Why Can't I Sell My Books?

Why can’t I sell any of my books? They’re original, interesting, people like them, and I get great reviews. But I can’t seem to get my writing noticed.
I don’t need to be on the New York Times Best-Sellers list. I don’t need to become fabulously wealthy. I just need about $1000 a month. I really don’t think I am expecting too much.


Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had stories running around in my head. All the ordinary places and situations I’d encounter seemed like they could have had a much more interesting storyline. Nevertheless, it was only much later in life that I started to put down in words my alternative view of what could be.


As much as I loved inventing people and placing them in whatever universe I chose, I knew writing could not be a career. I was a Flower Child of the 60’s; I needed to save the world. I became an educator, and that is how I have spent my life until about a year ago.


I did really love teaching and probably still do. But I can no longer tolerate all the negatives that go along with the profession. I just want to be happy, and writing makes me happier than anything in whole wide world.


My “professional” writing career started with the advent of the blog. Suddenly, I could tell stories about the people and places I encountered while working and traveling overseas. I added beautiful pictures onto a readymade template and voila, I was a published author. It was a joy to know that anyone in the world could read my words. Now that my name was out there, it gave me new hope that I could succeed as a novelist. I continued to work on my book projects.


My travel writing took a further leap forward when I became a Lonely Planet featured blogger. This lead to writing a few shoe reviews. And last fall I had an article published in a Vietnamese, English language magazine. Aside from a few pairs of shoes, I was not paid for my writing. Still, it made me happy.


I thought my dreams had been answered when print-on-demand, self-publishing, became a viable alternative to stacks of rejection letters. Finally, for a few hundred dollars, I could have copies of my murder mystery in book form, rather than as stack of photo-copied sheets. I eagerly awaited the arrival of the first batch of Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv, completely thrilled with my story, my cover, and the back blurb. I was sure I would be able to at least make back my investment. If everyone I knew in my life bought just one copy, and then told just one friend about it, I’d be on the road to a real career as a writer. That did not work out as planned.


Surely, my paranormal romance, The Curse Breaker of Cairo, would propel me into the ranks of self-employed author. This time there were even more ways to market myself. Following the advice of other independent authors, I joined twitter, (not that I really get it), and I contacted numerous paranormal romance sites. I sent out a bunch of books to folks who were interested in reading and reviewing both of my works. I did a giveaway on GoodReads and was ecstatic when over 1000 people entered the contest. I eagerly sent out ten books to the winners and waited by my laptop to read their ratings and reviews. Out of all the many books I have given away over the past seven or eight months, only two people have written reviews.


I’ve contacted local, independent bookstores and several agreed to take a few copies. I went by a Barnes and Noble and pitched my book to the head buyer. Although she was quite impressed with my product and was sure it would sell, they were not able to carry print-on-demand books. And last week I sat outside a coffee shop in a trendy neighborhood shopping area, box of books and sign by my side, hoping to get a few sales. Only one person even talked to me.


So what do I do, world? I worry that my travel writing has fallen by the wayside since I have been stuck in the US for nearly a year. Then again, that shouldn’t bother me since it never did generate any money and really hasn’t furthered my writing career. In fact, more people are now accessing my blog for the photos than the writing. Should I switch to photography? I keep writing, of course, but soon that will not be enough. Working full time on stories and marketing sounds noble, but it doesn’t pay the bills.

I will try to continue to believe in the stories I invent and in my ability to carry readers away to a world outside of their own. I will persevere in my marketing tactics even if they often seem pointless. I will flood the universe with positive thoughts and visions of my books on shelves throughout the land.
I haven't yet given up.

Kate

Curse Breaker 5 Star Review

Lynn Farris, of Mystery Book Examiner, recently posted a review of The Curse Breaker of Cairo. Here it is:

I’ll admit to being a little bit skeptical about reading “The Curse Breaker of Cairo” by Kate McVaugh due to the fact that it is a Paranormal Mystery/Romance. However, I had loved Kate’s writing in her first mystery, “Murder, Jaz and Tel Aviv”, so I thought I would give it a try.



The story takes place in Cairo at Club Cairene where a curse is killing people, especially the musicians. Tangerine has been hired to break the curse. Her first step is to investigate the curse and in so doing ends up traveling throughout Cairo. She meets two very interesting men along the way. She also learns more about the ancient Gods of Egypt.


