Has the golden age of personal web sites passed?

I have counters on the index (home) pages of my web sites (and even on this blog).  That way I can see how many people come to visit on a daily/weekly basis.

It's no surprise that my Lorna web site gets the most hits, and it's pretty steady.  (That's unique visitors.)  I sure wish it was more, but I'll take what I can get.

Unfortunately, my other two personas don't get those kinds of hits.  It's discouraging to me, because I've been shouting from any rooftop I can find that I'm writing under three names.  Lorraine's site is doing eh-okay.  L.L.'s site ... you don't want to know.  This pie chart isn't accurate, but it's not too far off, either.

This is rather discouraging.  Especially since Lorraine has a new book coming out Februray 7th.

I put my web site address on all my promotional material.  I list them in the acknowledgments in all my books.  I would expect that more people would seek the sites out.

Do you think the golden age of web sites is over?  What do you like to see in an author's website?

(Just in case you want to visit my websites to compare them, you can find them by clicking my various names:  Lorna ~ Lorraine ~ L.L. )
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The PO just loves me ... NOT!

Guess what?  I can't get 32 cent stamps.

Why is that such a big deal?

Because I want to mail my postcards for The Walled Flower out AFTER the postage goes up next week.  But guess what?  They won't sell the new stamps UNTIL the postage goes up.  That wouldn't give me much time to stick the stamps on over 2500 postcards.

And why am I waiting to send the postcards until AFTER the postage goes up?  Wouldn't it be cheapter to do it now?

Yup.  By $75 . . . except . . . it's expecting a LOT to ask people to remember HERE'S MY NEW BOOK, BUT YOU CAN'T GET IT FOR THREE WEEKS.  Nope, it's better to send the cards out about a week before publication.  (Although some stores do jump the gun and offer the book for sale ahead of the publication date -- which screws up my changes of hitting the New York Times bestseller list ... but in the long run it's sales, not the timing of them, that really count.)

So, the bad news is I have had to buy my stamps at the current rate (and my local PO ran out of the 29 cent herb stamps and I had to resort to some polar bear stamps), PLUS either 3 cent or 4 cent stamps to bring the postage up to the new rate.  Can you say "TAKES TWICE AS LONG?"

*Sigh*

I'm not liking the P.O. much these days.  (They could at least consult ME before they change rates, and the timing of such, right?)

Anyway, keep a watch out -- a postcard just might be making its way to you in the next week or so.
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Should L.L. be offended?

Like clockwork, every Monday I get a report on my website hits.  I'm not sure websites do as much as they used to in terms of readers visiting them, but we all have them just in case new readers want to know more about us, our books, and our characters.

If you're a practicing schizophrenic--that is, as an author I have three names--you get three reports.

My Lorna website report always comes in first.  Every week that site gets the most hits.  And it's consistent.  The same amount, give or take 10-20 hits either up or down.

My Lorraine website report shows interest in that name and work has been steadily growing since A Crafty Killing came out in February.  True, most Booktown Mystery readers haven't made the connection that Lorraine and Lorna are the same--even though I've been screaming that fact at the top of my lungs for almost three years . . . but I'm very hopeful.

Then comes my L.L. Bartlett report.  There's one word for that:  pitiful.  It's less than half of what Lorraine gets, and only a quarter of what Lorna gets--despite the fact that I've been writing under that name for three years longer than I have the Lorna name.
I don't know what to do about the fact that people don't know that Lorna/Lorraine/L.L. are the same person.

Skywriting?

I don't know what to do about pumping up those numbers, or finding more readers for Lorraine and L.L.

I wish I did.
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Incoming Treasure . . .

Every day I listen for the sound that always sends a thrill through me:  the sound of the mail truck.

Sometimes there's wonderful treasure in the mail.  Most of the time, however, Mr. L. walks right in with it and stops at the recycle bin, and then there's NOTHING to delight in.

For the past couple of weeks all kinds of wonderful stuff has been arriving in the mail and via UPS.  Here's a partial inventory:

144 shot glasses
1,025 "buttons" (advertising books--not all of them mine)
2,500 postcards
10,000 bookmarks
50 cookie cutters
candy (I did not count the actual pieces)

And then there's the usual treasure trove of catalogs and magazines.

