My 50th copy was sold today

I don't know where the time seems to go, looking at the calendar, I can't believe we are already nearly halfway through this week - Wednesday tomorrow, and I really can't believe we are a third of the way into October either, the dark nights will soon be upon us. Bearing that in mind, when it came to choosing the subject of tonights service at St Michaels, I decided to do it on the subject of the darkness. This is something that I probably know a little bit about, since I have been exploring my own dark side in quite some depth this past year or so. Telling Sainsburys where they can stick their job, then wriitng all those angry letters to the Job Centre and my MP, letting go of a lot of other stuff too from childhood, plus my fear of public speaking and also dogs - I am still working on that one, but am slowly getting there.

The talk though was a real success and the best I have done yet. Only 3 people turned up, but that is fine, as you get the people you need. One of them was a regular, Isabel, who comes to all of them, but the other 2 ladies I hadn't seen before. One of them I think I may have seen at one of the Sunday services, and I seemed to recall that she was one of the organisers for the Tranquility Awareness group that meet at St Michaels once a month, and whom I have been talking to on the phone about me coming along to their group to do a talk. This group has three organisers - Gina, Fran and Louise. I met Gina at the mind, body and spirit festival this weekend, and we had a long chat and she bought a book, and said that she thought I really needed to come along and do a talk. I suspect then that she sent the other two along tonight to check me out! One of them tonight also bought a book, and when I asked her what name she wanted me to write in it, she said, rather tentatively, Francoise ! I think then she is the same Fran that I spoke to on the phone. I will find out on Friday anyway though, as they have their next meeting, that they asked me to go to. So if it is her then I will feign ignorance and pretend to be terribly surprised.

The other news is that I have been given approval to finally start the writers circle and support group that I have been talking about for so long. I actually got approval for this back in May, but what with the house, and the book, and my habit of procrastination, it got put to one side. I really feel though that now I am ready to be doing so much more than just services - it is time to start leading my own groups. Over the coming months then I shall also be putting together a one day workshop on self publishing for spiritual writers. The first writers group though is booked in for November 16th from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. It will cost me £10 an hour to hire the sanctuary, plus another £10 if I use the kitchen, which I will try then to avoid. If I charge £10 a session then, which seems reasonable and on a par with other groups, then I only have to get 2 people per session to cover my costs. I have to get working then on my flyer tomorrow then so that it can go up on the notice board next time I go to the sanctuary on Friday.

I was hoping that there may be some news from Sainsburys by now re selling the book in their staff canteen where I used to work. They were supposed to ring me today to let me know what is happening, but so far, nothing. Will have to give them another call then tomorrow, and it that fails, then go in there to see the Personnel Dept. Don't really want to do this for obvious reasons, as I used to work there, but I suppose I shall have to when I deliver the books, assuming they are interested. Sales figures for September were in today as well - these are the figures for sales via book shops and internet retailers, amazon etc, so are in adidition to the sales I have made direct. I sold 1 copy in the UK and also 1 in the US - with the one that I sold tonight then that now makes a total of 50 copies in the 11 weeks since I got back from Lundy in July - is that all it is ? So that means around 4.5 copies a week, not bad at all for a self published author. It is only 2 1/2 weeks to the Questing Conference as well, so hopefully I will sell a lot more there. Things then are finally beginning to happen. I knew they would.

Any publicity is good publicity .....

Well, the Epsom Post printed a wonderful piece about me in this weeks edition. The write up was very good, it is justa shame there was a mix up with the picture, and they printed one of June Brown, who plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders, rather than me. A few weeks ago I would have been absolutely fuming about this, but I took it in my stride. I think in fact it was one big cosmic joke, and a reminder from spirit not to take it all quite to seriously. I do have a teensy tendency to do that at times.....

