Vanished by Joseph Finder - New Media Phenomenon

Let's talk about new media and book sales. Recently Joseph Finder [Photo Credit: Amazon.com] showed up as one of my Twitter followers. Now, I do not consider myself gullible, but I found it fascinating that a New York Times Best Selling author found me on Twitter. I started reading his tweets and realized he had a new book coming out in August called "Vanished".

Recently, he tweeted about an offer that for some reason or other I found too enticing to pass up. If you pre-order his book and then send him the receipt, prior to an August date, he will send you a signed paperback of one of his previous books, a signed book plate, and a comic book, based on some character in his new book, Vanished. It was all too intriguing especially since I am taking this New Media Marketing Class and trying to get a grasp on how powerful social media can be for marketing. (Note: I did have a Barnes and Nobel gift certificate sitting here just waiting to be spent.)

Anyway, I pre-ordered the book (it does sound like a great mystery) and sent in (all through my Twitter link) my request to take advantage of the special offer. We'll see what happens and once I read the book, I'll update this post and let you know how I liked it. And to think some people think Twitter is just a big waste of time. Doesn't seem to be for Joseph Finder ....

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (pictured here credit: Harper Collins) is the author's first novel. It is a very interesting story, so compelling that many people really believe there were/are Lace Readers. The author acknowledges in interviews that she never really found evidence that Lace Readers existed - she thinks she just made it up, but it seems logical there may have been since, throughout history, people have "read" everything from hand lines, tea leaves, quilts to minds.

I was lucky to get to hear the author speak when I was a guest at a local book group in San Diego. Brunonia Barry first published the book, in 2006. She and her husband are software publishers and decided to publish and market the book on their own. Initially they gave copies to regional book clubs in an effort to get the word out about the book. Some how the book ended up garnering a starred review in Publishers Weekly and major publishers launched a bidding war. The self-publishing side saga really is a unique and inspiring story for all struggling authors out there hoping to get published.

Although it is fiction, the book is filled with layers of history involving witchcraft, spirits, family secrets and religious undertones. It is aptly set in Salem, Massachusetts, the author's home town, during modern times. Descriptions of Salem, and the surrounding area are one of the highlights of the book, in my opinion. Brunonia Barry's family name actually is Whitney (a family name in the book), but other than that she said it was not, in any way, autobiographical.

The book's main theme is "a hero's journey for women". The author uses unique pacing and tells the story using multiple perspectives and voices. The narrator announces in the first chapter, "we're from five generations of crazy". The characters in the book are amazingly well developed - you really feel like you know them by the end of the story. The young protagonist, Towner Whitney, suffered a severe nervous breakdown, moved to California and only returned to Salem after her Great Aunt Eva disappeared. There is a religious cult leader, Cal Boynton, who creates some of the drama, along with other family members and local townspeople. Suspense and a well-crafted twist make the mystery complete.

Lots of information about the book, including reviews and interviews, is well catalogued on Brunonia Barry's website. Book clubs are guaranteed to have lots to discuss with this great read!

My book club thought it would make a great movie - What actors and actresses do you think best fit the roles?

Find a special reading nook ....

June 2009 Sun Valley ...
My cell phone camera shot .... check out the wonderful bench for reading in the upper right corner!

New Media Benefits Authors With Their Debut Novels...

It is absolutely amazing the impact new media has had on the book world. The ease, and availability of self publishing and on-line promotion platforms, have opened huge doors for passionate, self-promoting, first-time authors to enter a previously, well-guarded, gated arena.

Some say an author's best book is their first; although Alison Morris, in her Shelftalker Blog states, "Maybe it's time we scrapped the stereotype altogether." Morris argues that it might be true for authors of adult literature that their first book is the best, but children's and young adult literature authors improve over time. Nevertheless, I think it's safe to assume that all first time authors, regardless of genre, have more opportunity to get a shot at success in today's new, high tech, world than they had previously.

New media makes it possible for authors to create elaborate websites, blogs, facebook pages,and the list goes on, to promote their books, and themselves directly to their audience. Live interviews can be heard over the web, or on podcasts. All of this innovation enables a wealth of first-time, often young, authors to make it into bookstores, and even skyrocket onto bestseller lists with their debut novels.

