My nonfiction book, Courageous Women of the Civil War: Soldiers,
Spies, Medics, and More, came out on August 1. It’s only been a few days since
the book’s official release date, but it seems like much longer.
Long before the book came out, I
did something smart: on my Facebook account, I started friending folks from way
back in my life. People I went to school with. My parents’ friends. Folks from
around town. Writer friends. Hamline buddies (of course). I friended my
fourth-grade teacher, my speech therapist from clear back in kindergarten,
folks from Nodaway, shirttail relatives, college buddies, professors, the list
goes on. Of course it’s nice to have all my old friends and relatives in one
place, but I also knew that home folks would be interested in seeing what I
did, since they knew me back when I was small and walking around with my nose
in a book.
The nice thing was how good it felt to reestablish contact after lo these many years. And when I talked about my
book on there, folks actually got excited. This didn’t usually happen in my
life, so it felt pretty good.
A few months before my book’s
release date, I hit a rough patch due to outside factors. I stopped caring
about writing and was profoundly unmotivated to change this. My little family
kept me going, and I love those guys for it, but I was low. I’d been a
writer all my life, and now this other stuff was going on, and I was worried
that I was going to be stuck without writing for the rest of my life. I needed
help, but it seemed like wherever I turned for help a door would quietly shut
in my face.
But then, after I got my box of
books, some of my buddies (from FB, naturally) wanted to buy a book from me. So
I sold one. Then I sold another. Friends – and I just said that in my
preacher’s voice – friends, that’s when the light shone upon me. I handed
somebody my book. They handed me a $20 bill. After all these years of hard
work, I was getting a tangible reward. Instant gratification. And that’s when I
got hungry. When I got hungry, I pulled out of my funk. I got so motivated so
fast it made my head spin.
So anytime anyone on FB said they
wanted to buy my book, I told them that if they buy it from me, I’ll take it to
them and sign it right there. Old friends are taking me up on that. The neat
thing is, not only do I sell a book, but I get to talk to an old friend I
haven’t seen for a while. That’s definitely worth the price of admission.
Other friends are helping out in
other ways. Some give me leads about places to sell my book, or they’ll share
posts about my book with folks they know. Some friends have invited me to come
out and give presentations. You never know who will have a lead for you – so
invite ‘em all!
And I’m getting more ideas just
from hanging out with these guys. I used to say that I had no interest in
self-publishing. Then, after an author’s showcase at the library where I hung
out with a bunch of self-published writers with tons of books on their tables,
I got hungry again. “Dude!” I thought. “I have so many old manuscripts that
agents have passed on – I’m going to self-publish them too!” So now I’ll have
more books to sell with my Civil War book. I’m still sending stuff out to
agents – but Mama’s tired of waiting over here. She’s going to make her own
damn books!
You know, this whole experience has
been a kick in the pants – a very welcome one, because I had no idea that
promotion could be such a nice thing. My friends’ support has been invaluable,
and actually has been one of my favorite parts of this whole journey. I
wouldn’t have it any other way.
*Melinda Cordell earned her Master’s in Writing for Children from Hamline University. Her first book, Courageous Women of the Civil War, has been published by Chicago Review Press and is (at this particular millisecond) a #1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Military History. Melinda's fiction and articles have appeared in Cricket, Highlights, and The Horn Book, as well as Organic Gardening, Birds and Blooms, and Grit. Visit her author's website at http://www.melindacordell.com/ to learn more or just say hi!
Great article, but more importantly, a great story. I have decided to publish my Create Space paper back "The Singing Bone," in hard cover, through Nook, based on this encouragement. Way to go Melinda!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear it, Bill!
ReplyDeleteMelinda, you have written a terrific book. I was delighted to write a blurb for it as the writing and the research are topnotch. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for writing the blurb, Claire. I'm glad you like my book. Good things come out of that Hamline program, I understand. :)
Deleteawe that's good news! And you really do have lots of friends!
ReplyDeletethanks polly!
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