My hometown indie bookstore closing

I was saddened to learn of the decision to close The Alphabet Garden, a children's bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut where I had an amazing event for my first book, LOVE, MEG (newly-released as an e-book titled, JENNIFER ANISTON IS MY BEST FRIEND).  Back in the summer of 2007, Karlene Rearick, the store's owner, held an event for my friends and family at her small store which was in the Watch Factory Shoppes at the time.  We had cupcakes and cake and I read from the book and signed lots of copies. I was incredibly nervous but it was a ton of fun. Not long after I returned to LA, I posted some photos from that signing.  It reminds me of a very special time in my life, one that I know not every author has a chance to enjoy.

A book signing for a debut author is really not for the masses, unless you're a celebrity and your first book is a juicy memoir.  Typically, the signing event is for the author and her friends and family.  They are excited for you and want to share in your book's release and since they were planning to buy the book anyway, they might as well do it as part of an event. It's fun to choose a theme that ties into the book - whether it's food or music or other entertainment - and it can be a great way for a bookstore owner to introduce her store to new customers.  So it's win-win-win for everyone.

But not all authors can do this.  First of all, the number of indie bookstores is dwindling and there's really only one chain left, B&N.  Then too, not all books are released as paper or hardcover so there may not be an actual book to sign.  And finally, they don't draw the numbers of people they used to. If you're a friend of the owner, that might be incentive enough to hold a signing.  If you're a good customer, that's another reason.  But let's be honest: with fewer stores and more e-books, chances are not good that you're a frequent customer at any store.  In fact, when I mentioned to my husband that The Alphabet Garden was closing, he said, "When was the last time you were in a bookstore?"

I don't know.  I don't have much money to spend on books, frankly, so I rely on free classics and other low-priced books from Amazon for my Kindle. I buy friends' books at their signings, of course, or as a download for my Kindle, but no, I don't go to bookstores often.  I used to love Borders but they're all gone and I never did care for B&N because they rarely stocked my books. Truth, okay?

People bemoan the demise of bookstores, and I agree with them to a certain extent.  There is a charm to stores and to physical books.  I have always loved libraries, even more than bookstores, because I could spend hours in the stacks, uninterrupted by someone asking if they could help me find something ("Yes, help me find an author I've never heard of who I will love instantly"). I discovered more authors that way.  And the thrill of seeing my own book on the stacks is indescribable.  One of the most amazing things to me in the world was seeing my titles shelved in the local library, and knowing they're available all over the world in other libraries.

A really big part of me wishes I could have continued to publish with Penguin.  I had major plans for my books and they did too - until the books didn't sell as fast as they wanted them to. But I still have plans and I still have stories to tell and I want to share them with readers.  What am I  supposed to do now that publishing isn't what it used to be?  Now that bookstores are tanking and the only books published by major publishers are high concept series, am I supposed to simply stop writing?

Here we are: five summers after my first novel was published and I held that awesome signing at The Alphabet Garden, the store is closing - and I just released the same novel as an e-book.  I'm very disappointed the store couldn't make it through this terrible economy and I wish Karlene Rearick the best of luck in whatever she does next.  I will forever be grateful for that signing in her store, for her support of me as a local(ish) author, and for all the friends and family who made it there to celebrate with me.
Adapt or perish, right?  It took me a while to accept e-books as real books and even longer to accept self-publishing as a viable alternative to traditional publishing. But I want to continue to write and to sell and to make a literary connection with other people.  So you do what you have to do.

Here's a link to the article about The Alphabet Garden's closing.  Thank you, Karlene!

New e-book on Nook: Jennifer Aniston is My Best Friend

Hey...it's a book!  An e-book! And it's on Nook now!

(Nook now, Nook now, Nook now...that's a tongue twister!)

A few weeks ago my e-book, JENNIFER ANISTON IS MY BEST FRIEND, launched on Amazon and a whole bunch of people said, hey what about Nook?  So my Ninja Webmaster/Cowboy Book Designer just put a version up on the Nook so it's now available at Barnes & Noble's website.  Here's the link for you to head straight on over there and get a copy for yourself or buy it as a gift.

Speaking of gifts, have you had a chance to gift an e-book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble?  It's super easy.  I did it recently on both sites and it was so tempting to send a whole bunch more to other people.  And it's also super easy to loan books on Kindle.

