Au Revoir (Almost)

This blog is now of legal age to drink: it's 21.  Yep, post #21 this are it, and the days are dwindling down, folks.  Our last book party is TOMORROW!  Oh, gawd.  I'm ready.  We do have three succeeding events--a panel and a store gig in December and the Noe Valley Authors Festival in March--but I think you all get the idea about events by now.  What more is there to say about more?

So, the next post will be the last post for the Ginger Snaps: Photos & Stories blog.  But, no tears yet, this being only the penultimate.  Moving on is good or, at least, it's life.

David and I are moving on to our book #2, which we'll start working on in January.  We've been cheating a little, thinking and talking.  How can you not talk when you're roommates?  Okay, I withdraw that question.  You may have a question to replace it, like, what's the new book going to be about?  We have a theme and a structure and a plan but, having done Ginger Snaps, we know that plans and structure and even theme have a way of changing so no sneak peeks I'm afraid.  You might be peeking at something that will look substantially different in a year when we're done.  Hope it suffices to say that it will involve equal parts visuals and text and be hot.

I have already moved on to my individual second book.  It will be similar to Ginger Snaps, a combination of art and fiction: artist Michael Broderick's gay erotic line drawings and the short stories they tell me.  We've got a great theme/s and have talked thru a format.  I can't wait for his drawings so I can begin writing!  Check out Michael's art at www.hottlead.com.

Michael has done several books, two of his own and two as an illustrator.  On ours we are co-authors of course.  Check out G Is for GROUNDSKEEPER for the high heat level you can expect from our book together.

I'm also going to shift to a more general literary blog sometime next year but more about that in my Very Last Ginger Snaps Blog Post!

Your friend
Rick

Tis the Season to Be Ginger

David and I were talking about money today.  (No, it's not a matter of making the rent.)  We've received requests from people who can't come to an event but want an autographed copy of Ginger Snaps: Photos & Stories.  (Gosh!  Blush!)  We decided we'll pass along our smart shopper discounts from blurb.com to them--and you if you want.

You know we raised money to print the book and in the middle of our vc campaign blurb raised its prices.  You also know we looked for discount coupons all over the place and found 20%, 25%, and 30% discounts to use when ordering books so we still wound up getting the same number of copies as we'd planned before the price rise.

On average, our copies cost us 30 bucks so we're gonna sell them to you at 30 bucks, plus postage.  No tax.  No charge for our autographs either.  haha.  You wind up saving $8 and you don't have to swill ginger beer or gobble very fattening gingersnaps at one of our parties.  Check the bottom of this post for payment and shipping details.  PayPal, baby.

This set me to musing about book pricing.  When I was a book editor, we had a formula.  X + Y + Z = $$.  Not that actually, but it was a formula which took into account what we paid the author (minimal), what it cost to print the book (lots), and some profit (not much).  Publishing had a profit margin similar to grocery stores: 3%, at least in the olden days.  For contrast, when I worked part-time in retail during college, Weinstock's profit margin was 300%.  Yowza!

But David and I aren't in this for the money.  This has been an adventure, not a profit making enterprise.  However, it is the gift giving season in America so give the gift of Ginger.  Check out our stores at blurb.com and Logosportwear below--and if'n y'all want an autographed copy.

Ginger Gifts O the Season:
     Ginger Snaps the book at http://blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3577527
     Ginger & Gingerphile t-shirts at http://gingergingerphiletee.logosoftwear.com
     Autographed copies of the book, pay $30 + $5.15 postage at PayPal.  Our PayPal address is gingersnapsphotosstories@yahoo.com.  When we get the PayPal notification, we ship your book!

Ruminative, not Remunerative

Feeling ruminative today.  Why?  Because I just finished reading Damned by Chuck Palahniuk?  Is the book really going to be continued or is that another Chuck joke?  Will Maddy really fight the devil and win?  What kind of story would it be if she lost?  Or won?  No, I like the to-be-continued non-ending, Chuck.  Can't wait for the movie though.  I see Maddy with red hair, a revved up Harry Potter fighting demons thru seven, count em, seven screen installments.

Or maybe I'm still jetlagged.  Got back to San Francisco Tuesday four hours late from New York.  Not New York's fault.  SF was foggy so SFO authorities closed a runway.  Yesterday was spent in my own personal fog.

Still, I had to meet with the designer for the poster and card for our panel gig in two weeks.  We were already late bkz head shots and book illustrations were not received in enough time before Adrian went to Europe for three weeks.  But what is is, in life and books; learn to make lemonade--or cranberry apple juice.  (It's red, see?)

As I trudged my way to Martha's Coffee on Church, the first three people I met were gingers.  In total, I passed six gingers before walking in Martha's door.  What a relief after New York.  Not that I'm against being different.  What can you do about it when you are?

