I have been extremely remiss in my blog duties. I just finished my new book The Whining Woods. It is a middle grade book and sequel to The Interdimensional Dumpster which was published in 2010. Where has the time gone? I know that I have kept my books top of mind, but while I was writing the sequel, I went into a blogging limbo. I vowed to blog weekly in the past and barely mustered up a few entries over the last few years. This acts as my formal apology and I vow to be more current with my writing adventure. I just updated my website www.rayconnor.com and hope you get the chance to check it out. That's all for today, it's time for bed!

Hi All, I have put off writing the sequel to The Interdimensional Dumpster for too long now. First there was the Holidays, The Superbowl, the summer, the October Snowstorm, and any other lame excuse I could use. Well that's it. I am writing again and need to finish the book. I ran into a few kids Sunday that asked me to hurry up because they are waiting for it. I used to write for just me, but now that the first book was modestly successful, I actually have some fans to please. So that's the end of excuses. I am a writer and I will write. Oh and maybe I'll blog more than once every few months.

It's the reviews that we get from friends that always make us smile, but the one's we get from complete strangers are the one's that make us sit back and evaluate how we actually "perform" as writers. Each time I get a request to post a review or interview, I shudder just a little bit. What if they don't like it? That thought gnaws at each of us no matter how successful we are. I am only an aspiring write with my one book in publication. Luckily I have 11 reviews from various people that actually like it! (At least I know that 11 people have actually read it! The most recent is from Katy Walters of Southern England. She is the author of Phobic Dawn (I highly recommend it) and a sci-fi book reviewer. Here is the link: http://katysreviewsandnews.blogspot.com/

I highly recommend that you check out her blog as well as her book.

Also, if you get a chance, every time you read a book, please reach out to the author through email, Amazon review, or Goodreads and let them know that you appreciate their work.

Kind words go a long way!

It's a little tough working a full-time job, raising a family, writing books, and marketing your books all at the same time. I'm trying to balance all of them and feel a little stressed sometimes. Today's goal is book marketing and book marketing alone! I'm locking myself in the dungeon (an affectionate term for my office) and spending at least 8 hours on growing the following for my book. I just finished building my GoodReads author page and started a book giveaway. I linked to Twitter and now have 556 GoodReads Friends! Not bad for Day One! Next, I am returning the emails of a few PR firms that showed interest in my work. I am holding out hope that the ones that don't charge a huge retainer will actually be succesful and still interested after the initial discussions.

All in all, this author life has been quite a blast. People are starting to stop me in the supermarket and ask me how sales are going. Kids come up to me and say hello, and some of the book signings have been a huge success.

I'm counting on the next blog to have more info on where the book is heading!

Does anyone out there have any marketing suggestions?

I'm heading back to my author life again! It was a tough road through the holidays, but I can devote a few hours a day to writing the sequel to The Interdimensional Dumpster. I have a few chapters in the bag and a few more rummaging around in my brain, so the flow should pick up quickly.

I am also doing a Literacy Night in my hometown elementary school this month. I get to talk to a few hundred kids about the joys of writing and I can't wait!

I also booked a signing on March 22 at Bruce's Browser in Athol, Mass. I can't wait for that one also.

I hope April becomes just as action packed!

The reviews of The Interdimensional Dumpster are starting to roll in and I can say that I am more than happy with the results. Every reviewer so far has recommended my book to kids in their posts on blogs, etc. I would like to thank:

laradunning.wordpress.com (review coming Wednesday)
coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com
www.rachelsbookreviews.com

These are the first three reviews of the book and have all noticed the book for what it is; a fun read for those kids that don't really like reading that much. My goal was to hook them in with the comic book style cover and leave them hooked until the last puctuation mark.

My goal over the next few weeks is to add a page to my website to link all of the reviews. Hopefully, someone out there will notice that the book has mass appeal and will want to back it?

Who knows?

I would like to thank everyone who came out on October 30th for my signing of The Interdimensional Dumpster. I signed over 60 copies of my book and was shocked at the turnout. Family, Friends and Fans showed up at Pam's paperbacks Plus. It was two hours of conversation,revisiting old friendships and forging new ones. The positive feedback on the book made me dedicate more of my time to finishing the second novel in the series. People were telling me to hurry up and finish it! I can't let them down, I am shooting for May 2011 as a release date. Wish me luck and...

