News From the Top
President’s Message
Fall is my favorite time of year. The changing leaves, the return of football, and the cooling off from summer’s swelter certainly have their allure. However, there’s something bigger about this season for me. When I was a kid, I equated fall with the start of a new school year. I wasn’t particularly fond of teachers or the subjects they taught, but I enjoyed seeing my friends again. I imagine I was like most kids.
Many other large events in my life started in autumn. I left for Basic Training on September 2nd while many of my friends were leaving for college. Four years later, I entered college in the fall semester. After graduating with a business degree, I started my first real estate job in the fall. When I joined the police department, I began the academy in autumn.
It wasn’t until I was older that I realized I feel hopeful whenever fall comes around. I’m filled with that hope again, but it’s not just because fall is my favorite season. After a fantastic conference this summer, the board is already preparing for 2025’s event, which will be our organization’s twentieth. Each conference requires significant effort and teamwork to pull off.
A lot of behind-the-scenes work is needed for a volunteer organization like ours—from budgeting and banking to technology demands and long-term planning. It’s not always exciting stuff, but the board handles it with care and accountability and a focus on what will serve our members best.
I want to thank each member of the board for stepping up while I learn this new position. It’s because of you that I’m filled with so much hope. You’re a wonderful reflection of the PSWA’s spirit.
Colin Conway
President
Vice President’s Report
Greetings, fellow PSWA members. Now that we are back from our conference in Las Vegas, we can start discussing next year’s plans. But first, let’s take a moment to thank Michael Black for his fantastic job organizing and presenting our 19th conference! From my perspective, everything went exceedingly well.
A worthwhile conference is one of the chief benefits the PSWA gives members, which gratifies me as membership vice president. My goal is to grow our organization. Instead of begging and cajoling, although there may be some of that, I want to increase the value of being a member.
With that in mind, we’re launching a new program in September, an online video presentation and discussion of a series of interesting topics. It will be a way for us to stay connected to members (by Zoom, but . . .) more often than once a year.
Who will be the first victim, I mean, “presenter”? Well, yours truly. Apparently, I have convinced someone I know a little bit about dogs, specifically police K9s. Well, I do. I was a handler for over six years, then the unit sergeant for another three. Later in my career, I was called back to supervise a scent-trailing team. I’ll talk about the dogs, their training and selection, and how they are deployed. Finally, we’ll discuss how they can be used in fiction, why they can be powerful characters, and issues to avoid when writing about them.
This brings me back full circle to next year. Expect to receive regular updates about our 20th conference. Please understand the enormous amount of work Mike does selecting topics and panelists. When a meeting runs so smoothly, it may seem as if it must have been easy to put together. Believe me, it isn’t!
Steve Ditmars
Vice-President
Treasurer’s Report
WOW! What another wonderful conference! It was awesome to see old friends and meet new ones. I have a bunch of thank-yous, and I especially thank the attendees. Without all of you, there wouldn’t be a conference. Refreshment sponsors, advertisers, swag donators—all add so much. (Although, I still haven’t seen any mini-handcuffs for our conference bags. Maybe next year.) These extras help keep our conference costs to a minimum.
Right now, I am preparing for Killer Nashville! To say I’m excited is an understatement. It will be great going for the first time and already knowing people from the PSWA and Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conferences.
2024 PSWA Refreshment Sponsorships – THANK YOU, THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS!
7/11 Welcome Party – Dave Knop
7/12 Morning Coffee – Peg Roche and Vicki Weisfeld
Afternoon Coffee – Barbara Hodges
7/13 Morning Coffee – Tucson’s Savage Writing Group (Jim Christ, Dean Cobet, Kelli Peacock, and David Ross)
Afternoon Coffee – Jim Guigli
Awards Celebration – Steve Ditmars
7/14 Morning Coffee – John Schembra
Kelli Peacock
Treasurer
Conference Program Report
“Notorious Nineteen”: Another PSWA Conference for the Record Books!
Our glorious Notorious Nineteen Conference in Las Vegas last July was truly one for the record books. We led off with the best-attended writing workshop (20 people) so far and never stopped. The workshop instructors were all published authors, including Paul Bishop and PSWA members Mike Brandt, Jim Christ and Kelli Peacock. A number of registrants requested and received invaluable one-on-one manuscript critiques.
