What We’ve All Been Waiting For

A quarter score and two years ago my cousin brought forth unto this great nation a new novel conceived in the dark recesses of her mind and dedicated to the proposition that all books are created equal… or not.

OK… enough of that.  Translation: Laura wrote a cool book about seven years ago.  Whether she had dreams of it being published someday is only known to her.  What is known to the rest of us is that approximately six years after writing it, she began working with me to start Orange Publishing with the express mission to publish this book (and others if we were successful).  There’s been a lot of work done, many hours spent on this labor of love, and numerous milestones along the way, but on June 1, 2013 the event for which all humankind (at least in our minds it’s all of humankind) has been waiting occurred: the official print edition release of Crumbling Walls.  That’s right.  All versions of the book are now available and being shipped.

So, remember, the only thing we have to fear is fear of not selling enough books.  Please help us out by getting yourself a copy if you haven’t yet and be sure to tell all of your friends, family, co-workers, random people you pass on the street, that guy who is ahead of you in line at the coffee shop, the cop who pulls you over for speeding even though you weren’t speeding and there is obviously something wrong with his radar, the telemarketer who calls to try to sell you life insurance, the teller at the bank (does anyone still go inside banks?), the cashier at the grocery store, that cute guy/girl you’re hitting on right now, your neighbor who doesn’t cut their grass in a timely manner (sorry to admit it, but that’s actually me), the person who will cut you off while merging onto the freeway tomorrow (hopefully this is NOT me), Ellen Degeneres, my mom, your mom, his mom, her mom, your mom’s mom, your mom’s mom’s best friend, your grandma, the lady that gives your grandma her perm, the mom of the lady who gives your grandma a perm, Ellen Degeneres’s mom, the person who cuts Ellen Degeneres’s mom’s hair, Phil, Mike, Lori, Keisha, Henry… well you get the point… to go buy a copy now.

Thanks everyone.  You are all the awesomest people ever.

 

PS,

Don’t forget we have a book signing at Book-a-Million at Park City Mall in Lancaster, PA.

 

Mom Knows Best?

So, my mom called me today to tell me she finished reading Crumbling Walls.  Well, actually she called me to brag about how beautiful Hawaii is.  She is there on a two week vacation with my dad and two of their friends.  Let me tell you, retirement has been rough on the two of them.  They just got back from a month long trip that included Alaska, Seattle and Vancouver … and now Hawaii.  I suppose they deserve it.  They both worked very, very hard in their lives and should be enjoying themselves now.  Plus they had to raise my brother.  That in and of itself deserves several extremely relaxing vacations to exotic locations.

But I digress.  It was the discussion we had about the book that I wanted to share.  First, let me tell you that my mom was one of the lucky few that read the very original draft of Crumbling Walls and has now read the published version.  Let me also tell you that she is a retired teacher.  And finally, as much as I love her, she can be VERY critical at times.  She told me that she thought the final version was great, that the characters and story were brilliant … but … there is always a ‘but’ with her … she had two complaints.  She felt that the characters (especially the adults) said ‘yeah’ instead of ‘yes’ too much.  She felt the adults, in particular, would say ‘yes’ as opposed to ‘yeah.’  Her other complaint was that in the dialogue the use of ‘I’ and ‘me’ were used incorrectly (ie. Me and Emily are gonna go … instead of Emily and I).  I have to admit, I was impressed.  If these were her only two complaints then I think we did a pretty awesome job.  

Which brings me to these complaints.  I told her that I decided very early on that I would only correct spelling errors on things inside of quotes.  I figured the characters belonged to Laura and they should speak the way she wanted them to … bad grammar and all.  In my opinion it makes the characters more real … accessible.  My mom said she found it to be somewhat annoying at times.  I suppose she has a point.  I can understand that for some of our adult readers we could have cleaned it up a little more.  But I also think it is OK the way we have it.

So what do you all think?  Yeah … Dave’s mom has a point.  Or yeah, I think Dave is right.  Your opinion does matter to us.  But remember, me and Laura are probably gonna do what me and Laura do.  That’s just how we roll 🙂  

 

Exciting Announcement

We have a book signing set up:

Books-a-Million

Park City Mall

Lancaster, PA

June 15

Noon to 4

If you live in the area … or just so happen to be in the area on the 15th we’d love to meet/see you.  Come visit us.  We’re really cool and friendly … we promise.

