SCAMS writers fall for - How to avoid getting caught in the web of lies & promote your work safely

 

There are so many scams aimed specifically at writers theses days. They know we aren't good at sales and distribution. It's our fatal flaw. Sadly, there is no short cut in this process. What I am finding, after writing fantasy and scifi for 25 years, is that this market is very difficult to have success with down here in Tassie and that libraries etc are difficult to break into without a contact. With my new book, the farming journal/cookbook, Crumbleton Farm - Recipes for Life, it is appealing to a much wider audience and  people are approaching ME to do talks now. Word is spreading. I sat at the Daffodil and flower fair yesterday for 7 hours and sold $400+ books and cards and stuff. It was a lot of work to buy the stock and set up and I did have wonderful help, but that is the downside. All the effort comes from YOU. 

My advice, after almost getting conned by a book selling/distribution deal recently, is:

1. Don't believe any hype you see on social media. Nothing that good comes that easily. Someone has to make money to 'help' you. There are several Goodreads scams at the moment, for example. Be careful! Goodreads NEVER charges you to review your books.
2. If you do find a legit distributor/promoter, always use paypal. There is insurance to get your money back and a documented procedure for dealing with sellers. And the best part is when you use it to pay someone, their ACTUAL name and details comes up. Handy, when the person is nothing like the one in the ad and a quick search on google and social media shows a Nigerian man with dubious online presence.
3. Never hand over money before you have thoroughly checked out the person/organisation, including on scam watch websites and google searches asking the right questions. Treat them with suspicion. Gather evidence.

In being successful with selling your precious work:

1. Think about your audience for your book. Who do you imagine will want to buy it? What community groups attract these people? How can you tap into that? I find official newsletters for writers does very little for actual sales. It merely gets your name out there among other writers. This may POSSIBLY bear fruit down the track at conventions etc.
2. Approach local places such as post offices, bookshops etc but its the personal recommendation that will get you in, every time. This happened to me at a local post office. A friend who had seen my work elsewhere suggested my name to the management because they were wanting to promote local writers. I was given the details. I then rang and organised to visit and show my books. The manager chose some of them. I followed up several times, in person to see how it was going, if she needed more copies and to show her my recent 2 books. I sent invoices promptly. I came to an arrangement whereby I sell to her at wholesale. This isn't ideal for me, as the profit margin is much smaller, but hey, its turnover and that's the important thing here. 
3. Design a really good website (or blog which functions as one). I have this blog as my main site, plus have recently set up a payhip site to take local orders. 
4. Devise an invoice form that looks professional, as well as business cards. These make a BIG difference to how you are perceived and are a way to keep you front of mind for people. It is also a crucial record when doing your tax.
5. Organise a really good book launch. Spend months planning and promoting it. It doesn't cost a lot, but it takes time and effort. Make it professional and fun.
6. Have a media release flyer handy to send to people and organisations with all the details of your book. This makes you look more professional and makes it easier for people to see at a glance the basic info they need. I used to review books for Scholastic - 20 books a month - so I am familiar with what they look like. Always send it as a PDF so it can't be altered by a third party.
7. Have a flyer prepared for your book launch with all the important details. Send it to the right people and places. Advertise in local papers etc.
8. Always have copies of your books on hand. This has become a bit of a problem for me now, with 17 titles. I need a storeroom! It's a big financial investment, but its the only way to make personal sales and people love to chat to you and have you sign their copy. Physically, I find it challenging at events, as I have a significant disability which makes lugging books very painful, but I am learning to ask for help. ;-)
9. Treat your writing as a business, because that's what it is. Unless you get a contract, you are writer, publisher, book designer, distributor and agent. It's bloody exhausting, but success doesn't happen by whingeing about the issues. Even when I get a contract, I still buy copies myself, at author discount, to sell at events.
10. One day I will crack the agent thing! But probably not until I write a book that has the potential to earn an agent pots of money. Who knows when THAT will be!

In the meantime, friends, keep at it. Write because you love it, because its a compulsion and makes you feel happy. It's only the selling part that is a business. If you aren't interested in selling, go for it and just enjoy learning the craft.

cheers for now,

Dawn 

WHERE TO BUY books by Dawn Meredith LOCALLY in Tasmania

 

Hello! If you are wanting to buy my books locally and you live in Northern Tasmania, here are the places which stock my books:

Leven Regional Arts, STUDIO 2, The HIVE, Ulverstone 

ph  (03) 6425 2839

 

Penguin Post Office, 80 Main St, Penguin 

ph (03) 64372307

 

Sheffield Visitor information Centre, Sheffield

ph (03) 6491 1179 

 

If you are having trouble locating my books at these places, just fill out the contact form on this blog and you will reach me direct. Then I can help you!

