Author Questions: What Did You Learn Faster By Doing Instead Of Studying?

 This is an ongoing series of “questions every author avoids answering” (based on this video by Dale L. Roberts) and my answers to them. I recommend every author ask themselves these same questions to better understand themselves and their art.

 

Question:

What did you learn faster by doing instead of studying?

 

The quick answer:

In-person table sales of my books.

 

The long answer:

I had published books, but few were selling. I had some reasonable sales on Amazon, but I knew there were plenty of readers out there who would be eager to read my books if only they knew about them. But getting your book in front of potential readers online is incredibly difficult. There is so much competition for their attention, and so many millions and millions of books, that it seems like a Herculean task just to get the cover in front of them, much less tell them what it’s about.

Before I did in-person sales, I would try loads of social media posts across all of my social media platforms. I tried Facebook ads. I tried Amazon ads. I even ran an ad that showed on the screen at my local movie theater (yes, really).

My publisher, too, was selling very few of the books they represent.

So I had to take action and go out, in person, to talk to readers.

There’s no guide for how to do this. There’s no self-help book for authors that I’ve ever seen that discusses this topic. No one mentors you on these things. [if you’d like some advice, read to the bottom and follow the links]

I had seen authors at events, smiling at people and talking about their books, which were neatly arranged on the table in front of them – at festivals and fairs as people milled about eating ice cream or listening to live music or perusing art stalls - at author fairs where there were dozens of authors and too much to take in at once – and at bookstores.

So I started talking to them. Introduced myself as an author. Asked them how to sign up for the next event. Asked them where and when other events were, and who organized them.

And then I got my first event, doing a reading at a local bookstore during a monthly “street art walk” in a nearby town. Then I was able to get a table at a yearly author event.

Slowly, event by event, I built up a rapport with other authors, signed up for more events, until my weekends were filling up with them. I eventually even purchased a little camper so that I could extend my range to do events around the state and even into other states without having to pay for hotel rooms (which would eat up all of my meager profits), taking my efforts to a whole other level.

And, more importantly, I “learned by doing” slowly, figuring out how best to display my books, what accessories to bring, which book pitches worked for which kinds of customers, being able to pick out who my likely customers would be, and how to just put on my sales face and speaking tone.

It helps to be a “people person,” of course. But let’s face it, if you aren’t out there engaging readers, you aren’t going to sell many of your books. And that’s the point, right? You want your hard work to be appreciated. You want to share your inspiration. You want to have other people escape into the worlds you created or learn the knowledge you wish to share with your words.

Last year I sold 516 books at in-person events, which for me is a lot, and way more than I sold online or with my publisher. You can do it too.

HERE is my advice on how you, too, can find events to do in-person sales for your books, sign up, and what to bring.

HERE is my advice on what to do, and what not to do, while selling your books at those tables.

To learn more about what events I’m doing this year, click HERE (the page will be updated throughout the year as events are added and confirmed). That list will give you a good idea of the range of events that maybe you could find, too.

So get out there. Engage your readers. Build your fan base. There are people who crave what you write, you just need to find them first.

 

 

Cheers and happy reading!

Author Interview Of Me By C.M. Rosen

 In December I had an online interview of me by author C.M. Rosen, as posted on her website.

I love doing interviews. Every chance I get to engage potential readers is a joy for me. And maybe I'm vain enough to enjoy talking about myself?

In this one, we discussed my collection of paranormal stories, Around the Corner from Sanity. How did I choose stories for it. What inspired me for those stories. How I build suspense. And more. Also, what are my challenges when starting a new project, and what writing do I currently have in the pipeline?

Check it out and let me know if you have any thoughts or questions:

Here's a link to that interview.

I've been interviewed a number of times. Click HERE to find information on those.

Cheers and happy reading!

Author Questions: What Made You Start Writing?

 This is an ongoing series of “questions every author avoids answering” (based on this video by Dale L. Roberts) and my answers to them. I recommend every author ask themselves these same questions to better understand themselves and their art.

Question:

What made you start writing?

The quick answer:

An insatiable desire to be creative and lose myself in other worlds.