After the workshop, conferees received their tote bags (fabulous this year!) and name badges, and soon the welcome reception started with food, drink, and lively conversation.
Our outgoing president, John Schembra, who’d planned to give opening remarks on Friday morning, had been felled by covid, and the gavel passed to our new president, Colin Conway. After a gracious welcome, he turned the meeting over to a most capable master of ceremonies, Vice President Steve Ditmars, whose wit was in rare form throughout, and Steve introduced our new PSWA Secretary, Peg Roche.
As always, we observed a moment of silence to recognize the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty this past year. PSWA’s award- winning poet, Joe Haggerty, recited his moving new commemorative poem, “Patches and Pictures.”
This year’s Appreciation Awards went to Kelli Peacock, Janet Greger, Gloria Casale, Steve Ditmars, and Thonie Hevron for their valuable service to PSWA. And, we drew names for the first of 15 raffle prizes awarded throughout the conference (the full list is in Member News below). While this summary emphasizes the program panels and presentations, it’s worth emphasizing how much the attendees themselves added, through the lively Q & A sessions throughout.
The first panel, which I moderated, was Creating a Series Character You Can Live With, featuring Paul Bishop, Jim L’Etoile, Frank Scalise (who uses the pen name Frank Zafiro), Allen Grimes, and Peg Roche, followed by our first featured speaker, retired FBI Special Agent Scott Decker. He provided excellent insight regarding why and how to protect your work from copyright infringement, based on painful personal experience!
Our next panel discussed how covid had affected members’ writing (lots of ways), moderated by Pete Klismet, with panelists Ellie Oberth, John Bluck, Mary Lou Anderson, Darlene Record, and Joe Haggerty. Colin Conway and Frank Scalise, who’ve written award-winning novels and short stories together, described in entertaining fashion what it’s like to collaborate with a creative partner. I introduced them as our answer to Penn and Teller, but after they were finished, I rechristened them Batman and Superman. (Just don’t ask which is which.)
I moderated our next panel, Emergency Equipment, Wrecking Crews, and How It All Works. Our masters of mayhem discussed how and what they’ve used when the you-know-what hits the fan. The cast was Steve Ditmars, Dave Freedland, Jim L’Etoile, Bob Haig, and Dean Cobet. Colin Conway then moderated All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic, with a distinguished panel—Catherine McGreevy, Bill Rapp, Pat Weill, Mike Brandt, and Bob Doerr—who have all lived abroad and written to tell about it. That’s not always easy, given the many ways in which laws, policing, criminal justice practices, and social norms vary across countries.
That ended the day’s official conference program. However, Colin Conway hosted an informal, but well-attended “Independent Authors Discussion” that evening.
Saturday was off to a great start with featured speaker Paul Bishop, a highly decorated former detective in the LAPD. His presentation, The Art of Interrogation, was one of the most captivating we’ve ever had. Our publisher’s panel followed, in which Kelli Peacock led the speakers in discussing the current and changing state of the publishing business. Panelists included Mike Bray, owner of Wolfpack Publishing; Paul Bishop, Acquisitions Editor of Wolfpack/Rough Edges Press; Steven Booth, founder of Genius Publishing; and Michael Anderle, who owns his own publishing company. Afterwards, they heard attendees’ book proposals.
Our next featured speakers, medical experts Gloria Casale and Janet Greger, discussed Poisons and Other Nefarious Ways to Kill. Looking for an alternative to guns in a mystery novel? They provided many useful tips! Moderator Frank Scalise then led a panel on Probation, Parole, Corrections, and All That Jazz. Dealing with criminals after they’ve been convicted takes special skill and can be risky. Our panelists had a wide array of experience with law breakers on both sides of the bars: Jim L’Etoile, Barbara Lloyd, Cindy Goyette, Mary Lou Anderson, and George Cramer.
Switching gears, We’ve Got You Covered discussed the importance of a book’s cover, led by moderator Barbara Hodges, with panelists Colin Conway, Frank Scalise, Janet Greger, Steve Ditmars, and Dave Knop discussing graphic design, author photos, back cover copy—all the elements that attract a prospective reader’s attention. (See Barbara’s report, which follows, describing the new PSWA cover award.)