But the author swag above is mostly Cozy Chicks stuff.  I volunteered (and I must have been out of my everloving mind) to do the goody bags for the upcoming Malice Domestic conference and the Librarian Tea in Oakmont, PA (prelude to the wonderful Festival of Mystery put on by the Mystery Lovers Bookshop, this year on May 2nd).

There are so many boxes on my guest bed that it has disappeared.  How am I going to get all of this stuff in the back of my minivan and still have room for my luggage?  (And I don't travel light.)

Well, I find out -- just about a month from today, in fact.

BTW, the Cozy Chicks are planning on giving away author swag AFTER The conference to a lucky few people.  They'll be announcing it after the conference.  (The first week in May.)  It'll look something like the above photo. But we've got new, improved (much prettier) bookmarks this time out.)

So, guess what I'll be doing in the next couple of weeks?

Me, me, it's all about ME!

I get asked to do a lot of interviews and stuff for blogs.  I like that because it's easier to answer questions than to come up with something new and fresh.  Heck, it's difficult to come up for something new and fresh six days a week for this blog and the Cozy Chicks on Saturdays.

Today I'm guesting on my agent's blog:  Bookends LCC - A Literary Agency.  This is "speed dating for authors'" where she asks her clients 5-6 questions and you answer them.  Fun!!  (Well, it's supposed to be.  I don't know that I came across particularly funny/witty.  Anal old me, I tend to answer questions in a pretty straight-forward fashion.)  But I'm grateful for the exposure and hope someone will be inspired to read on (or more) of my books.

Monday I'm to be the first Guest Host on the Berkley Prime Crime-Signet (that's my publisher) THE CRIME SCENE Facebook Page.  It's a great place to talk about cozy mysteries on Facebook.  The page has just gotten off the ground and they'd like to have 2500 LIKES by March 14th.  I'd like them to have 2500 Likes by March 7th -- That's Monday -- when I'm the guest host.

I'll be hosting from 11 a.m. until noon (MONDAY, MARCH 7th, Eastern Daylight Time) and you can ask me any question on my writing, cozy mysteries, whatever.  (Ask me about Star Trek even -- but not Deep Space Nine.  I never got into that version.)

I'm the first one to host the page and I'm worried that nobody will show up and that I'll be sitting here at my computer staring at the screen and nothing will happen.  (My editor will be sitting there watching his screen, too--which makes me doubly nervous.  I feel like a school kid who wants to make her teacher proud.)

So, if you're not doing anything on Monday, PLEASE come and visit me on the Crime Scene Facebook page.  (I'll give a reminder on Monday, too.)  They'll be giving away books!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I will be eternally grateful!!!

Thank you!

(P.S.  That's me and Fred, my tiny son.)

Like A Hamster On A Treadmill . . .

Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a treadmill.  Full of industry but not accomplishing all that much.

I'm deep in the middle of writing the 6th Booktown Mystery and yet, more and more of my time these days seems to be devoted to gearing up for the release of my new Victoria Square series.  I'm excited and terrified on both accounts.  It's always exciting to launch a new book--launching a new series . . . that's a lot of extra worry.  What if it tanks?  What if readers don't like it?  And what if Lorna's readers never find it?

To top it off, my trusty label printer has decided it is no longer trusty.  It used to be I could feed it 100 labels to print at a time.  I fear those days are gone.  (And wouldn't you know it, I just ordered another 2600 labels for the machine.)  Now I find myself printing them in batches of 25--just in case it dies in the middle of one (which it seems to do quite a lot).  It's time to start thinking of a different way to print labels . . . but that will be for the next book.  With less than a month to go before A Crafty Killing hits the shelves (or e readers), I need to finish the job.

As soon as the postcards arrive, a friend is coming over to help me with what I call "the stickers."  We'll be adding the address labels, stamps, and in some cases stickers to the postcards.  (Stickers that announce when my local book launch (not yet scheduled--hopefully tomorrow) will occur and to booksellers telling them they can have bookmarks if they want to email me about it.