(And by the way, my e-books are loanable because I don't believe in Digital Rights Management! You buy it, you loan it.  That's your choice.)

So in case you forgot, here's the link to my Amazon author page where you can see my e-books and e-shorts yourself.

Why re-release an OOP book?

First of all, my novel, JENNIFER ANISTON IS MY BEST FRIEND, is now available on Kindle and soon will be on Nook.  Yay!  It's got a cool cover and everything.

It was originally published as LOVE, MEG back in 2007.  It went out of print (OOP in pub-speak) in late 2009 and the rights reverted back to me a few months later when I requested them from the publisher.

So why I am re-releasing it now? And in fact, why would anyone re-release a book that has gone out of print?

Well, for one thing, not many people have seen it.  Clearly!  Or else the book might not have gone out of print in the first place.  Every year, thousands of books are released by the Big Six publishers and thousands more by small and independent presses.  It's just a fact of publishing life that not every author will get a share of the marketing pie.  There are only so many spots on that Barnes & Noble table, after all. I don't believe MEG got the push it needed to get into readers' hands.

Secondly, more people have e-readers than ever before and they are always hungry for new material to read (I know I am!).  Because I am publishing this independently, I have the ability to price the book at a more-than-reasonable 99 cents.  How's that for a deal?  Seriously, I'm not trying to get over on anyone.  I know the book was previously released so I think a buck is a decent price. Anything to get more people reading it.

For a third reason, I never liked the title it came out with.  It was okay but it didn't really convey what the book was about. Way too many people commented that it sounded like a romance (and then they were disappointed it wasn't!) or that it was too generic and bland. I understand that. Which is why I wanted to go back to my original title, JENNIFER ANISTON IS MY BEST FRIEND, in much the same way I reverted to FAT GIRLS IN LA for the VEE novel. The titles are eye-catching and thought-provoking and they make you want to pick them up for a look-see.

And finally...yeah, I like this story.  I like FAT GIRLS too. I want other people to see them and get to know them. I felt bad for my books when they went OOP. They were like my children who got rejected from a good college. I kept thinking, "No, give them a chance! They're hard workers and funny and sweet. They may be smaller than the other kids but they're just as smart."

You never want to see your kids rejected. So now I have the opportunity to send them off to school in my own way.

New book + Free short story = Happy Spring!

To celebrate the release of my new novel, CHASING THE FALLS, I am giving away the Kindle version of my short story, "I Brake For Whales."  FREE!!

Starting tonight, Friday April 6 at midnight PST, all through the weekend until Sunday April 8 at midnight PST, you can download my horror short for free at Amazon at its Kindle store! FREE!!

Here's the link but remember, it will be free at midnight and no sooner! Enjoy~

New book: CHASING THE FALLS!

And book number 3 is out - CHASING THE FALLS is my first new release since ALL ABOUT VEE in 2008.  Last year I released FAT GIRLS IN LA but that was not new.  This is completely brand new material that no one has seen yet.  Well, except for editor, agent, manager, and a friend...but other than that, you all will be the first!  If you buy it...

It's available as e-book only right now.  Here is the link to the Amazon Kindle version. Still waiting for Barnes & Noble to put it up on their Nook store but when I get that link, I'll share it too.  It's only $2.99, a reasonable price, I think, for an e-book.  I'd love to get feedback so if you have a Goodreads or Amazon account, I hope you'll consider posting a review somewhere.

Thanks and happy reading!

Coming in April: my new book featured on Ultimate YA Reading Group!

Hey everyone!  The release sequence of my novels has gotten a little rearranged due to work commitments and illness but the second e-book (my third published novel) is being released April 2 on Kindle and Nook, for starters.  Print editions will come later.

I'll post more in a couple of days but for now, here are a couple of teasers...

--The title is "Chasing the Falls."

--It's a contemporary young adult novel, set in Los Angeles.

Now, a bit of more cool news...

--I'm the April author for Ultimate YA Reading Group!  They'll be posting interviews 'n stuff with me throughout the month, including info about the new book.  So stay tuned to their tumblr and Facebook page!

I'll reveal the fab cover very soon, along with a blurb of the book, and more links - more, more, more!

Upcoming books?

10, 9, 8, 7...

