On $9

Delivered a copy of BONUS MAN to Subtext Books to sell on consignment. Received $9 payment for the last book sold, less the $4 I originally paid Amazon for the book and $3.50 bus fare to and from St. Paul, leaving me with $1.50 profit.

Of course, while in St. Paul I had to have lunch with my sister, so I then spent $20 out of my profit at the Eagle Street Grille.

Will have to check with my accountant on just how this will lead to millions. He tells me to be patient.

On better failure

Over the last half-year, I've been conducting a failed experiment that will now come to an end. I ventured away from an exclusive Amazon Kindle agreement (see December 2, 2017 post) to sell my novels through other outlets such as B&N and iBooks. I sold exactly ZERO BOOKS through this expanded distribution, while the books I did sell through Kindle garnered a smaller royalty than if I had stayed strictly with Amazon.

According to Samuel Beckett I'm right on course: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

Hmmm... Shouldn't it be: "Ever Tried? Ever failed?"

Be that as it may, all six titles are still on Amazon, as well as at Magers & Quinn in Uptown. 

Ask about all six at Subtext Books in St. Paul, even though they currently only carry this one particular title:

Thanks!

Oh, Weill

A very intimate affair last night. I guess I could blame it on the StarTribune (see previous post) and their confusion over the title of my book. Or I could blame it on the Pioneer Press and their misspelling of my name:

But I won't.

On changing titles

My last post named my new novel Nazi Abortion Slaughterhouse. This proved to require too much explanation and justification when someone asked: “What's the title of your new book?” I found myself explaining that the original title was Sidney's Sanctum, about a home for unwed mothers that is bad-mouthed by an ultra-religious newspaper to the point where it becomes known as a Nazi abortion slaughterhouse. Too much work.

I've gone with a more whimsical title: The Cary Grant Sanatorium and Playhouse. So far this has drawn smiles and chuckles. Which is how it should be. But there's more than just whimsy behind the change. Mr. Grant is a character in the novel and did, in fact, write a check to Sidney's Sanctum and its clinic for the purpose of building a theater that could double as a clinical facility. Much of the last half of the book takes place in, or centers around, the Sanatorium & Playhouse and activities held there.

Sidney's Sanctum? It was named for a small girl who died during the writing of my third novel, Bonus Man. This new novel pretty much picks up where Bonus Man left off. Heck, if you wanna read Bonus Man, you can find it here. 

And here:

HANK FENN on sale!

My latest novel, The Adventures of Hank Fenn (Americana Book 4) is out in paperback and digitally at Amazon. Paperbacks are also available in store & online at Magers & Quinn, Uptown Minneapolis. It goes like this:

For Hank, Sam never became Mark Twain. As a riverboat pilot, Sam saved young Hank from the crushing paddle wheels as the boy stowed away on the City of Memphis. Sam returned Hank to Minnesota when news reached downriver that Hank's mother was on trial for killing the father Hank had run away from. Years later, in a barber's chair prior to his mother's funeral, Hank reads a frog story that's awful close to a tall tale Sam once told. The magazine claims it's written by a fellow named Mark Twain.

The Adventures of Hank Fenn sends Hank searching the West—and then the East—for Mr. Twain. All along he and Sam exchange letters and make plans that never seem to get them together—Twain always on the road or abroad. Hank does find hatred and brutality while railroading and mining throughout this new frontier. He finds Calamity Jane in a Wyoming mining camp and Custer breaking treaties. He finds the Emperor of these United States. Ultimately Hank finds love, boys to raise and gold to unearth on a Black Hills mountaintop.

Thanks, Will

PS: An interview from last month concerning an earlier novel, Bonus Man.

On sale now!

The Adventures of Hank Fenn is out and available in paperback and digitally at Amazon. The hope is that Magers & Quinn will be carrying it by the end of the month (I'm not even due to receive my copies till Jan. 27).

2015 saw me publish three books which all started out fine sales-wise then fizzled over the last half of the year. Somehow I have to get beyond Facebook and business card word of mouth and move on to another level. All in all, the 103 copies sold were far more satisfying than the 100-plus rejections I likely would've received had I continued on the more traditional path.