 

The long answer:

For the most part, I both read and write to escape the real world. This is why speculative fiction is my thing, for what I read and what I write: primarily fantasy, science fiction, and horror.

It has always been this way for me. I remember, as early as ten years old, reading books in those genres that were meant for adults. Authors such as Michael Moorcock, Stephen King, Stephen R. Donaldson, and J.R.R. Tolkien, took me far beyond the childhood books I had been reading and launched me into new worlds.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I read books for my age range, too. For instance, I consumed all of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Phantom Tollbooth, A Wrinkle In Time, and so many others. Scholastic book sales at school were super exciting to me. But it was the adult books that really set my imagination on fire.

Around the same age, my mother introduced me to Dungeons & Dragons (thanks, Mom!). It was the first edition basic box set. I promptly found other kids to play it with. Thus began a lifelong love of roleplaying games. Soon I found myself with a group of kids and doing dungeonmastering. Over the course of my junior high and high school years I developed the world of Irikara, which now serves as the world I set my fantasy stories in. It’s a vast world, with so much complexity that sometimes it feels more real to me than the real world we live in.

The need to escape from the real world is a driving factor for so many readers of speculative fiction. I know I’m not alone in that.

There are two very moving anecdotes I want to share, along these lines:

A few years ago, I was contacted by a young man who was an online acquaintance of mine. He said that he read my scifi space opera novel, The First Nova I See Tonight, and it changed his life. I was really surprised by this. To me, it’s just a fun and sexy romp through space with lots of action. I asked him why he felt this, and his response moved me to tears. His girlfriend had died, and he had a hard time dealing with life and coming to grips with it. He said that my book had helped him escape the pain, at least for a while, until he could get back on his feet. This was a real eye-opener for me, and I thanked him for telling me.

Then, last year, another young acquaintance of mine came forward. I had previously given him my book of poetry, Guide Me, O River. Then his best friend was murdered in a horrific manner. He said that reading my poems helped him get through that hard time. Again, I was very moved by this.

These anecdotes serve as a reminder to me that the power of the written word can move mountains. Our lives are complex and often difficult. Reading speculative fiction can help you escape those real world issues, at least for a little while.

 

Cheers and happy writing!

A Recap Of My Writing Journey In 2025

 

Thank you!

As we put a close to 2025 and welcome the new year, I first want to thank all of you, my most loyal readers, for supporting me. You are the breath beneath my wings, my muse, the ink in my pen. Thank you.

2025 was a busy year!
Back in January, I finished the first draft of The Parable of Sam, a "biblical horror" novel (as my publisher, GladEye Press, is calling the genre). It will be released in the fall of 2026 with the full works: a release party, bookstore tour, press releases, and ARC readers (people who will read a pdf copy before the book is released, for free, with the promise to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads after it releases). Would any of you like to be ARC readers? If so, let me know and I'll sign you up!

Lately I've written some new short stories, and I've started book 3 of my fantasy series, the Heartstone Series. The working title is Lord of Silk and Steel. I'm so excited to work on this series again, and I know many of you have been clamoring for it.

This year also saw a huge ramp-up of my in-person author table sales at events: street fairs, festivals, book fairs, and bookstore events. I even purchased a camper van so I could extend my range for these events across Washington and Oregon! This year I had a whopping 21 events over 41 days for around 319 hours! I drove over 6300 miles for these events, too. Time well spent! The longest was an 8-day stretch at the Oregon State Fair. I LOVE these events, as I get to meet readers face-to-face, get them excited about my books, and sell my books to them. I met many of you at these events, in fact! I would gladly do more, if I could. I sold 516 books at these events. So many new readers. Yay! Stay tuned for events coming up in 2026.

I've also started advertising my author services (services for other authors or would-be authors), including helping them with the conception stage, formatting books for self-publication, book cover design, Amazon ad generation, writing book blurbs, creating Amazon author pages, and more. To date I've helped four authors with these things. Most recently I helped Corvallis author Judy York with formatting her first book for Kindle and print (including her original essays, color paintings, and poetry), creating covers for each version, creating an Amazon author page for her, and uploading the books with meta data. Her book is now live and selling. Are you an author or aspiring author who could use my services? If so, let me know. Here's information for my services from my webpage, and here's my Fiverr account if you'd rather book me there.

