Creating a Successful Book Event

Last week, I told the story of how The Book 'Em Foundation was conceived and how I established the annual Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair.

Now that we're in the final weeks for our third event (to be held on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina), I've established a system to make it workable. Because I don't like last-minute surprises and glitches, I divided the year into sections in which we focus on a few large components of the event. As we approach the final weeks, all our planning and work through the year pays off as things come together.


MARCH THROUGH THE SUMMER

As soon as we've wrapped up the last event, we get started on the next one. I begin by revamping the website, www.bookemnc.org (before becoming a full-time author, I owned a couple of computer companies, which has come in handy) and set up the new pages for the following year's event.

The most important part of the new pages is releasing the Registration Form, used by authors who wish to sign and sell their books at Book 'Em North Carolina, and who may wish to participate in panel discussions and solo talks.

Although our Registration Form states that the closing date for registration is September 1 (or until the event is full) we have found that our last two events were full by late spring. We have a certain amount of space allocated for the event and because each author receives at least six feet of space (four feet of table plus two feet on the side) we easily reach 75+ authors, publishers, literary agents, Hollywood producers, and rock stars in a short period of time.


SUMMER SPONSORS

Beginning in early summer, we solicit businesses and individuals for sponsorships. Sponsorships range from $250 to more than $1,000, and we also accept donations. This money is critical for helping us pay for advertisements across multiple states and overhead (volunteer t-shirts, name tags, etc) so that all the money we take in during the event is set aside for literacy efforts.

We also apply for grant funding. Each year we've received a Kiwanis of Lumberton grant that pays for dictionaries that are given to children attending the event, and a Lumberton Area Visitors Bureau grant that pays for additional advertising.

There are NO paid employees - everyone is a volunteer.


LOGISTICS AND TALKS

In the fall, we begin a series of meetings at Robeson Community College to discuss how we can improve upon the previous year's event, and we hammer out logistics.

I begin speaking at a variety of community organizations such as Kiwanis, Rotary Club, and book clubs.

By November, I am hard at work on the Talks Schedule, arranging panel discussions and solo talks, assigning authors and moderators to each talk, and lining up the volunteers needed for each Talks Room and The Children's Corner.

I also begin reaching out to volunteers and volunteer groups and keeping a list of who is committed and what they'd like to do at the event.

I have also entered each title that each author and publisher wishes to sell at the event into a database and posted it online. This usually numbers more than 300 titles.

I have created a seating chart and assigned seating for each and every author, publisher, literary agent, Hollywood producer, and rock star. That seating chart is placed online at www.bookemnc.org.


PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

By late fall, I have developed the brochures, flyers and posters.

The brochures are distributed through the Lumberton Area Visitors Bureau to the Welcome Centers along Interstate 95 and to hotels, restaurants and businesses in the area.

The flyers, including a Talks Schedule, are provided to the City of Lumberton for distribution in all utility bills in January, as well as to area businesses and sponsors.

A special flyer is developed for The Children's Corner and will be distributed to school children through Grade 3.

I begin contacting newspapers and magazines and scheduling advertisements to run in the January or February editions (magazines) and in Sunday newspapers. I also begin making television and radio appearances in North and South Carolina, and scheduling more of them to take place in January and February.

By January 2, we are ready to roll out our promotional campaign. All of the articles written, interviews provided, and guest blogs begin to unroll throughout multiple states.


THE FINAL DAYS

In the final days, I am tying everything together: ensuring that all promotional plans are set to go without a snag, all volunteers know when they are to arrive and what they're expected to do, all questions have been formed for the panel discussions, and all logistics are in place.

I create the signs for each author's table so they're easily found, work with volunteers for signage in and around the event, work with volunteers on an individual basis to ensure everyone knows their jobs, and take care of all the last minute preparations.

Next Friday, January 30, I'll begin introducing the volunteers and volunteer groups who work so tirelessly to ensure that each Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair goes off smoothly and without a hitch. I couldn't do this alone!

This blog was written by the founder of Book 'Em North Carolina, author p.m.terrell. For more information about the event and to download the brochure, flyers, seating chart, book list, and more, visit www.bookemnc.org.

Writers Working Wednesday!

