From the Author's Desk
Read on for more information on the behind the scenes of working on this book, events, marketing, and all the other fun stuff that didn't make it into the book / found more details about while working on it.
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For folks living a little farther away from LA city core, I decided to partner with the folks at Lord Empanada for a casual weekend book signing. The cute spot in Monrovia serves Argentinian empanadas and sandwiches and a pretty nice flan, though if you happen to get one of the sweet empanadas then you might not need the flan.
Owner Ryan Lopez and his family own the place and many of the recipes are his grandma's creations. The venue is celebrating their third anniversary in a few days. He has been so supportive of the book since I first reached out to include his business and I was glad to be able to list them under multiple chapters thanks to their menu items. Some of my guests decided to taste the empanadas and were impressed with how fresh and flavorful plus non-greasy they were. I can tell you they are some of the best, especially the birria, which is one of their signature offerings. Though many folks do takeaway here, there's enough seating for a few parties and I was lucky to get an entire little author booth set up for myself right by the window at the corner! A couple of folks stopped by for evening drinks and dinner and loved the book. It was a quick event and intimate too and a welcome rest after the big event a few days ago for the big launch. Big thanks to the staff at Lord Empanada for a cozy evening spent with some close friends. Gracias!
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A bursting heart full of gratitude for the wonderful folks who turned up for the Books and Brunch event at Amiga Amore LA Mexitalian in Highland Park over the weekend and simply made my day! Well, firstly, thanks to the folks at Amiga Amore itself because they ended up having a date conflict on the original dates planned for this event and chose to open just for this brunch event during a time they should have been closed. For that, I was truly grateful so I wanted this event to be a success to share this beautiful couple and their team and the neighborhood gem they've established. In fact, I ended up there for dinner the week before and the place was popping - so if you go for dinner, make reservations. The food there is amazing and everyone that made it to the brunch shared how much they wanted to come back to try their regular menu. Which brings me to everyone that did make it and made this day so special for me. This started out as another event on the calendar to try and share the book with more folks but once the venue made it so special by opening just for us then I had to truly treat it as a major event for the book itself so it became my big book launch brunch party and most everyone I invited made it, including some lovely out of towners, so I couldn't be more pleased with the turnout. Everyone that saw the book loved it, and that positive feedback is so crucial when you've been working all alone on this project for a year and keeping it a secret the whole time too. I loved folks reacting to the beautiful layouts and all of the information in the book. Some were even surprised how many chapters there were or even some of the communities represented. And, of course, it's always a thrill to be dining at one of the spots mentioned in the book itself. I also had a little surprise for the folks that made it to this event - they all got to pick their own bookmarks designed and created by a woman-owned business I love supporting out of South India. The smiles on their faces as they chose certain designs and colors was adorable. I am hoping they loved those a the book and the food too and it sure looked like everyone was having a great time. At the heigh of the event, the venue was packed and the kitchen was busy so I am glad the party was a success. Sharing some photos with a smile on my face and thankful for all the good wishes and vibes every single guest shared. If you were one of them then thank you for participating in a special and memorable moment for me. You are appreciated! Woohoo! Yes, it's true. My book is now available at Barnes and Noble. The only way to find out where your books are sold, at least as far as retail outlets go, is to actually go check in person it appears. Since books are distributed by multiple parties, there is no way to say which outlets are carrying your books or not. Sure you could call and ask or check online but I've learned even that isn't a sure way to tell because sometimes books are not in stock or are ordered and still on their way or are only available by order, etc.