And what about that book I'm supposed to be writing (the one that has to be handed in on March 1st)?  I hope I don't jinx it by saying that . . . I like it.  I think it might be good.  I think it might be really good.  I've reached the stage where I'm juggling so many balls in the air that I need to print it out and start editing it.  That's the part I like best.

Meanwhile, I'm stressing that I'm spending either too much time on promotion and not enough time on writing.  And, I've got even more writing projects I need to start juggling.

It's my job and I love it--all aspects of it.  I just wish I had a little bit more time to enjoy it all.

Getting ready for the Christmas rush , , ,

Why is it every time my office STARTS to look tidy, I have to go and mess it up again? This time, I'm getting ready for my first of three holiday craft shows.

It turns out that I need a LOT of stuff for one of the jaunts.  First of all, I have two cases of books.  Then I have a box that contains goody bags, a few extra books, my newsletter sign-up book, book stands, plastic bags (that say "thank you" to put people's purchases in).  I also bring a CD player and Christmas CDs, table, tablecloths, bookmarks, posters, cash box, price sheets, and my lunch.

Whew!

You'd think it would be easy to get all this stuff assembled.  But nooooo!  I had to hide the two boxes that hold some of the stuff I take every time.  So I had to search for them in the basement.  Then I had to assemble the Goody Bags.  That took three hours.  And on and on . . .

So now I have six boxes sitting around in my already crowded office, a 3 x 2 foot poster and a couple of smaller ones, too.  Two baskets, and my tiny CD player. Feels a little cramped in here.

Friday night I'll pack up the car so that I can jump in at 7:50 on Saturday morning and drive to "the show."  Then I have to unpack, move the car to an adjacent parking lot, come back to the church.  Set up and be smiling and happy for the next seven hours.  Then I'll strike the set, go get the car.  Pack up, drive home, where hubby will help me unpack the car and then hand me a nice big glass of Lord Calvert and soda.

Ahhh...

Two weeks later, I'll do it all again.

A week after that, I'll do it all again.

It's kind of a love/hate thing.  I love to meet readers and talk with them.  I love the excitement of the show and seeing a lot of my old friends from the days I had a booth at an antique co-op, but I'll also be glad at 4 p.m. on December 11th when I'll be done for another year.


And in case you wonder what I'll be doing at these craft shows . . . I'll be signing books.

Will I see you there?

See, I didn't miss out on the fun after all!

I mail out a lot of bookmarks and bookplates.  Not just for myself, either.  I'm the official bookmark-mailer-outer for the Cozy Chicks as well.

One day, while getting the envelopes ready to mail, I decided they looked, well . . . BORING!  A sea of white with a couple of black-and-white "stickers."  (Actually, they're return address lables.  One has my return address on it and the other has either my sticker with my latest book and web site, or the Chicks sticker with the blog URL.)

BORING.

Okay, the stamps can dress it up.  Currently I'm using Shelter Pets for the Chicks, and pansy LOVE stamps for my own.  (Hey, I love pansies!  I don't care if these were SUPPOSED to go out on wedding invitations.  I already got married--I'm not supposed to use them?)

So, I hit the craft stores.  Whoa!  Lots of gorgeous stickers.  Most of them seem to be intended for scrapbooking and WOW--the prices!  (Maybe I should've gone in the scrapbook business instead of writing for a living.)  Still, there's lots of cute stickers out there--sadly, most of them are not appropriate for the Chicks for my own stuff.  Do you think I can find a book sticker?

Currently, I'm using bumble bees for the chicks.  Hannah Reed's (also know as Deb Baker) latest book is Buzz Off, and a woman who owns a local natural food store and keeps bees as a sideline.  They're perfect to give Hannah's book a little extra "push."  (I'm on my second set of bee stickers.  These ones sparkle!)

Over the summer, I used Popcicle stickers, butterfly stickers, and stars.  (I'm "publishing" my backlist on Kindle as Polaris Press -- and Polaris is the North Star.)
Sticker fun came after I was already grown up, but I'm getting to indulge in it after all.
I love it!

