The Higher Call!

Or, Pre-Sales Start Now...!

This has indeed been a long time coming. And yet, now that my debut chapbook is in pre-sales, I’m nervous as a cat. And not just because I appear nude on the cover.

Pre-sales for The Higher Call actually started last week. I’ve spent the past seven days wrapping my head around promoting this collection of poems. I suppose it’s the “ask.” No matter how important pre-sales are—more below—writers struggle with asking folks to order their books.

It’s kind of crazy, if you think about it. A poet spends hours, weeks, months, writing the poems and polishing them. In the hopes of getting a collection published, we’ll pay $25 or more to enter a contest. Lots of times, and often for naught.

But even with this investment of the writer’s time and actual money, when the stars align and a collection is accepted for publication, the writer might get uneasy asking people to buy a copy. So, I’m not unusual. I feel uneasy.

However, this pre-sale period is so important than I can’t wait until I feel comfortable to ask you to pre-order a copy of my chapbook, The Higher Call.

Let me explain: The press won’t publish the book if I don’t sell 55 copies.

I get it—they don’t want to put their resources behind a losing pony.

So, for the next eight weeks, my side job will be promoting this poetry collection.

I find it heartening that at workshops and readings and classes, family dinners and fundraisers and community potlucks, people often said to me, “I can’t wait to buy a copy of your book.” To which I have *always* responded, “And I can’t wait to have a book for your to buy.”

Wait no more. Time starts now…!

Let me explain how pre-sales work. Selling copies of The Higher Call now insures it will get into print. Not only that, but during presales is the best time to order a copy because the price is the lowest it ever will be. So, savings!

Details: After 55 copies are pre-ordered, the book will be published. Yeah!

After that, the number of copies sold *during pre-sales* will affect my royalties for the rest of the book’s life. Here’s the math graph of how my future royalties can increase:

*Advance orders between 55-104 copies sold = 8% of net sales

*Advance orders between 105-154 copies sold = 12.5%

*Advance orders between 155-204 copies sold = 15%

*Advance orders between 205-749 copies sold = 20%

*Advance orders of 750 or more copies sold = 30%

There you go—the incentive to promote The Higher Call. That math graph got me out of my unease and into action. It’s important. I can’t just sit around and hope.

Therefore, I’m asking for your support. I’d greatly appreciate it if you pre-ordered copy of my debut chapbook anytime between now and May 29.

You can use the QR code below, or click on the title to reveal the link to your savings! The Higher Call

After you order a copy, if you’d like to submit a review saying how excited your are about this chapbook, that would be wonderful too!

If you have friends who might be interested in poems about Pablo Picasso’s most famous models, the model’s job and my own experience on the stand, I’d love it if you forwarded this email to them. Book clubs, library groups, painters, let’s go!

In the days ahead, I will update the number of copies sold, and where we are in meeting this goal.

I’ll aim to spice up the numbers by including pieces of art from my collection. One of which is the cover image, a lovely pastel by Margaret Dyer done at The Bascom.

Your copy of The Higher Call will arrive in early August. When that glorious day arrives and we meet, you can say you’re happy to have bought a copy of my book. And I can say with all my heart that I’m thrilled to have a book for you to have purchased.

Thank you all for following along on my journey into print. Because that starts now!

It’s official! Almost. We need to sell 55 copies to get my chapbook into print!