As promised, I’m reporting in on my book club appearance from a couple of nights ago. I have to say I was really impressed with the group.
Favorite parts of the evening:
In honor of the book, members served a Southern-style supper, which I found really thoughtful. Everything was delicious—barbeque, shrimp and grits, cole slaw….yum. (Believe it or not, I was one of only two Southerners there. Lots of Northern transplants in Charlotte.)
They’d collectively sold out my book from the Barnes and Nobles and Borders stores in the Charlotte area, which I sincerely appreciated. Note: book clubs are more of a successful sales event than most booksignings and workshops.
Hearing my book being discussed in an intelligent manner. Sometimes I felt they had better insights than I did, and I’d written the darned thing. They discussed what they thought motivated the behavior of my sleuth’s police chief son (they decided it might be because he was an only child), and why a man might prove a good sidekick for an elderly woman.
Introducing mysteries to some non-mystery readers. I like to say there’s a mystery genre for everyone: police procedural, cozy, thriller, etc.
Having an attentive audience of avid readers. They were very interested in hearing about the genesis of my characters and the plot. They also wanted to hear about the publishing process and what it entails.
Challenges …
My book was a departure from their usual book choices. I knew going in that the group usually read literary fiction. There was a particular member who found the departure from literary fiction toward genre fiction a rough ride. I completely understood that—I’m definitely not aspiring to serious literary merit with my books (not at this point, anyway.) I’m writing solely to entertain, not to educate or to provoke a particular response.
Things I learned:
The members wanted to know more about why the small Southern town on the North Carolina lake was a beacon for a real estate developer. I just blinked. “Well, because it’s a small Southern town on a North Carolina lake.” They looked at me. “Because of half-backs.” More stares. “You know….the Northerners who retire, are tired of the cold North, move to Florida, find Florida too hot, and move half-way back.” This was completely obvious to me (personal knowledge of these towns), but not, clearly, to others. I’ll definitely want to explain the appeal of this type of location in upcoming books.
I thought the members of the book club had very interesting ideas about my characters and the type of direction they like to see them go in. I love reading character growth over series, so their ideas were appealing to me.
And now, because it’s Thursday, I’d love it if you’d also pop by the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. It’s my day to post and I’ve got a great barbeque and BBQ sauce recipe to share.
Hi, Elizabeth! It was great reading this and getting to “live” a book club even through an author’s eyes!
You gave me a lot to think through. My book is set in a neighboring state, a place I’ve been to many times and have done a lot of research on. I definitely want to make sure that it is believable–especially to the people who live there!
Very interesting. How big was the book club? How long did you meet with them? Will we be able to find the meeting on YouTube?
I love it when people see things in my books that I was unaware I’d put there. Sounds like you had a great time.
I agree with Terry. It’s always a wonder to me when others read my work and see things in them I am blind to. It opens my eyes to my characters and plot to have readers come to me with questions and comments.
It sounds like you had a marvelous time at the book club event! Going over to the Mystery Lover’s Kitchen now!
Cheers,
Jen
Congratulations on a successful event. I can see where book club appearances would be much more beneficial to a writer than book signings (if you’re an unknown like me). Thanks for sharing about your experience. Would love to know how to find out where book clubs meet and how to connect with them.
Karen
Thanks for this informative post, Elizabeth and many more thanks for introducing me to the term “half back” which made me smile.
I love when people see more things in my book than I ever did while I was writing it, although I can never be sure whether that means I’m cleverer than I think or just unobservant!
One more thing, this time difference between the east coast and the west coast is just mean. Your Thursday posts have me hungry for dinner at breakfast time.
Elspeth
“Sometimes I felt they had better insights than I did, and I´d written the darned thing.”
As a teacher of language and literature, I believe that :D
We discuss and chew a book until no stone has been left unturned. Some young students doubt that the authors ever thought about all these things when they wrote the stories, and of course I don´t know exactly, but I do credit intelligent writers with thinking and planning before (or while) they write their engaging works.
I’m glad to hear it went well! They sound like a fairly sophisticated book club. And it sounds, too, like (most) everyone benefited from the fact that the book didn’t fit their usual type. You got the benefit of having your book discussed by literary-minded folks, and they got to break out of their mold and try something new. I always find that valuable, as it helps me see what I like about my typical tastes and also where I might be getting stagnant.
Elizabeth, swear to god, if I’m ever in your area I’m stopping y band you are going to HAVE to cook for me! I’ll buy everything, you just name off what you need, but good grief – I get hungry almost everytime I visit this blog. ;)
Appreciate your reports and things learned from your book club appearance, too.
