Sale of Devotions for Hikers

Just sold the second e-copy of "Devotions for Hikers." This is a small booklet with ten Christian devotions based on hiking and trail themes. I've sold quite a few in print, and decided to offer it as an e-book last fall.

It's available at Smashwords.

I entered the world of e-publishing in the fall, and I have no idea what would be considered a good sales rate. There have been 173 views of the free portion of the booklet, and two sales. That's a 1% conversion rate. Good? Bad? I have no clue.

30 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love

I came across this great article today. It's by John Kremer, who claims to be an expert on book publishing and marketing. I've been subscribing to his tips for several months, and I think there are always good ideas in them. Some, I should do; others don't fit well; but it's always great to have a poke in the brain for another possible way to market a book.

Some ways in which people have helped me are part of his list. I would love it if more of the people who say they really enjoyed my book would actually do one of them!

The ways he suggests that would help me most are:
• Buy your friend's book
• Recommend your friend's book, including writing a review on Amazon, or blogging about it
• Help your friend get speaking engagements (I have several popular media programs)

One bloggy friend did purchase North Country Cache and wrote about it at It's a Giveaway at the Duck and Wheel. Thanks, Lin and G'ma Phyl! (Phyl's comments near the bottom of the post.)

You can read the full article at 30 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love

Adventure Loop Guide

Did some more hiking today- mostly for pleasure, but it was another section that will be part of the adventure loop, so I made notes for the guide.

Got them transcribed before I forgot what all the hastily made scratchings actually meant!

Real Money for an Article

I will be writing an article about the North Country Trail for the Summer issue of Your National Forests magazine.

This all happened because one of the North Country Trail staff members noticed articles about two other National Scenic Trails in previous issues, and asked them if they wanted an article about the NCT. They said yes, and the staff member put them in touch with me.

I asked if this was "for free" or if there was remuneration involved. The result is going to be quite satisfactory. It's due by the end of the month, so I need to get working on it- a substantial 2000- 2400 words.

The NCT goes through ten National Forests, so there is plenty to talk about!

Walk Eight Miles - Sell Two Books

I had planned to hike a short distance with two guys today who came up from Ohio and Indiana to do some hiking on the North Country Trail. What I didn't know was how far I would be hiking with them. So, what with one thing and another, it ended up being a total of eight miles, and it took most of the day.

The distance was fine, but now I'm behind on quite a few other tasks I need to get done.

The really good news is that each of them bought a copy of North Country Cache. Hooray, hooray!

For a niche book, such as NCC, sales from personal contacts is the best form of marketing. Many people think that it's just going to be a boring account of day after day walking along, where I camped, what I ate. But when they spend a little bit of time with me, they begin to get the idea that my writing might be more interesting than that.

West Side Gang- Writers' Group

Tonight was the twice-monthly meeting of the West Side Gang, the local writers' support group. It was a good turnout tonight with a total of 11 people. That's the most that have ever come since I've been attending (admittedly not very long).

The idea is that we bring some writing to share, read it aloud, and the others offer friendly (and hopefully helpful) critique. Not everyone brings something every time, but that's OK too.

I've been reading chapters of News from Dead Mule Swamp. I managed to get one more written before tonight. That's a total of eight, so far. With this kind of support group, I might even finish this little project.

We heard several poems, an essay prompted by a picture, a portion of a semi-factual historical novella, some pages from another mystery in progress, and my two chapters.

Next Tuesday, the group is hosting an "open mic" night at a local coffeehouse. I said I would read a poem.

Here's a teaser from Chapter 8 of News from Dead Mule Swamp:

Tom guffawed. "Ma’am, I can tell you don’t know Cherry Hill any too well. Ain’t you that lady what bought the place over in Dead Mule Swamp?" He went right on, not needing an answer from me. The question was apparently rhetorical. "You got to call Jerry at home. Everyone knows that."

Added to Michgan Author List

Books Leaving Footprints has been added to the Michigan Authors list at Ludington Visiting Writers.

So much of this authoring game is marketing, that any time there is an opportunity for another link, another contact, etc, it's great.