Anne Calcagno's Blog

My mother used to leave people’s homes saying, “Well, they had a nice library.” Or “Can you believe it, not one book in sight! Do you think they even read???” My sister and I grew up believing that books had to be seen, saved, and, most importantly, displayed. Because of this we both have spent much of our transcontinental lives overpaying grossly for exceptionally heavy boxes of books to be mailed from one place to another, books from high school, college, graduate school and so on...

This is my first book about dogs (in Animal Studies departments referred to as “nonhuman animals.”) Which means that, although I’ve gone to dog parks and beaches and through the neighborhood on dog walks, and although I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, I am suddenly meeting many more dog people than ever before. The other day, at a promotional event, someone came up to me, and said, “Do you meditate?”
I replied, ‘Sadly I do not.

“Well, you must...

This is my first book about dogs (in Animal Studies departments referred to as “nonhuman animals.”) Which means that, although I’ve gone to dog parks and beaches and through the neighborhood on dog walks, and although I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, I am suddenly meeting many more dog people than ever before. The other day, at a promotional event, someone came up to me, and said, “Do you meditate?”
I replied, ‘Sadly I do not.

“Well, you must. For the animals. I am inviting you...

One of the magnificent aspects of self-publishing is actually encountering your readers. When I read at a bookstore and signed books, I hardly ever got to speak more than three sentences to any book-buyer. Earlier today I was preparing a mailing of two copies of LOVE LIKE A DOG, from an order placed on my webpage. As I scotch taped, and folded, and addressed, I loved and coveted the reader named “Alicia” in California. Who is this wonderful person who has found my book?

Readers h...

One of the magnificent aspects of self-publishing is actually encountering your readers. When I read at a bookstore and signed books, I hardly ever got to speak more than three sentences to any book-buyer. Earlier today I was preparing a mailing of two copies of LOVE LIKE A DOG, from an order placed on my webpage. As I scotch taped, and folded, and addressed, I loved and coveted the reader named “Alicia” in California. Who is this wonderful person who has found my book?

Readers have...

Were I asked, I would tell any aspiring writer: “Never use song lyrics in your fiction.”   This is a real pity as it means populating literature with characters who will never listen to, nor replay in their minds, the riffs of jazz, the heart-break of  ballads or hard hits of heavy metal.  Symphonies might do, but no opera.  Permissions rights people are slow, difficult, expensive, and even incomprehensible.

This is a recent exchange of emails, through my permissions person, four...

David Carnoy’s article: Self-Publishing a book – 25 things you need to know & a recent article in Newsweek titled:
Self-Publishing: Who Needs a Publisher Anymore? It reports: “According to a recent Bowker report, the market for ‘nontraditional books’ in the United States grew by more than 750,000 in 2009 – a 181 increase over 2008.  Five of the 100 top bestsellers in the Kindle store – which now produces more sales than Amazon’s hardcover list – are currently self-published.”

Why you really shouldn’t self-publish:

It is a full-time job.

CreateSpace produces the book  (…  Love Like a Dog), but I have to build a marketing plan.  Sure, I’ve pruchased the press-release packet they provide.   But no book comes into the world kicking and crowing because of a press release.

Marketing starts with: what is your “target goal?”  Mine is to get my book read by pit bull owners and rescue shelters.  It’s a novel about a pit bull rescue that changes a family.

Know your...

My mother used to leave people's homes saying, "Well, they had a nice library." Or "Can you believe it, not one book in sight! Do you think they even read???" My sister and I grew up believing that books had to be seen, saved, and, most importantly, displayed. Because of this we both have spent much of our transcontinental lives overpaying grossly for exceptionally heavy boxes of books to be mailed from one place to another, books from high school, college, graduate school and so on, going with us wherever we go. Even when the paper gets brittle and beer-colored, we save these books. In my house, I have an office with 4 six-tier high shelves of books, most shelves sagging due to double-layering, one set of books behind the other. There are also numerous books laid horizontally on top of these. I also built book shelves into the two closets of my offices.

We have books in the living room, our bedroom, both children's bedrooms, and my husband's office. They crowd the attic, the basement, and rest many stacks high along three big bookcases the full length of the hallway upstairs. Others stacked on the foyer shelves.

I find it painful to part with books I have read, certain that some brilliant passage that nourished my soul will be stripped from me forever if I give up the book it is encased in.

Which is why it is particularly hard for me to celebrate when my readers (whom I love and am so grateful for and want to hug) say, "I just gave your book away to my mother…my dog walker…I sent it to my friend in Cincinnati." Two weeks after the book came out, there were used copies available on amazon.com. Pre-owned! How do people do it???

This is why Kindle is doing so well. Will an e-reader ever suffice for my mother? What will she have to say about the neighbors?

This is my first book about dogs (in Animal Studies departments referred to as "nonhuman animals.") Which means that, although I've gone to dog parks and beaches and through the neighborhood on dog walks, and although I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, I am suddenly meeting many more dog people than ever before. The other day, at a promotional event, someone came up to me, and said, "Do you meditate?"

I replied, 'Sadly I do not."

"Well, you must. For the animals. I am inviting you to meditate on animals with us every morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Apollo Theater."

That night, a well-intentioned friend called. "I wish I knew how I could help you get the book out there," he said. "Have you tried pet stores?"

"Yes."

"Have you tried bookstores?"

"Yes."

"What about Rogation Days?"

"????"

"That's when everyone in the Episcopal Church brings their pet to church to be blessed. You could set up a booth and sell your book!"

But Jesus chased the moneylenders out of the temple.

Did you notice the reverse spelling of G-O-D is D-O-G.