Book stores, Book tour, Pre-Orders. Busy, As I Wait for Feb. 2

Write the story. Find a publisher. Have your book out there in stores and online.

As easy as 1, 2, 3, no?

No!

Adam and I skating on Rideau Canal. Promise of Beaver Tails made him a good skater

There's been mountains to climb.

A friend, Rita Celli, CBC Radio's Ontario Today host, is reading the manuscript. The other day, she wondered how I was able to "pull it all together", penning 75,000 words all through the loss of my son, Adam, writing in the grieving. I did do it but I am not sure how to answer her question or if there is an answer. That was the first tall summit to ascend.

Then, last fall, joining the Ottawa Independent Writers Association, I attended the first meeting and during their "bragging rights" segment announced that I had a publisher for my book. My fellow writers identified for me the feat this was, an exception for many in the room who for various reasons go the self publishing route. Dundurn Press, publisher for Soar, Adam, Soar on Feb. 2, 2019. is one of Canada's largest independent publishing houses, calling itself a "publisher of fine books". Nice! I made it to the second summit.

Still, I hadn`t landed on top of Everest by any means. I am learning that there's more work and sweat before the book is in the hands of readers. I did know about one part of the last peak to climb --- the work with Dundurn editors, design, copyright, photos, etc.. The second and surprising final phase though for this novice author is where I find myself now.

Publicity. Marketing. Pre-Order Sales. All integral to the success of the book and requiring herculean efforts from the author and friends. And YOUR further help, please! So many have got me near to this finish line, supporting me so every step of the way.

My book needs a good home especially in our Canadian independent bookstores. Help me find them. Dundurn takes care of the larger book chains and has set me up with Amazon, Indigo, Kobo etc. However,. I want my book to support too the independent stores that are at the heart of Canada's book market. I asked my Facebook family for recommendations. To date, you named 35 stores in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Picton, Burlington, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Campbell River, Courtenay, and Halifax. There's many more out there that I need to know about. Please leave me your suggestions here in the Comments section of the blog or on my Facebook author page.

I am also booking the first events in a big book tour that begins in February and should last through the year. The grand launch in Ottawa Feb. 7th will be at the Cafe Nature in the Museum of Nature where Adam worked, accepted as Adam, proud as punch to wear that name on his ID tag. I am firming up a Toronto launch at the Glad Day Bookshop on Church St. the following week. Chaucer Pub in London is hosting with Oxford Book Shop a celebration and reading Feb. 28th. I seem to live on the phone these days as I finish scheduling dates and locations for readings and signings in Picton, Kingston, Collingwood, North Bay, Sudbury, Elliot Lake and Sault Ste. Marie. On the horizon, later, will be Soar, Adam, Soar events planned for St. Catharines, Dunnville, Simcoe, and into the United States --- Vermont, Virginia, California.

Another friend, Ellen Ashton-Haiste, surprised me with an invitation to be guest speaker March 2 at a St. Thomas, ON YWCA luncheon; it's part of a day of workshops and seminars to allow women to break out of their routine, socialize, learn and, if needed, de-stress. I welcome other speaking opportunities to talk about the themes in Adam`s and my parenting story --- equality, courage, gratitude, faith, organ donation and more.

Dundurn is working on invitations to 2019 writers festivals. It's wicked fun to contemplate even the menu of festivals like those in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Baddeck, Nova Scotia and Denman Island, BC. sites that would then open up visiting more communities in Western Canada and Atlantic Canada.

The pre-order sales now available build the momentum for February 2. Soar, Adam, It's become very important these days for books to get a good spike of online pre-order sales before they’re released. Pre-orders signal to bookstores that they need to stock up on the title. This can make a huge difference to overall sales.

So if you can think of anyone who would enjoy a copy of the book, I'd be really grateful if you ordered a copy today. Please share the blog far and wide here or from the Facebook. author page. You can pre-order Soar, Adam, Soar on amazon.ca (or indigo.ca or their American .com sites. Type in the search box Soar, Adam, Soar or my name. (It's a few more dollars for the author if ordered at www.rickprashaw.com :) but, in truth, any order, anywhere, now boosts bookstore interest.)

Writing, Getting a publisher. Getting the marketing and publicity in place. Three mountains climbed and still climbing. I couldn't do it without you. I am so grateful. Please leave me any comments, book store suggestion and ideas for speaking engagements. How many more sleeps to Feb. 2, Rick? #transgender #epilepsy #beadonor