Marvin D Wilson
That’s wonderful to go into an event with big sales already! What’s the book club? I’d be willing to make a four-hour road trip to Charlotte.
L. Diane Wolfe “Spunk On A Stick”
http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
I wondered if you’d need an ‘I survived’ pin, but it sounds like you did brilliantly! And as a northerner, I’d never heard ‘half back’ before, but I am very familiar with the seepage of migration making real estate prices skyrocket (having formerly lived in Oregon, where Californians flea when they want to get away from the crowds and prices).
*rubs hands at spotting character growth in bold* (you know what I like)
I really enjoyed this post. It’s fun to hear from the author’s POV what a book club visit is like. Very interesting. Hopefully, your visit will encourage them to have more non-literary authors visit. I love that they bought out two stores!
Helen
Straight From Hel
The food sounds great. It must be an awesome experience to talk with people who’ve read your book–especially if it’s mostly a positive experience.
Great feedback, Elizabeth. Couple of points you made rang true to me: Sales for book clubs easily outstrip most other venues. AND, it requires way less overt marketing on your part. Only downer I found was some members like to get the book from the library. Hence, no sale there.
And, as a couple of the comments mention, it is truly amazing to me when readers see things in my book I don’t see, or, kinda more disturbingly, didn’t intend.
Sounds like a great success and lots of fun. Good job.
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Marvin–You’re on!
Kristen–Absolutely. I was actually surprised at the number of setting questions I received (and Bradley is fictitious!)
Alan–It was basically a neighborhood book club for a large subdivision. I was there for 3 hours! It didn’t seem that long…
Terry–Isn’t that funny? I did have a great time.
Diane–You know, I don’t even know if it has an official name–I heard it referred to as ‘The Book Club.’ But I did get a great tip–all the big subdivisions with clubhouses, etc (amenities) have book clubs. You might want to call these neighborhoods’ clubhouses.
Hart–Yes, same here. Much lower prices down here. I thought you might like the character development bit! :)
Jen–Thanks so much, Jen! It was definitely a different experience for me.
Karen–Galen found the website http://www.readerscircle.org/ which lists book clubs by area. And there are many neighborhoods that have organized book clubs that meet in their clubhouses.
Helen–Me too! :)
Elspeth–That’s the thing–it made me feel like I’d subconsciously written all this really clever material. A wonderful feeling!
Maybe BBQ for breakfast could be a new thing?
Galen–Actually, they checked at the library first. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), the library had 15 requests on their copies. :) I’m local, though…this wouldn’t happen everywhere.
Dorte–You know, I was just sitting there thinking how very clever I was to have put all this stuff in my book without realizing it. :)
Nicole–They were very sophisticated–in manner, dress, and reading habits. I was a bit nervous at first, certainly unused to having my text put under a microscope by serious readers. But I appreciated their praise, criticism, thoughts, and suggestions.
I found this so interesting! It’s fascinating to see things from a different perspective. Between following a blog tour and visiting authors’ blogs, I’ve learned so much!
Glad to hear this event went so well for you and it’s obvious you had a good time too!
Tara–It was very cool. I recommend it to everybody!
Crystal–Thanks! I’ve learned a lot from blog tours and author blogs, too.
That would be SO cool! And yummm…I feel like eating now. :)
Katie–Thanks for popping by!
“Sometimes I felt they had better insights than I did, and I’d written the darned thing.”
Oh, yes, me, too! It’s amazing. SO gratifying. ANd kind of hilarious.
And doesn’t it kind of remind you of English class? I’d always wonder if the author consciously put in various themes or threads. NOw I know–a lot of it is happening a part of our brains we don’t really recognize. Our brains putting together a puzzle and we don’t even see the whole picture!
GOt to love it.
Hank–Thanks so much for visiting! And you’re right. I’d LIKE to think I’m putting together this puzzle subconsciously but I wonder. Maybe the poets I studied in college would have felt the same way. I can see William Carlos Williams saying, “No, no people. I was just writing about a red wheelbarrow. No hidden message here!”
Gosh what an interesting group you have, the food sounds wonderful.
I just bumped into your blog today and find that we share a connection – Charlotte. Although I have lived half my life in Maryland I still have strong heart-ties to the city where I was born and raised. Got it about the lake-town – and thanks for introducing me to the “half-back” term. I can feel it settling on my tongue.