And I continue doing other things that professional authors like myself need to do, such as writing these newsletters, blogging, attending and critiquing for my writer's group, attending workshops, dealing with marketing and ads, doing readings, editing and revising, and the endless need to attend to my many social media pages. I even had a book club that I did for a while. And, of course, I need to find time to read other people's books (as Stephen King has said, "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.").

Though I got laid off from my dayjob as a scientist back at the end of July, and haven't yet secured a new job, it has given me time to focus on all of these author activities. I'm thankful for that. But it doesn't pay all the bill (yet). Some day! So I'm looking for a new job right now and trying to make ends meet. I'm thankful that all of you are supporters!

Have a very prosperous new year, and happy reading!

My Review of UnWelcome, by MJE Clubb

 (link to Goodreads page)

This was a fun and quick read. A troubled teen boy. A mother still reeling from the kidnapping of her daughter, a divorce, and the death of her ex, and now cancer. And then they bring in a demon-haunted mirror. All hell breaks loose.

A Tale Of Two Authors Selling Their Books

This is a tale of two authors. One sold a lot of books at an author event, the other sold almost none. What was the difference? Read on….

In a prior post, I shared how you, as an author, could find and take part in author fairs. But simply being at the event and having a table isn’t enough. You have to engage the readers in a way that is effective. Otherwise, they won’t buy your books and you’ve just wasted your time (and any fees that the event may cost).

I just finished an author event, eight days straight at the Oregon State Fair, as part of the Oregon Authors tables, and I’m happy to say that it went extremely well. I sold double the number of books I thought I would! So much, in fact, that I had to put in an emergency order for more author copies to sell for further events, having sold out of two of my five book titles. One day I sold 32 copies.

But there was another author at that same event who didn’t do so well. For the sake of anonymity, let’s call him “Bob.”

Why didn’t Bob do well? Like me, he specializes in speculative fiction, with three science fiction books, so we had much the same audience. Despite that, the same day I sold 32 copies, he sold zero.

So I took a moment to watch Bob as he sold his books, and I saw that he was doing everything wrong.

Here are some important pointers that I recommend, when you are an author doing in-person table sales, comparing and contrasting me with Bob:

Be attentive. When I’m at the table and potential customers are walking by, I’m watching for potential customers. I’m not doing something on my phone. I’m not having conversations with other authors. I’m ready to engage. Bob, on the other hand, was often looking down at his cell phone or just zoning out.

Be engaging. When a potential reader is close to the table and seems interested, or is wearing a tee shirt or something that has science fiction or fantasy themes, I meet their eyes and talk with them. “Hi!” I’ll say, “Do you like to read scifi or fantasy?” Bob, on the other hand, simply sat there as people walked by, waiting for them to talk first.

Be courteous and fun. Remember, a potential reader sees you as a source of entertainment. If you aren’t courteous or entertaining to them, they’ll move along to someone who is. When a reader comes to my table, I’m animated. I smile. I have big hand gestures. I laugh if there’s a funny bit about a book, or I get wide eyed at the exciting bits. And I don’t hawk my books from across the room, talk too loudly or too softly, or call out to people while they are in the middle of a conversation. Bob was courteous, I’ll give him that, but in a stuffy way, with none of the animation. It was as if he were selling them a vacuum cleaner or accounting software or something.

Dress the part. This event was a fair. People were there for excitement. I dressed in colorful shorts and short sleeve tee shirts. Another author, who sells swashbuckling naval adventure novels, actually dressed in pirate attire. Some festivals are even “louder,” such as the Eugene Pride Celebration, where it’s expected to wear rainbow colors and LGBTQ pins or flags. If the event were a more formal occasion, such as a table at a winery event, maybe semi-formal attire might be best. When I did a table at the Spirit of Bohemia Mining Days, I actually dressed like a 19^th century miner. Bob, though, at this fair, wore a dowdy button-up, long-sleeved dress shirt and dress pants, as if he were going to church.

