Schedule Change & a Bit of Catching Up #amwriting

/ Marcia Meara


A Full House in the Little Classroom of the Enterprise Museum
(a restored 1930s schoolhouse that’s utterly charming!)

Good Morning, Everyone! Hope your week has been as eventful and productive as mine, and that you are looking forward to the upcoming one. I know I am! That’s because I’m taking a week off from blogging to focus on the last two chapters of my WIP. Yep. I’m down to the Showdown and Resolution chapters, and very much looking forward to wrapping this long overdue book up. I need to get it “out there” so I can tell the next story rambling around in my head. 

With this in mind, my normal weekly features (#ShareAReviewDay and #FirstLineFriday, along with the less regular #MondayMeme, and #ThorsDaySmiles) will be MIA for a week, but don’t worry. Everything will be back to normal (such as that is around here) by Monday, October 7. While away, I will check in daily, of course, and take care of comments or questions, but mostly, I’ll be buried in the final moments of Rabbit’s latest adventure. I will, of course, update you here as soon as I have this one ready to go. There will be a cover reveal, and I’m even going to get smart and set it up for pre-order. (As soon as I learn how.)

Now, as to the picture at the top of the page, that’s from yesterday’s Autumn Tea at the Enterprise Museum, with a somewhat stern looking me chatting to our guests. Not sure why it looks like I’m scolding them, but I promise, I was merely  giving the group of 35 or so the very first public look at my new cover. (I’ve edited the picture so that I can keep it a surprise from the rest of the world until the “Official Cover Reveal.” But these people have been begging me for weeks and weeks for news on the release, and I figured if I didn’t give them some proof it was actually going to happen, things were going to get ugly. 😀 )

I’ve posted many times over the years about the benefits and sheer pleasure of building a local readership, and I’m doing it again right now. If you haven’t yet found a way to get out and meet your local readers, I hope you’ll consider doing so soon! Things are always in flux in the self-publishing world and marketing techniques and tools change all the time. But the folks in your hometown who read your books–or WOULD if they knew more about you and your work–are a constant. No, you probably won’t gather thousands like you can online, but every single one who has met you, likes you, and enjoys your books is a little advertising machine. And they are ALWAYS there for you.

This works to your benefit in two ways:  First, they tell their friends, neighbors, and family about you and your books, generating more new readers. Mine are so lovely and supportive, they buy my books as Christmas gifts and birthday presents, keeping their purchases going even if they’ve read them all. So while the dollar amounts generated this way are probably not going to reach Amazon figures, it’s a constant trickle that adds up over time. I’ve got folks who return for every talk I give, kind of like my own little groupies, and I love every one of them.

And the second, and even better in some ways, benefit to doing something similar is the lift you get from talking to folks who like you and your work. I have no words (and I’m a pretty wordy person) to describe how inspiring it is to go out and meet readers face to face, no matter how you arrange to do so. I love knowing what they think of my latest book, hearing what they look forward to seeing develop in a series, and knowing which character is their favorite and why. It never fails to lift my spirits and send me home revved up and ready to write.

If you haven’t tried something of this sort, I hope you will. I was lucky to find two beautiful venues (Enterprise Museum and DeBary Hall) where the folks are happy to schedule me pretty much every month, but even if you just wanted to do it a few times a year, it can make a difference. And those local fans are your biggest boosters. 

If you are already doing some local presentations, signings, or shows, let us know what you’ve tried and how it’s working for you. 

The Autumn Tea yesterday was my last event for this year, so I’ll be totally focused on writing and marketing for the next three months, but it was such a delight, the happy feelings will carry me a long way. I sold books, and I sold a ton of raffle tickets for a $100 value Basket of Goodies I put together. And I laughed. A LOT. As did the audience, which is one of the ways I gauge if the event is a success. And best of all, I THINK my first presentation of the new year will be a Book Release party that the director of the museum and I are talking about. Now THAT is exciting! 

One last note. While I won’t be running my usual blog features this week, I will not only be keeping an eye out for anything I need to address, but I’ll still be available by email if any of you need me. (I could no more ignore my email than I could a ringing doorbell!) But in general, I’ll be keeping a low profile until the 30th. Have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you then! 🙂 ❤ 


This Little 1930s schoolhouse was slated to be torn down,
but instead, funds were raised to relocate it and begin restoration.
It is now the very charming Enterprise Museum,
one of my favorite places to visit!