 

 

 

If you want to order online you have a couple of choices:

Buy direct in Australia only HERE 

buy paperback from Amazon Australia and International

buy ebook from Amazon Australia and International

 

cheers,

Dawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hairy Scary Fairytales by Dawn Meredith - AVAILABLE NOW

Here it is, my 17th book!

Hairy Scary Fairytales.  

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎  979-8199485128 

Buy direct from within Australia HERE  

by paperback from Amazon HERE

buy ebook from Amazon HERE

 

Ever read some of Grimm's fairytales and felt just a tiny bit scared? Fairytales were traditional folk tales with a moral, or life lesson, attached, which were told to children to help them learn about life. For instance, Little Red Riding Hood is about obeying instructions, for your own safety. Red Riding Hood is told by her mother to stay on the path as she walks to her Grandmother's house. But what does she do? She meets the wolf and he convinces her to stray from the path to look at pretty flowers. Which she does. For ages! And by the time she finally gets to Grandma's house, the wolf has eaten Granny and is dressed in her nightie, snuggled up on her bed, waiting for the delicious little Red Riding Hood to appear.

 

But what if the wolf actually was very fond of roller skating and eating pizza? 

 

This book follows characters in four fairytales, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk &  Goldilocks and the Three Bears, adding a funny twist to each story that you will love! WHY? Because even scary things can still be funny. 

 

Hairy Scary Fairytales - NEW book for Dawn Meredith

 

 

I am delighted to announce my new chapter book, Hairy Scary Fairytales which will be launched very soon! You can pre-order the ebook/kindle RIGHT NOW by clicking HERE 

 

What is it about? 

Some fairytales are funny. Some fairytales are sad. And some fairytales are dangerous. What if your little sister became trapped inside a scary fairytale and could not escape? Lizzy’s careless wish, that she didn’t have a pesky sister at all, has made little Georgie disappear. Now Lizzy must battle big, furry bears, a crazy witch, an enormous ogre and a sly wolf to get her little sister safely back home. But nothing is as scary as it seems at first, in this hilarious adventure.

 

 I wanted to write a little chapter book about some of those scariest fairytales and make them funny. Growing up I read Grimm's fairytales and they thrilled me with their danger! Some of the characters were truly scary and as with all folk tales, there is a message behind it, a cautionary tale, to teach children life lessons. For instance, Hansel and Gretel is about  not trusting strangers, Jack and the Beanstalk is beware of your own greed and gambling what you do have for something more, Red Riding Hood is about being aware of danger and not being taken in by what seems on the surface to be all right but you know it isn't. And then there's Goldilocks and the Three Bears - so much to say about that story!

 

But not all children are thrilled by scary characters and dangerous situations that turn out right in the end. Some children take it too seriously. So I gave each story a a funny twist, to make the reader laugh. Each scary character has some ridiculously funny aspect to them which makes them seem less threatening, teaching children to look for the funny side in things, to not be overwhelmed with anxiety when the situation seems frightening, to think and act with bravery.

 

I hope you enjoy this fabulous little book! Remember, you can pre-order the ebook/kindle now. The paperback will be available to order Sunday June 28th. 

 

Crumbleton Farm - Recipes for Life, Farming Journal and Cookbook!

 

I am SO EXCITED to announce the release of my newest book, Crumbleton Farm - Recipes for Life!

Buy direct in Australia only HERE 

buy paperback from Amazon Australia and International

buy ebook from Amazon Australia and International

It is very different from the children's and young adult books I normally write. My very first writing tutor, Jean Hibberd, said 'write what you know' and she was right! This book is about our eight year journey as suburbanites who bought a rundown farm, knowing NOTHING about farming. Here is a little about it:

Crumbleton Farm – Recipes for Life is a lush book, full of goodies and shares family favourite recipes from around the world, passed down the generations. It is also the story of one family, who bravely left mainland suburbia and bought a rundown farm in Tasmania, where they learned about soil, animal and human health and ways to grow food without chemicals. There are recipes for becoming less dependent upon supermarkets and for taking back some of the control over our nutrition. Many friends and family members added their precious family recipes to this collection from all over the world, providing stories behind these dishes, snippets of what life was like in childhood days and the love and care that went into the preparation of meals for family.

 

In an age where so much of our diet is made up of ultra-processed, packaged foods, this volume reconnects us to a time when food was fresh and made from scratch. In our busy lives there are still ways to ensure we provide nourishing meals for our children and visitors, ways to celebrate our dedication and commitment to good food, served simply. Crumbleton Farm – Recipes for Life is an heirloom book, to pass on to future generations and keep us in their hearts.

 

 Crumbleton Farm – Recipes for Life ISBN 9798195621636 

 

You can order the ebook and print book HERE from Amazon.