Keep reading!

Thanks,

Ray

This Saturday, I'll be signing copies of my book at:

Pam's Paperbacks Plus
85 Post Office Park
Wilbraham, Ma 01095

I'll be there from 10am to noon.

I have no idea what to expect, this being my first official signing. I have 90 books for sale, as well as some t-shirts. The store will handle the sales, all I need to do is smile and sign!

I'll post a recap after it happens.

Stay Tuned!!

Now that my book has been available for a few weeks, I have been hard at work marketing and promoting. I have sent the book to several review sites, and received a positive review from the first one to post it! That's a relief!

My next task is to prepare for my first book signing. It is coming up October 30th and I'm not sure what to expect! I have created the Facebook event, posted on Twitter, and the Book Store is doing an email blast. Whew.

Another positive that has happened is the local media coverage! I have been featured on the front page of my local newspaper.

This journey has been great and I wish everyone could experience the feeling of seeing your book in print.

Now, I need to work on Book 2!

On Friday, September 10th, I received the first actual copies of my book. 25 of them, all looking as pretty as the first. The even bigger day was Saturday, the 11th. The Interdumensional Dumpster showed up on Amazon, both as a book and as a Kindle version. 14 years finally paid off. Of course, I gave a copy to my parents and my grandmother, but plan on sending most of the others out for reviews. Day one netted me 3 copies of the book and 2 copies of the Kindle. Woohoo, five people bought it! Thank you to whoever you are!

Do those darn Apple people have me over a barrel? Or do I need to find someone who actually owns a Mac to help me? Oh well, a new quest has begun...

I just approved the proofs for The Interdimensional Dumpster today. I am so excited that it should be available in the next week or so. Additionally, I uploaded the Kindle version today also. Launched the Facebook fan page today and got 25 in the first four hours. The pudding is just something that would be really tasty right now!

It looks like the Final edit is done. There will be a few day wait however, since I applied for cataloging in the Library of Congress. It should take about one week. This gives me some time to rest before I start up the marketing machine!

I just sent the re-edit in. Thanks to my great wife for reading and re-reading the book with me, looking for spacing issues and the like. I just resent the files and hope to have new proofs this week.
Now to start on the Kindle version!

I had to resubmit my cover a 3rd time. I now know the difference between picas and inches. InDesign was set in picas as a default. My actual size of my cover was shrunk down to 3" x 3"! Hopefully, this is the last fix!

Had to reformat the cover 2 more times over the last two days. It was just a smidge too small according to CreateSpace. I also added a Publishing company.
How does DumpsterGold Publishing sound?

I just submitted The Interdimensional Dumpster to CreateSpace for verification. I should be able to order a proof copy in the next day or two. I am so excited to actually finish the project!

Stay tuned for details on how to order the book!

I received a final copy of the cover from Marc last night. It looks awesome! I just asked for a teeny tweak and hope to have it back any day. Then the formatting begins. I'll have to upload the book to LULU and then check it out page by page to make sure I used the "white space" properly. I hope to have a sample copy next week.

I emailed back and forth with cover artist Marc Lapierre last night. He is putting the finishing touches on the cover. Titles and Credits. He asked me if I was able to do it. I sent him back a copy of what it would look like if I did it. Not good!

As I learn more about the book business, the more I discover on how hard it is for an unpublished author to even get soemone to look at their work. The economy and decline in printed book sales has everyone in the publishing industry running for cover. No one is willing to take a chance anymore. This is most likely contributing to the decline of their industry. Thankfully the self publishing revolution is here. This way the readers decide what they want to buy, not people in board rooms. Long live the revolution!

I'm getting closer to actually dropping this book on the world. Each day closer seems like it get's farther away. I hope to have it almost finished by 8/14 and don the publisher hat on the 15th. Stay tuned!!!

P-day is almost upon me. I hope to have a proof copy back of my book by mid August. Once that comes back, I can release The Interdimensional Dumpster upon the world. Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, even itunes. Look out world!

Tonight I am sending in my copyright application. It can now be done electronically through the Library of Congress. Imagine that, my book in the Library of Congress!!??

I am shooting for August 21st as the publishing date. I am on vacation from my "Real" job that week and will put on my author hat to get this thing finished. I say "Real" job because that's the one that actually pays me!