So imagine my surprise visiting the Barnes and Noble near home to discover they did have my book and offered to give me all copies they had so I could sign them too. Now if you go to the book store location at The Grove, you can get a signed by me copy and every book has a lovely Signed by the Author gold seal sticker they put on the cover so go get your copy there before they run out! It really is kinda cool to see your book sitting there on the Travel section shelves along with so many other books you've read or authors you've admired over the years. It was somewhat awkward to ask complete strangers to take my pictures by my own book but also felt so happy to see it there and tell them about it. I don't know if that feeling ever goes away but right now, it is pretty darn thrilling. Of course, I drove around to a bunch of other book stores near me and many did not carry the book. Some were interested and some not. But I am hoping to discover a few more that do carry my book and post it here. Meanwhile if you find my book anywhere then tell me about it please. Feel free to send me a message here on my website or tag me in social media. And, thank you for buying the book. It makes my day to hear when folks buy the book! ![]() Talk about a thrill! Had to cancel my first few events because the books didn’t make it to me in time but lo and behold, my first box of books did arrive at my door last week and was I pleased. I confirmed with the venue right away and the lovely folks at The Libros Lincoln Heights were so encouraging – they were even fine with me just turning up and doing a presentation on my laptop if my books didn’t arrive. So kind. I really had my heart set on this being my first event because it was CicLAmini in the area that day so there would be good foot traffic, but also it was the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and I wanted to support a locally owned business from the community. It was a bit of a walk to get to the venue past all the festivities of the event as many streets were blocked to vehicles, but it was a fun walk watching everyone on their bikes all decked up riding around. Also thanks to the husband who trudged along dragging that suitcase full of books – those things are heavy. And when I got to the venue, there was already a great crowd because I was right next to the coffee folks who had a stall there too. The Libros set me up with a nice table right up front by the entrance. I hadn’t even started putting flyers on the table and people started hovering over to see the book. I must shower kudos to the designer for creating such a lovely cover – the bright colors attract people right away, even from a distance, and that huge logo in the center gets even kids’ attention. But what happened next, I honestly wasn’t expecting. Within minutes of laying out the first 10 books, one gentleman walked over and started flipping through the pages. He purchased a book. My first customer! Within a few minutes, another passer-by stopped to ask about the book and got a copy too. And then it just went nonstop from there. My first ten books were gone within that first hour and I had to get the next 10 books out of my suitcase to display on the table. I wasn’t halfway through my time there at my author table and already I had sold half of what I had taken as stock. One kind lady purchased two copies – for self and a friend. People stopped by to say how much they appreciated a book covering so many cultures rather than certain neighborhoods or only cuisines or galleries. Some folks couldn’t believe certain communities were even present in the city. Every conversation was encouraging. Every person so kind with their words. And everyone was so generous to pose for pictures as you can see from the shots shared here. I don’t think I stopped smiling the little over two hours I was there. I seriously did not expect such a response for the book at an event that I did not even publicize given how close to the event date I received my copies. I was about ready to call my husband back for a restock of books if it got close to just one at the table. My heartfelt gratitude to every single person who purchased my book that day. You have no idea how much your purchase meant to this first-time author. And how much you helped build my confidence that day in sharing my book with you. Also walking back with an empty suitcase was a treat.
Someone invited me to a radio show at that event, another person connected me with a local book shop for an author signing and a third person took my card to invite me to area schools for author talks. How many of those will materialize I don’t know so you will just have to come back here and keep reading these updates on my little blog. But how very kind of folks to share their resources. I am equally elated and surprised by the kindness of strangers in this city. At final tally, of the 20 books I took with me, 15 were sold that day, 3 sold to The Libros if you want to stop by and grab a copy, and two others were presented as thank you gifts. Especially one to a very sweet and dear friend who spent her Sunday with me being my cheerleader and champion, hollering at everyone to come buy my book and sharing how much information my book offered. Have someone like that with you and there will never be a dull moment at your table. No, I will not give you her information, she mine. Keep following along for updates on the next few events and other fun book and author news. I promise to keep posting until I have a bestseller lol! The fun part of designing the pages is when you find out what is missing because now you are sort of piecing together this puzzle that has been delivered piecemeal and figuring out how to place everything. Well, I am not but I figured that's what the designer is thinking when they get copy and images and are trying to make sense of where that goes on a layout especially if they have graphics they want to add too and then choosing the colors and how that continues through the book. I bet they find that part interesting. Or cumbersome if you are working with me lol!
Found out some of the images I thought I had bulk uploaded to the production team actually didn't join the bulk so to speak. So there was a request for missing images that happened. Then I found out that I had missed some images as well, this from someone whose work depends on being organized because client management is a big part of the freelance writer world. Feels like some images just disappeared from the face of the planet altogether. Not on my laptop or phone, not in my backup drive, like I know they existed because I got them sourced or shot but for the life of me cannot find them anymore. If that ain't a puzzle ... Let me tell you what is - a whole physical location of a business falling off the face of the planet seemingly overnight. Yes, that happened. One of the businesses that shared beautiful images with me which were the only ones i was going to use for that chapter just upped and went and left no crumbs. I literally mean they disappeared into thin air. And how do I find out? Because I look at the spelling of the name of the business and say - well let me just check this online to make sure. Lo and behold - no website. No listings online. No phone number. No mention in no directory. Emails bouncing. Calls getting the 'this number does not exist' response. If I had included them in the book and left it at that, you would have thought I created the whole business in my head. So, of course, I have go see this for myself and I drive over to their address only to find the whole place looking deserted and no sign of life there. So what does that mean for me? A whole new chapter in the middle of the design pages taking shape. This is not the life I planned for. How did I get here? Chugging along here, how are you doing?
