The Last Will of Moira Leahy Release Day + If You Love a Writer by Eileen Flanagan (What YOU Can Do to Help)
By Therese Walsh | October 13, 2009 |
My debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, releases TODAY! There are few words to describe the elation I feel–the sense of accomplishment melded with a sublime happiness.
I’m basking in the moment, collecting my snippets–like the Library Journal’s Falling into Bounty list (that’s my cover, leading the lineup!), the Boston Globe’s positive review of Last Will (no linkie, sorry; there are spoilers) and supportive words from friends like Therese Fowler, Ann Aguirre, and Larramie, my fairy godmother. (Psst, Larramie and Ann are doing giveaways!) Soon enough, I’ll need to tuck these memories away and get busy with the next chapters of my life–and I’ll stop writing so much about publicity efforts and start blogging about craft topics again. Promise.
But not today.
Today, I’ll be all over the blogosphere, doing interviews (check out Brant Flakes; Random Jottings, What Women Write, and Writer Mama Riffs) and visiting the ~70 blogs of those who are participating in the tsunamic effort lead by Women on Writing (WOW) to get word of my book out there. Tonight, I’ll give a book talk/publishing chat and sign copies of Last Will. Later, a bunch of us will party at one of my favorite restaurants. I can’t imagine how sore my cheeks will be from smiling tonight; I’m looking forward to that.
A few months ago, I stumbled upon a great article by author Eileen Flanagan entitled IF YOU LOVE A WRITER. I asked her if we might reprint it here at Writer Unboxed, and she agreed. Selfishly, I’ve saved the post to go live today. I don’t know if you love me–or if you love me enough to take any of these steps–but if you do, THANK YOU. Seriously. And thanks for being here with me, on this wild and crazy ride to publication. Writing is, as we so often reflect, a lonely endeavor, but you all have made it much less so.
Without further ado…
IF YOU LOVE A WRITER
by Eileen Flanagan
After ten years of writing around my children’s schedules, I have a book coming out in a few months, and friends have been asking what they can do to support me. I’ve been touched by their offers and yet reticent to ask too much, especially of busy people in a tough economy. At the same time, the online writers groups I belong to are a buzz day and night with authors trying to figure out how to publicize their work before the entire publishing industry goes bankrupt. So, as a community service, I’ve decided to write up ten suggestions for all the people who love a book author who’s been fighting the publicity odds (Fellow writers, feel free to forward this link or add your own suggestions in the comment section.):
1. Buy your friend’s book. If you can afford it, buy it for everyone in your extended family. If you can’t afford it, ask your local librarian to order a copy. In fact, you can suggest it to your librarian whether you buy a copy yourself or not.
2. Don’t wait until Christmas or Hanukkah to pick up a copy. How it does in its first weeks determines whether a book will stay on the bookstore shelves or be sent back to the warehouse to be shredded (along with your friend’s ego). Try to buy it as soon as it’s published, or better yet pre-order a copy, which makes your friend look good and gets your friend’s publisher excited about the book’s prospects. An excited publisher will invest more in publicity, while a bookstore that is getting advanced orders is more likely to stock the book on its shelves.
3. Friends often ask where they should get the book, which is a tricky question. In the long-term, it is in every writer’s best interest to support independent booksellers (reader’s too, actually). If you don’t have a favorite one yourself, you can go to IndieBound to find one near you. When a book is newly released, however, it may help your writer friend more to buy it through a big chain, so they keep it stocked where the most people can find it. Likewise, a high sales rate on Amazon can get people’s attention, and if your friend’s website links directly to Amazon, she may be part of a program where she makes extra money when someone enters Amazon through the link on her website and then makes a purchase (anything, not just her book). I personally have links to several booksellers, on the theory that it’s good to spread the love around.
4. If you genuinely like your friend’s book, write a review on Amazon or Goodreads, mention it on Facebook and Twitter, and recommend it to your book group.
5. If you’re friend’s book is sci fi, and you’re more of a Jhumpa Lahiri fan, say something like, “I’m so proud of you for following your passion,” and skip writing the review.
6. If your friend is a good public speaker, recommend her to your church, synagogue, mosque, ashram, kid’s school, Rotary club, etc. If you live far away, your friend might get to come visit you and write it off her taxes.
7. If you have a website or blog, link to your friend’s website. The more people who link to her, the better she looks to the search engines, which may help people who don’t already love her to find her book. To be really helpful, don’t link on the words “my friend,” but on whatever keywords your friend might be using to find her target audience. (For example, I would especially appreciate people using the phrase “Serenity Prayer” to link to my page About the Serenity Prayer.)
8. If your friend could legitimately be a reference on some Wikipedia page, add her as one, with a link to the most relevant page of her website. Authors can’t tout themselves on Wikipedia without getting a “conflict of interest” badge of shame, but there is nothing more fun for a writer than discovering a spike in her search engine traffic due to a link posted on Wikipedia. It’s kind of like having a secret Santa.
