2017 Terror In Ypsilanti and Fornology Year End Review

Photo credit: Nicole Fribourg.

As 2017 was coming to a close, I thought Terror In Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked and Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel were all but played out. I began the year with several California and Arizona book talks which were sparsely attended. Fortunately, my books were selling with some regularity on Amazon, and Ebook sales kicked-in to carry the day.

In February, I was approached by Tantor Media in Australia for the audio rights to Terror In Ypsilanti. They produced, advertised, and distributed the audio. All I had to do was cash the $500 advance and forget about it. Advances are guaranteed upfront, but royalties don't begin until profits pay back the advance. I thought it would take forever if at all, but I started earning royalties in the third-quarter. That was an unexpected surprise. The audio was selling.

Terror In Ypsilanti and Zug Island are self-published regional stories. Several editors and agents told me there was no audience for them. In April, I did a limited book tour in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Detroit, Michigan and was surprised when I sold out my stockpile of books. I returned again in July with more books to sell at Bookclub of Detroit's Bookfest. I sold out again. Traveling to Michigan from California to promote my books eats up my profits, but I didn't want the titles to die on the vine. Money has never been a motive for writing my books.

Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. Photo credit: Lisa Powers

To get regional bookstores to handle Terror In Ypsilanti, I stripped my profit out of the equation to make the book attractive to booksellers. Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore, Nicola's Books, and Barnes & Noble in Ann Arbor agreed to carry my title. The Barnes & Noble in Allen Park--my hometown--also decided to carry the book. There may be others I'm unaware of. All bookstores are welcome to contact my publisher Wheatmark, Inc. for more information. Word of mouth has given Terror In Ypsilanti a life of its own.

Last spring, I wrote an article about John Norman Collins for The Dagger magazine in London. Months passed and I forgot about it. Early in December, I was notified that the article was published in their quarterly winter edition. This gives my book some international exposure.

A day or two later, a CBS producer contacted me to see if I'd be interested in being interviewed about the Collins murders for Through the Decades with Bill Kurtis in March. Talk about unexpected! The program will give Terror In Ypsilanti some much needed national exposure when it airs in August. What a nice way to end the year. 

Without my Fornology blog posts, I wouldn't have been able to get word out to the public or the media at large about my books. In April 2011, I reluctantly started blogging  at the request of my San Diego publicist Paula Margulies. My inner voice told me, "Who the Hell has time for this?" Once I got my posting rhythm down, I found I actually enjoyed blogging and the instant gratification I got from it. More and more people discovered my site and responded positively.

I was not only building a domestic audience, but also getting some international exposure from Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Canada, the United Kingdom, and a vast array of other countries. In the six years since I began blogging, I've written over 380 posts. On December 26th, Fornology.com surpassed half a million hits.

Here is a link the Terror In Ypsilanti audiobook read by professional New York voice artist Chris Ciulla. Listen to a five minute sample: https://www.audible.com/pd/Nonfiction/Terror-in-Ypsilanti-Audiobook/B06XSKGMMJ/ref=a_search_c4_2_8_srTtl?qid=1491099172&sr=2-8 

Terror In Ypsilanti Audiobook Available

An audiobook version of Terror In Ypsilanti was released on March 31, 2017, by Tantor Media. The reading length is 11 hours and 52 minutes.

Listen to a free 5 minute sample from chapter one. I'm quite pleased with the narration by professional voice artist Chris Ciulla (Shula). Now available for purchase.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Nonfiction/Terror-in-Ypsilanti-Audiobook/B06XSKGMMJ/ref=a_search_c4_2_8_srTtl?qid=1491099172&sr=2-8

Terror in Ypsilanti Great Expectations

Wheatmark Publishing booth--Tucson Festival of Books March 2017

Since its release last August, Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked has done well. My publisher Sam Henrie at Wheatmark, Inc. recently told me most self-published books sell fewer than 50 copies. Selling 200 copies is considered a success. In eight months, TERROR has sold over 2,000 copies becoming Wheatmark's current top seller.