Here then is what they wrote:

Launch of book on spirituality

A well-known speaker at St Michael's Sanctuary, In Ewell, is launching her new book at the Sanctuary's Mind, Body and Spirit Festival.
The festival, on Saturday at St Michael's, in Church Street, will feature stalls including a book-signing by June Austin. She is celebrating the publication of Genesis of Man.
This is a book of spiritual history and the origins of mankind from 35 million years ago to the crucifixion of Jesus.
June said, 'the main theme, however, is the need to integrate and maintain the balance between our own light and dark sides and use both aspects of ourselves to help us grow. 'It is a book that will help a great deal of people and is already attracting some interesting reviews', she added. Various complementary therapies will also be on offer, throughout the day, as well as clairvoyance and astrology readings.
The festival is open from 10am to 5pm, with plenty of parking available nearby.
St Michaels' is a non denominational centre of healing and spiritual knowledge lcoated in the centre of Ewell. The sanctuary offers healing and teaching of a universal nature to encourage individuals to find their own spiritual path to peace.
Services take place on Sundays at 6pm, and Wednesdays at 8pm.
The sanctuary also offers various other events and workshops, such as meditation groups and Tai Chi.

It was a good write up then apart from that picture. I think I will have trouble living this one down for quite some time yet... I contacted the paper of course as soon as I realised what had happened, and they will be printing an apoplogy in next weeks edition, which means of course that I will now be in there for 2 weeks running. Perhaps I should drum up some more publicity by contacting June Brown and offering her a copy of this famous book written by her almost namesake. You never know, it could end up being circulated to all her colleagues and other cast members and be featured in Hello or one of those other glossy magazines....

The day itself though went very well. Overall the sanctuary raised about £1000, which will pay for the supports needed for the downstairs ceiling. They found recently that some clown in the dim and distant past had drilled through some of the joists that hold the ceiling up, so until they had the money to get it fixed, they have had 2 large metal poles supporting it all. We have been thinking of setting up a St Michaels Pole dancers troupe as an (almost) Full Monty....

It was busy downstairs, where the therapists were as soon as they opened the doors, but upstairs where I was, it was a very quiet morning. Then about 2.30 pm, everyone seemed to pile upstairs for late lunches and early afternoon teas, and within the space of an hour I had sold 6 books ! I also exchanged one for a book that was written by an old friend, who was there doing flower essence readings, and who I hadn't seen for over 10 years. I worked briefly as a receptionist at the clinic that she used to run, and was actually the tester for the first ever essence that she made. She now has a whole series of 52 of them and is teaching other people.

I also managed to sell a few second hand books and tapes, which was good, and a small crystal skull. All in all then I took about £110 for day, which is not too bad. It was good experience though for the Questing Conference at the end of the month, which will of course be the big one, with between 4 and 500 people expected, plus the speakers and other stall holders. If I managed to sell 7 books yesterday with maybe 100 people visiting, I can multiply 7 by at least 4 or 5, which means I can expect to sell up to 35 books, which roughly translated means about £275 profit. That will be without the second hand books I shall also take with me, so could easily top £300, maybe £350 for a days work, which will not be too bad at all.

All in all though I was quite pleased with what I achieved. Apparently Paul Burrell, who was Princess Diana's Butler, did a book signing yesterday for his new book, and only 4 people turned up, so I am doing better than he is then. Loads of people took postcards as well, and were making jokes about Dot Cotton, which I admit did get a bit wearing, but they meant well. I also made some useful contacts, as there was another couple there selling their books as well, which they self published, and they gave me several names and numbers to try. Another lady said that she would be interersted in selling my book via her website, and one of those that bought it runs a discussion group and would be interested in me doing a talk. Her group though is fully booked though until June, but I can wait.

Overall it was a very good day though, and a very useful experience, but very tiring. Goodness knows how I will manage at the Questcon then, when I have to drive all the way to London and home again as well, after a 9 hour day. It will be an experience if nothing else.

Life, the universe and everything in between .....

Have been feeling a bit strange and out of sorts again these past few days - all the doubts and that nagging voice of the ego has been creeping in again, comparing myself to other more 'successful' self published authors, which is always a futile exercise. I mean, why would I want to be like anyone else, when I can wonderful old me. In church tonight, Margaret, who did the service, was saying that this has been a horrible old year for most of us, since all those things that we thought we had dealt with have been coming up to bite us on the bum - she wasn't joking. It has certianly been the most difficult and challenging year that I remember - one of intense joy, but also the most intense pain.