My grand document with the book copy is back now after having seen the professional eyes of an editor and now I have to make my edits and answer some clarifications and add some notes and delete some others and this will be the start of this book coming together. I have an idea in my head of what this book will look like but I also have no clue visually of what I am working toward as this is the first and only book in the series being worked on right now so yay me lol! So here I am in my merry little bubble typing away at this copy and making it to where it might read like a full book. While each chapter sort of is a standalone chapter because it covers a specific community, I hope it still reads through like one book because of the nature of information shared. I see it like an anthology of sorts - like a series of smaller stories to connect to one larger umbrella theme, which is LA in this case. I was able to get the additional info and images that were due past the deadline so that part has been accomplished. I believe after the edit rounds the copy will be designed with the images and I will see a pdf proof of the book. I honestly don't know how it will be designed. I am glad it is a color book and not black and white because it just wouldn't do the images justice. I hope the images shine in the book. I didn't realize until I started getting the entire lot of images together for uploads to the production team just how many images were of food or restaurants or festivals to do with food, etc. I guess food is one of the easiest ways to experience a community and culture so that explains it. I also think it was easier to get images from many of those businesses vs. images from say community centers or other cultural and arts organizations because they have multiple people involved in the decision-making or a board or a team of advisers and not everyone agrees on being part of the book or sharing images so that's another factor. But there are some really nice images on there and I hope some good ones get picked for a two page spread because not every chapter will have large images. I am looking forward to getting the edits out of the way and seeing the layout. I don't know what to imagine it will look like. I am no designer. My creativity, if you can call it that, is limited to words, the written version, not even the spoken as much. My idea of a layout is very straightforward and simple. I don't know if there will be additional graphics involved or what else is happening. The anticipation is simultaneously exciting and unnerving. I don't know what the cover will look like. I hate the wait but if writing a book doesn't teach you patience, I don't know what else will do the job. Twiddling thumbs for now. Oh wait, sorry, can't do that. More typing needed for other book-related jobs. Ta! Relief! After the last month, that's what I am feeling in one word. Not 100% but at least 90% relief. My book copy and images are uploaded to the publisher and now begins the process of editing and design and proofing and finalizing while also thinking about events and media and marketing and promoting - you see how this doesn't end right?
If you read the last update then you know I was in a frenzy about not meeting my deadline and having to ask about an extension on it and not wanting to but having to and so the conflict. Well, I asked, and the production team accepted, bless their kind and generous hearts. I am sure someone out there cussed me for not being a professional and being so terrible to work with and I don't blame them if they did honestly. But you know what, big thanks to them because the day they agreed to the extension I actually slept a full day, to make up for the sleepless nights the week before. Something else I had not expected would be part of the journey of writing this book was people dying and family quarrels. Yup. Death of the owner of a business was not in my plans. So believe my surprise and sadness when I found out someone I was going to feature and speak with had suddenly passed on. That was upsetting. I didn't know them personally but it is an odd feeling that one day someone exists and then the next day they don't. Such is life I guess. I also didn't expect to find myself in the middle of a family-owned business having changed ownership and being in the midst of a family quarrel on who gets credited for what. I also found a handful of businesses I had included were now either renovating or moving out because they couldn't afford a lease anymore or had some structural damage they needed to address, and that made it iffy I could include them now so making that decision was difficult too. I really thought I'd be in a place by start of March where I was just cleaning copy, filing away images, typing up everything in a pretty bow to send it off with a smile to the production team. I am far from it. But the extension helped. And I was able to get most everything in and uploaded just a few days ago. Some images are still pending but will get in over the next few days. Meanwhile, I might need a few more nights and days of good sleep. Sweet dreams or not, here we go. Suffice to say that title should give you an inkling of my current state of affairs. So here's the breakdown ...