Before the next panel we received news of a shooting injury to former President Donald Trump. I must admit, having lived through numerous assassinations and attempts, I had no stomach for another tragedy and continuing my obligations was a serious challenge. Yet, I had to moderate our next panel, the last of that Saturday. Ironically, it was Telling It Like It Really Is, in which our panelists—Steve Scarborough, Bill Powers, Dave Freedland, Pete Klismet, and Steven Booth—discussed approaches, techniques, and challenges of writing non-fiction and true crime.
At Saturday evening’s buffet dinner, Barbara Hodges, PSWA Writing Contest chair, hosted our Awards Ceremony. While business was brisk at the PSWA book sales tables throughout the meeting, the next day a special table was set up for the award-winning books.
On Sunday, the meeting began with The Art of Writing Short Fiction. Short stories are a great way to break into publishing, and our panelists—Colin Conway, Mike Brandt, Shauna Washington, and Vicki Weisfeld—all have a long history of producing great short fiction. Next, the always-capable Steve Ditmars led a panel on Making the Most Out of a Writer’s Group, describing their great rewards and inherent risks. Panelists Jim Christ, Eric Arnell, Kelli Peacock, Dean Cobet, and David Ross have all participated in such groups and shared advice on how to create a learning experience and handle problem members. The conference’s final panel was a doozy: Guerrilla Marketing Techniques. In today’s rough-and-tumble publishing world, writing a good book is only half the challenge. Authors must be ready to go the extra yard to promote their work. Our panelists discussed many ways to do this, including blogging, newsletters, email chains, podcasts, and so on. Moderator Colin Conway kept things going with panelists Barbara Hodges, George Cramer, Bill Powers, Janet Greger, and Steve Ditmars.
We ended on a high note—the final prize drawing, “the big one,” a free registration to next year’s conference, won by first-time conferee, my friend, Eric Arnell. Eric, I’m looking forward to seeing you there next time! Congratulations.
It’s with a twinge of sadness that we closed out the final sales at the bookstore, disassembled the equipment, and had a short board member debrief. Everyone agreed that the conference had gone very well, and the conference evaluations bear that out. We look forward to making the next one, our twentieth, as memorable as Notorious Nineteen. Thanks to all who attended, participated, and met friends old and new. We hope to see you next year!
Mike Black
Conference Program Chair
Writing Competition Report
It’s been a month since the PSWA conference. I know it’s been said before, but it was a great conference and an adventure getting there.
I make the seven-hour drive to Las Vegas from the central coast of California. Most times a friend travels with me. But this year, I made the trip by myself. I enjoyed my time alone. I had hours to think about story lines and sing out-of-tune to my favorite 60’s songs. And, it was hot. 115 degrees crossing the Mojave Desert. I wanted to see what 115 degrees feels like, so I stopped at a rest area, sensibly parking close to the restroom. That restroom wasn’t open. I had to walk to the one at the other end. Yes, I found out what it’s like to walk with hot sun beating down on my head and heat waves rising into my face. This experience will show up in a story someday. Amazingly, it was even hotter when I arrived at the Orleans. My car temperature gauge read 125 degrees.
The Writing Competition Awards Ceremony is always such a pleasure for me—the culmination of months of effort by our unpaid, hard-working, and anonymous judges. And thank you, judges. Without you, there would be no writing competition.
This year, you may remember, we expanded the number of categories to be sure apples were being compared to apples. No cozies being compared to action thrillers, for example. This year we also gave an award for the highest scoring published book, regardless of category. It’s called The Marilyn Meredith Award for Excellence in Writing, and Colin Conway received it. It was a good-looking award, too, designed by our Vice President Steve Ditmars. Another 2024 innovation was an award for best book cover—again, regardless of category. Hope Dies Last by Frank Scalise (Zafiro) got the nod. The judges had a very interesting discussion about the covers, saying what worked for them and what didn’t. Notably, the conference panel on book covers discussed all these key issues.
The awards in each category have been posted on the PSWA website. You can see them all here.