“The Curse Breaker of Cairo,” grabbed my attention immediately and held it throughout the entire novel. Maybe it was somewhat due to the steamy sex. Yes, this is an R-rated book. But the main reason I was enthralled was due to Kate McVaugh’s brilliant storytelling ability. She is adroit at foreign settings, offering an excellent balance by telling you just enough to fascinate you – without sounding like a travelogue and boring you. She handled the Egyptian Gods in the same manner.

I’ve never read a paranormal story before – but I was buying into the story. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a poet and philosopher stated that if a writer could infuse a “human interest and a semblance of truth” into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Kate McVaugh has done just that – she has succeeded in my suspension of disbelief in this paranormal story.



Five Stars out of Five.

Thank you Lynn for such a lovely review!

Jambu Shoe Review

Click here for my lateset review for Jambu Shoes.

The Curse Breaker of Cairo

The Curse Breaker of Cairo, my new paranormal romance, will soon be available on Amazon. (Both in paperback & Kindle.)

From the back cover:

There’s a curse at Club Cairene and it’s killing people. Tangerine, the renowned Freelance Curse Breaker, is in Cairo to sort it out. What at first appears to be just another routine job quickly becomes more complicated and more dangerous than even she had ever expected. Unfamiliar earth energies and shadowy characters block her every attempt to combat the curse.


And then there’s that strikingly handsome man seen leaving the club after the latest victim falls prey to the curse. Tangerine cannot understand the peculiar sensual tingling that ripples through her body when he gazes into her eyes. Curse breakers don’t have to deal with purveyors of sexual energy, do they?

With the help of Club Cairene owner Leila, Tangerine sets off through the neighborhoods of exotic Cairo to track the origins of the curse and figure out a way to disarm it. Also on her agenda is hunting down that very attractive, and possibly very evil, man.

Could the answer be found within the walls of the Cairo Museum? Or in a more pedestrian locale like a coffee shop? Where ever the solution lies, Tangerine must act quickly before the curse destroys a great deal more than just Club Cairene and the people around it.



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Release updates will be posted
Kate

Mystery Books 5 Star Review

"For me, there isn’t anything much better than combining a mystery with exotic travel.  “Murder, Jaz and Tel Aviv” by Kate McVaugh offers a fascinating story of a young single woman from the United States living in Tel Aviv."

So starts the review by Lynn Farris of Mystery Books Examiner. She goes on to say,

"I strongly recommend this book. It is fast paced and full of romance and intrigue. I really enjoyed learning more about Tel Aviv and the culture there. Reading about the difficulty that one faces not knowing the language or the culture and trying to survive is always fascinating. The book would have been wonderful even without the intriguing mystery. I am hoping that Jaz reappears in a series as she is a compelling character."

Read Lynn's full review at: http://exm.nr/pm1Njw
Follow her on twitter @MysteryReview

Thank you Lynn for the wonderful review!

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv  is available from Amazon on Kindle  for $.99.

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary

On the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, I was asked to submit a story of my experiences to the Monterey Institute of International Studies where I had done a graduate degree upon my return from the PC.

I served in the Peace Corps at a time that no longer exists. In the late 70’s, there was no internet, no CNN. Telephones were not standard apartment equipment and overseas calls, made from an office at the phone company, were prohibitively expensive. If friends or family did write, it could take months for a letter to arrive. International and US news was limited to the weekly Time magazines that were delivered to the Peace Corps offices. Often they did not turn up, or had pages blacked out by the censors. For all these little things that I could now not live without, I am eternally grateful they were not around when I was a volunteer in Brazil.

Those of us who served before modern technology arrived learned what it was to be completely immersed in a new culture where almost no one spoke English. We learned the language and customs of our host nations. We forged friendships with colleagues and neighbors. We grew accustomed to the lack of supermarkets and department stores and got along perfectly well with very limited consumer goods.

Serving in Brazil meant that I became an ardent fan of The Beautiful Game: football/soccer. I learned how to samba and make Carnaval attire. I dove into the magnificent rhythms and melodies of Brazilian music which I still consider to be some of the best in the world.

Although I entered the graduate program of education at MIIS the year before an MA in TESOL became a degree program I, nevertheless, fell into that field. I have been a TESOL/TEFL educator in many countries around the world as well as in public education in California. And now, after over thirty years as an educator, I have left the profession to devote my time to writing.

I write stories about the places I have lived and the people I have met. I write fiction that takes place in foreign lands.

