It is the day before the day before Black Friday. US Thanksgiving is tomorrow. The bird is thawing. First round of dishes washed. A day of baking and cooking will commence. And. Anyone selling retail, like authors, can be spending time trying to prepare for selling their goods (even if they’re bad books) on Black Friday. What started as a celebration has become the opening event to a season of shopping, and selling. Time to get to work, or not.
Not? Skip past a lot of the fluffery. One of the advantages of online shopping is online selling. People can buy my books without requiring me to do anything. Bookstores can carry my books, if they’re already ordered copies, and can probably get more. There are holiday markets and events where I could devote more hours to spreading the word about my words, but aside from this post and maybe a few others, I won’t have to work. I could work at it, but I’d rather spend my time giving thanks. (And, of course, I’d be happy to be interviewed or consulted, but I don’t expect that.)
My apologies to my most recent book, Muddling By, but a book about my rollercoaster ride through America’s wealth classes does not seem to be a fit for gifts. People will buy it. Thank you. But they’re also as likely to buy it throughout the year. Timing matters in book sales.
My travel and nature essays sell to travelers and hikers. They are year-round, too, but their messages are more tuned to a gifting crowd.
Books on personal finance? Whenever.
Science Fiction? Anytime. Cool.
Photo essays specially designed to survive being shipped? Anytime.
Anytime or not, buyers are more likely to buy online. Buyers who want signed copies don’t have as many opportunities to get a book to me, but the mails happen. Getting signed copies is also an excuse for locals to meet me over a cup of tea.
I finished Muddling By a couple of months ago. Autumn is a good time to publish books for the holidays. Early readers get a chance to read it, then suggest it to others, multiplying sales. My goal, however, was to finish it before the US elections. I expected my voice to be lonely, but I wanted to be able to say that my perspective on what we have in common was at least available. Good timing for Christmas traffic was a nice byproduct.
Black Friday is an important shopping day. Getting the paperback done in time was conventionally beneficial, hopefully. Getting the ebook published was more relaxed. Paperbacks and hardbacks can be signed, wrapped, and gifted.
Ebooks are more ephemeral. There’s nothing to physically wrap. Ebooks are, however, good to have available before December 25th. Many people receive gift cards in their stockings (and emails). Ebooks can sell before the wrapping paper is collected and recycled (because we wouldn’t trash that would we.) Buying an ebook on a holiday is an excuse to step away from family dynamics by declaring that you’re “playing with your toys”. Family drama possibly dodged.
I ‘should’, or at least could, spend more time and energy on marketing, ads, and shmoozing. But there’s also a balancing act that authors get to play with. The books are done. The stores, or at least the distributors, have the inventory. I’ll do business-y things, but I’ll also celebrate the opportunity to celebrate the rest of life. Besides, that’s where there are an inexhaustible supply of stories, and inspirations for more.
OK Sales pitch, or at least sales links. (Hey, it is an easy copy&paste, so, why not?)
Books by Tom (T.E.) Trimbath
- Just Keep Pedaling – a coast-to-coast bicycle ride
- Twelve Months at Barclay Lake – from the wet side of Washington’s Cascades
- Twelve Months at Lake Valhalla – from the cold crest of the Cascades
- Twelve Months at Merritt Lake – from the dry side of the Cascades
- Dream. Invest. Live. – frugality and personal finances
- Walking Thinking Drinking Across Scotland – a walk across a country
- Kettle Pot Cup – tea tales and a fundraiser
- Firewatcher – science fiction, escaping AI, and finding aliens
- Fire Race – science fiction, aliens and AI aren’t as scary as a wall of fire
- Muddling By – a roller coaster ride through America’s wealth classes
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/stores/T.-E.-Trimbath/author/B0035XVXAA
iUniverse – https://www.iuniverse.com/en/search?query=trimbath
Lulu – https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/tom-trimbath/kettle-pot-cup/hardcover/product-67e98j.html
Photo essays of Whidbey Island, WA
- Twelve Months at Cultus Bay
- Twelve Months at Deception Pass
- Twelve Months at Admiralty Head
- Twelve Months at Penn Cove
- Twelve Months at Double Bluff
- Twelve Months at Maxwelton Beach
- Twelve Months at Possession Beach
- Twelve Months at Possession Preserve
- Twelve Months at Dugualla Bay
- Twelve Months at Fort Ebey
Prints online – https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/tom-trimbath
Photo books – https://www.blurb.com/user/tetrimbath
Merch
tomthewriter.com 
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