What kind of child-like fun are you experiencing these days?

And so little time in a day . . .

It seems like it takes forever for a book to be published.  Usually it's 12-24 months.  It's only two weeks and a day until Chapter & Hearse is released and it seems like that isn't going to be nearly enough time to get everything done that needs to get done.

What am I doing?  Interviews, writing blog posts, mailing out bookmarks and bookplates.  Next up are postcards (almost 2000 of them to readers and libraries), which means printing out lots of labels and sticking on lots of stamps.  (Oh, boy--I can watch movies (or at least listen) while I do that and not feel guilty!)

I've also got to update my web sites, and get ready for my book launch (On August 5th at 7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Greece Ridge Center Mall, Rochester, NY).  I'm going to be handing out "goody" bags to everybody who shows up at the launch, so I need to get them ready, too.  (Hmm...what color ribbon should I tie them with? See, I have scads of decisions to make.)

Doesn't this sound like an awful lot of hard, boring work?

It is and ... I LOVE IT!

Some people thought I had the worst job in the world, at my last job in Corporate America, but I actually enjoyed it because there was lots of nit-picky work to be done.  For some oddball reason, I love digging into that kind of work.  So while on one hand I'm feeling overwhelmed (let's not forget, I have a a rewrite to hand into my editor this week, and finish a book by September 1st -- and hand in a synopsis by September 10th), I'm also quite happy to see all the little items on my things-to-do list get crossed off.

What weird stuff do you enjoy that other people might this is boring?

Look out, Annie Leibovitz -- Me and my Canon are on the loose

Now that I have the cover for my first Victoria Square Mystery (and isn't it lovely) I can start work on the revamp of my web site.

My LorraineBartlett.com site was created two or three years before I even sold a book. So it needed to look pretty generic.  I didn't know if I'd sell my Jeff Resnick Mysteries, or a cozy mystery first -- so ... generic it was.  Jeff sold first, and under another name (L.L. Bartlett) so it seemed like a good idea to give that name its own site, although they were connected -- just to keep my Lorraine Bartlett options open.  (They have now been separated . . . which created some problems, too.)

Still, the Lorna Barrett name is the name I'm best known for, and I'm trying to figure out if the title page should SCREAM THAT!!!  (Or should I just hire the Goodyear Blimp to go around the country to let readers know that we are one and the same?)

In discussing what I wanted for the new site with my web designer, I asked if we could use a stock photo of a spilled candy jar.  My character has a very bad habit.  She eats hard candy.  That is, she unwraps a peppermint, pops it in her mouth and CRUNCH!  (Bad for the molars -- ask me.  Where do you think she picked up that bad habit?)  But for long complicated reasons we won't go into here, the stock photo wasn't going to cut it.  Hey, bright idea on my part:  let ME take the photo.  Heck, I've got this super-duper camera.  Why not give it a try?

So, with white butcher paper as a background, a 50 cent jar from a yard sale, and a bag of Starlight Mints, I took a bunch of shots from many angles and passed them on to my designer.  She'll choose whatever angle goes well with her design.

It was fun playing Annie Leibovitz (although her subjects are alive and mine was just a jar of candy). Photography has long been a love of mine (although I'm strictly amateur--and I gave that "hobby" to Jeff, too), and it was great to have a bigger part in the design of my web site by using my lovely Canon Rebel.

I'm hoping to unveil the new site by the end of the month.  (And the LLBartlett site is getting a refresh as well.)  When they're ready, I'll let you know!

Oh, and here's one of the candy shots.

What I Did For Love

A lot of authors have been finding new life for their older works.  It may be a surprise to some to find out that my first professional sales were to confession magazines.  True Love in particular.  I had a real hot streak where I sold six stories bam, bam, bam!  And then . . . nothing.  I don't know if they got a new editor or just had bought too many, but I decided to concentrate on writing cozy mysteries for a while and . . . well, the rest is history.