 

Specific Randomness

There isn’t a whole lot to comment on right now.  We have new business cards as you can see above.  As I said in the last post, we’re working hard on raising awareness ahead of the June 1 release of the print edition.  If you haven’t had a chance yet be sure to check out the review that was written by TheNovelReviewer.  It is a very fair review of our book.  You can find the review at http://www.thenovelreviewer.com/2013/03/31/thenovelreviewer-reviews-crumbling-walls-by-laura-strandt/. One of his readers was nice enough to comment as well with her own review.  So far, I can’t be anything but happy with the reactions we’ve been getting from our readers.

The author, Laura, and I will be working on setting up signings events in the respective areas in which we live.  In other words I’ll be setting stuff up here in Lancaster, PA and she will be working on the Detroit area.If you happen to be a reader in another part of the country and would like to see us come to your area please contact me at dave@readorangebooks.com and I’ll see what I can do.  Until you guys make this a big success Laura and I both have to work day jobs 🙂  With some luck and help from all of you, we may get to a point where we can devote our time to what we both love… writing and publishing books.

On another note, like everyone else in this country, our thoughts and prayers go out to the city of Boston and everyone affected by the bombing.  Hopefully as authorities investigate they will be able to give us an explanation as to why this took place.  I also believe it is important to remember that there are people in other countries who live in fear of these types of bombings on a daily basis.  It serves as a reminder of how far we have to go as humanity in learning to love and accept each other so that we can someday live in peace despite our differences.  I hope ever to see that day.  Until then, be safe everyone and remember to love thy neighbor.

 

Reviews and Promotion

Hi all.  We’re pluggin away trying to increase awareness of the book, Crumbling Walls, ahead of its official June 1 release.  Of course, as you may well know, it has been and still is available as an eBook on Amazon, barnesandnoble.com and the Apple iTunes bookstore.  And, eventhough it is also available to order online at the major online retailers, it won’t be shipped until June 1.  At any rate, this post has more to do with some of the successes we’ve had in our promotional efforts.

First, wordpress’s very own TheNovelReviewer (http://thenovelreviewer.wordpress.com/) has agreed to read the book and post a review on his blog and various other outlets.  I just received an email from him today and he indicated he has already started reading Crumbling Walls and will hopefully have a review up soon… maybe in the next week or two.  I’ll certainly keep you all posted on this one.  While you’re at it, go check out his other reviews on his blog.  He’s a good guy.

Second, I’ve spoken to the Book Editor of the regional newspaper here in Lancaster, PA and she has agreed to write an article and/or review for the paper.  This is exciting because this is not just a small local, city paper.  The New Era/Intelligencer gets distributed thoughout this region.  And while I understand Lancaster County is not a huge urban area, this is still an exciting development.  Her plan is to wait until closer to June 1 and write an article that can line up with the release and possible book signing/promotional events here in this area.

So, things are moving along.  I’m happy to see progress, but am a little anxious for June 1 to role around.  I’m not one for wishing time away as I realize how short the time we have already is, but I will admit that I will be checking the days off between now and the official release.  Thanks everyone for following our journey.  Hopefully, things are just getting started for us.

Oh, by the way, if you’re like TheNovelReviewer and would be willing to write a review of our book for your blog please get in contact with me.  I’d love to talk to you.

 

It is a Reality

After all of our work, the book is a reality.  I received advanced copies earlier this week.  The rest of them have been sent to the distribution warehouse.  I can’t really explain how exciting it was to actually hold a physical copy of the book in my hands, to flip through the pages and see all of the work we put into it in real book form.  Nothing will ever surpass the feeling of when my son was born, but  holding Crumbling Walls in my hands definitely comes in second.  What a rush?!?

Of course, getting to this point was the easy part.  Now comes the real hard work.  Getting the book noticed among the sea of other books out there.  I have no doubt in my mind that what we put out there is high quality, especially considering our inexperience.  I have no doubt that our story is worth taking the time to read.  I believe whole-heartedly that if people read Crumbling Walls they, like everyone else who has read it to this point, will be happy and eagerly awaiting the second book in the series.  We just need to find creative ways to get the word out there and convince enough people to read it that word of mouth and inertia will take us the rest of the way.

With that being said, the book is now available for pre-order on barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.  For all of you waiting for the print edition, now is your chance to go order it.  It will start to be shipped on June 1st, but order quickly.  This initial print run is small and, hopefully, will justify a larger second printing.  Just imagine, when this does take off and become huge, you could say, “I was there at the beginning.  I have one of the few books from the first print run.”  How exciting would that be?!?