A major goal for Book 'Em North Carolina is to increase reading, whether that is non-fiction or any genre of fiction. Whether you have written a book for adults, young adults or children, we'd like to introduce our followers to you - whether or not you are participating in our next book fair.

So each Wednesday like today, we have Writers Working Wednesday, in which any author can post up to five lines of any book they wish to promote. Here are the guidelines:

1. In a comment, post up to five lines from a work in progress or a published work. You must be the author of that work, and it must be rated PG (we have students who read this blog).

2. Add the title of your work and include a buy link if you'd like.

3. Also feel free to add your website URL.

So let's see what you have for us: start posting your excerpts below!

A Novel Approach to Multiple Climaxes

Our special guest today is David Pereda, an award-winning author who enjoys crafting political thrillers and mainstream novels. His books have won the Lighthouse Book Awards twice, the Royal Palm Awards, the National Indie Excellence Awards, and the Readers Favorite Awards twice. He has traveled to more than thirty countries around the world and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, Pereda had a rich and successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.

 

A member of MENSA, Pereda earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He loves sports and has won many prizes competing in track and show-jumping equestrian events. 

Pereda lives with his youngest daughter Sophia in Asheville, North Carolina. He teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. 

Visit him online at: www.davidpereda.com

Other titles by David Pereda:

However Long the Night

Havana: Top Secret

Havana: Killing Castro

A Novel Approach to Multiple Climaxes

by David Pereda

Ideally, a climax should be satisfying. The Webster College Dictionary defines climax with erudite authority as “the highest point” or “culmination.” In reality, based on my own empirical observation, a climax varies according to the characters involved, the situation, the point of view, the technique, the pace, and the progression. Some examples that come to mind – not necessarily all -- are the “blow-your-socks-off climax,” the “hang-on-to-the chandelier climax,” the “sophisticated-cool climax,” the “wow-I-didn’t see-that-one-coming climax,” the “quiet-smile climax,” and the feared “that’s it? climax.”
 

I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. Oh, what a prurient mind you have, my dear reader! I’m talking about novel climaxes, not real life climaxes. So, please, concentrate your wandering thoughts on literature. Let me put everything in perspective for you, so you understand what I mean.

The plot progression of the modern novel typically consists of a sympathetic character facing a life-changing problem, conflict, complications, climax and resolution. As the narrative progresses, the tension escalates through its complications until the novel reaches its climax, which is the moment when the basic conflict is resolved. Study any well-known novel written during the past hundred years, and you will see this pattern. In many of these works of fiction, the tension toward the climax escalates slowly and gradually, as appropriate to the pace of life of the times.

However, we are in the 21^st Century, the age of instant gratification, where slow and gradual just won’t do. Everything moves much faster now. We are all in a hurry. We click on the TV remote surfing for a program to watch and give the image thirty seconds to seduce us, or else we click again and move on. We read the first paragraph of a novel at a bookstore, and if it doesn’t hook us right away, we put it back on the shelf and try another. A similar thing happens when we read a novel. We don’t want to waste our valuable time waiting for the climax to happen. We want it now! Worse yet, when it happens, we are often left with that nagging feeling of, “Is this all there is?” We want more.

So, I argue, why not have multiple climaxes in a novel?

My new thriller, Twin Powers, to be released next month by Second Wind Publishing at the Book’Em event in Lumberton, North Carolina, is an example of the multiple climaxes novel. It has four climaxes. Let me repeat that for you -- not one, not two, not three -- four climaxes. Each of the climaxes builds on the one before in an attempt to leave you, the reader, exhausted and fulfilled – and ready to take a break and go sip on a glass of Mersault or Medoc. I ask you, dear reader, isn’t that one of the premises of good writing that we authors should always try to achieve: to make you feel intensely and leave you satisfied? 

 I believe more and more authors will begin to write multiple climaxes in their novels to satisfy this current trend. I, for one, intend to continue making my thrillers climax-loaded and, hopefully, eminently satisfying to you, the reader. In the manuscript I’m working on right now, which I anticipate finishing and publishing this year, I’m considering outdoing myself and writing five different climaxes ranging from the “quiet-smile” to the “blow-your-socks-off” type.

I know it will be a challenge because my new work-in-progress centers around a thirteen year old nerdy girl who runs track -- but doesn’t an enjoyable and fulfilling life consist, to a great extent, of meeting head on, and overcoming challenges?

