Spring is Springing, Small Press Expo and Some Practical Book Launch Advice

Welcome to Seattle where spring is definitely doing its thing, springing! Those are cherry and magnolia trees in the first picture at one of our local parks (and that’s me after three-and-a-half hours in an overly warm, stuffy doctor’s office downtown – head of rheumatology/immunology this time – determined to get in a little sunlight and flower time before the sun went all the way down!)

So, this weekend we have the small press book festival at Hugo House that I always love to attend, not less this year because several friends will be representing their presses and literary magazines there. See this article for a rundown on the festival and other lit events around Capital Hill this weekend. It is truly the kind of event that makes you realize you’re very lucky to be in a city that loves and supports the arts, but as Hugo House changes – as the article mentions – there’s a big question mark hanging over “where will our arts events happen in 2016?” Things are changing as Seattle and its environs get more overrun, more expensive. (Did I mention I’ve had two bids on two rather modest houses outbid on in the last month, by 25-50K?)

There was a fascinating discussion among some of my writer friends on Facebook this week about how they hated what they had to do to launch a book, book promotion and all that. I’d reproduce it for you, but I’d say the majority of the responses were something along the lines of “everyone doesn’t like it, but you do it to share the work that you’ve put a lot of time and effort into and to support the press that published you.” It was interesting to me how many poets – and I’m a little ashamed to say myself included – are perfectly confident about their writing, but when it comes to doing a little book promotion, feel somehow dirty or ashamed.

Since I am in the process right now of launching my fourth poetry book, this left me with some questions. Was I doing enough? What kinds of things should I be doing? I sent out a press release about the April 16 Seattle Book Launch and Reception, who knows if the local press will cover it or not. Glenn and I put up a few flyers for the event, too, and I’ve e-mailed local friends about it. If you’ve been reading the blog the last few months, you might have seen this post too, discussing book promotion. (PS: I’m not going to AWP this year, as I mention we should in the list, but if you are, stop by the Mayapple Press table for a fresh copy of The Robot Scientist’s Daughter!)

Anyway, some practical advice on your book launch from Kelly Davio. Here’s “Things I Wish I Had Known Before My Book Came Out,” Part I and Part II. Part II was extremely interesting to me as I’d never thought of cold-calling bookstores to ask them to stock my book. I mean, I may have asked people I’d already known at bookstores I was already familiar with, but I’ve never done it as she suggests, with a sell-sheet. Since one of the big barriers to poetry sales is not having your book on the shelves, that’s a great idea, even if it sounds like it might be tough. (Some bookstores are more friendly to adding local poets to its shelves than others. Some will do it on consignment, where I’ve typically lost money because of the cost of author copies, sigh, but maybe that’s better than nothing?)

Anyway, these kinds of posts help me think in a new way about what I should and shouldn’t be doing in the next two weeks before the Seattle book launch. Probably arrange some more readings, maybe cold call some bookstores? You do have to pace yourself a bit as you can burn out before the book has really even been out very long! Poetry book sales are usually a slower burn than fiction, so don’t fret if you don’t sell two hundred copies the first weekend or anything.