Beware promises of great things.

Just before Easter I received several messages from an organization telling me that I had been recommended to them for inclusion in their who's who list this year. At first I thought that this might be some sort of scam, like "your long lost relative in Zimbabwe has left you a million dollars, please contact us to arrange payment." I googled their name and checked out their site. To my surprise they seemed legitimate, and since they only asked for some basic information to contact me, and because none of the information they were requesting was to personal I decided to see where it might lead.

I was contacted about a week later by a gentleman who seemed genuinely interested in my work. We spoke for a short while and he explained what his company would like to do for me. It all sounded on the up and up until he started talking about payment for this service. As I mentioned in one of my first blogs, when someone seems more interested in you ability to pay the bill rather than your work, move on!

When the man on the other end of the phone wanted to know which credit card I wanted to put the payment on I informed him that I do not, as a matter of principal, ever give out that kind of information over the phone. Suddenly the price began to drop for their services, and with each rejection the price went lower.  I finally had to say to him that he could drop his price to $1 and I still would not give him the information that he wanted. I had asked if he could send me all his information in a contract form and I would review their services and get back in touch. He was unwilling to do this. By the end of our conversation the gentleman was gone and was replaced with a slightly belligerent man.

So, just a word to the wise. I know that nothing in this world is for free but if you are willing and able to pay for something that you want make sure that you have a written contract, that you understand that agreement, and that you are comfortable with it.

Always check your e-mail!

Normally I check my e-mail every day at the same time. Last week I came home later than normal, and since I had only been getting junk mail in my account for the past few days, I decided to forgo my regular routine and instead go for a walk on the beach. After sunset I returned home again and then sat down to dinner. It was not until 11 p.m. that I turned on my computer to check my mail.  As I deleted the daily delivery of junk mail I noticed a note from my publisher. That in itself is not unusual, but this was a request from a magazine in Great Britain that wanted to do a feature on my work for their June issue.

GREAT! I thought to my self, then I read a little further to find that they wanted confirmation and a fair bit of material by 5 p.m. that day. OH CRAP!

I started retrieving the the information from my computer that they had requested and started e-mailing it off in the hope that the 5 p.m. dead line was not a firm one.  It was almost 1 a.m. by the time I was finishing up. Luckily I got a reply from the magazine the next day saying that the information that I provided was great and that they could proceed with the feature.

I got lucky this time. I could have missed out on a good opportunity for some free  publicity if I had not checked my e-mail that day. NOTE TO SELF, check e-mail every day!

Learning more and more.

After the elation of finally getting published wore off I soon realized how much I had to still do and learn on my own. Unfortunately I have not had a mentor in this process and so much of what I am trying is trial and error.

My publisher has taken my book to book fairs in several major markets around the world in the past few months but that does not seem to be enough to get the word out into the public consciousness. I came to the conclusion that I would need a publicist.

I started a search on line and came up with many options. As I weeded through them I discovered that many, just like my original search for a publisher, were just out for a quick buck. The quickest way I have been able to identify the bad ones from the good ones is how they ask questions. After they cover their services with you and then immediately turn the conversation to "how much can you afford", or "we have a payment plan", you should keep looking.

I have recently entered into an agreement with a company that I feel wonderfully confident about. The first good sign was that after sending them an inquiry on line they contacted me by phone! This does not seem to happen in our cyber space world today. I may be a little old fashioned but this personal touch appealed to me. They also seemed to be as interested in my work as I am, and they were concerned as to whether their services would meet my expectations. They also answered all of my questions honestly and straight forward. At this point I could not have asked for more.

So I am attaching the first of their efforts on my behalf. I hope you enjoy this article. http://whattheythink.com/news/50341-graphic-artist-nostalgia-technology-create-new-art-form/

Getting Started!

Today I am creating my first blog.

Over the past year I have had two children's books published, The Deep Black Pond, http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheDeepBackPond.html and The Gray Garden; Aunt Nancy's Garden, http://www.publishamerica.net/product36222.html and I am learning as I go through this process just how hard it is to get my books noticed. I thought that after I had been published I could turn my attentions to my next project but I am finding out that getting published is just the first part of the battle.

Publicity is such an important part of being published. You could have written the best book ever and get it  published but if no one knows about it it won't sell.

As I've said, I am learning as I go and I have made some mistakes through out this process. So the reason I am starting this blog is to put out information that might help others who are also starting out, and to hopefully connect  with others who can offer suggestions and advice.

That's all for now.