There's talk of a trade show this spring (at which I may be the only writer) at the Union Depot in St. Paul. I'd have to figure out how to set up some sort of slide show (been watching Youtube videos) involving book covers and blurbs. And what if someone wants to buy one? Taxes, credit cards... And what if no one buys one? Then I'm stuck with a bunch of books... So much to learn.

Meanwhile I work on book #5, The Great American Scrapbook. It's the long-awaited sequel to Alice and Her Grand Bell. The much-anticipated sequel to No Happier State, too. And The Adventures of Hank Fenn, for that matter. Come to think of it, if you're worried about those quadruplets born on that train, it serves as a sequel to Bonus Man, as well. And a prequel to more...

Interviewed!

Go ahead, click the Awesome Indies logo below and view my interview on this wonderful site. Many thanks to Emily Reads Everything for featuring me and Bonus Man!

 

On whoring

UPDATE: I "launch" in 2 days (Nov 6). Already have the preview and all, just hours after submitting the thing.

As a self-published author I must whore myself from time to time and, well, 'tis the season. Minutes ago I sent my newest novel, The Adventures of Hank Fenn, off to Kindle Scout—an arm of Amazon (Kindle Press) for self-publishers, where they actually pay an advance ($1,500) and do some advertising for the book as they now have a stake in it, too.

It's a bit of a popularity contest, though they contend that the books are also judged on merit. Works something like this: Kindle Scout sets you up with a “campaign” package that includes your cover, bio, quick “interview” and an excerpt from the book. Readers nominate (one-click button) books that they find interesting. More nominations, I guess, means a better chance of them checking your book out for its merit and hopefully publishing it.

I'll post links—you can count on that.

Also answered a list of questions yesterday for Emily Reads Everything's “Awesome Indies.” (See Sept 6, 2015 post.) They may do a feature—at my request—on my third novel, Bonus Man.

I'll post links. Oh, yeah...

Bad omen: The first chapter of the newest book hinges on the reader's familiarity with Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and his short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”—also known by other names. Anyhow, on Jeopardy! yesterday an answer came up about Twain and a frog and not one of the geniuses playing the game could even come up with a guess.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. And how...

FREE!

In the past weeks I conducted a bit of an experiment. Periodically I give away Kindle copies of my books. I think early on I once gave away thirty-some books over a two-day period; a couple months ago only three books were given away in a one-day promotion for Bonus Man. Three stinkin' books. For free.

Then I stumbled into a list of sites that'll promote your freebies for free. I signed up for eight of them. I also promoted the free dates on Facebook and two writers' forums, like I always do. One freebie site sent me an email that they had tweeted my free promo to 42,900 of its followers. Others sent emails and/or flooded my Facebook with their ads. With all this help I gave away 21 copies of Alice and Her Grand Bell. Five days later, using the same marketing plan, I gave away 15 copies of Bonus Man.

Unimpressed, I had another promo a week later, this time I used only Facebook—ignoring all the freebie sites and the writers' forums—and gave away 16 copies of No Happier State. Hardly worth the effort of dealing with all those freebie sites, though their ads are still all over my email and Facebook. Thanks. (Maybe I need to be on Twitter...)

On a related note, the good people at Cracked Walnut shared a review site called Emily Reads Everything. Seems she has a regular feature called “Awesome Indies.” Signed up, hopefully to get a review. Not sure about the term indie. It used to pertain to small, independent presses but lately has been taken over by self-published authors who don't wanna be called self-published. As a self-published author I hope I qualify. Seems like a great site. We'll see how it works out...

On bookstore shelves

Magers & Quinn Booksellers, that fine Uptown establishment, has agreed to carry my novels—two of each, for starters. Doesn't seem like much but I've probably exhausted my FB friends and those where I work. This means selling to strangers. We'll see how that works.

One thing I have discovered through this bookselling journey: The surest cure for writer's block is researching self-publishing, promotion and marketing. Twenty minutes of reading articles or opinions on Facebook ads or review sites is enough to drive anyone to write. Consequently I've made great strides in getting my fourth book done by the end of the year.

