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Matthew Peterson
Upcoming Events
June 28, 2008
New York Book Festival
I'll have a Booth
Aug 6 -10, 2008
World Science Fiction Convention
I'll be presenting in a PR panel
Oct 30 - Nov 2, 2008
The World Fantasy Convention
Calgary, Canada
Website Links
Home Page
www.ParaWorlds.com
Forum
www.ParaWorlds.net
MySpace
www.MySpace.com/pworlds |
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Hello! Summer is officially here! I was able to get a few school visits in at the last minute, plus I have some great news regarding Paraworld Zero. I'm also doing a contest (see the end of this newsletter). |
| The Status of Paraworld Zero |
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Paraworld Zero became a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards! This news came just at the right time: a few days before I went to the BookExpo America. So now Paraworld Zero has some clout in the awards arena as well as the bestselling arena. I'm very pleased with my debut novel.
I got a couple of emails this week from a Croatian publisher as well as an agent from Korea (they're both excited for my book). The Korean agent has already translated part of Paraworld Zero, so they can shop it around the Korean market. Nice!
Promotional Tips: Normally the publisher submits books to contests. Since my publisher wasn't going to do that, I took it upon myself to send out books. So far, I've been honored from 2 out of the 3 contests I've entered, so I will probably enter some more. My tip is to make sure you announce your contest winnings in a press release, newsletter, blog, website, etc. I can't tell you how many book buyers suddenly perked up at the BookExpo America when I mentioned that my book was a finalist. Contests normally cost money to enter, so beware of the costs. |
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I just got back from the BookExpo America, and my life has been changed. I have a huge announcement that I'll wait until next month to tell you about. I had some truly wonderful experiences in Los Angeles. Several movie producers took my book, including a talent agency who tries to get books into movies. Publishers from India and Canada made strong offers, and a bunch of ebook and audio publishers showed a lot of enthusiasm for Paraworld Zero (two of them, including Sony, have already emailed me contracts). I ended up giving away 400 books and 400 sample audiobooks! Check out the picture to the left. That's my booth. Pretty snazzy, huh?
For those of you who don't know what the BookExpo America is, it's an event where everyone who's anyone in American publishing shows up to mingle and talk about books. Lots of celebrities were there, including Barbara Walters, Christopher Paolini, and Ray Bradbury. Three agents asked for a copy of my book and an affiliate of Disney even got a copy (they're thinking of opening up a YA line of books). My big tagline that drew a lot of attention was "Paraworld Zero is like Harry Potter meets Star Wars!"
Now, I just have to cross my fingers and hope that people will actually follow up with me. I have a stack of business cards that I still haven't gone through yet. I got invited to visit some schools and to be on some radio stations. The eBooks acquisitions director for Sony really liked my book, so she contacted Richard Curtis for me. Richard is a popular literary agent. His assistant is trying to schedule a time for me to speak with him this week. Another agent called me "a publisher's dream," so I'm hoping she'll contact me soon as well.
BEA Tip: The BookExpo America isn't for the normal public. If you're associated somehow with the book industry (i.e. librarian, media, publisher, bookseller, author, etc.) then you're welcome to come. I saw lots of unpublished authors there, though. The BEA is a good place to rub shoulders with famous people. One tip is that you have to come early and get tickets for the big authors if you want to see them. I was told not to expect any offers from publishers, but I ended up getting two right there at the event, but I think that's uncommon. I wasn't able to leave my booth the whole time because the person who was going to come with me bailed out; however, I was told by several new authors that the publishers didn't really want to talk to them anyway. Large publishers are more interested in the booksellers, media, and distributors. |
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In May, I did my first library visit in Arizona and did another book tour in Utah (the picture to the left is my billboard on the highway in front of UVSC -- a college). This time I visited a couple of schools and did a couple of book signings at Borders and Barnes & Noble. The B&N only had five books on hand, so I just left after selling them. I hope they get more in stock. The Borders only had two books left when I was finished with that signing. The school visits were fun, especially since most of the kids were familiar with my book when I got there. Two different newspaper reporters interviewed me at one of the schools. I added a new "School / Library" section to my website with several videos of my presentation. Check out www.ParaWorlds.com/visits to see the videos.
Tips on getting an author to visit and making the visit worth while: A lot of schools and libraries would like an author to visit but don't know how to get one. There are some websites out there that show many author's fee schedules, but you normally need to go to the author's website. I'm willing to travel, but not every author is willing to do that. The trick is to schedule them early. I've learned from experience that to have a good author visit, you need to prepare the kids as well. You do that by giving away bookmarks, posting up flyers, announcing the event in a newsletter, radio, school TV, or newspaper. Also, a pre-order form is a great way to get more interest. Before a visit, I send out hundreds of audiobook sampler CDs, which increases the pre-orders as well as the excitement for when I come. |
| Contest for an Audiobook... |
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Am I a broken record? The audiobook was delayed... again, but it will be finished soon (life just keeps getting in the way). I'm still taking pre-orders at http://paraworlds.com/sample/ and I'm also going to do the following contest: The first 5 people who write a nice online review (check out www.ParaWorlds.com/reviews for a list of review sites) for Paraworld Zero and then posts their review on my message board ( www.paraworlds.net ) will get a complementary audiobook. Don't post your address on the message board. I'll contact you privately for that info. This contest will last until the next newsletter, so get going!
P.S. My baby (the one who had heart surgery) is going to the hospital for three (maybe four) procedures this week. Keep him in your thoughts/prayers! Thanks! | |