Book 'Em North Carolina - How It Happened

Last Friday, I talked about The Book 'Em Foundation and the inspiration behind it. Today I'll pick up with how the Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair came to be. I've been asked many, many times how I created this annual event and how others can do something similar in their own back yards.

Laying the Groundwork: I began lining up community support in 2005 for Book ‘Em North Carolina, even though the first event would not take place until 2012. The purpose of the event is to raise funds for literacy programs in Robeson County, reducing crime, and helping authors network and find new fans.

We gathered support from the City of Lumberton (always important to get local leaders involved), the Lumberton Area Visitors Bureau (instrumental for publicity efforts, and God bless the LVB's Executive Director, Mickey Gregory, who is an entire cheerleading squad wrapped up in one body), area businesses (sponsorships), civic groups (volunteers), schools (school-age attendance and volunteers with boundless energy), non-profits (to whom the literacy funds will go), among others. When we were offered Robeson Community College for the location, we were ready to get started.

Lining Up the Authors: We began contacting authors in March 2011. Katie Huneycutt joined me early on and has been instrumental in the event each year. Originally a librarian with Columbus County, she is now the Director for the Robeson County Public Library. She helped me email authors and post blogs to raise awareness of the Book ‘Em event. Thanks to Katie, we lined up two New York Times best-selling authors as headliners: Carla Neggers and Michael Palmer (necessary to attract large crowds). I developed our website, posting every author’s picture, bio and links as they registered. Over time, I added dozens of informational pages. As of this writing, I continue to maintain and pay for the website myself.

Sponsorships: We solicited businesses for sponsorships, instrumental for promoting and marketing the event. We lined up pillars of the community, including a host of businesses who donated $250 to $2,000 apiece. We secured grants from the Lumberton Area Visitor’s Center to cover promotional efforts and Kiwanis Club of Lumberton, who provided money to buy children’s books to give away.

Publicity: We began periodic press releases in the spring, which were picked up by mainstream and Internet media. We obtained media sponsors, including Lumberton Magazine and Robeson Living Magazine, and have been working steadily with newspapers, television and radio stations.

In 2012, we picked up our first national sponsor: Southern Writers Magazine, who continues to sponsor us. 

Our big promotional campaign begins January 2. Brochures are in all the NC Welcome Centers on I-95 and with local businesses; flyers will be distributed with all Lumberton utility bills; and our full Talks Schedule will be published in various magazines, including Southern Writers Magazine and Lumberton Magazine.

Logistics: The conference and book fair features more than 75 authors selling and signing their books, which means we must have tables and adequate space not only for the authors but for traffic flow. Over our first three years in Lumberton, we've also added publishers, literary agents, Hollywood producers (for making books into movies) and even rock stars who believe in our mission.

We’ve divided two buildings into fiction, non-fiction, young adult and a special Children’s Corner, meticulously measuring hallways and classrooms. We have four to five sets of talks going on simultaneously - panel discussions and solo talks for every genre – plus readings for small children.

Each talk requires a moderator; each hallway and conference room requires a Team Captain and host of volunteers. There is an Author’s Lounge, requiring a Food Committee. Golden Corral of Lumberton Catering & Buffet stepped up to provide breakfast and lunch for our authors free of charge. We’ll have greeters, on-going events in the Children’s Corner, and centralized cash registers, each requiring a team of volunteers.

When our event began in 2013, a strong rain descended on Lumberton. It was heart-warming to see scores of volunteers in their light blue Book 'Em North Carolina t-shirts rushing out to each author's vehicle as they pulled in front of the triple doors at the Lewis Auditorium, to unload their books and transport them to their tables. When the authors parked and made their way indoors, they were pleasantly surprised to find their books awaiting them at their designated tables.

Attendees: Over the first three years of the event, attendance has grown to encompass visitors from across the country. We've had fans and aspiring writers journey from as far away as California, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida - as well as from across the Carolinas. During a blizzard, one group left St Louis, Missouri and traveled for two days to reach the event. They found it so beneficial and fun that many plan to make the trip again in 2015.

Afterward: When the event is over, our work is not: we’ll clean up the space used, reconcile all the funds received, pay authors and publishers their portion of the book sales, award the non-profits funding for literacy efforts, and donate remaining books to literacy groups.