Or maybe it's because it's Thanksgiving in the U.S.  (If we were Canadian, it would be all over, even the turkey carcass soup.)  Not that I reserve just one day for thanks.  Life is too full of interesting activities and intriguing people and amazing accidents of fate not to feel thankful every day.  Okay, now I've come out.  Yes, I am an optimist.

I'm going to a family dinner at which I'll be the only ginger, only Queer, only person living in a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants.  Also the ONLY political liberal.  But we love each other just the same.  Besides, there will be turkey and I've made an excellent pasta salad for the vegetarian attending.  Maybe she/he will have red hair.

Buy our ginger stuff!

    Ginger Snaps the Book at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3577527

    ginger and/or gingerphile red t-shirts at http://gingergingerphiletee.logosoftwear.com

P.S.:  Thanksgiving Ginger fact: Captain Miles Standish was a redhead.

Ginger Dreams Great and Small

Our New York soiree was about what I expected it to be.  We had the smallest attendance of any book tour event so far but we had exactly the number of people I expected so that's a wash.  I met new people and reunited with old friends, which were twin hopes.  We were in the elegant apartment of Eugene Jen, and he was a handsome and gracious host.  He exceeded my expectations.

Publishing a book is about dreams and expectations as well as the creation and production of it.  You can't help but hope, but you need to get a handle right away on your expectations.  Is your dream of writing the great American novel realistic?  Can you really expect your book to be a best seller?

On the other hand, you don't want not to dream.  If you didn't dream, would you be an artist in the first place?  Would you ever create a book at all?

I feel David and I have had realistic dreams and reasonable expectations all along.  I thought we'd print a few copies for family and friends but then sales opportunites came rolling along and 50 seemed more reasonable.  But I didn't want to pay for 50 copies upfront so we raised money.  Our goal was $1500 and we netted $3500.  If our goal had been $5000, we would have been disappointed.  $1500 was all we needed.

Raising money meant 30 copies immediately were committed to backers so 50 didn't seem like much any more, especially since we now had an 8-stop book tour, not the one party we expected.  So we raised our print run and our ultimate sales goal.

Our first event had two-thirds the people we expected so we decided we were being unrealistic.  We revised our attendance goals for the next four and we have been happy each time instead of disappointed.  The numbers have been about what we expected.

Publishing a book is work, whether you do it on your own or thru a major publisher.  You don't just create the thing and never lift a finger until you open the royalty check.  It's work so have fun with it.  Being disappointed is not fun.  Dream big, dream small, but dream realistically and you'll want more.  If the gingersnap meets or exceeds your expectation, you'll want another.  And another and another and another.

Have sweet dreams with our ginger book and tees!
     Buy Ginger Snaps at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3577527
     Buy ginger &/or gingerphile t-shirts at http://gingergingerphiletee.logosoftwear.com

Tossing our cookies

The author photo.  If you preview our book at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3577527, you'll see two of the results.  Well, there were 100 results but two shots David and I both found acceptable.  He tells me that's a typical batting average.  I'm glad photography is not a contact sport.

It was a dark and stormy night when we met for our close up, Mr. DeMille.  Not really.  It was a bright and sunshiny afternoon at Castro & Market.  David posed us on a red cafe table (but of course) at Jane Warner Plaza.  That's where the naked men hang out.  No naked humanoids that day though.

The table was full of ginger items, including me.  Gingersnaps in three shapes, ginger root, ginger tea, ginger ale.  Ginger, ginger, ginger.  We were seated behind this plethora, smiling. Little did I know I would have to keep smiling for TWO HOURS.  Friends who model or take photos of models say that's nothing.  We got off lucky.  Four hours is more like it--and you should bring a book or iPod or both.  Not having been a model, I just brought me.

Me got pretty bored pretty fast.  At first Rich, David's friend shooting us, tried typical hand on the chin glamour shots.  I always wonder about those kinds of author photos.  Is the author's head so full of BIG thoughts that one (or both) hands have to help hold it up?  Anyway, it wasn't a good look for either of us, especially me.

I was having a hard time not eating the cookies so suggested we toss them for the photo.  David liked that idea so he and I began throwing cookies up in the air and staring at them, amazed.  We were supposed to look amazed because in the shot the cookies would be suspended in mid-air.  Very conceptual.  If you look at the book (please look at the book), you'll see that it does work.  Cookies mid-air, two sets of amazed eyes.  Our mouths open in amazement.  I admit I tried to catch one or two.  Even more amazing was how many times we had to throw those damn cookies into the ozone before we mastered speed, height, and eye to cookie coordination.  But finally Rich and David approved a shot and I buried my head on the table in celebration, eating cookies.

David joined in and Rich took shots of us.  Voila, le back jacket photo.  My hair never looked better.

Writing this has made me hungry.  Off to Whole Foods for gingersnaps!

Next time: Our goal is to break even.