Next January 1st, the writing competition will be open for entries from 2024. I look forward to seeing our members’ next batch of great writing.
Barbara M. Hodges
Writing Competition Chair
Member News
Member Jim Christ reports that Genius Books & Media will publish his newest crime/suspense novel, Right There in Black and White—an award winner in the 2024 PSWA writing competition—and his first traditionally-published novel. Jim says, “I met Steven [Steven Booth, head of Genius Publishing] at this past association conference in Las Vegas (see, I did not spend all my time at the craps tables, thank you very much), and Steven introduced me to his submissions editor and wife, Leya, on the spot, via Facetime. What great people they are!” The plan is to roll out the book in January 2025. You can read the book’s introduction on Jim’s website.
Bob Doerr’s new book Curiosity Can Kill (another PSWA prize-winner!) will be released September 10th. This will be the 10th book in the author’s Jim West mystery/thriller series, and he says, “It’s the best one yet!” Set in the Texas Big Bend region, the story takes ample advantage of the harsh landscape and fascinating folklore. Read it, enjoy it, and “please leave a review,” he says, and that goes for all our fine authors. Your reviews are golden.
Frank Scalise’s WrongPlaceWriteCrime podcast featuring PSWA Conference attendees is now live here. He says everyone sounds fantastic, and you can listen on his website, where there’s a choice of listening platforms. He says, “The best thing you can do to support your fellow PSWA authors is to share the episode wherever you have a social media presence.” I’ve sent a blurb out to my local Sisters In Crime chapter, Mystery Writers of America – New York Chapter, and posted it on my website.
Conferees were the winners during the prize drawings at “Notorious Nineteen.” Thank you to those who donated prizes, and congratulations to these winners: George Cramer (free entry to next year’s writing competition); Dave Freedland (a quarter-page ad in the 2025 conference program); Sheryl Bluck (2025 Writers Workshop registration); Bob Doerr ($25 bookstore credit); Bill Rapp (a manuscript critique from Mike Black); Vicki Weisfeld (notecards handmade by Darlene Record); Ellie Obreth ($30 Amazon gift card from John Schembra); Kelli Peacock (a manuscript edit from Misti Berry); Joe Haggerty (a waterfall photo by Kelli Peacock); Gloria 
Casale (puzzle box and mug donated by Mike Black); Hun-Seng Chao (a mini-wall hanging donated by Barbara Hodges); Eric Arnell (an audiobook on editing donated by Barbara Hodges); Peg Roche (a 3500-word manuscript edit from Frank Scalise); Bill Powers (a full podcast episode interview by Frank Scalise); and the grand prize, mentioned earlier—registration to next year’s conference, won by Eric Arnell!
Congratulations to Steve Rush, whose new crime thriller, Lethal Impulse (which won a PSWA Writing Competition unpublished novel award in 2022), has been acquired by Wild Rose Press and is available on presale!
You can now get the trade paperback of Mike Black’s newest book, Where Legends Lie. It’s two stories, in two time periods, told in alternating chapters. In 1913 California, an emotionally battered army veteran returning from combat in the Philippines finds a job at a fledgling motion picture studio filming the true-life tale of a famous Old West shootout. And in 1880 Contention City, Arizona, a heroic, but vastly outnumbered sheriff struggles against crooked politicians and railroad bigwigs as he tries to orchestrate the surrender of a notorious gang of outlaws. Gripping!
Member 
Eve Carson has made great progress on establishing a non-profit organization to aid crime victims and their families. Her new foundation, Victims of Injustice Speak, intends help people who find themselves up against officials who “are not dedicated to truthful justice,” she says. You may recall that her initiative is inspired by a tragic situation in her own family; her book about the case is Simple, Safe & Secret: The 1981 Murder of Joan L. Webster. She’s secured a 501(c)(3) status for VOIS, which means that donations are tax-deductible, and she’s developing a roster of people willing to help victims and families. Find out more here.
What Members Say about the Latest PSWA conference
In the spirit of continuous quality improvement, your board asked members to respond to an email survey about the recent conference, and more than half of attendees (55%) responded. About a quarter of respondents reported it was their first PSWA conference; and about the same percentage said they heard about it through one of members. This underscores the important work you do promoting the conference to your fellow writers. And, as a gratifying measure of how useful members find the conference, all the survey respondents said they intend to return next year.
