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Virginia-based author Austin Camacho shares his experiences online
Austin Camacho lives just up I-95 in Springfield Virginia. He has a day job at the Defense Department, and he teaches writing classes at a local community college. He's clearly one busy cat, but he has made time to write thrillers, including five installments of the Hannibal Jones detective series.
For my money, however, the coolest thing Camacho does can be seen online for free. His blog Another Writer's Life is not just a platform to sell more books. In fact, that would seem to be a secondary concern at best. Instead, most of Camacho's weekly entries are dedicated to the notion of sharing his acquired knowledge with those of us who may wish to follow in his footsteps. Observe:
Recently I've been trying to respond to some of the most frequently asked questions, on the theory that if one new author asked, a dozen more want to know the same thing. Here’s one on a lot of proactive author’s minds:
"I've heard a lot of mass market folk say that signings are a waste of everyone's time -- too often the bookstores get annoyed because nobody (or few) turn up to the event and then the publisher gets annoyed because those bookstores send back tons of returns.You seem like you do a ton of signings... what's your experience been? What do you do other than the e-newsletter to make them successful?"
IMHO, the experiences you describe are the result of everyone involved believing that a successful book signing just happens automatically. In fact, a book signing is more like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
Camacho doesn't stop there. He details his own proactive approach to book signings with a refreshing lack of ego, admitting that very few people come to the bookstore actually seeking him out. Rather, he makes sure to greet casual shoppers and hand out freebies that promote his work. He makes the success of the event his mission for the day.
Which is all fine and dandy, but suppose you're nowhere near being published, let alone setting up book signings? There's something here for you, too. He talks about his own experiences meeting with agents, how to make prose ring true, and why writers should mingle. He even offers to guest-post on readers' personal blogs. Camacho's wife, Denise contributes occasional posts from her point of view as part of her husband's publishing support network. It's all very engaging, and packed with good advice, delivered without a hint of self-aggrandizement. Austin and Denise Camacho learned how to do all of this the hard way, and they're happy to share with the rest of us.
Austin Camacho's latest novel - the fifth in his well-received Hannibal Jones series - is titled Russian Roulette. View his schedule of book signings, and sign up for his e-newsletter. Either way, you're in line for a friendly greeting, and some good advice.
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