I. J. Parker's Blog – August 2009 Archive (3)

Akitada at Cambridge University

What do you know, a fan -- who is also a professor and of Chinese ancestry -- writes to let me know how much she enjoys the series. She writes from Cambridge University, and I express my gratified surprise, having been told by my agent that the British just aren't showing any interest in the series. Not at all, my wonderful new fan tells me. There is a whole group of Cambridge professors who await each installment eagerly, and the local bookstore, Heffers, plans to do a special… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on August 10, 2009 at 4:20am — 4 Comments

Royalties!

For years now the most depressing mail has contained royalty statements from my American publishers. I keep them in a black folder and go into a long depression every time they arrive. They show negative dollar amounts. I owe thousands of dollars. And I hate owing money.

But behold: Here is mail with a fat royalty check! My first! And a very nice one it is in a year when I've earned all of $ 1,500 so far. The check is from my French publisher. Now why is it that the French can sell… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on August 7, 2009 at 5:31am — 10 Comments

Amazon Vine

For those who don't know: this is a program run by Amazon that provides reader reviews of new books by a group of people who have established a certain track record as reviewers. They receive ARCs of new books and respond with their take on the novel.

I discovered the Amazon Vine project recently and thought it an excellent way to jump-start preorders on Amazon. My publisher provided the Arcs, and in the month before release, these good folks read and commented.

For me the… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on August 1, 2009 at 4:55am — No Comments