The response to the Writer’s Workshop was overwhelmingly positive (92%). One attendee even suggested it be called the “Master’s Workshop.” Attendees also encouraged more flash writing assignments and nuts-and-bolts discussion.
Once we get to the speakers and panels, responses differ more, of course, as some panels are right on target for some people, but not others, which is why the organizers work so hard to provide a big range—something for everyone. Despite that, the responses were overwhelmingly positive. And, respondents were energized, providing many good ideas for future emphasis: independent publishing, marketing and promotion, and increasing the diversity of public safety professionals represented are just a few.
Respondents had quite a few helpful “hosting” ideas too, although the Orleans banquet food generally receives high marks. My favorite comment: “Easier and faster access to drinks.” (Did I write that?) Thank you for your feedback!
The Writing Craft: Upping Your Game
Because Titles Matter
A recent Writer Unboxed article, The Matter of Titles (Because Titles Matter), struck a chord with me because the topic has come up at the PSWA conference for (at least) the last two years. Both times it was discussed in the context of the book cover, where a good title is definitely a key part of a book’s first impression. FYI, I define a “good title” as one that helps you find your reader.
A simple title can just be the main character’s name or identifying detail of the person or place (Carrie, The English Patient, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Clark and Division), or role in the story (The Prince of Tides, The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Great Alone). 
Titles like these, or any simple, one or two-word title might work for authors who already have a solid reputation, but might not be strong enough for a new author. I review a lot of crime/thriller books by new authors with one-word titles like Intrepid, The Infiltrator, Suspect, and the like. Later on, when I try to recall the title so I can tell someone about the book, or I see the title and try to recall the story, I can’t. Tim Sullivan, a UK writer whose character is a homicide detective, uses the profession of the murder victim for the book’s title—The Dentist, The Teacher, The Monk. They’re short, but so specific to the story, they’re meaningful, especially once you know his system!
Most of us need a book title that can work a little harder. The title can give your prospective reader a feel for the book’s theme. Frank Zafiro’s Hope Dies Last certainly conveys a sense of the extreme personal and professional challenges his hero will encounter. The recently published books by our members cited above establish a theme very effectively: I can almost see Jim Christ’s admonishing finger in my face, with Right There in Black and White and appreciate the intrigue of Bob Doerr’s Curiosity Can Kill. In Mike Black’s title, Where Legends Lie, I like the ambiguous “lie.” Does it suggest that you have to search out legends (like “where the truth lies”), or they are they falsehoods? This question was so intriguing I read this excellent page-turner of a book, and the answer is: both.
Dick Belsky’s humorous novels about crime-reporting in New York all signal exactly the world he operates in: Beyond the Headlines, Yesterday’s News, Below the Fold, The Last Scoop. The black and white photos with blood-red titles—Sleepless City and Blind to Midnight—for hardboiled crime writer Reed Farrel Coleman’s new series, convey an ambiguous but distinct sense of menace. A good example of cover elements working together.
I recently reviewed Correction Lines, a nifty thriller by Craig Terlson, whose title referred to (I looked it up) early surveys of the vastness of western Canada. The surveyors soon realized that their longitudinal (north-south) meridians would converge as they neared the north pole, so that truly square sections were impossible to achieve. They needed correction lines. But why this title? Hmmm. I concluded that just as the survey’s meridian lines all converged on a single point, the characters in Terlson’s story all converge on a human nexus named Dave. Like a black hole, Dave draws people and their energy to him, with the ever-present likelihood of destruction. Terlson made me work for this, and, while I’m not sure it’s a title that would have made me pick up the book, now it’s one I’ll never forget.
“You Just Make It Up, Right?”
Just because a work is fiction doesn’t mean it isn’t real. What makes a good author’s work vivid on the page is a lifetime of experience and (pardon the expression) research. Delving into the specifics always stimulates more ideas for me. It isn’t a matter of pasting a random detail (color, sound, smell) on top of an existing person or place or thing. Readers can spot cosmetic work a mile away. Details have to be significant, which generally suggests avoiding a big pile of them. The significant gets lost. My writing coach loved the description she’d read about an old house with “a fungal green paint job.” That word “fungal” carries a lot of freight.
