Tag: James Alexander

Conduit: The Surge – 5/11/22

I can’t believe that the release date for my latest book in the Conduit series is so close now!

This book has been a marathon for me to produce. I first released Conduit: The Beginning in 2012. It was my first book and my baby that helped me to discover that writing is something I enjoyed doing and wanted to continue doing. Life got in the way for me and I had to shelve my project for awhile – but the idea didn’t die. I laid out my plans at the time and came back to my series in 2019 with a goal to push my project forward. Here we are, 2022, and my book is finally shipping out to the world.

Conduit: The Surge is a fast paced and fun walk on the dark side. I’m psyched to see one of my first reviews:

“This book was amazing. It had many plot twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat. I read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. The characters were interesting and well fleshed out and he made you care about them. They were very intriguing. The plot was unique and original and I haven’t read a book like this before. It was well written and I totally recommend it if you want an exciting read that will keep you turning the pages. ” – Amazon Reader

This truly encapsulates what I was aiming for. I am so happy to find others gain enjoyment from the time and effort I put into this story. It was a fun story to write and the series will continue.

As celebration of my release of this story, I am discounting Conduit: The Beginning on 5/11 to .99.

I’m also psyched to say that my discount of Conduit: The Beginning will be featured in my first Bookbub promotion on 5/11.

Conduit The Surge

 

Yesterday, I held my first book signing. My local library was kind enough to let me set up a table and meet with folks wanting to hear about the process of traditionally publishing The Choice.

I had some hesitation of doing an event like this. First, many libraries already warned of low turn-outs for author events and pushed back on the idea. Second, what would I talk about? I really didn’t want to read from my story as the basis of my event. I decided to talk about the publishing process itself and talk about my story as it fit with the conversation.

Summarizing the publishing process that I endured was easy as I’ve lived it for the last three years for my book. I have plenty of experience with PowerPoint through the work that I do in my career. I looked back at the timeline and added a diagram of the time it took from inception of idea to the release date of my story. I also had summary of queries from logs I kept so I could provide some counts and various statistics of responses I received.

Practicing my presentation a few times, I had it down pretty well. I didn’t want to spend too long talking as I wanted to sell some books too! I made sure to stop by the library and review where I’d be speaking beforehand so I’d be comfortable with my surroundings. I also took note of what supplies I’d need, such as a folding table. Ahead of my event, I had ordered a poster size version of my cover art from Vistaprint as well as some bookmarks. Finally, I made sure to bring one-dollar bills, change, and a card reader I could plug into my phone so I could accept credit cards. At the end of my talking, I added easily that I have books for sale if anyone has interest as well as a signup sheet for recording e-mail addresses. I was pretty confident I had all I needed; my main concern was the presentation itself and hoping I’d have an audience.

As it turned out, I had some help with wrangling people to come to my signing and I had a nice size audience. The library staff were extremely friendly and the topic of the publishing process was something they were happy to have someone speak about. My major issue turned out to be something I had not considered – isn’t that always the case? People wanted to write checks, and James Alexander is my pen-name. It wasn’t until after someone wrote me a check under my pen-name did I realize I’d have a hard time cashing it so I provided my real name! That will be something I’ll have solved for the next event.

A piece of advice I read about previously and turned out to be the best advice I heard was to make sure someone is available to help by accepting payments. There was a rush at the end of my event where people wanted to talk to me, and others wanted to purchase copies of my story. I had a friend who took over the collection of money and providing books so all I had to do was worry about talking with the audience and signing books.

Key items to bring to bring with you to a book signing:

  • A folding table (an extra table is always a good thing to have!)
  • Your books
  • Pens
  • Bookmarks
  • Candy to hand out or cookies – everyone loves treats!
  • A poster and other marketing items
  • Pamphlets
  • Book holders
  • A friend for helping

I hope this may help anyone thinking of holding a book signing for the first time. Mine turned to be a fun and engaging event that I’d repeat.

I’m very excited to announce that I’m working on creating an audio book version of my latest work, The Choice.

I have never completed an audio book before. I have listened to many and love to listen to a fun book on my drives to work. I’m always impressed at how professional narrators are able to keep listeners engaged and the amount of talent one must have to add another layer of excitement to a novel.

I pondered the idea of an audio book before, but always decided it was too difficult to accomplish. I pictured myself trying to record my own voice – believe me, no one wants that! Luckily, the process has become incredibly easy to understand.

Finding a narrator was a simple process at acx.com, a website operated by Audible. I did not sign up to list my completed work exclusively with Audible, so my audio book will be available at more retailers.

At this time, I’ve heard a twenty minute sample of the book to ensure it was recording as expected. I was blown away by what I heard! I’ve read my story countless times through countless revisions. Hearing the words I’ve read time and time again was a completely new experience – as if my story was new to me. I can’t wait to get the final product which should be ready in mid-October!

Keep watch, I’ll be posting more on this soon!