I managed to sell another copy though on Friday, which is good, and now makes a total of 39 of them. This one went to a lady called Jane, who was visiting the Journey group for the first time. She is an author herself as it happens, on interior design and soft furnishings, and also works for a conference organiser, so has lots of nedia contacts. Might then be a useful person to know. I do get the strong impression, with being introduced to both her and Paul in the space of a week, that something interesting is in store. I have had my first taste of dealing with local media as well this week, with the local papers. I spoke to the lady at the Epsom Post at the beginning of the week, and it looks like they will definately be running a piece. Will have to cut it out and keep it for my portfolio then and also to pin up on the noticeboard that the Sanctuary have set aside for my stall for next weekend.

Yesterday I also had an email from Nadine, a very good friend of mine from Arizona, whom I got to know via one of the writers sites I post on - My Writers Circle, to say that that she had mentioned my book to the Grumpy old man - he is one of those blog book reviewers, based in the UK, who review the best self published books. His site is frequently visited by agents and editors, so you never know. If he shows an interest, then I would certainly be willing to send him a copy and maybe even organise an interview to go on his site. Must remember to add a link to Nadine's site next time I do some updates.

I also had the idea to try and order a copy from both Borders and Waterstones in Kingston to see what happened. I had been told by Paul that many of Richard's authors seem to have problems with prospective buyers trying to get their books from shops, as shops only order books that show as being in stock on their ordering system. With POD of course, the books are printed to order, so are not kept in stock, as it is the act of ordering a copy that causes them to be printed in the first place. I have notified everyone on my mailing list then just to make sure, and also added a note to the ordering page on both websites. While I was in Borders, I happened to notice a flyer for their new mind, body and spirit group, which one of their managers, Charlotte told me some time ago. She was supposed to get back to me with a view to doing a talk, but I never did hear from her. The sales assistant though called her over to the information desk and we had a chat. It sounds like she is definately interested in me doing a talk for the group, possibly in december. This is great, since the store will be packed at this time of year. She asked me to email her colleague, the organiser, Linda with details of the book and the suggested theme for the evening. If they do book me, then they will order 20 copies of the book to try and sell on the night. I didn't tell them that their Head Office had turned it down !

Coran suggested the slogan Genesis of Man, life, the universe, and everything in between, which actually I really like. It is a play on Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but I think it works really well, as my book is about life, the universe and pretty much everything in between. The everything in between also pertains to the need to balance the light and the dark, becoming, grey, like the space in between, and at the same time, using our own grey matter, by thinking for ourselves. I have then ordered some more postcards with this new slogan on them as VistaPrint have some good offers at the moment. With luck they will arrive in time for the weekend. The last lot was here within about 3 days, even with the slow delivery.

That's it for today then, will post some more as and when I have something to report.

Local media

What a morning it has been - yet again. I managed to get those news releases written yesterday and sent them out to three local papers newspapers. The Epsom Post sounded interested, and asked me to send a picture of myself. The library across the road from the church are going to display some flyers on their noticeboard. I will try the libraries around here as well.

I sent the cheque yesterday for the balance for the Questing Conference. I will have to think carefully about how many copies I will need to order, as this is a BIG event. I will see how I do next weekend first, as I should be able to order more copies after that if I need to.

This morning then I have emailed IndePublishing to get a copy of their contract re selling my book on their site. The owner Jo Anthony said she could give me some useful suggestions re improving my information sheet, which may be helpful. I also Emailed the organisers from Friends in Focus whose meeting I went to last week to confirm that I was definately interested in doing a talk there. I allso emailed Heart and Mind, as I had not heard from them.

I then booked a place for Edwin's next talk. There were several people at the Esher group last week whom I hadn't see for a while, who asked if I was going and could I bring a copy along, so I Emailed Edwin as well to let him I would be doing that. It is only courtesy after all, as it's his event. I rang Richard to see if there was any news from West Country Books - he doesn't think it will go anywhere as he hasn't heard back from them. I might chase them up myself later on, to see what's what.