That new life I was speaking of is through Amazon's Kindle, and other reading devices (via Smashwords). What I'm wondering is if my readers would be interested in reading these little slices of life.  No, they're not mysteries, and they're not romances.  They're ... rather sad stories, but all have happy endings.

To test the waters, why don't you try one of my stories for free.  It's on my website and you can download a PDF of "What I Did For Love."  Click here.

My question:  do you think Lorraine's and Lorna's readers would like to read these kinds of stories?  Would you be willing to pay up to 99 cents for such a story?

Thanks.

Surprises in the Mailbox

I've mentioned before how I don't want Saturday mail delivery to be suspended.  Every trip to the mailbox could mean a surprise, whether it's the latest Victoria Magazine (or Tea Time, or Romantic Homes, or Celebrate!) or a royalty check.  (Which, believe me, doesn't happen often enough.)

The other day I went to my mailbox to find a HUGE envelope from my friend (and fellow author) Jennifer Stanley.  Jenn was sending me more of her bookmarks, which I distribute for the Cozy Chicks.  (Haven't seen our offer?  Go here.)

I was thrilled to open the envelope and find a box of Barbie petite note cards.  I've known Jenn for just about a year now, and not only did she know I like Barbie, but that I LOVE note cards.  (I send out a lot of them.)  Ya know, she could've been a detective!

The cards are darling, and come in four designs -- vintage Barbie, not unlike the new cover for the large print of edition of Bookplate Special, which will be released on April 16th.

And speaking of the large print edition of Bookplate Special -- I'm sending out postcards to libraries.  If you'd like me to send one to YOUR library, just leave a comment and tell me the name of the library and the city it's in (I'll look up the address).

Thanks.  (And thanks again, Jenn!)

Like a bolt from the blue

Like a strike of lightning hitting me, I realized this week that I'm addicted to promotion. I love it! Okay, not the traveling bit. I'm just not happy sleeping in a bed that's not my own, but I do like the nit-picky stuff that goes with promotion.


Take yesterday, for instance. Out of the blue, I wondered if I should do a library mailing for my upcoming large-print release. I have to tell you, if Mary Fairchild hadn't written to the publisher and complained about the original cover, this would not have happened. But the cover was changed, and it's cute and fun and I found myself at the old keyboard putting together a postcard and ordering it. It was a real pain in the butt when it came to the backside, and I had to fiddle with it for at least 45 minutes, but in the end, it came out the way I wanted and I hit the send button.

(I also printed out hundreds of address labels for when the postcards come.)

Also, yesterday, I made up my mind that I'm going to order some Haven't Got a Clue coffee mugs. Since I don't drink coffee, I'll just have to drink my morning cup of tea out of it. I think it'll be fun. (And I'm going to give one away in the charity basket I'm making for the Malice Domestic conference next month.)

It shouldn't surprise me that I enjoy packaging up bookmarks and printing labels.  The jobs I've enjoyed the most over the years included a lot of nit-picky work.  There's a certain satisfaction felt at the end of the day when you can look at something and say, "look what you accomplished."

Ever feel that way?

To Postcard...or NOT to Postcard

A week or so ago, I tried an experiment.  The company I use to send out my emailed newsletter (at a very reasonable price) also does postcards.  I wondered how good their product was.  They allow you to send out one free postcard, so I made one for my upcoming release Chapter & Hearse.  I had a little trouble getting my apostrophes to come out, but after fiddling with them for almost half an hour, got it right.  They tell you your card will be send out within 3-5 days.

So I waited.

And waited.

And finally TEN days later, I got my postcard.

I must admit, the printing was excellent.  The card looked wonderful.  I was a bit skeptical of the timing, as the card said it was presorted first class and it took ten days for me to get it, but I figured if I set the thing up, it might be worth sending out a week earlier than planned.

Then I searched the site for the pricing.  Oh.  Brick wall here.  I couldn't find ANYTHING.  So I wrote to the company.  A day later I had a URL for their cunningly concealed price list.

Wow--did my eyes go boing! or what?  The cost came in at 83 cents per card (more if you mail less of them--less if you mail a LOT more).