Details also ground a story in realistic possibility. They keep readers on the bus. If I need to mention a tree in the yard of a house in Princeton, I know what grows here (weedy locusts, draped in poison ivy). But if the house is in Rome, I have to find out what kinds of trees I’d find there. Then I can write that a patio was “thickly shaded by a fragrant sweet bay tree,” rather than “there was a tree in the yard.” Those telling details bring a story to life. It takes only a few seconds to read those eight words, but it may have taken half an hour to do the research and weigh the arboreal options.
Photo research on places and things is particularly useful. I’ve been to Tarifa, Spain, but when I wanted a character to look over the rooftops of the town’s low whitewashed buildings, across the Mediterranean to northern Morocco, photo research confirmed my memory that it is in fact possible. What’s more, the rooftops inspired an image I could work into the character’s thoughts.
Also, I have city maps of many kinds: police precincts, neighborhood boundaries, building layouts, including floorplans I create, so doors and furniture don’t move around.
Authors of historical fiction, some of whom have developed encyclopedic period knowledge, are masters of specific detail. Alan Furst (Europe in the run-up to World War II) and Patrick O’Brian
(the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars) come to mind. Not only do they get the settings and clothing and historical details correct, their work reflects period-specific changes in speech and language. A teen character from a hundred years ago cannot convincingly say, “Whatever,” and the author cannot just write whatever, either.
For a story told from the point of view of a highly trained fighter pilot, acclaimed author Pinckney Benedict not only read extensively about fighter pilots and how they think, he not only spent hours debriefing a friend who was a Marine Phantom pilot in Vietnam, he went the extra mile, by far. He cobbled together “a convincing flight simulator” in his basement and spent many hours in it, following the flight path of the character in the story. ! No word on how his family reacted to this research project.
I collect my research in a three-ring binder, which includes photos, maps, relevant articles, and details about clues I’ve planted or weapons used. Then, there are thanks-to-the-Internet basics: a calendar for the year the story takes place, the times of sunrise and sunset in the city where it’s set, and the phases of the moon for the appropriate season. My characters cannot enjoy a full moon on Tuesday and another one the following Sunday. This notebook becomes my personal encyclopedia, keeps me consistent, and prevents me from “just making it up.”—Editor
Publishing Tips and Travails
Is Hybrid for You?
Sure you know about commercial publishing with the Big Four; and you know about self-publishing, which for some authors, including me, still sounds like a lot of work. But do you know much about “Hybrid Publishing,” and what it really is? At first blush, hybrid may sound like the worst of both worlds. But not necessarily. A good article about it, which I found again recently, provides much to think about. In the ever-shifting world of book publishing, it’s worth a quick review. The author, Barbara Linn Probst, describes the elements that define the Hybrid model. She says:
- It resembles self-publishing because the author carries the cost and financial risk; thus, it involves an investment of your own capital.
- It resembles traditional publishing because professionals, not you, carry out the tasks required to transform a Word document on your laptop into an object called a book that people can buy and read.
She’s published two books this way and, she bases her conclusions on her own experience, as well as conversations with many other authors and a survey of readers for their views (more than 750 responses). She says that the hybrid model’s biggest advantage seems to be control of the process and the product. The dream of being published by a major house is just a dream for most authors, and her survey showed that the quality of the book, not the imprint, are what make readers give an unknown author a try. Professionalism counts.
The Independent Book Publishers Association has a set of criteria for assessing hybrid publishers and making sure they are reputable. These criteria include whether they maintain editorial and production standards, achieve distribution and sales, and pay a higher-than-standard royalty to authors (who, after all, have already invested). Here are the IBPA’s hybrid publisher guidelines.
As on so many twisting paths to getting a book out, there are suspicious characters in the woods. Some are publishers who claim to have both a traditional and a hybrid arm. They lure authors in to submitting their work under the traditional path, then try to switch them over to the hybrid path where it’s going to cost them. Thus the importance of the guidelines.
