SIGNINGS AND READINGS AND LECTURES, OH MY!

I am an introvert. There, I said it. I've always been this way -- quiet, reflective, not social. However, I greatly enjoy talking about writing, books, and being an author; therefore, I don't dread personal appearances as much as some writers.

Now, with three books under my belt, I have a little bit of experience with book signings, readings, and presentations. And I've decided to focus on the latter two of these three types of appearances. Some authors, I know, have had great success at signings and, from what I've observed, this success seems to be proportional to how outgoing they are at their signings. They address people as they enter the store or wander through the store, approaching and engaging potential readers. I find this extremely daunting. When I am shopping -- for books or anything else -- I need my space and time to think. If I would approach a customer, I'd be afraid I would be bothering them. So at my signings, I'm friendly and say hello to people if they look my way and I engage in conversation if they approach me, but I don't go out of my way.

And then there is the whole signature thing. Really, how much is my name in their book really worth? I'm guessing very, very little. So I like to add value to my appearances. Readings and presentations give me a chance to provide my potential readers with value. They are events, enjoyable and worth something in their own rights, even if no books are sold. After listening to me for a few minutes, perhaps the next time they see my book, they'll be more inclined to buy. Plus, I simply enjoy the readings and presentations a lot more than standing around for a couple of hours trying to talk to people I don't know.

My reading or presentation provides a jumping point for engagement. By the time we get to the Q & A, my mind is focused and primed to talk comfortably and somewhat-intelligently about books, writing, and authorship. It's the same thing during mingling after the main event -- a common ground between the audience members and myself is built in.

So it's no more strictly-book-signings for me, but bring on the readings and presentations.

Click here to see where you can catch me next!

GETTING THERE: THE ROLE OF RESEARCH FOR READERS

One of the questions I’m usually asked when I talk about my novel, Missing Emily: Croatian LifeLetters, is “Have you ever been to Croatia?” I have never been to Croatia. But I found photos of the area of the country in which my story took place and used those while writing. I also have a good friend from Croatia who I spent several afternoons with talking about Croatia and her experience during the civil war there in the early 1990s. With her permission, many of the descriptions and storylines from Nada’s story came directly from her.

With a story like Missing Emily, it is probably quite obvious that at least some degree of research was involved. But what some readers may not realize is that there is some degree of research involved in every book, even poetry collections. For example, I wrote the vast majority of poems in Crush and Other Love Poems for Girls while I was a teen or pre-teen (although they went through extensive revision before going into the book). To find the poems, I went back to my writings and journals from that period of my life and harvested the poems I’d written at that time. I also went to the bookstore to see if there were any poetry books for pre-teen and teen girls; finding none, I went ahead with the idea.

I completed similar research for my most recent poetry collection, The Other Side of Crazy. When I journal, I often simply write down whatever comes into my head, sometimes without even realizing the words have any meaning. I also write down snippets – one or two poetic lines. When I was putting together the initial poems for that collection, I reread my journals to look for material. I had some poems that were poems I wanted to include, but I also found poems. Some of them resulted from the random musings I didn’t find any meaning in until I went back and reviewed them. Some of them were spurred by the snippets, either into their own poems or combined into a poem.

My current project, a novel, is another in which the presence of research will be obvious. It is set in 1859 to 1861, Camanche, Iowa. Though I grew up in Camanche, I had to research to take it back in time. I’ve completed extensive historical research through books, newspapers, and the internet, covering Camanche, specifically, but the time period and Iowa generally as well. I also completed character research wherein I searched for and found old photographs of each of my main characters. They are on a magnet board in front of me so as I’m writing, I can always keep their appearances in mind.

I also recently took a “walk the ground” trip. I went to Camanche, parked, and walked nearly five miles over all the areas where my characters would have walked. I had a map of as near to the time period as I could find and superimposed the current street names and landmarks. I took photos and many notes, finding the exact spot of my main character’s home and the places she frequented. This research is invaluable because now, when I write, the setting is crystal clear in my mind.

When you talk to authors, you will likely find that in addition to enjoying words, writing, and stories, they also enjoy research. As you read, try to think of some ways in which research may have been needed to create the book. With a well-crafted book, it may not be obvious because the research will be weaved in with the story so well, it might seem as if the author had been there. But they may not have; it may just be a result of extensive and quality research.

CRAZY IF FREE

My poetry collection, The Other Side of Crazy, is free (regular price: $2.99) as a Kindle ebook through Monday, November 4th. Just click here to get it.

The Other Side of Crazy was published in September of this year by 918studio. It contains poems exploring the craziness of (my) modern-day life. Most of them would be considered free verse; some rhyme and some don't.


Here are a couple of samples:

THE ØTHER SIDE OF CRAZY
Peddle down the street
Past salted pines
And peppered roofs.
Across the grey creek
And web of
Winged warlocks.
Over mountains
Of mayhem
Through the valley
Of vulnerability
​Past the field of
Withered dew
​.…

UNHINGED
Insanity of humanity
Bears down on my livid soul.
Creator of humility
Crowds the hardened battered toll.
Sweetened revenge of lunacy
Steels a sacred living heart,
…

To read more samples, click here.

Enjoy!

REMEMBERING A CHUCKLE ON A HOT DAY

Welcome to my new author blog! I am in the process of officially splitting my two personalities: Jodie Toohey the Wordsy Woman and Jodie Toohey the author. While I'm working on the split and getting this new blog up and running, I will share some of the posts I initially posted on my Wordsy Woman blog that I feel may be more pertinent to those who may read this blog as a reader or as someone in any way interested in my author persona. As time passes, I will be transitioning the Wordsy Woman blog to focus strictly on words and writing related to business and marketing. This author blog will focus on my poetry and novel writing endeavors as well as living the "writer's life." I hope you'll grant me your patience as  I make this transition. In the end, I hope it will work to serve my audiences better.

From July 7, 2012:

At least a year or a couple of years ago now, I don't remember where we were, what we are doing, or what show it was on, but my kids and I saw one of those funny-picture or funny-ad segments about this furniture company called "Sofa King." It showed an ad that said something like "Shop Sofa King where the prices are Sofa King low." (A Google search shows a lot of people have jumped onto the "Sofa King" bandwagon.)

Of course, my kids (and I'll admit it, me) thought this was hilarious. And, of course, they tried to use it as a way to say the f-word without actually saying the f-word. After our initial giggles wore off, my husband and I banned the "Sofa King" proclamations. But, even so long after the initial appearance of this phrase, it comes up every now and then. And it is still as funny as it ever was.

For the past week or so, our temperatures here have been hovering around the 100 degree mark with heat indexes well above that. I cannot even count the number of times I've thought, "It is Sofa King hot!" And then I had a little chuckle and it made me feel a bit better. Go ahead, give it a try!

The moral of the story: read  your writing out loud to make sure your words sound like you want them to sound.

WELCOME

Welcome! I'm currently under construction. More to come soon.