In my recent post about the highlights of Left Coast Crime Vancouver, the one thing I didn’t talk about was my book sales. Now, to be honest, most authors don’t expect to sell a ton of books at conferences (unless, of course, they’re one of the Guests of Honor or award nominees, and even that’s no guarantee). It’s not personal—there are just so many books to choose from, everyone gets a few freebies upon check-in, and there’s the travel element to consider. That said, we do tend to bring a half dozen of each of our titles to sell on consignment, ever the optimists. Most of the time, however, we have to schlep the vast majority of those same books back home with us.
For me, Left Coast Crime was different. It could be because the majority of attendees were from the U.S. and looking for Canadian authors, though I like to think that I was on two interesting panel discussions (Researching the Perfect Crime and Amateur Sleuths), along with a successful author speed dating event Thursday morning, when I was paired with fellow Canadian and bestselling author Vicki Delany a.k.a. Eva Gates.
NEW COVER
Whatever the reason, for the first time ever, my books sold out. Well…except for Past & Present, where I was left with four out of six copies. Why? I asked my fellow authors, readers I’d met and befriended. The answers varied, but the bottom line was the cover simply didn’t resonate. Everyone loved the ocean liner. No one seemed to love the “present” side with the tarot cards, computer et al. Too busy. Too confusing. They also didn’t find continuity with book 1 (Skeletons in the Attic) in the series. In short, covers sell books. This one failed. And so, I contacted my designer, Hunter Martin, upon my return (in his defence, he never loved the “present side” either — that’s entirely on me). We went back and forth, and then I elicited feedback from my Facebook friends. Here’s the end result, now “LIVE” in print and all e-book formats at your favorite bookseller.
OLD COVER
But wait, there’s more! On April 9th, Past & Present was officially released in Audiobook format on on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. It’s even Whispersync for Voice-ready on Amazon (meaning you  can switch from listen-mode on Audible to read mode on Kindle AND somehow it all keeps track of where you are in the book).
Audiobook cover
Past & Present, the audiobook version, was narrated by Kelli Lindsay, and I think she nails the voice of Callie Barnstable. Click here to listen to a clip.
PS: I’d love your feedback on the new cover and Kelli’s interpretation of Callie. Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to respond.
PPS: Not an Audible member? Here’s a link where you can try it out free for 30 days by downloading Past & Present.Â
I just want to do a shout-out to Pat and MythHawker for being a stellar bookseller. Every time my books have been in her shop at a conference, I’ve sold out. She’s fantastic and works very hard!!
Hi Mary, my books were sold by Dale at Cross Genre Books and he, too, was amazing to work with. So helpful and accommodating.
Love the new cover and yes, Kelli does a great job representing Callie. Well done on both. Glad you had fun at LCC. I’m looking at conferences closer to home – Kingston WritersFest and Women Killing it Festival in Prince Edward County.
Thanks Rose, and you know, I had no idea you were in PEC. Have you checked out Limestone in Kingston? http://www.limestonegenreexpo.ca — it’s too far for me to go, but if you’re in the area, why not give it a try?
Hi Judy, We moved from Timmins to Belleville over the winter. Spring has arrived much earlier for us than normal!
I just checked the info on the Limestone Genre Expo – looks good, a number of authors attending I recognize! I will be making plans to go.
Thanks for the info!
Hi Rose, I can imagine it’s much warmer in PEC! I live north of Toronto and it’s been the winter that never ends. Snow yesterday but 14C today so here’s hoping that nonsense is over. I know a few authors who have done or are doing Limestone. You’re probably best to sign up asap as I’m not sure if they sell out.
I love the new cover. It looks great. I like the idea of doing an audiobook, too. Sounds like LCC was a worthwhile trip!
Thanks Lynn. I loved LCC, best conference I’ve attended for many reasons. I’ve just finished a 3-part series for Crime Time on producing an audiobook. All my books are on audio. If you own the audio rights, you should do it.
Count me as a fan for the new cover. Congratulations!
Thanks Micki!
Love the new cover. As you note, covers are soooo important. I just had three new ones made for my Endurance mysteries and that meant a lot to consider.
Thanks Susan. We’ll see how it’s received but I’m now thinking branding — no idea why I didn’t think of that before!
The cover looks great, Judy. Glad you had a good time at LCC. Wish I could have been there.
Thanks Grace, and I wish I could afford to go to Malice…but I can only afford one conference per year!