I also rang Gaynor to order some more books - 14 copies this time, just to make sure I have enough for next weekend, in case the local press do run some articles. They can be taken along to the Questing Conference if I don't sell them all. Gaynor has passed my details on to an amateur publicist that they use, one of Richards more succesful authors, who may be able to help organise further talks and book signings and even radio interviews. He will probably contact me in the next day or so, so watch this space ...

Last but no means least, I Emailed the Manager at Waterstones in Epsom to let him know about next weekend and that there may be some articles in the local press, as I mentioned that the book is availble from them, just in case he wants to order some more copies. It is time for lunch now and a quiet afternoon in the park - the sun is out and the sky is blue, so a nice long walk to blow away the cobwebs is in order, followed by a cup of tea and some mushroom picking.

Contacting Local Groups

I have been busy contacting more groups this past week or so, and have done five so far - Tranquility Awareness, Surrey Dowsers, Friends in Focus, Dorking Awareness and Heart and Mind. Tranquility Awareness have invited me to their next meeting in October, Surrey Dowsers are fully booked until 2008, Friends in Focus invited me also to their next meeting, Dorking Awareness are keeping me on file for future reference, and Heart and Mind are yet to reply. I will chase them up in the next day or so to make sure they received my Email.

The Friends in Focus meeting was last Thursday, and they seem very promising. It is a friendly group, run by the same lady who used to run Kingston Positive Living. There about 60 people there last week, so they seem to have a good turn out every month. If I do get booked I should get some good sales. I have not heard from my local Waterstones as yet, so will give them another week or so and chase them up. I am still awaiting confirmation from Cygnus Book Club as well, but they did say that this would take a few weeks.

My review was posted on the Internet forum I used to moderate. I was a bit surprised by it, as it seemed more of a criticism than a review. The new moderators Emailed to invite me back on to the site, much to my surprise. I managed to post some comments of my own and start a few more threads, before someone we have not been able to identify posted some less than positive comments on the site that I am now moderator on. I resigned from the review site in protest. It is best not to give this any more energy that I need to, but rather learn from the experience and move on.

This week has been rather quiet on the sales front. I managed to sell one copy at the Journey group on Friday, and one in Church tonight, and I still have those 2 stalls coming up. I must send the balance for the Questing Conference tomorrow, as it is due one month before the conference which is on 27 October. It will soon come round.

Today I Emailed a couple of organisations with a view to reviews - Atlantis Rising magazine, whose name speaks for itself, and a company called IndePublishing. This is run by Jo Anthony, a successful self published author and Manager for Pen Press, one of the largest short print run companies in the UK. She runs a consultancy business for self published authors, helping them with marketing plans, and sells various self published books via her website. I must sit down tomorrow and draft some letters to the local papers throughout the area, letting them know about the Mind, Body and Spirit Festival at our local church, and that I shall be there with some signed copies for sale. I also have some more websites to approach that sell and review self published books.

Trying to organise some talks

I am trying to get back into the swing of the publishing world, having neglected things for a few weeks while we were dealing with the house. I have had a busy morning ringing round some local groups trying to arange some talks. I spoke to the Tranquility Awareness people some time ago, who meet monthly at our local church, and sent them some information by post. They invited me along to their September meeting, telling me that it was on the 15th, and that they had no bookings at all for speakers past December. I was disappointed to find that the meeting had actually been on 8th, and they had not let me know, and also that they have now booked a speaker for January. I tried to ring them again last night, but it was not a good time, and when I called back, I got the answerphone. I am wondering if I am meant to do a talk with these people, and need to branch out into other parts of Surrey, and further afield.

This morning I have rung three more groups - Friends in Focus, Dorking Awareness and Surrey Dowsers. I did a talk for Surrey Dowsers a few years ago on crystal skulls, which went down very well, so they should be interested. They do however arrange their programme well in advance so may be fully booked for 2007 already. I left a message with their organiser for her to get back to me. I Emailed the organiser from Dorking Awareness also, and spoke to the organiser of Friends in Focus. She has invited me to their next meeting and we can talk more then.

I then rang my ex employer to see if I could leave some copies for my former collagues to order! If you don't ask you don't get, and a lot of the people there would be interested if they knew who I was, and that I used to work there! They rang back and asked if could let them have a copy. They will approve it and then get back to me. That should be interesting.