We're getting ready to launch.  Re-launch, that is.  My intrepid Ninja Webmaster is designing a brand new website and new book covers for the re-launch of 2 of my books plus several absolutely, never-seen-before new ones, including two sequels in my Fat Girls trilogy. Currently we are tweaking images and such - plus lots of technical stuff I don't know anything about.  We'll go to Amazon and other e-tailers online first but will hopefully have the books available for print as well. 

6, 5, 4...

And why am I doing this?  Well, first of all, I always felt like my novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE weren't given the opportunity to reach a wide audience.  Part of that was due to the very small marketing budget those books had- not my fault, not the books' faults, not the editor's or agent's fault. It's just the way traditional publishing works: only a select few books get the money spent on them. They are usually the ones whose authors received large advances so the publishers need to spend even more money on them to recoup that original outlay.  Those books are the ones which are expected to rake in the big bucks. 

Then there are "small" books like mine - "quiet" books that don't have big high-concept hooks - that don't receive big advances, big marketing budgets and are expected to do nothing.  Publishers throw these books into the mix and let them flounder on their own. If they make any money, hurrah!  If not, they go out-of-print.  Well, how many do you think fall into the former category?  Not many is right.  Mine fell into the latter and they went OOP and now, I have the rights back.

Another reason why I'm putting my e-books out online is that the market has changed an awful lot since I first got published.  The books I wrote after MEG and VEE were also "quiet" without high concept hooks and since MEG and VEE did not flourish, no one wanted these.  I disagree - I think readers want them.  I think people are hungry for good stories, regardless of whether they have a hook or not.  As a reader myself, I enjoy good characters and solid stories that entertain me. I have a Kindle and I want to load it up with books.  I think there are a lot of people out there like me.  And my books are for them.

Sure, I'm also writing books that do have "concepts" that I hope traditional publishing will want to put out but if not, I am creating an avenue directly to readers and I'll get them out there one way or another.

3, 2, 1...

The Road to Self-Publication

It's been a long time since I've seen the inside of my Blogger account! LOL! For those of you who have stuck with it, thank you kindly for your patience. You probably saw an update of my blog in your feed and did a double-take: "Leigh is posting something new? Have pigs begun to fly?"

The reason for my neglect of this blog has been twofold:
1. I'm prepping books for self-publication. 2. I'm writing a new book for traditional publication.

Both at the same time!

First, let's start with self-pubbing. This, contrary to a lot of opinions, is not a bad thing necessarily. So long as you follow a series of logical steps:
--Write. --Rewrite. --Take a break. --Rewrite. --Get honest feedback. --Rewrite. --Hire an editor. --Rewrite.

In the meantime, you have to perform all the tasks publishers normally handle for you. Design the cover, plan the marketing, contact readers for blurbs, "typeset" the manuscript, and so on. If you have a particularly skilled person in your life, consider asking for their help in the design of the cover, etc. Take advantage of just about anyone you can. LOL!

I also recommend reading great blogs like Konrath's A Newbie's Guide, where he lays it out as it is. He and Amanda Hocking are the great exceptions to the rule but that doesn't mean you can't glean insight from their process. Plus it's good to read the comments for Konrath's posts because his readers have a lot of practical guidance themselves.

In fact, read everything you can about self-pubbing. You need to know what you're up against, not just the good stuff. It's also a good idea to buy a Kindle or a Nook or whatever format you plan to publish in. I have a Kindle and I love it. I love reading on it, loading new books to it, and perusing what's hot on the Kindle lists. Also good research.

I'm not up to marketing yet but I'm starting to think about how I will do this, how I want to create my brand, the C. Leigh Purtill brand. This is big picture thinking and right now I'm mired in writing and rewriting. I want to have all the books in place before I start pubbing.

I'll report more on this as it progresses.

Oh yeah, I'm also writing a ghost story that I want to publish traditionally. Yup. Ghosts.

Kindle Love Or, A Book By Any Other Name Would Read as Sweet

What can I say about my Kindle that doesn't make me sound like I'm shilling for Amazon? I've had it for about a month so far and I love it. I think I've read more books since owning this thing than I did before I got it. Anyone who knows me knows I am neither a technophobe nor a technophile; I don't glom onto the latest of anything. And if you do know me, you know I'm a traditionally published writer and I want to continue to be a traditionally published writer, as well as a self-published one. So that's why you should listen to me.