Well, that was the end of THAT scenario.  Mind you, everything is automated.  You do the layout, they approve it, they take your mailing list, sort it by zip code, print the card, and out it goes.

I would save at least $313 by doing it myself.  Okay, that means I'd have to spend a MINIMUM of 6 hours (more likely 8) putting on address labels and stamps, but hey, $313 is money I could spend doing other promo.  And what if I hired someone to put those labels on--I could still save at least $200.

I don't have all the time in the world, but I know how to make time.  I have a feeling I'll be sticking down labels while I'm doing other stuff -- like watching TV, or on some rainy Saturday afternoon when there's nothing to do.

What else does an author have to do?  (Oh, yeah--write the books!)

FIRST SIGHTING!!!

It was "dump your old pharmaceuticals" day at my local Wegmans, and boy did our family accumulate a LOT of unused drugs. (It's a shame they can't be given to people who can't afford them. But, up in smoke they'll go.)

So while I was there, I decided to check out the book section and HELLO!!! There it was, Bookplate Special. Three copies--which means one has already been sold. I did a little happy dance and called to a woman who was walking by, "It's My Book!" like I'd never seen a copy of my book for sale before.

What the heck! I'm happy!

If you're local, please check out your Wegmans grocery stores (and even if you're in PA, VA, or NJ, too!) and maybe buy a copy? :)

Weeee! you never get over seeing YOUR new book on a shelf in a store.
Glee!!!

Oops--missed my cue

I've had so much on my mind lately, I forgot that yesterday kicked off my (admittedly limited) blog tour for my new book, BOOKPLATE SPECIAL. I was interviewed by Avery Aames of the Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog. (And I shared a yummy recipe for mini spinach quiches--definitely NOT diet food, but delicious.)

So, if you want to read my pearls of wisdom (?) check it out. (Scroll down to Sunday's entry. Then scroll back up and read Avery's current post. Then scroll down again and read everybody else's posts. They've shared some really cool recipes.)

I've got a number of stops to make on this make-shift blog tour, most in November. I've got them listed on my web site, but will try to mention them here as well.

Yikes! Just seven days until Bookplate Special is released. (I'm not ready!!!)

In My Hot Little Hands . . .

The doorbell rang a while ago.  That always sends at least two of the cats into a frenzy.  YIKES--STRANGERS!  Now why they are terrified is beyond me.  For one thing, we don't, as a rule, have serial killers visiting.  In fact, usually we only have family visiting.  And those family members are known to them and feed them.  (Then again, when they visit, they just put the key in the door and DON'T ring the doorbell.  Maybe the cats are smarter than I give them credit for.)

Usually, it's just a delivery.  No person comes in.  They just dump a box or envelope on the step and take off again.  That was the case this morning when the Fed-X guy rang the bell.  And inside that familiar white bubble-envelope was one copy of my next book, Bookplate Special, and three cover flats.

Yee-ha!  It's a real book!

Years and years ago, my friend Doranna Durgin told me that getting that first copy of your book never gets old.  She was right.  When Frank yelled, "Fed-X man!" I knew what it would be and I ran to the front door and frantically cut open the envelope -- and -- yes, did a little Snoopy Happy Dance.

The rest of you don't have to wait too long to get the book, either.  It will be released on November 3rd.  I'm anticipating that it'll start showing up in bookstores a week or two before that date.  This book is special to me.  I got to write about something that's important and hopefully it'll be a teaching moment, but not a preachy one.

And speaking of the book, I just got a copy of the review that's in Romantic Times.  Of Bookplate Special, they said:  "The third top-notch Booktown mystery is a cleverly plotted cozy with everything a reader could want: mystery books, delicious food and bad guys. With its bookstore setting and small-town charm, this series is bound to be a favorite for cozy readers."
I'd say that was worthy of a Snoopy Happy Dance.

And in between promo I have to do what???

Okay, it's been 12 days since I turned in my last book and time to jump back into the book that is due on December 1st.

But wait--I've got a book coming out on November 3rd and I must promote!

