On The Road Again. Three Month Cycle.

This is Santa Barbara. And the view you see -- of the ocean and coastline -- is what you see pretty much on the drive from L.A. up to Santa Barbara on the 101.

I'm on the road again. This time for a somewhat local trip. Santa Barbara is about 2 hours north and west of L.A. I'll be speaking at the UC Santa Barbara Multicultural Center about Down For Whatever this evening.

We planned this back in early summer... and of course we had no clue the first of the winter storms would be coming in at this time. It's been raining since Saturday. We panic in L.A. (and California in general) when it rains. Anyway...

When your book is published by a traditional, mainstream publisher, you get roughly three months (plus or minus some weeks) for your major publicity push. That's why you see authors generally doing a bunch of signings and events and media right around the book's release. You wanna create buzz, get good initial numbers, and build momentum to carry the book on to a long shelf life.

You all have seen my summer schedule. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, much of which I planned and coordinated on my own. My fall schedule is light. Mainly because of my keeping a day job. Mainly because the three month cycle. Self-published authors, and those at smaller houses, get a little more leeway, mainly because they're selling on the streets, at festivals, basically hustling everywhere for sales and livelihood, etc... and don't have the same publishing industry process pressures that move you in and out in three months. Some say the three month cycle is now six months. That's a whole 'nother blog.

And now that my window is closing, I'm on to the next phase of literary life. Speaking at universities, student groups, and community organizations every now and then. But mainly waiting for my second novel, which is in the publishing pipeline now, to be released... so that the ride can begin again. Writing the third novel. Anything to keep myself occupied and moving forward. But I will always promote my baby, my first born novel. Always. Even beyond the three month cycle we're conditioned to think about.

Why three months, as some say? Carolyn See explains it well in Making a Literary Life. Books have seasons. There are your summer books, fall books, etc... Each season is three months. Bookstores have to make room for the new products coming out each season. If your book does reasonably well, you remain on shelves and in stock beyond your season. But, just like the music industry, it's always on to the next thing once your novel's time is up.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing my friends at the UC Santa Barbara Multicultural Center. Nice people. And I'm sure we'll have a nice discussion and talk.

Now... all I have to do is make it through the rain and mudslides to get there.
fs