Author Joe O’Connell – Guest Blogger

I was interested in your comments on book signings. What I heard a long time ago that stuck with me is that book signings aren't about selling books on the spot. They're instead about making sure your book is in the store! That changed my entire attitude.

When my novel EVACUATION PLAN came out in August of last year, I had some good events including speaking to your old employer, the Writers League of Texas. The problem was the event was in a Barnes and Noble and because of some glitch in the way the books from my small, independent (but up-and-coming) publisher were listed they were unable to stock the book! I was allowed instead to sell directly to the people at the meeting. Since my novel is about hospice, I told the crowd that the bookstore's usual cut would be donated to Hospice Austin. I didn't blame the store's folks, and was honored to be there. Because of that, when my publisher solved the problem, I was invited back to speak at the same store. March is Small Press Month and during it because of all the groundwork we did (and because of the wonderful Jo Virgil at the Westlake B&N) my book and others from my publisher will be featured in a special display in ALL of the Austin area B&N's.

The lesson here? No effort on behalf of your book is wasted. Keep plowing forward...

Helen: Thank you Joe.

Joe is the author of Evacuation Plan. I’ve talked before on this blog about loglines. Joe has a great one for Evacuation Plan –

“What if you knew you would die before you reached the end of this sentence? OK, we'll give you a week to pack. EVACUATION PLAN, a novel by Joe O'Connell from Dalton Publishing.”

Now, that makes me want to get that book!

You can find out more about Joe on his website, including how to buy his book. He also does a blog.
And if you really want to know more about this great author, he’ll be Straight From Hel’s Featured Author in May.