Let me state first, though, that the version I have is the cheapest one they make, the so-called "ad-supported" version. I don't honestly know what that means since I never see ads on my Kindle.

So far I have read a manuscript written in Word, a script written in Final Draft, 6 free Kindle books, 4 free public domain books, 1 short story I wrote and published for Kindle, and 1 purchased Kindle novel. All of them were incredibly easy to download and read. Before I begin to buy books (many of which are very reasonably priced especially if the author is self-pubbing or the publisher wants you to sample the author's work), I will exhaust the free lists, which are numerous!

Reasons I love my Kindle more than my computer:

1. Battery lasts a month (or longer).
2. Lightweight, easy to carry.
3. It's way cool.
4. I'm not distracted by the internet.

Reasons I love my Kindle more than books:

1. I can change the font size.
2. I can load just about any book I want at any time I want.
3. It's way cool.
4. I can carry 3500 books at once.

My version of Kindle also has some neat things like a limited web browser, text-to-speech mode, and the ability to listen to music. Basically anything you can send to yourself in an email, you can load to your Kindle.

No, it's not color. No, it doesn't have email. No, it doesn't have a touch screen. It's designed to read things. Books, magazines, blogs, Word documents, and so on. And it does that, very very well. I don't want it to do much more than that. Just like I want my phone to make perfect calls to other people - and not take lousy videos or photos - I want my e-reader for...reading. I'm tired of having wi-fi where I drink coffee and coffee where I buy books.

I don't think every store/cafe/thing needs to be all things to all people (yeah, Starbucks, I'm talking to you: you don't need to sell CDs and books and sandwiches and oatmeal and have wi-fi in the bathrooms...you just need to make a good cup of coffee). What's so wrong with doing one thing really well?

That's what the Kindle is for: it does reading really well. And that's why I love it.

And it's way cool.

My bookish experiment

Sequels, sequels, sequels...movie producers love them, publishers love them, and if you've written them properly, the audience will love them too.

When I wrote ALL ABOUT VEE originally, it was 800 pages long and had the title, FAT GIRLS IN LA. The story was about all three Vees: Veronica, Virginia and Valeria. They all came to LA and they all had different professions/dreams/desires. When the book was purchased, however, the publisher only wanted one Vee so it became Veronica's story.

Although I was disappointed, I had always planned to write the stories of the other two girls and publish them as sequels to the first book. Alas, my publisher and I parted ways and I didn't get the chance to do that.

Until now.

The first of the two sequels is called THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER. I consider it book two of the Fat Girls in LA trilogy. It tells the story of Virginia Cooper, one of the Vees from Arizona, who comes to LA to live with her best friend Veronica May. Ginny is a writer, also plus-sized like Veronica, who has dreams of seeing her work on the big screen. She also dreams of finally having a boyfriend.

I am riding the wave of the future: digital. And I am publishing it online - for free - for everyone. As part of the experiment portion of the plan, I am releasing it in four sections during the month of January on The Story Siren's website.

Kristi, the Story Siren, is a fantastic YA blogger and book reviewer whose site has influenced many, many readers and bloggers. I chose her because I like her optimism, her constantly changing content, and her love of books. I was thrilled when she agreed to do this! Beginning Monday, January 4th and continuing for every Monday in January, Kristi will release a section of the book in a pdf file, which is free to everyone who wishes to download it. She alone will have exclusive access to the new book, which means you - the reader - will too.

How cool is that? After the book has been released completely, I will publish it on Scribd, perhaps, or for Kindle. I'm not sure about that yet. For now, I just want to see it in the hands of readers online. I am so excited about getting this story out to people!

And, as a bonus for this experiment, Kristi will be holding a contest to give away a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE to a lucky reader. So if you don't have your own copy or you haven't read it yet, be sure to enter the contest! But not to worry, you don't need to read the first book in order to understand the second one. It's not that kind of sequel.

Okay, everyone ready? Let the experiment begin!

VEE's a Kindle!

Add a new incarnation of my book, ALL ABOUT VEE: the Kindle edition.

You can now read about Veronica May in trade paperback or library binding format, listen to her in audio on your iPod and now, stare cross-eyed at her on your hand-held portable reader device. Cool, huh?

The future is pretty much now.