Today I planted a dozen pink and red geraniums in the pots
on my deck after I clipped away the dying greens from the tulips that greeted
us on our return from our cruise. We had
never gone on a cruise and luckily chose one that suited us just fine: great food, free wine (me) and multiple
desserts (Don) at each gourmet meal. We cruised to celebrate our mutual
eightieth birthdays after we noted that in each port we could choose to walk
around the town if we opted not to climb the volcano. It's important to have
choices when one's choices in life are narrowing in many ways.
The geraniums were a choice, too, after my attempt at
blueberries on a sixth floor terrace failed. No one, even a cruel winter, can
kill off a geranium, at least here in Oregon, if it gets a little water and
occasional kind words.
I've made another choice also. I have chosen to sign with a
new publishing company which has offered to redesign my three books, make them
a "set " of books that resemble each other and market them as a
series. I will still have to help market the books and am obligated to join a
list of social media sites to make my and their presence known. This kind of
publishing, which includes paperback, e-book, and auditory versions, also uses
the Print on Demand sources, but not Amazon or Createspace. Companies like this
call themselves "hybrid publishers," and do much of the upfront work
of putting out a book as well as support with websites and advertising as their
authors market.
Two problems with my choosing to sign this contract. I will
be spending many hours tweeting and Facebooking,
not to mention Tumbling. But my son Peter says all this a activity will keep my
brain active, like crossword puzzles, so there will be an upside to this
effort. The upside for him might be that it may prolong the time before I end
up living in his basement.
Also, I need to decide which genre my books fit into. If I
indicate Women's Fiction, they may end up next the Romance books. Or pecking
away in the Chick Lit trough. My books have a little romance in them, but my
women don't consider romantic love to be number one on their to-do lists any
more. An intent look and a whispered, "Bella" works pretty good for
most of us. A genre called Contemporary Women's Literature seems to indicate ambitious
women characters with good hair and glass ceilings—and maybe about thirty years
younger than my Ellie, Edith, and the pals in the beach house.
A number of phrases describe my women: women of a certain age, older women, hens,
old ladies, boomers (these are the more positive terms), and I'm being asked to
direct my marketing efforts and my choice of genre toward this market.
So, I am again faced with a choice. Except I don't like any
of the possibilities. Geraniums choices were easy. The genre of my books isn't.
I need some help from anyone who knows what I'm talking about–the age thing–the
importance of choice thing. Please.