These valuable, often primary, resources created by, and about, novelists are treasure troves for reading groups. Research is incredibly easy to do compared to, even 20 years ago, when you used to have to go to the library to dig through microfiche to gather any news to share with your fellow book club members.

To illustrate, here's a list of books, by first time authors, along with their official website addresses, that make a great reading list for a new book club:

• The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry - http://www.lacereader.com/;


• The Help by Kathryn Stockett - http://www.kathrynstockett.com/;


• Still Alice by Lisa Genova - http://www.stillalice.com/;


• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick - http://www.robertgoolrick.com/;


• The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee - http://www.janiceyklee.com/;


• City of Thieves by David Benioff - http://www.cityofthievesbook.com/.

Future posts will contain more information about each of these books, and the authors, so let's start reading! We want to get the discussion going ....

Special thanks to my fellow book club members who helped compile this list of books, by contemporary authors, guaranteed to lead to wonderful conversations.

Let's Read!!

A picture says a thousand words .....

Invite Some Friends ...

When you start your book club, you may want to consider only asking friends who are "tech savvy" enough to be on-line and capable of opening an email, or evite. It is so much easier to organize groups of people using the internet!

Even if the people you want to include in your book club aren't currently on-line - use this as an opportunity to do a good deed and get them set up with an email account. They don't even need a computer (although seriously, are there still people out there who aren't on-line?) as they can check their email accounts on the local library computer, if need be.

Appearing organized for your first book club meeting will help set the tone - this is a real group, with a real mission, and we're really going to meet and be active. Talking to other book clubs is a good way to learn how to organize a group and also benefit from the lessons they've learned along the way. I would sugggest you plan to meet once a month to get started and I think the group size is optimum when limited to 10 - 15 active members. Anything larger than this gets really hard to coordinate. If you are starting with just a handful of friends, that's fine. Once word gets out that you are an active, interesting group - friends of friends will be clamoring to sign on!

Get started by sending out your first evite, on-line invitation. There are some wonderful resources out there. Here's a list of on-line invitation recommendations:

• http://www.evite.com/ - free on-line invitations with a great book club template;
  
• http://www.mypunchbowl.com/ - free on-line invitations;


• http://www.sendomatic.com/ - free version has some ads attached, but if you upgrade to a paid version you can get no ads;


• http://www.pingg.com/ - free version - these designs are terrific;


• http://www.socializr.com/ - free version has a great book club template;


• http://www.purpletrail.com/ - free on-line invitations, with no ads
  

Many of these on-line invitations can even be sent to cellphones and social networking sites like facebook, twitter, etc. Most will track rsvps for you, and send reminders, eliminating time consuming follow-up for the organizer.

So decide on a time and place to meet (some groups rotate homes, and others meet in public places like libraries, Starbucks , Peet's, or some other local gathering spot), and get your first book club meeting on the calendar. You can start off your first meeting by having the organizer choose the first book or you can make the first meeting an organizational one. Either way, be sure to include all the details for your first meeting on your evite, including: time, place, date, and a reminder to 1) read the first selection and be prepared for discussion or 2) bring along two or three book suggestions so that your group can start the process of calendaring each month's reading selection.

You're now ready to get on with the fun of sharing the joy of reading and talking about books.

How To Start A Book Club

Forming a book club is a great way to get started on a shared journey "into the pages" of literature. There are several ways to begin:

• Joining a pre-existing book club organized by a local, independent bookstore;


• Following a radio show, or television show that shares a book of the month;


• Engaging in a networking group or cultural organization that advertises a book club as part of their scheduled meet-ups;


• Gathering a group of friends and scheduling a time that you're all willing and able to commit to, and then, just get started.

I think the most intimate way to form a book club is to begin talking with people you find interesting, about your desire to start a book club, to see if they share your passion for literature. It's often more fun to reach out to a diverse group of friends rather than just sticking with an already established group or clique. The discussions tend to be much more stimulating when people you don't know very well bring different perspectives into the conversation. Once you've got a handful of friends who are excited about the prospect, begin throwing out dates and times to see what might work best for all.

A great way to begin is to send a postcard or evite out to the group indicating the initial date and time for your first meeting and ask everyone to bring a few books to suggest to begin creating your reading list.

I'll talk about how to choose books for your reading list in my next blog post.