Planning for 2013

Every December I assemble my marketing and sales ideas for my books.  "What Keeps You Going," will be displayed at the Book Expo in New York in the spring.  The same book along with "Tova," will be on display at the Frankfurt, Germany Book Fair in the fall of the year.  The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest Book Fair.   The books will on display at the booths of the Independent Book Publishers Association.  Going overseas with my books is a major step for me.  I am also putting together a list of craft fairs to continue displaying at and contacting a few new ones.  Presentations will continue to be a major part of my marketing approach.  Sales of my books are satisfactory but never good enough for someone who has been in sales for as long as I have.  Visit my website to see the free offer I have posted.   www.joesmiga.com.

My books for sale at the Intown Manchester Craft Fair

Linda and I shared a space for four Thursdays and one Saturday at 1000 Elm Street Manchester, NH.  This year was the second annual holiday event for the fair.  It had over forty vendors displaying an assortment of goods.  Based on the traffic the fair received we have recommended next year's event should be three Thursdays and two Saturdays.

My Memoir: "What Keeps You Going?"

When I had four books published, my wife and our son who lives in Idaho told me the "Tova" book was from the heart.  My wife went on to say that I needed to write another book from the heart.  I will be honest with you I had no clue what I would write about.  "Tova" was fun and easy to write except for the very end.  Writing about Tova was a tribute to our beloved German Shorthaired Pointer.  I went to sleep that night with this on my mind and woke up the next morning with the title.  I decided to write a memoir because I knew it would be factual and with the hopes of helping others who may have experienced one or more tragedies in their lives.  The book was published in August of 2012 and is getting good reviews from readers. 

Gateway to Terror

When I published my first novel "Behind the Lies," I never thought of writing a sequel to it. Within six months I had numerous requests to write a sequel.  You can read Rhoda's comments below in the posting titled Readers comments.  Rhoda was the first person to make such a request.  John, the head of my writers group, asked me to write one as well.  I advised John that I had promised Rhoda to write a sequel and his next comment was for me to write a trilogy and make it a series of three.  In 2011, Gateway to Terror was published.  It is a sequel to Behind the Lies but also a stand alone book.  The characters come from the first book but the plot is entirely different.  You can enjoy the second book without reading the first.  However, you understand the characters better if you read the first book before the sequel.  The trilogy will come out in 2013.

The Year I Published Two Books

When I started the book "Tova."  I made the decision that it would be published before the western.  The western would wait for 2011.  While I was in the middle of the Tova manuscript Xlibris offered authors a two for one deal in March of 2010.  Since I already had the idea of the two books in my head and partly on my computer I couldn't pass up the discount.  "Tova" was published in May of 2010 and while it was in the publishing process I went back to work on the western.  The challenge was to have the manuscript completed by early June so the book would be published in September for the holiday season.  I made it and the book was actually published in August.  However, I am supposed to be retired and won't put myself through that exercise again discount or no discount.