, I was allowed to attend and share Bound, Severed, and Twice in a Lifetime because they are romantic stories in nature). This event takes place on Saturday, March 21st from 11 AM to 4 PM (by RSVP only, though it is free to attend) at 3333 S Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City, UT, 84119.

2. If your student attends Venture Academy, I will be attending their Literacy Night on Thursday next week, and I will be bringing all of my books that are appropriate for ages K-8th grade.

3. I also have an event scheduled on Saturday, March 28th at the Park City Barnes & Noble, where I will be bringing all of my books! 

4. You can purchase any of my books at a discount and request a signature through my website. 

​Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Hello everyone! Before we get into today's blog post, I just wanted to share that, thanks to our February sales of The Little Red Fergie, the amazing folks who donated to the cause, and illustrator and author donated royalties, we were able to send $187 to the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City this week, in addition to the books, stickers, and bookmarks we were able to donate earlier in the month. Thank you so much to everyone who supported this promotion, and for all of you who gave extra! You're helping us make a difference for these kids, even if it's a small one. 
​
Now for the subject of today's blog post: My key takeaways from attending StoryCon last weekend. 

Writing about this has honestly been a lot more of a challenge than I thought it would be, because I learned so many amazing little tidbits of information that are all... well, not super related to one another in a way that would make for a tidy blog post. So bear with me; this one is going to be a bit messy. I also won't be sharing everything I learned from this conference, as that would take much more than just one blog post, but I highly recommend that if you're interested in learning a wide variety of information related to writing that you check out the event next year.

Now, without further adieu, here are the key things I took away from this conference to improve my writing and publishing practices.

1. Content creation doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be consistent, and it has to be you. This was very helpful to hear from some panelists that manage social media marketing and content creation for their livelihood. I've definitely improved with my content creation over the years, but attending this panel really changed the way I think about making stuff for my marketing. Things I will be considering and trying to implement as I move forward with this year (and into the future):

• ​Whatever you're already doing, make it consistent. Find ways to include your audience in things you're already doing for your book. Start there, and you can increase your consistency and quality as you go.
• Have a logo (and a background, if you can) that can go on all of your stuff.
• Have interviews with the people you're already talking to about your books (or theirs) and share that as content for viewers and readers to enjoy.

2. Building dramatic tension in your story. The speaker for this presentation framed building dramatic tension in a simple yet beautiful way that I've never thought about before. He said, "Tell your readers what should be (in world building, dialogue, situation, etc), and then build tension by having what actually is not match that." He went into ways to incorporate this at a scene level or at a whole plot level, and I am so excited for when I can get drafting my next novel to be that much more intentional about the tension I put on the page.

3. Little ways to build your following and be more visible. 

• Run some kind of ads on your book on Amazon. The algorithm will make it so much harder to find if there is no ad for it.
• Have a short story or chapter that readers can read for FREE if they're signed up for your email list. This is one I've known about for a long time now, but I still have not incorporated it! Thankfully, I have a plan for how to make it so.
• Run a Meta ad for your newsletter signup. I thought this was a very cool idea!
• Push sales through your author website. Market to schools and bookstores directly.

4. Ways to run an effective Kickstarter... because you guessed it... I'll be running a Kickstarter for the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale Launch very soon! Stay tuned for more information about goodies you can get through this Kickstarter. (If you're not signed up for my email list, now might be a good time to sign up!)

• Pair the launch of your Kickstarter with an event where you're out and talking with people to help you spread the word.
• Be "that guy." Contact everyone you can about your Kickstarter. (The lady presenting said, "You wouldn't be upset if they were doing it to you..." and that really resonated with me! The worst thing that can happen is people can't back the project or feel a little irked about me asking. The best thing that can happen is they help support a project I'm so crazy passionate about creating!)
• The rest of what I learned about Kickstarter was kind of already something I figured out when I launched Bound, though it was still lovely to have a refresher. 

There are my major takeaways! Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful rest of your week!