The Peace Corps and Brazil will always remain as an incredibly important part of my life. I came away from my time as a volunteer with much more than I ever gave. I believe that the lessons learned in relation to communication, understanding, and life in a different culture, have greatly enriched my life. Further, it sent me on an insatiable quest for knowledge of other lands and people. It is my hope that this, in some way, has helped  me to become a better person and perhaps to have been able to pass on some of what I have learned.

Kate
PCV Brazil 77-79

Jaz's Tel Aviv Tale

I'm at it again - trying to promote my mystery, Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv.
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Published through CreateSpace 2 years ago,  It's now been Kindle-ized and available for $.99.  It's funny, it's a quick read, and it gives you a taste of life in Tel Aviv, which is one heck of a great city.
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From the back cover:
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Ahhh…Tel Aviv in the summer: hot sun, beautiful beaches and a popping nightlife! Just the answer to Jazmine's dead-end life as an English teacher in cold and foggy San Francisco. Cousin Sara, up on the kibbutz, is thrilled to hear that Jaz has finally decided to give Israel a chance and plans for her arrival. But since kibbutz living might entail living in tents and washing her own clothes, Jaz opts to try and find work in Tel Aviv. Before long she gets her first private student and is on the road to living the life. Or at least she thought she was.
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A dead student? The mob? A cute cop? The CIA? Or is it the Mossad? Jaz finds herself in an insane world being interrogated by the police and assaulted by strangers, all of who seem to think she knows something she doesn’t, and all of it in a language she doesn’t understand even when they speak English.
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Frantic calls from Cousin Sara, faxes from the psychic aunt in California, questionable men in questionable professions …Will Jaz be able to put all the pieces together before she herself is taken apart?
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There is also a very cool book trailer which is in the right hand column of this page or on YouTube.

I would appreciate any comments, suggestions, even criticisms..
Thank you
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Kate
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(the pic is from my recent trip to Vietnam. I don't have any Tel Aviv beach pictures. More VN pics are on my travel blog. http://katerambles.blogspot.com/

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv is now available as a Kindle edition.

Much cheaper than the print edition. Just as funny.

http://amzn.to/mQ2rQ3

Jambu Shoes Review

My new Jambu Shoes review is now up on thier blog.

http://jambushoes.blogspot.com/2010/08/jambu-himalayas-at-ss-red-oak-victory.html

Info about the SS Red Oak Victory ship is at:

http://www.ssredoakvictory.com/index.htm

The first review of Jambu sister Co, J-41, is shown below. The link to the review on their site is:

http://j-41footwear.blogspot.com/2010/06/j-41-adventures-in-vallarta-by-kate.html

Happy sailing and walking.

Kate

Abercrombie & Fitch

When I was a kid, Abercrombie & Fitch meant hunting and fishing. I knew this because of my dad, the outdoorsman. I think maybe he had an A&E fishing creel but I can’t be certain. What I am sure of is that we always had A&E whistles that were always around my dad’s neck or on my parent’s key chains.

I grew up with hunting dogs that were trained to a whistle; four short blasts was their signal to return. When we’d go camping, high in the Sierra’s, one kid always had to wear a whistle around our neck to be blown in the event of an emergency. I, for one, adored the booming sound produced by that little piece of metal but was as well trained as the dogs; blasting it for kicks was out of the question.

Years passed, I didn’t become a hunter or angler, so Abercrombie & Fitch pretty much went out of my vocabulary. And then one day I saw an ad with a half naked man advertising A&E. I wasn’t exactly sure what they were selling although it appeared not to be anything my dad would ever have bought.

While recently sorting through the basement in the family home I came across boxes of clothing that had not been unpacked in decades. In the piles of clothing I found two dresses and a pair of women’s slacks that appear to be circa 1950’s. They had never belonged to anyone in my family but had been picked up by my grandmother who collected cast-offs from wherever she could find them. She’d then pack them up and ship them from the east coast to California.

I particularly loved the trousers and could not believe the superb craftsmanship. I have always been disappointed with women’s pants when compared to men’s; their construction is shoddy. Whenever I look at a pair of women’s slacks I wonder why they aren’t the same quality as their male counterparts. But not these vintage A&E’s; they were constructed just like men’s pants. Unfortunately, the waist is about a half an inch too tight for me. I can button them but then can’t breathe. Since I don’t think I can bear to part with them, I think I will have to make some minor adjustments.

Somewhere in the house, there are at least two Abercrombie & Fitch whistles; I am on a mission to find them.