Running with a Sharp review

Look, ma, I’m 44, and I’m running like a giddy kid with a Sharp review in my hand.

Okay, so maybe that’s not as dangerous as running with scissors. But it sure feels good.

Let me take a step back and explain a bit first. Sharp is Linda Sharp, the self-described “head nut” at SanityCentral.com, a parental humor Web site. SanityCentral is home to my DadLibs column.

A while back Linda offered to review my book. There’s a theory in the book business that any words about your book – even bad ones – are better than none at all. So you never turn down any potential PR for your book.

Still, you always submit review copies with a bit of trepidation. Bad reviews are difficult to digest. And I must admit to the greater-than-normal amount of anxiety I had about giving my book to Linda for review, which I guess was attributable to the fact that my book is worlds apart from the writings I submit to SanityCentral.

As it turns out, my natural writer’s angst was, in the words of Shakespeare, much ado about nothing. There are good reviews and then there are reviews that are just perfect. This one falls into the latter category. It strikes just the right tone. It reads as authentic and genuine, not like it was churned out of review factory.

Read the review here. And then order Linda’s newly released book, Femail: A Comic Collision in Cyberspace, which she wrote in collaboration with fellow SanityCentral columnist Shana McLean Moore. I just ordered my copy the other day and can’t wait to read it.

Here’s a description of Linda’s book:

Sex may take place in The City, but there's plenty of sass in the suburbs. While Linda Sharp and Shana Moore might cop to being housewives, these gals are far from desperate. Rather than finding their thrills with a pool boy, Sharp and Moore delight in taking the head-splitting struggles all women experience, and making you laugh until your sides have busted their seams.
Linda and Shana tell it like you've experienced it...only this time around it's funny. Their flat out honest portrayals of PMS and unearned sweat; puppies and grown women who piddle; sagging breasts and husbands who often act like boobs, will leave you smiling, and feeling less alone in your leaky rowboat.

Husbands who often act like boobs? Hey, did she contact my wife as a source for her book?

Blogging to that disco beat

I'm back.

I know, you didn't even have time to miss me. Kind of like disco.

After pondering for a few days, I've decided to keep this blog alive. 

I appreciate the e-mails and public comments that I've gotten. Your support means the world to me. It's humbling that people actually taken the time to read what I've written and that there are at least some out there who seem to get something out of my words.

But ultimately I'm doing this for me. Even if no one was reading this blog, I don't think I could kill it. A piece of me would die with it, and it's a piece that I'm not ready to give up.

So while I may not be blogging as often as I have in the past, I'm going to take Dave C.'s advice and come here whenever I feel the time is right for me. In keeping with the disco beat, I'm Stayin' Alive.

Oftentimes you wonder if anyone is paying attention out there. When you market a book (or Do the Hustle), you sometimes feel as if you're screaming and shouting to yourself.

But then someone does take notice. And it makes all that screaming and shouting worthwhile.

Case in point: Chicago librarian Alice Maggio writes the wonderful Ask the Librarian column for Gapers Block, a hip Chicago web publication providing information about news and events around town.

On Thanksgiving Day, Maggio posted her 2005 Chicago Books in Review: Fiction column featuring a selection of new novels and short-story collections by authors who have "some significant past or present connection to the Windy City."

On the list are books published this year from some of Chicago's literary giants including Scott Turow and Sara Paretsky. There are also new releases from some of the town's rising stars: Audrey Niffenegger, Adam Langer, Kevin Guilfoile and David Ellis.

And then there's me. The answer to the question, "Which one doesn't belong?"

How I made Maggio's list, I have no idea. But it's nice to be there. And to know that my screams and shouts do occasionally get heard.

So now it's time to put on that three-piece suit, the gold jewelry and my-my-my-my-my-my my Boogie Shoes. 

Sorry it's too late for mercy killings. This blog is going to keep on dancing to it's own funky beat.

And then there were none

And then there were none.

No book signings. No radio interviews. Nothing.

I just cleaned up my Appearances page and it's clear for the next two months. Insert heavy sigh of relief.

A little over two months ago I embarked on a journey like none I've ever taken before. With book in hand, I traveled, in order of appearance, to the following places: Evanston, Ill., Rockford, Ill., Joliet, Ill., Winnetka, Ill., Milwaukee, Wisc., Waynesboro, Va., Washington, D.C., Glen Ellyn, Ill., and, last but not least, Chicago, Ill.

During that period, I also appeared as a guest on radio shows in New York and Wisconsin and on two Internet radio programs. Stories about or reviews of my book appeared in The Star newspapers, The Times of Northwest Indiana, The Evanston Roundtable, The Chicago Writer's Association's Clarion, New Mystery Reader Magazine, Book Review Cafe, AllBooks Review and the Murder and Mayhem Bookclub.

All in a little over two months.

On a crisp, clear Saturday in Chicago, just before the annual Festival of Lights parade marched down Chicago's Michigan Avenue, I made my final stop in an equally exhausting and exhilarating mini-book tour at the Illinois Woman's Press Association (IWPA) Book Fair at the Chicago Cultural Center. I couldn't have asked for a better place to close the book on my little adventure. Not only did I meet some fellow up-and-coming local authors like Joanne Stone-Geier (Launch It! How to Turn Good Ideas Into Products That Sell), Dan McGuire (Now, When I Was a Kid),  Marion E. Gold (Top Cops: Profiles of Women in Command), and Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas, but I also got my five minutes on the stage: interviewed by WBEZ news correspondent Diantha Parker. And for the second weekend in a row, I nearly sold out of books. How's that for an ending? Many thanks to the IWPA and to the friendly volunteers at The Cultural Center. They put on a great show and I thank them all for allowing me to be a part of it.