That distinction entitles me to membership in Wheatmark's Great Expectations Program. In addition to recognition in their publishing newsletter, I was awarded $2,000 in goods and/or services. This was totally unexpected and most appreciated. I look forward to working with Wheatmark on future projects.

To celebrate this personal milestone, I have reduced the price of my ebooks from $9.95 to a more competitive $6.95. Both Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked and Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel are available on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and Apple i-book digital editions.

Either book makes a good vacation or airplane read. I would like to encourage my American and International Fornology readers to order my titles postage-free using the convenient ebook option. No physical book to wait for in the mail. Tap the book image in the right sidebar for the Amazon/Kindle site.

Soon, there will be a digital option for book listeners. In June 2017, Tantor Media will release an audiobook of Terror in Ypsilanti. They chose professional reader Chris Ciulla (www.chrisciulla.com) to narrate the book. I've listened to some of his previous work, and I'm confident he will do a fine job.

Tantor Media is an Australian company that produces, promotes, and distributes digital audiobooks to English-speaking countries worldwide. In addition to the consumer market, Tantor specializes in libraries and audiobooks for the blind. I look forward to doing business with them.

Bouyed by Terror in Ypsilanti's success, I am looking ahead to a new challenge--bringing the book to the screen. More on that in my next post.

Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked--2017 Book Talk Schedule

Photo by Nick Abadilla Photography

2016 was a busy year for me. Bringing Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked (TIY) to publication dominated the first half of the year. On August 1st, Wheatmark Publishing, Inc. brought out a quality paperback edition of TIY and a digital ebook edition. I direct-marketed the book as well as offering it online at Amazon, B&N, and ebook formats--notably Kindle, Nook, and KOBO. My year ended with selling the option for the digital-audio rights to Tantor Media, a publisher that distributes audiobooks in English-speaking countries worldwide.

For being an independently published book, I'm more than pleased with the reception TIY has received. Reader response has been overwhelmingly positive. One of my original goals was to get this shadowy story out to the public with the facts as they are known. That I have done.

2017 is shaping up to be another busy year. Most of my book talks last year were in Southeastern Michigan around the Detroit area. Only now am I beginning to work the San Diego County market. Being able to drive to an appearance, give the talk, and return home cuts my overhead expenses considerably.

My talk at the San Carlos Public Library last Friday, January 27th, went quite well, and I have scheduled a number of others. I hope to add several more venues as I go along. Here is my schedule thus far:

1. Friday, February 3rd -  the LIFE @ San Elijo program at San Elijo Campus of MiraCosta College, 3333 Manchester Ave, Cardiff CA 92007. Building 200 is the most westerly on the campus. Parking permits aren't required on Friday afternoons, but please do not park in a spot marked “Staff.” 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm, Encinitas, Calfornia.
2. Monday, February 6th - San Diego Educator Association (Ret.) featured speaker at their quarterly meeting luncheon at 11:30 am. San Diego, California.
3. Saturday, March 11th - Tucson Festival of Books on the campus of University of Arizona at 2:00 pm. Meet and greet book signing at Wheatmark Publishing booth. Tucson, Arizona.
4. Saturday, April 22nd - La Jolla Public Library, San Diego, California, from 2:00 pm until 3:00 pm.
5. Thursday, May 11th - Ypsilanti District Library, Ypsilanti, Michigan, from 6:30 pm until 7:30 or 8:00 pm. This year's presentation will be different than last year's talk.
6. Saturday, May 13th - Ann Arbor Barnes & Noble book signing, Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm.
7. Sunday, July 16th - Book Club of Detroit's First Annual Detroit Festival of Books at the Eastern Market from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

I've been very happy with the overall reception of TIY. Direct sales of autographed copies from my author website have been good, and my Amazon sales are strong. TIY reached #4 on Amazon's Biography/Memoir/Regional/Midwest category, despite splitting the market with the online retailing giant. Kindle and other ebook versions have been selling well also.

Since the presidental elections, the holidays, the inauguration, and the shifting of the setting sun, sales have moderated, but with the lengthening days, my outlook for 2017 is optimistic.