23 thoughts on “Schedule Change & a Bit of Catching Up #amwriting”

    • Thanks, D! I told the folks yesterday that it is NEVER too late to follow a dream deferred, and that they should just DO it. And I also told them that here I am at 75 having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life that didn’t involve my kids or grandkids. I love meeting new readers and making new friends almost as much as I love writing, and it inspires me to keep going as long as I possibly can. And Rabbit is on the way, I promise. Might do a teaser soon, with a wee excerpt from the book. So glad you’re looking forward to it. I asked the folks there who’d read all my books who their favorite character is, and hands down, it was Rabbit. It always is! 😀

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    • Haha, see my response to D., above. Rabbit is always the favorite character when I ask any group of my readers. Second place can be anybody else, but Rabbit always ranks first. 😀 And he’s on the way with his new adventure, I promise. I hope it turns out to be a story readers enjoy, since it took so long to reach the finish line. 😀 I’ll be “writing like the wind” all week, honest! 😀 ❤

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  3. I so agree with this, Marcia! I am going back to Canada and will be doing the same thing to promote my books, especially my latest. I will return to 4 places I have lived before, including my home town to do readings and presentations. It is the best feeling. Sometimes folks from way back, like my first landlady, my daughter’s babysitter and old neighbours, as well as many of my huge family show up. I am so looking forward to it. Have a productive week off. xo

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    • There is nothing like getting a chance to talk to old friends and make new ones, and have people confirming that they love what you’re doing. It’s the best tonic in the world! Hope you have a fabulous time, Darlene, and return home re inspired and ready to get back at it! 🙂 ❤ Folks who haven't tried this yet don't know what they're missing, but I'll try to keep reminding them. 🙂 Just not over this next week. I'll be too busy finishing The Light. 🙂

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    • I know. Caught me at a bad moment, though now and then I give them a hard time, too. I think I was actually talking about the 3 MEN who showed up for the tea. I can almost never talk men into coming, and I’ve finally started letting them know a “tea” is just lunch with pretty cups. I may have been at the “What’s up with that?” part of the routine. 😀 But honestly, I’m never stern with these groups. And never need to be, either. I love them all, and am so grateful that they enjoy coming to visit with me. 😀

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  6. Yesterday at the museum was my time hearing you speak it was wonderful and enlightening. I am looking forward to the book reveal and signing in January when will you be posting your 2020 schedule.

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    • HI, Patt! How LOVELY to see you here today. So glad you stopped by. I had such a wonderful time meeting you and the other attendees yesterday, and I hope to see more of everyone, you included, going forward with next year’s events. I am hoping to figure out at least a tentative event schedule in the next few days. I already know all the dates and can share that any time. I just haven’t decided which programs to rerun where, and which dates will be brand new presentations. Feel free to email me any time, though, about the schedule or anything else you’d like to chat about. My contact info is listed in the black bar under the header photo above.

      In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy your new books. I’ll be very eager to hear what you think. And as scatterbrained as I was yesterday (SO much going on at one time!) I think I remember you telling me that you and your friend (Susan?) belonged to the same book club. Is that right? I’m keeping my fingers crossed your group will pick one of my books for your selection some month!

      Looking forward to seeing you in January, hopefully for that Book Release party. (It will be on January 11, if it’s a go, and I have a feeling it will be.)

      Thanks for stopping by, and do stay in touch! 🙂 ❤

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  7. Have fun running the new book race with, Rabbit, Marcia! 🙂 Love the post and tips (I’m taking them to heart). Have my first event with My Maine scheduled for October 24 and you’ve given me some great ideas for presentation and more. My plan: Reading; Benefits of Poetry for Readers and Writers: Tricks for Finding the Perfect Word: My Maine Mug Giveaway; Book Signing. Will make a PowerPoint presentation. This will be my first event for adults and I’m a nervous wreck. I can speak to kids and their parents for hours; I’m planning to reschedule with this local group for spring. Looking forward to meeting Rabbit (first book on my kindle). Happy Days writing your latest! 🙂 Let me know when you’re ready to launch. I’ll be delighted to help! xo

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    • Don’t be nervous, Bette! At least, not TOO nervous. Adults are exactly the same as kids, only taller! 😀 If you feel a bit daunted, make a joke. You could say something like, “I’m used to speaking to a much younger group, so if I pat you on the head as I pass by, just ignore me.” Or something light like that, maybe. They’ll be on your side in a heartbeat. Another thing I do if I’m feeling a little nervous at the beginning is to find one or two faces in the crowd that seem open and friendly, and start by speaking directly to them. Pretty soon, you’ll be doing that with more and more folks, and then the whole group just becomes a lot of nice individuals. Easy-peasy. I bet you’ll be having fun before you know it, and then the nerves will be history.

      I hope you discover that you really enjoy it, and each one you do gets easier and easier. For me, now, it’s just visiting with friends and sharing some stuff I’ve learned and thought they might like to know about, too. Take good pics and lots of notes, because you WILL think of things you want to do differently in the future. I tweak every program I do, aiming for it to be better the next time. If I see that parts are dragging a bit, they get trimmed. And if people ask questions on areas I didn’t go into much detail on, those get expanded. So it’s a learning experience, as well as being one where you make new friends, contacts, and readers. Can’t wait to hear how it went when you get back. 🙂 ❤

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    • Thanks, Joan! I plan to be pretty much a full-on hermit this week, sitting at the keyboard most of the day, except for when my FitBit alerts me to get up and do my 250 steps. (I can do that in three (inside) circuits of the house, which amounts to about 4 minutes. The FitBit was the best thing I ever did for my health!)

      When I return, I’ll report in as to how it all went.

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  11. You’re rocking Marsh. Between your book signings, your finishing your new release, you don’t need our permission, lol. And I’d be happy to have you over for your booklaunch. ❤

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