So where do I go from here?

That's a loaded question to ask on this, my 44th birthday (please buy a book in lieu of gifts). As I mentioned, this was a tiring two months. Trying to juggle a job, family life and book promotion is a little like being ringmaster of a three-ring circus. Right now, I'm ready to return to two rings for at least a little while.

Selling books, I learned, is hard work. And although I may have the instincts for it, I don't know if I have the will.

Often I'm asked if I've tried this or done that in order to get my book out there (please no more suggestions about sending my book to Oprah or to the Chicago Cubs organization).

Many of the things that have been suggested I have actually done (excluding Oprah) in some form or another. Regarding the Cubs, I sent my book to Ron Santo c/o WGN and to VineLine, the official publication of the Cubs. I never heard anything from either of them. 

Others to whom I've mailed copies: Mark Grace c/o the Arizona Diamondbacks; Lin Brehmer, morning personality on WXRT; and actor John Cusack. I'm still waiting to hear from all of them.

If it was within the realm of possibility, however remote, I gave it the old college try.

There are many impenentrable forces out there keeping a book like mine from being more widely distributed and read. Book publishing is a tough business. Never forget that it is, first and foremost, a business.

I never went into any of this with any great expectations, so I can't be disappointed. Considering what I was up against, I think I did the best that I could.

Now, for the most part, I'm done. Sure if something great comes along, I'll take it. Yes, Mr. Cusack, I'm still open to the idea of turning my book into a movie. Just waiting for your call.

But I've already turned down or turned away from a couple of potential promotional opportunities. I've told my publicist to shut it down.

I've got other things on my plate that have been put on the backburner for the past few months. I'm ready to move them to the front.

Number one is getting back to novel number two.

Number two is helping my writers' group, the Chicago Writers Association, get its Web site up-and-running. We're hoping to soft launch that in February, and it has the potential to be something truly special.

Number three is possibly shopping a collection of my essays on raising a toddler. I'm open to all offers.

One lingering question is what to do with this blog. I began it as a means of promoting a book. If I'm basically done promoting that book, does that mean that the air to my blog should be cut off?

I've been pondering that one for awhile now, and I'm still not sure how to answer it. If you're still reading, I'd be curious to know what you think. The comments on my blog have slowed considerably in recent weeks, yet readership seems to keep growing. I'm not sure what that means. I guess my instinct is that if it's my goal to eventually have other books published, then I'm going to have to learn to promote myself and this blog is one way to do that. Let me know your thoughts. I don't want to feel like the guest that wouldn't leave the party. If I've worn out my welcome, please tell me.

So what have I learned over the last few months? Here's my serious top 10 list:

1. Selling books is not easy.
2. For the most part, writers/authors are a supportive lot.
3. Don't mistake support for friendship.
4. You will make mistakes.
5. You will usually learn from mistakes.
6. A certain level of elitism unfortunately besets the publishing world.
7. Some doors, no matter how persistently you knock, will always be closed to some.
8. Expect the unexpected. Both good and bad.
9. Take chances.
10. Your family and friends are your greatest support.

One of these days perhaps I'll come up with a not-so-serious top 10 list. But the things I've listed above are things that I think anyone should know before they dive in naked to the publishing world.

I've seen how authors have become businessmen. Selling books becomes a job. That, to me, takes away the fun of writing books. The key, I suppose, is finding a happy medium.

Being the next John Grisham or Dan Brown sounds nice, but I wonder how nice it really is. Do they still enjoy writing? Or are they writing because that's their job. I guess if it's the former, I'd trade places with them in a heartbeat. But if it's the latter, I'll keep my day job. And the best hobby in the world.

City of Chicago gives "Lost" a PR boost (well, sort of)

Google News is an incredible reference source. You can search and browse 4,500 news sources, which are updated continuously.

This morning I did a Google News search of the Illinois Woman's Press Assocation (IWPA) Book Fair, which led to Crain's Chicago Business' "10 things to do this weekend," which led to the Chicago Cultural Center's CityofChicago.org press release for the book fair. And if you look closely enough at the press release, you'll find my name listed among the participating authors.

Just my subtle reminder. The Cultural Center is a great setting and the perfect site to close out my two-monthlong mini-book tour. Come out to see me if you get the chance. It's a great opportunity to get in some early holiday shopping.

Curing a bad case of the Mondays

Got a bad case of the Mondays?

Here's just what the doctor ordered -- a good review of my book, Lost in the Ivy.

Well at least it cured whatever was ailing me.

You might wonder, and rightfully so, how my book, a murder mystery set in and around Chicago's Wrigley Field, came to be reviewed in The Amplifier, South Central Kentucky's Entertainment Monthly.

I wondered the same thing. Turns out that my publicist submitted my book to the Murder and Mayhem Bookclub and from there it ended up in the hands of Kathy Thomason, who, in addition to writing reviews for Murder and Mayhem, writes The Amplifier's Dusty Bookshelf column. A little confusing, I know, but it's all good PR for me and my little book.