What Happened When I Took My Indie Witch Novel to the American Library Association
When To Rescue a Witch became a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, I received an invitation to attend the American Library Association conference in San Diego for an author signing. As an indie author writing dark historical fiction about witches, Scotland, and survival in the 18th century, I walked into one of the biggest literary conferences in the country with a giddy grin and thought, “These are my people.”
I know. I’m a geek girl. And it was AWESOME to be surrounded by so many people who also love reading (and writing) books. It was a team effort (my family) to try to get my little book in front of the larger world.
Excitement of Being an Indie Book Award Finalist
Like many writers (and, let’s face it, like many people) I tend to be a little neurotic. Did you…like my writing? (Gulp, hold breath, say a silent prayer in the silence before you answer.) For this reason, it gave me validation that someone other than my best friend liked the book. Now when people ask me about my book, I can hide behind the shiny gold star on my book cover and say, “They liked it, too!”
Back in January, I applied and crossed my fingers. Once I was notified in May (on my daughter’s graduation day) it really helped me feel like I was on the correct path to follow my creative passions and go for it. There aren’t too many awards open to indie authors, so it helps establish to readers that the story is worth reading. It also helps professionally because it demonstrates to book stores, libraries, and book clubs that I take the craft seriously.
Preparing for the ALA Conference
Headline Books reached out to me for the book signing opportunity and Cathy Teets did an amazing job of guiding me through the process of going to my first library conference. The event had over 13,000 people and was held at the San Diego Convention Center.
We had to bring 15-20 books (I brought 20 plus 2 extra just to have on hand,) and any marketing materials we had. Ask me what marketing materials I had.
None.
Until… My daughter designed bookmarks with the cover and a QR code linking to my Amazon order page, and I ordered 500. I also ordered about 250 business cards and made up a one page summary of my talk “Spells, Secrets and History – The World of To Rescue a Witch,” for anyone looking for an interesting Halloween event for teens and adults.
Packing was a little nerve wracking. Everything had to fit in a carry on, because if my luggage (i.e. – my books) got lost I’d be in deep trouble. My goals for the conference were:
- Sell out all 20 books
- Spread the word to potential readers
- Network with authors and librarians to learn more about the publishing process
My Secret Weapon