 

Yound Adult Fantasy series FLIGHT tackles big issues such as trauma, disability & how to overcome challenges

 

When I first started writing the Flight series, way back in 2008 (can you believe it?) I had vague ideas about what I was writing about, I mean, ACTUALLY writing about. Often, it's not until I finish the book that I realise the exact theme I was addressing in the story. Weird isn't it? As writers, we can't help but infuse our writing with own experiences. There's a little of us in every character. That's called authenticity! But so much of it seems to be subconscious. 

 

Writing book one - Rebel

At the time of writing Rebel, book one in the series, I was personally dealing with the effects of spinal surgery and a painful, developing medical condition that wasn't going to be properly diagnosed until 2020. My main character, Reeve Surehand, is a half-breed Dragonkind, with beautiful wings and the ability to fly, however his race are banned from doing so. When he breaks the law, the law breaks him, by having him publicly flogged and then removing some of his flight bones in one wing. He never flies again. I was able to describe the exact pain, in detail, because it is what I live with, daily. Like many teenage boys, Reeve is impulsive, (some call it reckless), tenacious and doesn't take things seriously. He sees the world as a huge playground he wants to explore. And that is perfectly normal and good, but when you have a serious injury and your people expect you to lead them into a war with their oppressors, a more serious attitude is required. Reeve finds another way to fly, but it requires him to accept that his actions landed him where he is and he must now work hard to show his people he is up to the job of leader.   Buy HERE

 

Writing book two - Runaway 

In my previous job I had worked with kids who had been through significant trauma and/or had learning disabilities or difficulties. In writing book two I was mindful that trauma, despite what some people say, isn't something you can erase from your life, especially by just talking about it. You have to learn to live alongside it, to move ahead with your goals and dreams, despite what happened to you; to find that inner strength and light to make your life satisfying. This is complicated by being a teenager, with all its emotional extremes! The main character, Sye, daughter of Elessa the Seeker, is also a Dragonkind. She struggles daily with the trauma of her mother's death, which she witnessed, and the abuse by her alcoholic father, who struggles to contain his own grief. At the same time she is a feisty, talented metalworker with close friends, a wonderful mentor, an irascible animal familiar and a secret ability that she is yet to discover that will actually save her entire race. The problem is that she focusses so much on her pain and her feelings of unworthiness that she misses what is actually going on around her. When a challenge is laid at her feet, she accepts reluctantly, but goes on to discover her own worth and more importantly, that life is what you make it. Despite your trauma.     Buy HERE

 

Writing book three- Renegade

I will admit, I have been putting off writing book three. It's eighteen years since I started this epic fantasy, with its four races of people, their individual languages and culture, even creating the language of dragons! It is an epic task to keep it all going, even though I love it. Book three is about the third main character, Zeth Surehand, half-brother to Reeve. He is a human (called 'Meer' in the books), who is in love with Sye, a dragonkind girl. This itself is a challenge, but complicated by the fact that they live in a time of war. Zeth is a born soldier and his desire to honour his soldier father leads him into perilous danger, however, he may never be accepted by his father's army. His worth as a person is tied to his ability to fight. But what if the enemy isn't who everyone says it is? That's as far as I know is the REAL message of this book. By the time I finish it, I will be able to tell you  more!

 

The Boy Who Went to War - The TRUE WWII STORY of Jim Haynes

 

Jim was a thirteen year old butcher's apprentice in Nottingham when he first decided to go to war and serve his country. By the time he was seventeen he was in Special Forces in Malaya - a famously brutal campaign with details still secret to this day. Jim was an ordinary boy who lived through incredible experiences, like so many of his time. That's why I wanted to write his story and share it not just with his family, but with the world.

 

I first met Jim when I was walking our two Border Collie females around the neighbourhood. His gorgeous, young male dog, Neville came prancing out to greet them and we humans struck up a conversation. Some time later Jim agreed to tell his World War II story and have me write it for him. We spent five years teasing out the details and sometimes struggling with technology and mental health issues, bouts of Malaria and so on. It was at once painful, cathartic and meaningful. His family had never heard anything about his wartime experiences, although they had been affected by its impact upon Jim.  Buy the book here

 

At the book's release we held a big book launch in a beautiful old building and many friends and family attended. It was a very emotional day for us all. When Jim stood to speak and struggled though his tears the room was absolutely silent. In that moment, we all shared a tiny bit of his pain, but he bravely  spoke to the crowd. I think he was proud of himself for finally sharing his story and connecting his children and grandchildren to their heritage.

 

Every ANZAC Day I remember Jim. Both my grandfathers fought in WWII but I never got to tell their stories. Jim was like a surrogate grandfather to me. And I miss him. 

 

You can read all about his life in Nottingham and the various adventures and experiences of his war service, in so many locations. 

 

Buy the paperback of Jim's book HERE 

Buy the ebook HERE