Then we start the whole process over. It takes a full twelve months to organize the event and ensure its success. Tune in next Friday, January 23 to find out how we manage it all!

Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair is held on the last Saturday of each February in Lumberton, NC. The event is FREE and open to the public; doors open at 9:30 am. A portion of every book sale is donated to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Robeson County, Communities In Schools, and Friends of the Robeson County Public Library for literacy campaigns for all ages. The Book ‘Em Foundation was founded by author p.m.terrell, who wrote this blog, and Police Officer Mark Kearney, to raise awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates.

Writers Working Wednesday!

A major goal for Book 'Em North Carolina is to increase reading, whether that is non-fiction or any genre of fiction. Whether you have written a book for adults, young adults or children, we'd like to introduce our followers to you - whether or not you are participating in our next book fair.

So each Wednesday like today, we have Writers Working Wednesday, in which any author can post up to five lines of any book they wish to promote. Here are the guidelines:

1. In a comment, post up to five lines from a work in progress or a published work. You must be the author of that work, and it must be rated PG (we have students who read this blog).

2. Add the title of your work and include a buy link if you'd like.

3. Also feel free to add your website URL.

So let's see what you have for us: start posting your excerpts below!

How Book 'Em Came To Be

The Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair is just weeks away, and I'd like to take a few posts to explain how The Book 'Em Foundation came to be, how we established the annual Book 'Em North Carolina event, and what authors and visitors can expect on Saturday, February 28, 2015 when we hold our fourth BENC event, which is a multi-award-winning event.

MEET P.M.TERRELL

My name is Patricia M. Terrell. To my friends, I am simply "Trish" and to readers and fans, I am p.m.terrell. Although I began writing in 1967 (and yes, that makes me feel REALLY old), my first book wasn't published until 1984, and my first suspense/thriller in 2002. I wrote (and still do) because I love writing, and I honestly can't think of a better way to spend my time.

When my first suspense, Kickback, was released in 2002, I traveled the Commonwealth of Virginia, signing books and providing proceeds to Virginia Crime Stoppers Association's local members, including the Chesterfield County/ Colonial Heights Crime Solvers, where I was honored to serve as their first female president.

MEET MARK KEARNEY

While signing in Staunton, Virginia, I became acquainted with Waynesboro Police Officer Mark Kearney. Mark and I share a commitment to bettering our communities and as we talked, the subject fell to the link between high illiteracy rates and high crime rates. Both of us began researching the correlation and the more we learned, the more we were committed to helping our communities by simultaneously raising the level of literacy and reducing crime rates.

As we pondered how we were to accomplish this, I realized that I, a lone author, was giving to Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers organizations through the sale of my books. What if, I mused, I was able to pull together a half dozen authors to help me raise money for increasing literacy and reducing crime?

We put the word out and in a short period of time, we had not six authors but more than 75! We realized that this event was going to be larger than we'd ever imagined so we formed the non-profit (Virginia) Corporation, The Book 'Em Foundation.

THE BIRTH OF BOOK 'EM

Our first event was held in Waynesboro, Virginia and was so successful that we continued to hold the event annually. In addition to Waynesboro, they were also held in Lebanon, New Hampshire and Charleston, South Carolina.

When I moved from Virginia to Lumberton, North Carolina in 2004, I knew I wanted to establish an annual event here. It would be called Book 'Em North Carolina and would be not only a book fair in which books were sold to raise money for literacy and anti-crime efforts, but it would also include an annual writers' conference.

Tune in on Friday, January 16 to find out what was involved in getting the Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair started.

Writers Working Wednesday!

A major goal for Book 'Em North Carolina is to increase reading, whether that is non-fiction or any genre of fiction. Whether you have written a book for adults, young adults or children, we'd like to introduce our followers to you - whether or not you are participating in our next book fair.

So each Wednesday like today, we have Writers Working Wednesday, in which any author can post up to five lines of any book they wish to promote. Here are the guidelines:

1. In a comment, post up to five lines from a work in progress or a published work. You must be the author of that work, and it must be rated PG (we have students who read this blog).

2. Add the title of your work and include a buy link if you'd like.

3. Also feel free to add your website URL.

So let's see what you have for us: start posting your excerpts below!