9. Don’t ask your friend if she has thought about trying to get on Oprah. Trust me– she’s thought of that.
10. If you pray, go ahead. It couldn’t hurt to pray she gets on Oprah.
Thank you, Eileen!
So, who would like to win a copy of The Last Will of Moira Leahy? I’ll take comments on this post through Sunday, midnight, choose a winner at random, and announce that person next Tuesday. (Mentions on Twitter and Facebook double your chances; just link to your mention here in comments.)
Write on, all!
Therese Walsh (she/her) co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006 and is the site’s editorial director. She was the editor of WU’s only book, Author in Progress, and runs the Writer Unboxed UnConference.
Her second novel, The Moon Sisters, received starred reviews and was named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal and Book Riot.
Learn more about Therese on her website, and sign up for her newsletter to be among the first to hear about any new projects.
Hi, just found your blog and love it already. Congrats on getting your book published. It sounds very intriguing and I love the cover. Have great evening out! :D
Don’t put me in the contest pool – already put in an order for my own copy of MOIRA – just wanted to say *congratulations* on your debut! I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while.
.-= catie james´s last blog ..memo to ftc: myob =-.
Congratulations!
Great ideas! I’ll pass them on…
Facebooked and mass blogged for Therese’s debut. joanmorawrites.blogspot.com
And my fellow What Women Write blogger, Julie, just posted a lovely interview with Therese. whatwomenwritetx.blogspot.com
Therese,
LOVE the story! LOVE the book! The voice is amazing!
Congratulations!!!!!
-Kathleen
Bask, bathe, revel, all that shizz, Therese. This is YOUR moment!
I shalll buy the books whenever and whereever I see the cover!!!
Therese:
Congratulations!
You have motivated me so much, and you know we have the e-mails back and forth to prove it. LOL! But you have also, unselfishly, inspired me to pursue the dream of becoming a novelist. So when I purchased your book at Borders today, I could not have been happier.
Hugs,
Dwayne
I am heading out TODAY to pick up The Last Will of Moria Leahy.
Hope sales go through the roof!
Good morning Therese,
It’s so much fun celebrating a new book! Enjoy this day to the fullest and cherish it always.
Be blessed,
Lynnda
.-= Lynnda Ell´s last blog ..In the Eye of the Storm =-.
Can’t wait to get my copy today! Going to my local indie store, but after reading this I’m gonna pressure friends into raising those big store numbers for ya! Congrats!
Congratulations, Therese!
Congrats! What a big accomplishment!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Boredom’s Bounty =-.
I jumped in on the WOW blog efforts at my blog, Words and Coffee. After reading your first chapter, I had to tweet it at jjdanz. Now I need to read the rest. I’ve got my wife intrigued as well. If, after reading Chapter 1, someone isn’t interested, they must be flatlining.
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Don’t Let Them Eat (Rice) Cake =-.
Congrats! It sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to read it.
.-= Judy´s last blog ..Connecting Through Books – Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs by Cindy Hudson =-.
Congratulations Therese! This is so exciting. Have tweeted (and thus FB’d) about the debut day as well, although I suspect this draw will stick to readers in the States. No matter though, I’m looking forward to grabbing my copy off the shelf this week.
.-= Hayley E. Lavik´s last blog ..Taking Stock =-.
Congrats, Therese! I gave you a shout-out on my blog this morning. I read the first forty-or-so pages on your website, and it was intriguing! Even for a guy! Big congratulations, I can’t wait to see what you do next. :)
.-= Ken´s last blog ..Today is a Good Day. =-.
Hi Therese, congratulations!
As part of the tsunami I’ve been “following the links” all morning. What a wonderful round of support…and you deserve it. I’ve read the first couple chapters via the pdf – terrific! Can hardly wait to read the rest.
Congratulations Therese! Popped over to your website from the link at Dear Author and I’m very impressed with my first visit. Wishing you a wonderful night out and many more successes to come.
Another congrats coming your way, Teri. Finally! In Print! On Sale! And I’m sure it will be flying off the shelves. See ya later!
hey, got my book today – there’s only one copy left at the Borders in Falls Church, VA!!!!!!!!!!!
p.s. i paid full price for it too!!
Congratulations! I’m so excited for you & it’s been fun watching all the buzz on Twitter. :)
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..My Workspace =-.
Therese Walsh, Author…forever and always!
.-= larramiefg´s last blog ..News Beyond Our Authors’ Pages… =-.
Congratulations!
Thanks for the amazing support, you guys. Yesterday was an utterly exhilarating day. I need to sleep for 36 hours…
Congratulations, Therese!
Congrats, Therese! The book looks wonderful. I’m passing the news along to all my fb friends!
Wowsie! I too am a newbie visitor to your blog,and have immediately fallen in love. Being on your journey from the start would of course have been fantastic, but jumping on for the ride now as you live the dream is no less thrilling. Congradulations Therese, you are an inspiration and your book sounds fabulous! It’s a gray rainy day here in PA – perfect afternoon for dropping in the bookstore and picking up a copy of LAST WILL.