The looking good part - I've mostly been successful finding replacements for some of the suggestions in the book, been able to get almost all communities covered that I wanted to, and all my requests for images and additional information or any clarifications are being answered so that is working in my favor. My primary document with all the chapters is starting to look cleaner in its current version, I am not going to disclose the number of this draft version though :) The not looking so good part - With just two weeks to go almost before I provide everything to the publisher, I think I will need an extension to that March 1 deadline. If everyone I contacted delivers on everything they promised by when they said they would then maybe yes I can still make it work but that's putting a lot of trust in the universe all at once. Unsure the universe can deliver on this one. I've had to start driving around some more to speak with folks and get permissions for images or find others who will provide them and then spend nights writing so that prediction somewhere in the first few posts about sleepless nights has eventually come true. Another aspect of writing the book I simply had not anticipated was the number of folks I contacted that openly asked if certain others were being included in the book. From the same community, mind you. Which seemed really sad to me that they wouldn't want another member of their own community to prosper just as they do. You might be competing with each other in your own areas of business but your best competition is yourself and not another is the way I see it. To have to put down someone else to be successful yourself is just not the mentality I can get behind. I felt uncomfortable including such folks in the book but they made my decision easier by choosing not to be a part of it themselves when I said to them that factual research doesn't play favorites. But you know now that means that I have to find others to replace this information I had originally planned on including which brings me back to the not so good part above. Back to work now and dreading having to ask for a deadline extension which just isn't me but looks like I will have to resort to it this time. Ugh. I hope the production folks don't hate me for this. Keeping my fingers crossed I can still make this all work out exactly as I had planned. More in the next one! Happy New Year folks! I hope you had a restful holiday season. I've been on vacation visiting family and it has been somewhat relaxing. But I've also been both dreading and looking forward to January coming around because le book! And let's just say it has been interesting, with a few unexpected surprises thrown in. Or at least, I wasn't planning on these sorts of issues but maybe I should have.
In just the last week to ten days that I've begun revisiting my writing pages, I've found that several businesses have shut down operations, some venues have closed for renovation, some annual events are not eventing anymore, some PR folks I coordinated with are no more the people representing the folks I am featuring and the new PR folks aren't really keen on this book feature, images requested haven't made it to me yet, so I am in somewhat of a panic mode because my deadline is March 1. Yup, you read that right. March 1. So barely a month and a half away. And I am not feeling so confident in my abilities anymore to meet that deadline. And I am, or at least I like to believe I am, mostly a deadline driven person. It's extremely rare that I don't meet or beat deadlines. It's sort of ingrained in my system as a freelance writer. So this not meeting the deadline business is just not something I am happy about. Especially with things I cannot control. Plan of action now is to forge ahead and keep doing the work. Get the pieces I can. Plan for the rest and keep attacking that to do list like no tomorrow. Because come March that will be the case. It really ain't helping to work this hard on the book at this time but here we are. I feel like I might have to clear out some of my usual client work to focus more on the book because of some of these factors. Writing these blog posts have been therapeutic in a way I think. Just reading back I can see how much work has gone into this. I still feel I am at a good place with 75% of the book more or less in good shape but that last 25% is like a brick wall. Feels like each brick is weighing a ton on my shoulders right now. This is my first book. I want it to do well. I want people to see value in it. I want those featured to be happy they are part of the book. I want the publisher to be happy with what I produce. I really truly want it to be a celebration of LA. I am not feeling like much of a celebration right now though. So let's go try finding the small wins as I tackle these new roadblocks to get to a place where I am content with my work and myself. Laters y'all. So November is part of my three month writing plan and the last month of it because I do want to take December off to spend the holidays with family so I am trying to be as close to final copy as possible before Thanksgiving comes around. I am still not fully satisfied with some of the chapters and trying to narrow down some additional sources and research to fill in those pages. Those are also the chapters where I do not have sufficient imagery to send to the designer so that's been bothering me as well. Between meeting work deadlines, which, if I have not mentioned before, includes my freelance work for other clients writing and editing copy, I've been trying to divide my time between writing and organizing. But some days this line blurs very quickly so it's a hodgepodge of work and then it feels like I've accomplished everything and nothing in those few hours. Not a satisfying writing day at all.
I've been driving around talking to some businesses and venues and sharing more about the book in the hopes they will want to be featured. I had not planned on encountering places that simply would not want any part of it. A lot of folks are usually very happy for the free publicity but not everyone it appears. Even after I went to personally speak with them and convince them it's a book and nobody is going to come after them later for advertising and such, the answer was still no. Disheartening in some cases because they were pretty much the only folks representing that community I had been able to reach out to and then to hear 'no' made me feel sad. Some places, whatever their reasons were, and I respect that, did not want any pictures included, even if I offered to take some on my own. Because, yes, I have come to that point of desperation for some chapters, where images are simply not easy to come by and I am trying to go physically to these spots to get pictures taken. But again, a lot of 'no' and it can get draining so some days I just have to call it quits before I get too disappointed. Add to that LA traffic does not make it an easy venture to head out to the depths and breadths of the city. Some days were amazing. It's like the traffic parted for me and I'd get to even stop at a random church I saw along my way and say hello to folks in there and get a moment of peace. Other days, I wondered why we had so many cars in LA really. Like why is everyone driving in the same direction I am? Is everyone writing a book about LA? Anywhooooo, hoping for a smooth sailing last few days before I stop looking at these book pages for a few weeks and then come back to continue the final review. I hope I like what I see when I get back. Yikes. |
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