Medora and Me

     Back in February, I posed the idea of doing a book talk modeled on our House Concerts.  The proposal came from my knee-jerk reaction to receiving the news that my Dear Medora book had earned less than $10.00 in royalties for the year.  Obviously, I need to generate some interest and get a resurgence of sales out there in the world.  It’s not something that small publishing houses do these days — WSU Press isn’t coming to come to the rescue!
     So, in the spirit of “raise the flag and see who salutes,” I blogged about the possibility of doing a Mother’s Day “event” here.  After all, Medora grew up in this house and the book is based upon letters between her and her mother (my grandmother).  Here, surrounded by the things she grew up with, I could read from the book and tell some of the ‘back stories.’  What better way to honor mothers?  And maybe regenerate interest.
     And, thought I, while I’m at it I could talk about the book I’m currently working on.  It’s about Medora’s younger brother, Willard Espy.  He, too, grew up in this house.  Plus, he spent a great deal of time in Oysterville over his 89-year-lifetime.  There are undoubtedly folks who still remember him and would enjoy hearing me read excerpts from this fledging book about him.
      Much to my gratification, I received quite a bit of encouragement for the idea.  People wrote and said, “Do it!  I’ll be there!”  Plans were laid.  And when I still hesitated, a very successful author friend said, “Don’t give it a second thought, Sydney.  This is what authors have to do these days.  The publishing/book marketing world is now in a totally new dimension.”
     So, shameless self-promotion began.  But, it may well turn out to be one of those “best laid plans” kinds of things.  Invitations have gone out and RSVPs are coming in – mostly negative. When push comes to shove, many of the very people who were so encouraging now have other obligations…
     Another author friend (who can’t come) loved the idea and asked to be considered as one of the presenters at this “new series.”  Wow!  A series!  Now that’s a thought that hadn’t occurred to me.  I’m still stuck on getting enough bodies gathered for this Mother’s Day presentation…  Wooing people into this new book-selling dimension is more difficult than it appears.