Have a table display. My table had a cloth banner draped over it with a graphic that advertised my brand and my book covers. I had a little toy dragon for kids to play with, dragon bookmarks to give away, and stickers with dragon designs or “reading” designs to give away. Behind me was a massive poster advertising my fantasy books. And I wore tee shirts that were themed with reading messages or my branding. Some people have props that are in line with their book themes, and colorful tablecloths. I also have little displays that have five-star quotes about the books, left by readers on Amazon. Bob, though, had none of these things. All he had was a plain table with his books piled on it.

Have an effective pitch. A “pitch” is the quick summary of your book that hooks the potential reader. It needs to be on-point with the theme and genre of your book, create excitement, and give the stakes that the protagonists face. It also needs to highlight how that book is different from any other book in that genre. Each book needs its own pitch. When I talk to potential readers about my fantasy book, Dragon of the Federation, I lead off with “This is a fantasy told from the point of view of a dragon.” I pause a fraction of a second for that to sink in, and watch as their eyes light up, then I continue by saying what the protagonists are there for, an exciting event that sets up the plot, and then the dangerous and world-shattering stakes that the protagonists face. Bob, on the other hand, mentions something about a couple of specific technologies in his scifi books, but none of the plot points or stakes involved. It gave me the impression that it was a science fiction, but nothing else.

Have something more for the customer after the sale. When the customer buys your book, don’t let that be the end of the engagement. I say “Please feel free to take bookmark and a sticker. My card is in the book with my website and links, in case you’d like to follow me on my social media or sign up for my mailing list. And I urge you to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.” Have swag. This way, they are getting something more and have something to do even after they finish the book. I’m building a community around my books, you see. Bob, though, does nothing of the sort. He just sells the book and says “Thank you.”

Make sure your books have effective covers. Maybe a tad off-topic here, but you want to make sure your book covers are effective. They need to be instantly recognizable for what genre they represent, have a compelling title, and be original. For instance, my science fiction novel, The First Nova I See Tonight, has a cover that features an otherworldly planetscape with stars and a nova in the sky and three figures on it that represent the three main characters (including a feline alien, a space rogue, and a cyborg). My horror collection, Around the Corner from Sanity, has a cover with bloody handprints in the window of a dilapidated building. Bob’s books, however, feature pictures of pretty waterfall or a cliff face with ice. The titles also don’t suggest anything scifi-ish. Looking at the covers, one would have no idea what genre they fit at all. 

[Related: here’s a prior post I wrote about how to get an effective cover as an indie author]

Hey, I get it. Many of us writers are introverts. We just want to write our stories. But remember, your job as an author doesn’t stop after the book is published. Maybe that was the case 50 years ago, but these days you have to do so much more. You have to get out there, where the readers are, and engage them, both digitally and in-person. And even getting out there and doing in-person events isn’t enough. You have to market your books with enthusiasm. You’re an entertainer. Don’t be afraid to be a “people person” and get animated, at least for as long as your event is. Don’t be a “Bob.”

Cheers and happy reading!

My Review of The Fragile Blue Dot, by Ross West

(link to Goodreads review)

FIVE STARS

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of stories. All stories, in one way or another, use climate change as a plot driver, yet most do not actually dwell on the issue. Instead, the lives of the protagonists are influenced by it. Often the stories are set in the near future.

There's the documentarian who examines overpopulation and its effects on climate change, but has to deal with out of control fame and getting wrapped up into politics. There's the lifeguard who works in a domed, artificial beach and has a thing for a fellow lifeguard, but watches in despair as the theme park is turned into a museum about climate change and pollution. There's the climate change denier who can't seem to sell his gas-guzzling boat and takes things to an extreme. The out-of-touch dad who can't seem to understand why his teen daughter is staging a solo protest against the forces causing climate change, but is trying to understand her motivations. Or the academic who is pursuing her studies in climate change so much that her own marriage is falling into shambles. And so much more.

West tells all of these stories with excellent storytelling and well-edited. This is a must read for anyone curious about the effects of climate change on everyday lives.

Cheers and happy reading!