Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Wednesday Women: Cantor Gold by Ann Aptaker

Something new in the Wednesday Women feature--we will see some familiar names in the future! In order to celebrate the next book in her series, Ann Aptaker returns with her leading lady Cantor Gold. Welcome!


(Graphic provided by author)


For WEDNESDAY WOMEN, October 7, 2015


TO SCREAM OR TO WHISPER: THAT IS THE QUESTION

by Ann Aptaker


Getting a new book into the public consciousness is now part of an author’s job, a job not every author is particularly good at, or even wants to do. Writing that novel/short story/play/poem is a quiet endeavor performed alone (unless you count the noisy crowd of characters in the author’s head). Marketing, on the other hand, is a very public endeavor. An author has to put herself out there, either in person at readings and other events, or through electronic or print media: writing social media and blog posts, doing interviews, writing articles, submitting the book to reviewers, among other pushy activities. And I don’t like being pushy.

Oh, I will fight to the death to keep a word or sentence in my manuscript an editor wants to change or toss (and I win some and lose some; my editor, the brilliant Ruth Sternglantz at Bold Strokes Books, is often right), so I’m not exactly a pushover. But there’s a difference between holding your ground for something you believe in and hogging the ground to claim it for a billboard. In today’s publishing world, though, the latter must be done. Gone are the days when a publisher built and financed a PR campaign around an emerging author: buying ads, setting up a book tour, paying for the flights and hotels, and so on, unless said author writes the popular blockbuster sort of fare, and even then a publisher may not want to spend the money. Though publishers do have marketing strategies, these days those strategies require authors to carry a lot of the load.

So here I am, grateful down to my socks to Barbara Winkes for allowing me the opportunity to guest blog on her site to pitch my new release, TARNISHED GOLD, Book Two in the Cantor Gold Crime Series. But before I get to the actual pitching, a serious question must be addressed: to scream or to whisper? In a marketing environment crowded with countless other authors all vying for readers’ attention, should I simply scream louder than everyone else? Or should I talk under them, betting that a whisper will effectively drift like a wraith into readers’ consciousness. Frankly, I don’t know.

So I’m going to hedge my bets and not waste this opportunity to get TARNISHED GOLD into your consciousness and hence into your hands. Since I’m unable to decide between screaming or whispering, I will do both and trust that one or the other finds its way into your thinking and inspires you to part with your coin and buy the print edition or e-book. Here goes:

NEW YORK CITY, 1950. CANTOR GOLD, art SMUGGLER and UNDERWORLD DYKE-ABOUT-TOWN, hunts for a missing MASTERPIECE she’s RISKED HER LIFE to bring through the port of New York. She must OUTSMART the LAW that wants to JAIL her, OUTRUN the DOCKSIDE GANGSTERS who would let her take the fall for MURDER, and outplay a SHADY ART DEALER, his LOVER, and a BEAUTIFUL CURATOR who TOYS with CANTOR’S PASSION. Through it all, CANTOR must stay out of the GUN SIGHTS of a KILLER who’s KNOCKING OFF RIVALS for the missing MASTERPIECEand STAY ALIVE to solve the MYSTERY of her STOLEN LOVE.

So, be part of the OUTLAW adventure. BUY the PRINT or E-BOOK of TARNISHED GOLD!

Thank you.



About Ann:

Ann Aptaker’s debut novel CRIMINAL GOLD, was a 2015 Goldie Award nominee. In addition to writing crime and mystery fiction, Ann also writes art related articles, is an independent curator, and an adjunct Professor of Art and Art History at New York Institute of Technology. She lives in her hometown of New York City. TARNISHED GOLD is the second book in the Cantor Gold Crime series, published by Bold Strokes Books.

13 comments:

  1. I love Cantor as a character. She is awesome but I prefer a whisper!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Karen! And an e-book of Tarnished Gold will be on its way to you! Congrats! Which format do you need? I'll attach it through a Facebook message.

      Yeah, I prefer a whisper, too...but...well, y'know... ;-)

      Delete
  2. I understand your dilemma, completely. You words could have come from my mouth, but I would never have been clever enough to both scream and whisper. I'm going to share this, because you are so not alone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Genta! I saw the share on FB. Thank you! And thanks for your supportive observations about the marketing ordeal. Since you're the second commenter, an e-book copy of TARNISHED GOLD is yours! Which format do you need? I can send it through Facebook messaging, or through an email. Let me know which way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ann! I would really like .mobi or .prc, whatever you have for Kindle. I'll give you my email address through Facebook messaging... Thanks!

      Delete
  4. Thanks for the opportunity to receive a copy of Tarnished Gold. Now to figure out how to post this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the opportunity to receive a copy of Tarnished Gold. Now to figure out how to post this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi MJ! I'm not sure my earlier reply got through, so I'm replying again. I'm delighted to send you an ecopy of TARNISHED GOLD! You can message me through Facebook and ket me know which format you'll need (mobi for Kidle, epub for any other tablet or reader, or a PDF for a computer).

      Delete
  6. It came through just fine, MJ. I'm delighted to send you an ebook of TARNISHED GOLD! You private message me through Facebook and tell me which format you need (Mobi for Kindle, epub for other tablet, or a PDF for computer), and give me your email so I can send it. Congratulations, and happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I will try again since I don't see my comment from yesterday. I would love a copy. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angela! This time it came throug just fine. Please PM me through Facebook and letr me know which format you'll need and I can attach it through Facebook or you can tell me your email and I can send it that way. Congratulations, and enjoy TARNISHED GOLD!

      Delete
  8. Interesting blog. I am an emerging author myself and was wondering if the publishers are no longer doing the advertising then what is the point of using a publisher? More and more the self publishing author is being accepted. It is no longer the mindset that the author wasn't good enough to be with a "real" publisher. Authors are tired of bleeding on the page and then giving up their profits to a publisher and for what? How easy it is now to use a program to self publish, hire an editor, buy a cover...then reap the rewards. I was debating on whether or not to submit to a publisher, but if I have to do all the advertising as well, then what's the point? What exactly are they providing for keeping the lions share of the money?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Barbara, Well, there are advantages to working through a publisher. Though it's true that authors today must carry much of the PR load, publishers do provide a base from which to market. They have extensive followers for their websites, newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. So though I have to do much of the marketing myself, my message eventually gets to thousands of people I might not be able to reach on my own.

      Publishers also provide other services that I don't have to pay for. If I were to self-publish, as you've noted I'd have to hire the content editor, copy editor, ebook formatter, cover designer, etc., which I simply don't have the funds to do. And while it's true that there are many self-published authors writing quality books (I've met several, and their books are superb), going through a publisher does provide a certain discipline. Readers looking to buy a book often assume, correctly or not, that a traditionally published author's work has been vetted for quality, or the publisher wouldn't be publishing it in the first place, investing all that money to edit, format, and print the book. Self-published works, even excellent ones, don't carry that assumed guarantee. It's not fair, of course, to assume that self-published works are of lesser quality, because it's not necessarily true. But a traditionally published book does add that layer of discipline.

      Meantime, good luck with your writing! We can't have too many writers in the world!

      Delete