So, what are you waiting for?  Stop wasting your time reading this blog and go reserve your copy now 😉

 

 

 

Superbowl, Michigan and Crumbling Walls

OK… so from the title of this post, you may think I am about to talk about the 2006 Superbowl that was held in Detroit between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.  It all fits, right… Superbowl, Michigan, Crumbling Walls?  Well, sorry to disappoint if that is what you are expecting.  This post has to do with the present, not the past.

I was just curious on this Superbowl Sunday if anyone out there has read our first book, Crumbling Walls, yet?  Or are you waiting for the print edition (its coming soon)?  While the story itself doesn’t really have any real tie-in to the Superbowl game, it can’t be denied that there are strong Michigan connections to both.  Our book was written by and edited by two Michigan natives (one who still lives there and one who still considers it home, even though Pennsylvania has graciously accepted him).

As for the Superbowl, while the Detroit Lions may never see that game, we Michiganians (or Michiganders, if you prefer) can be proud of the fact that this brother vs. brother game has a lot to do with our state.  Jim Harbaugh attended high school in Ann Arbor and played quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines.  John Harbaugh graduated from high school in Ann Arbor and coached at Western Michigan University for a time.

So in addition to letting us know if you’ve read the book yet (and, if yes, what you thought of it) who are you all cheering for in tonight’s game?  Jim has the stronger ties to Michigan which would lead you to believe I would prefer the 49ers, but, for some reason, I like the Ravens more.  I guess, regardless of who wins, Michigan can find some reason to celebrate.  And, in my ridiculous attempt to tie together two things that have almost nothing to do with each other, if we score one more reader, Orange Publishing will have reason to celebrate, too.

Enjoy the evening and be safe if your going to a Superbowl Party.

http://www.readorangebooks.com

 

Two More Updates

Hi all.  Well, Crumbling Walls is now available on Barnes and Noble’s website as a Nook Book and on Apple’s iTunes store.  If either of those are your preferred eBook formats, we’d love for you to go check it out.  If you go to our website, http://www.readorangebooks.com, there are links to the book for Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and directions to find the book on iTunes.

The print edition is in the works and we’re hoping to have it available by the end of this month.  As this is our first book and we have limited resources we’d, of course, appreciate any help you can all offer in getting the word out.  Thanks.

 

It’s Here!!!!

Today was a very significant day in the life of Orange Publishing.  Our very first book became available for purchase.  Yep, Crumbling Walls can now be purchased as an eBook from Amazon.  While there is still a long way to go in getting it printed and available in physical form, I must say, seeing it listed at Amazon is a really cool feeling.  I must also confess that pressing the submit button yesterday afternoon was also extremely nerve-wracking.  Laura confessed that her nerves are really jittery, too.  It’s one thing to write it and work on it.  It’s A completely different thing to put it out there in public.

It’s been submitted to barnesandnoble.com as a Nook Book as well.  It should be available there in the next day or two.  I’ll be sure to update all of you when that happens.  I’m also working on getting it available from Apple through iTunes.  That will happen soon, hopefully.

Our marketing of this book is going to have to be extremely grass-roots, so we’d love any help you can provide by sharing the link with your followers and friends.  Of course, feel free to buy a copy as well and let us know what you think of it.  We like it quite a bit, but I’m willing to accept that we may be a little bias 🙂

As I said, I will be sure to keep everyone updated as it becomes available at other sights and in different formats.  In the meantime, here is the link for the book on Amazon.

Thanks everyone. Y’all are awesome.

 

 

Silence Doesn’t Indicate Stagnation

Hello all. I just wanted to assure everyone that my/our silence does not indicate that we have not been making progress. As part of nanowrimo Laura has completed another book, which hopefully we’ll get a chance to publish in the coming years. I have also been hard at work on Orange Publishing business. Aside from working on Crumbling Walls, I am also helping another friend edit his book. His will most likely be self-published, but I am helping him get it ready for print. As for Crumbling Walls, Orange Publishing now owns a block of ISBNs and the book has been submitted for copyright. Once the copyright comes back, we’ll be able to put the finishing touches on getting this thing ready for print and then… hopefully everyone will go buy a copy and tell all of their friends who will, in turn, tell all of their friends, etc, etc, etc.

I keep feeling like we’re almost there, but then I realize there is more to do.  I guess that is all part of doing this for the first time.  We’ll know better everything that is involved for the next book.  Of course, with this book it wasn’t just the publishing of the book, but the actual start-up of the company, too.  As long as we are movning forward I will be happy.