My Book-iversary Thoughts on Marketing
My book's a year old; it's time to get to work; plus what Substacks I read this Summer
Yesterday, my book Honeymoon at Sea officially turned one year old. I know there are some new readers and new subscribers this month, so I’ll quickly recap: HatS is a memoir about my husband and I sailing around Baja California’s Sea of Cortez on a honeymoon that lasted more than a year (we like to think it continues to this day, nearly 35 years later). The subtitle is How I Found Myself Living on a Small Boat, and that double meaning is intentional, because in those first years afloat, I—at the time a 28-year old actress working and living in NYC— did find myself, or a new-and-improved version of myself; the book is a sort of origin story of this writer and editor.
Russel and I took the afternoon off yesterday and visited a lovely spot far from the usual urban sprawl where we could relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. We walked in the woods, hung out in the sun, took a long soak in a hot tub, and talked of “matters of consequence.” I’d brought along a bottle of bubbly but we forgot to drink it (quite unlike us!), so we can look forward to that this weekend, or whenever the time is right.
Like most authors I know (and, being a book editor, I know plenty of authors), I feel like I have not done enough to give my book “baby” a good enough head start in life, in spite of having spent what felt to me like an enormous amount of time and money on marketing and promotion. My small indie publisher has been wonderful, as have book reviewers and book award awarders all over the place, but in an industry where only a small percentage of the books released in any given year receive any sort of national notice, it can all feel like throwing a few handfuls of seeds into a hurricane.
The good news is that those seeds do eventually land, and many germinate, and even yesterday a dear friend who is a fine writer herself emailed to say she was reading my book and enjoying it. I was thrilled to see Charlotte Jones of Charlotte Reads posted a lovely image (above) and a rave review on Instagram last week. And the 5-star Amazon reviews keep coming in—we are up to 56 reviews at an average 4.8 rating, meaning that 53 of the 56 are 5-star reviews—not to say that I couldn’t use more reviews, hint hint. And the audiobook of HatS is finally getting reviewed too, more on that later.
In spite of all that good stuff, September has been a tough month for me, chiefly due to the five-year anniversary of my mom’s death, hearing from other family and friends who have passed on or are declining, and bearing witness to someone very close to me who is dealing with their partner’s devastating health crisis. I am fully aware that this sort of thing happens to us all—if we’re lucky enough to live a long life, we will no doubt lose some of the people we love most, or watch them lose their own loved ones. So when I start to weep and whine, I remind myself that plenty of people I knew and lost long ago would be happy to be here with me, suffering the downsides of life.
Of course, like many people I know, I’ve also been dealing with the ups and downs (and even further downs) in the daily news about the candidates in our upcoming presidential election. I try to stay upbeat and do what I can, but I am seriously dreading the possibility of America again electing He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
So, if you want to give me a one-year book birthday present, I will ask that you consider going to this website which lists the 12 worst environmental candidates for federal office this year and sharing with your friends and family the worst of the worst (yes, he is number 1, the very best at being the very worst). If you’ve already made your mind up to support Kamala Harris (and I sincerely hope you have!), then please subscribe to the fine Substack by
, . Click here to explore the ways Susan and her contributors have found to get out the vote and help save our democracy.Speaking of Substack, I hope you will subscribe to
this coming week so you won’t miss my next travel column, set in and around Venice, California. The subjects range from a cool indie bookstore to a super-cool beach-town Airbnb, and the column stars my friend Nancy Zoss (you may know her from HatS). And, since the theme this quarter is “Good Men,” I also feature her son Aaron Lalaian, a good guy if I ever knew one.If you are curious which Substack newsletters I am reading and recommending, the image and info below just popped up the other day and I found it fascinating. I think of myself as just a bookworm, which I am, but it turns out I am reading a truckload of Substacks, too.
Next week, right here, I’ll be reviewing three or four books that are all newly out.
hasta pronto!
Highlights
☕ I read the most in the morning
💌 I subscribed to 17 new Substacks
🎧 I listened to 25 minutes of podcasts
📽️ I watched 8 minutes of video
❤️ I liked 210 posts
💬 I left 298 comments on posts
📜 I scrolled 12 meters in Notes
🕵️ I discovered 8 new posts via Notes
Top Substacks
CRAFT TALK by
CRAFT TALK is a weekly newsletter about writing, creativity and productivity from author Jami Attenberg. This is also the home of #1000wordsofsummer, where, once a year, we write 1000 words a day together for two weeks straight. (In 2024 it begins 6/1!)
Top post this summer: Day 1 of #1000wordsofsummer 2024
Oldster Magazine by
Exploring what it means to travel through time in a human body, at every phase of life.
Top post this summer: This is 86: Retired Psychologist/Painter Bella Ruth Bader Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
Womancake Magazine by
Slices of wisdom by women age 40+. Wildly inspiring interviews, personal essays, podcast episodes, poetry and visual art delivered right to your inbox.
Top post this summer: A Small But Giant Leap Forward
Share your own Summer Recap
You can see your own summer recap in the Substack app. I’d love to see what you’ve been reading.
Very good insights about the ups and downs of book publishing and marketing. Been there, done that, with mixed success. Keep at it, Jenny. Best regards.