Another reason people choose hybrid is time: authors over 50 (I’m laughing at the mirror right now) may not have the time, energy, or desire, to, as Probst says, “embark on the long and highly uncertain path to agented publication. And, getting an agent is no guarantee of being published. Said one writer Probst interviewed, “I’m never going to put myself through that soul-destroying process again.” Nor do some hybrid authors want to take on the many tasks involved in self-publishing. The full article suggests a number of ways to answer the question, Is hybrid worth it? And one of them is, How important is it to you to share your work with the world? For many writers, that is, as the ads say, Priceless.
Listopedia
Here are three lists you may find helpful:
- The reliable source Authors Publish has compiled a list of mystery/crime publishers that accept unagented work. Is there a publisher on that list you should reach out to? https://authorspublish.com/30-mystery-publishers-that-accept-direct-submissions/
- I ran across this list of sites that do book promotion, most of which I’d never heard of. The creator of the list, Lee Hall, is an author who’s used several of them and has created a list of high-medium-low-and-“don’t bother” options. Even if all his advice isn’t on-target for your project, having the list of sites all together in one place may be helpful. https://leehallwriter.com/2021/02/23/a-concise-list-of-book-promotion-sites/
- BuildBookBuzz, a savvy book promotion website run by my friend Sandy Beckwith, recently posted “Eight Tips for Using Email to Announce Your Bundle of Joy” (that is, book). She describes how new book announcements go bad and how they work best. If you have a new book to announce soon, you may want to keep her tips handy. https://buildbookbuzz.com/how-announce-your-book-email-blast/
The Bloom is Off Book Signings
Steve Womack for Killer Nashville says that old reliable promotional tool, the book signing, is not what it used to be. He describes a great book signing event he had at a local indy book store—back in 1990. None he’s had since have been as successful. Exceptions are writing stars and celebrities in general, and writers with a huge (local) following. For one thing, people have other stuff to do. For another, people buy their books places other than book stores, much as authors love them. And, today there are fewer bookstores, which makes competition for signing slots keener among the ones that are left.
Indie-pubbed writers may have a hard time persuading a bookstore to do an event at all. Womack quotes an Irish writer expert on indie publishing who believes “getting out there to press the flesh—book readings and book fairs—are ‘F Tier’ marketing strategies for authors today.” I’ve done five book fairs in the last 18 months, and the greatest value I’ve gotten from them is meeting other writers. Not sales.
Womack’s bottom line is that you should do a book signing for the right reason–that is, to enjoy an evening out with fellow book-lovers. “Then get up the next morning and go back to work.”
Authors Report a Glitch in Amazon Rankings
If you’re running paid promotions of any kind, note that authors are complaining something awry in those mysterious Amazon algorithms. The problem may be affecting not just your book’s Amazon sales rank but also, if you’re running ads, your number of Amazon ad impressions. Amazon’s support team claims to be aware of the problem, but at least at first, provided no official word about addressing it. Learn more via this author thread at KDP’s site.
Editor’s Turn
ALL THE BUZZ: Who knew? Apparently, beekeeping is quite the rage for military veterans and first responders trying to find ways to manage stress. Cipher Brief reports a nationwide program called “Hives for Heroes” with more than 6,500 members. Said CB, “While the thought of messing around with a swarm of bees might at first seem stress inducing – apparently beekeeping actually helps those suffering from PTSD and similar conditions.”
CIA’s FALLEN: When the CIA dedicated the memorial wall at its Langley, Va., headquarters, there were 31 stars engraved on it. Each star symbolized the life of an Agency officer who died in the line of duty. Today, those stars number 140. PBS News Hour recently reported on the power and meaning of the wall by interviewing the artisan responsible for adding new stars to the wall, as well as children of CIA officers killed in Afghanistan and Greece. Says CIA Director Bill Burns, behind each of the stars is “a profound human story.” The PBS video is worth a watch.
The photo at left is “The Long Gray Line” exhibit at the West Point visitors’ center, which combines the annual hat toss of new graduates with graduation photos of key military figures (and WP alums) of the past: (l to r) John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Omar N. Bradley. On the far left (bad photo-framing) is Ulysses S. Grant, not in the picture.