I spoke to Richard as well about West Country Books who contacted me on Friday. He has things well in hand, and is trying to sort out terms and conditions to see if it is viable, what discount they buy for, whether it is sale and return, the quantities involved, how they promote the books, do they expect him to pay for postage, all that stuff. I should hear within a couple of weeks.

It is already 4.40pm. I don't know where the time goes, or how on earth I used to have time to go to work!

We have just returned from our site interview at the park home site. It was a formality to get to know us and make sure that we are aware of the pitch fees, park rules etc, and also for us to ask any questions. The main point concerned working from home, which they assure us is not a problem, as long as we are not bringing lorries and trucks on to the park with heavy loads and dust and grime. No problem there then!

I got home to find that no one had rung, so logged on to check my messages, and will probably chill out for the rest of the day. Coran has his first trustees meeting tonight, so I expect he will fill me in on all the details later on.

The house is sold ....

It feels like a quiet week, when not much has happened, yet when I look back on it, a gerat deal has happened.

We have accepted an offer on our house, so it looks like the move will be going ahead. It is a first time buyer with no chain, and she seems as keen to get in as we are to get out. The park home site that we are moving to is the most sought after in the whole country, so we are very lucky that it has fallen into place. The house we are buying has been on the market for nine months, and we sold ours within a week! It was obviously waiting for us ...

The Journey group started back on Friday. I didn't sell any copies, as they all left their money at home - doh! I ordered 20 more this week, which should arrive soon, to replenish stocks, and so that I have some more review copies to send out. I sent two this morning - one to a magazine called Readers Reviews and one to Borders Head Office for their consideraton. Readers Reviews is a magazine published by POD publisher Troubadour, where they review and sell self published books, kind of like a POD book club. It is worth considering I feel. Borders have not replied to any of my answerphone messages, and their website says they need to see a copy for consideration, so I have bitten the bullet and sent it through. I will see what happens. I am still waiting on Watkins and Waterstones in Kingston and will have to chase them up in the week.

I went into Waterstones in Epsom on the way home to see if my books were on the shelf. I couldn't see them, so asked. They have 2 in stock and another one on order. The girl thought that they were probably upstairs waiting to be put out, as they only arrived a week ago, so they should be there next time I go in. Apparently they took a week to arrive, so at least I know the time frame involved if anyone else wants to order one ...

The sales figures for August went live on Richard's site yesterday. I sold 3 UK copies and 2 US. The UK ones are probably the 3 that Waterstones ordered, which means that the Chalice Well have not ordered any more, and also that that shop in Stockport haven't. I wonder why? I have Emailed twice but heard nothing. I chased up Cygnus yesterday, since Richard hadn't heard from them. I spoke to Jackie Hollingsworth who deals with their submissions. She has been on holiday, and only works part time, so has a lot to catch up on. They get 200 submissions a month, and have a circulation of 60,000 people! She hopes to get back to me with an acknowledgement within the next 2 weeks and appreciated my patience and understanding. These Editors have a lot on their plates after all. If she likes it, she will pass it to their Editor who will contact Richard to negoitatate terms. It may be in their catalogue in time for Christmas. Richard being the cynic that he is, asked me which Christmas they meant!

Yesterday I also had an Email from West Country Books, a small wholesaler/distributor based in - you guessed it, the West Country. Would I be interested in signing up with them? One of the ladies on my mailing list told them about my book and suggested they get in touch. I already have the two distributors, Bertrams and Gardners, whom Richard has accounts with, but another is always worth looking at, especially since they specialise in Mind, Body and Spirit books and supply a lot of the smaller, New Age type shores. I forwarded their email to Richard so he can get in touch and see what they have to offer, and Emailed them to let them know.

The review which has gone up on the Internet forum I used to moderate has caused a bit of a stir. It was touch and go whether the current mods would allow it, but in the end they did, after the ordering information was removed! It is more a critique than a review, which took me slightly by surprise ... I have had several messages from people in response, so it must be causing some ripples.

Oh well, time for tea ...