For the past 5-6 weeks, I've spend every minute of my (so-called) free time signing bookmarks.  I signed 1400 of the new bookmarks and 840 of my "combo" (listing the first two books in the series) bookmarks. These bookmarks were destined for wonderful independent bookstores.  These are the people on the front lines who are handselling my books. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!)  Of course, there are many chain booksellers handselling my books, but they haven't made themselves known to me or requested bookmarks.

Yesterday I took my second HUGE tote bag full of packages to the Post Office.  You can't tell me they're losing money--not with all I've spent this year.

Over the weekend, I signed 112 postcards (adding three stickies--address label, message label, and polar bear stamp).  These are for bookclubs.  I've still got another 469 to sign and sticker for my faithful readers.

Can you say WRITERS CRAMP???

So far I've got four blog posts written for my blog tour.  (Okay, so I only have three dates set up--I hope there's still time to find more.)  I have five of six weekends booked for promotion in November and December (and I'm trying to decide if I should go to the CrimeBake conference on the week I don't have anything planned).

And sometime during all this promo -- I have to finish another book. (The first in the Victoria Square Mysteries.)  Luckily, the book is in good shape--but still, it needs work.

Is it any wonder I'm yanking my hair out in hanks?

Promo is FUN! (?)

For the past few days, I've been sitting in my office surrounded by the things I need for promotion for my upcoming BOOKPLATE SPECIAL.  Thousands of bookmarks, postcards, bubble envelopes, stamps, labels and lists and lists of addresses (most in disarray, despite the fact I've been working on them off and on for months).

And now I realize -- oops -- I ought to do a blog tour, too.

I must be out of my mind.  I try (often don't make it) to post here five days a week, plus I blog for Writers Plot (Tuesdays) and The Cozy Chicks (Saturdays).  Sometimes it's hard to come up with a blog posts.  For this blog, I feel like I'm hanging out with friends (Hi, y'all!), but for WP and CC I feel a bit more pressure to be . . . well, ON.  And now I need to be ON a few guest blogs during November to push the book.  So I guess I should start contacting people with blogs and asking to guest post.

*Sigh*

I've have LOTS of blogging friends, so it's not like I'll hear "NO WE DON'T WANT YOU," but the thing is . . . once I have a confirmation, I've got to write the blog posts.

Actually, I've often thought that I had nothing of particular interest to say to warrant being a guest anywhere, but Bookplate Special is a different kind of book.  It has two themes that I should be able to mine for lots of blog posts, so that's good.  But we're back to . . . writing the posts.

Didn't I just wish for more hours in the day???

The minutiae of my life

When I had a day job, I got stuck with a lot of nit-picky work.  It turns out, I was very good at it and--heavens, even enjoyed it!  I typed in lots of numbers, and updated all kinds of obscure information on various data bases and then got lots of printouts and spreadsheets I could pour over.  It was heaven!  Of course it was the ONLY good part of my job.  (My management sucked, but that's life.)  So is it any wonder that I love to play with my spreadsheets and databases in real life?

I have five separate mailing lists: four e-mail and one snail mail.  Yesterday I sent out one of my periodic newsletters.  Consequently, I spent most of my free time yesterday playing with the mailing lists, and watching my stats rise (and not nearly enough).

One of my lists is new to me and I'd never actually used it, although I've been cleaning it up for the last two months.  (Removing duplicates and bad addresses.)  Despite all those hours pouring over the list, 10% were still bad addresses (bounces) and 9% of the list unsubscribed.  (Did I offend them?)
As part of the newsletter, I offered a contest.  (It's just for the newsletter people--so if you want to get in on the next contest, you have to join the newsletter list.  I'll be giving away more books in October.

There's a sign up box right on the right.  Go ahead--sign up now.  I'll wait for you to get back to this post.)

For this contest, people had to answer three easy questions about the Booktown Mystery series.  I was surprised at how many people got one of the answers wrong.  And one of the answers to one question (the name of Tricia's cat) was hilarious.  Wow--I was amazed at the number of readers who entered.  I wish I had more copies of the book to give away (I've got three).

I'm back to polishing the ms. today, so no playing with my lists and spreadsheets for another month or so when the next newsletter comes out.

Darn.