Until then, expect to be inundated with 'suggestions'—here, on FB, maybe even that Twitter if I figure the thing out—that you shop M&Q for my books. Promotion is part of our agreement. And it's a wonderful store.

On May 21

Fractured Fairy Tales -- 2015 Cracked Walnut Literary Festival
May 21 at 7:00pm

The Lift Garage, 5925 Nicollet Ave. Featuring: Ethna McKiernan, Jennifer Hernandez, Jeanne Lutz, Lewis Mundt, Will Tinkham and Thomas Rohde, with special musical guest Muus.

I'll be reading a "missing" chapter from my latest novel Bonus Man. How it all turns out is anybody's guess...

On to BONUS MAN

My third novel, BONUS MAN (Americana #3), will be out May 15 (on Kindle, followed shortly by the paperback, also available on Amazon). It goes like this:

BONUS MAN explores the life of Adam “Bonus Man” Bonifacius, a former Great War medic and participant in the Bonus Army March of 1932. The march, a gathering of veterans in Washington D.C. protesting compensations promised but not paid, is ultimately turned back by the U.S. Government with tanks and tear gas. Bonus Man hits the road determined to find a way into medical school—the bonus would've done the trick—and maybe a little revenge along the way.

The thing about revenge is, well, he's just not very good at it. He is good at removing bullets, a skill acquired under fire during the war and put into practice when Bonus Man runs smack into a John Dillinger prison break—leading to a gunpoint invitation to stay on as sawbones to the gang. It may not be medical school but it's certainly an education.

And Bonus Man falls in love. Twice. If that doesn't complicate things enough, the FBI has an agent on his trail who is convinced not only of Bonus Man's complicity in the Dillinger escape but also in the Lindbergh kidnapping. 

Also: May 15 & 16, my second novel, NO HAPPIER STATE, will be FREE (Kindle version). 

On 2015

I believe I've posted about everything I've actually done over the past year—which is a sad commentary on my social life. I probably neglected a couple of Twins games and there was a ten-day stretch recently where I hit First Avenue three times: Lucinda Williams, Nick Lowe, and the Curtiss A Lennon Tribute. All worth getting out of the apartment for. I work till midnight tonight, so that'll be the end to my 2014.

2015 will bring the self-publication of three completed novels and at least one more now in the works. Alice and Her Grand Bell may be out as early as next week. My sister Susan Tinkham is at work on the cover. The plan is to pub No Happier State in March and Bonus Man likely in May.

I don't mind saying I've worked really hard on all three books and it scares the hell out of me to put them out there on a hope and a prayer.

When did I start praying?

* * *

Totally unrelated Twins prediction: Since I seem to be the only one who thinks it takes more than a few months to recover from a season-ending concussion (see Justin Morneau's recent 3-year recovery), I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that Joe Mauer will shake off that last lingering cobweb and contend for another AL batting title this year.

Happy New Year!

On Amsterdam Reading

VIDEO PROOF

So the Almanac reading at the Amsterdam was a wonderful event. A wide array of readers, a nice crowd, no fights erupted at the bar. Personally, after an early glitch, it went off nicely, though I'd have to see the video to be sure.

First thing I noticed when I arrived was that there was no podium on stage. Every reading I've ever taken part in had a podium. No big deal, you might think, but if you have Essential Tremors—like me—it's kind of a big deal. It's not a nervous thing; the tremors just happen—home alone, my hands shook as I practiced reading from the book. I sought out the man in charge, David Stein, and explained my situation. He scrounged a music stand from somewhere and announced that it was there for any of the readers to use. Of course, I was the only one in need.

When he introduced me about halfway into the show, I jumped onstage, dragged the stand to the mic, struggled mightily to get it to the proper height—all the while wondering what the crowd must be thinking of this guy who required a stand while others had read from their books or their phones. (If you're curious about the photo that accompanies this post: It was staged, after the fact, by my friend John Lutter. Looking at it you'd think I was as steady as the next guy, wouldn't you?)

Like I said, my part seemed to go smoothly after that. If the video affirms that I'll post it here, if not you're on your own finding it...