All The Brains Have Fallen Out

by Anita Higman

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has forty books published. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA in the combined fields of speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, traveling to exotic places, and brunch with her friends.

Well, the book biz has turned itself on its head, and it appears that all the brains have fallen out. What’s an author to do with thirty years in the business when suddenly faced with a digital revolution, closings, cutbacks, mergers, the new age of indie publishing, and book sales as stable as uranium? Well, I’ve decided to venture out into the meadow, hoping not to get shot like Bambi’s Mom.

You can find Anita on her website or her Facebook Reader Page.

Bottom line. I couldn’t keep running my business the same way anymore. I can no longer play it safe. I am choosing to do something fresh and creative—something that I hope will remind me why it is that I fell in love with writing all those years ago.

So, I came up with a five-point plan for my career to help deal with this madly fluctuating state of the book industry.

1. I have decided to stop writing in my genre—inspirational romance—at least for now. I will be coauthoring novels for young adults with my daughter, Hillary. This YA genre has been calling my name for many years, but I never had the courage to switch over. Until now. We’re hoping these stories of the heart will resonate with a wide audience of readers.
2. I have gone hybrid—meaning that I will have books coming out through traditional publishers as well as books released through other means. I decided to get the rights back to some of my out-of-print books and give them over to an entrepreneur extraordinaire named Cynthia Hickey. She has republished some of my older books as well as released a few newer works through Forget Me Not Romances, which is the inspirational line through her new company, Winged Publications. Here’s the link: www.forgetmenotromances.com. With Cynthia’s help, I have come to know the joys of being on multiple Amazon best-seller lists.
3. Prayer. There are many more questions than answers in the publishing industry right now, which can either send you out screaming in the night or bring you to your knees in prayer. I choose the latter. It’s the only sane choice.
4. I am staying connected to writers and editors through conferences and writer’s loops. I think this is more important than ever—for networking, updates, and support.
5. Do I still need an agent? Yes. I decided to continue working with an agent for many reasons—career advice, accountability, and of course, because I still needed someone to pitch my work to editors. By the way, I’m happy to say that my agent, Chip MacGregor, is hard-working, business savvy, and he’s supportive of my need to go hybrid.

Through my decades of writing, I have known plenty of failure and changes and dire predictions, but I keep on writing no matter what, because that is what God called me to do. So while the book industry gets its brains back together, you’ll find me faithful at the computer—with perhaps a newer vision—but still very much in love with the art of storytelling.

Summer’s List

A dying wish alters the course of a young woman's life.

Life hadn't been easy for Summer Snow. In acts of selflessness-caring for her ailing parents and running her grandmother's bookstore-she had forfeited her youth and dreams for the needs of others. And the only tries she had at love... didn't turn out. She had the bookstore, she had her beloved granny, but she was missing something-or someone.  

Opportunity strikes when Granny sends Summer on an unexpected adventure with one Martin Langtree, a kind but gangly young man from Summer's past. A childhood friendship is rekindled, a romance is sparked, and mysteries are solved in one magical Texas summer. Will Summer strike out on love again, or will things finally go her way?

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Ten Steps to a Creating a Book Launch Team

Best-selling and award-winning author Anita Higman has thirty-five books published, and her latest novels are Winter In Full Bloom (Moody Publishers) and A Marriage in Middlebury (Abingdon Press). Anita was recently a finalist for two Selah Awards, and she won a Cascade Award, as well as her second Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.

Please visit her website at or connect with Anita on her Reader Page.

Ten Steps to a Creating a Book Launch Team

Perhaps you’re asking, “So, what is a book launch team?” It’s a merry band of readers who like your work well enough to create buzz about your new books in exchange for free autographed books, prizes, and insider information about your latest releases. Your team’s buzz can be in the form of reviews, social media, blogging, and anything else that will get the word out about your new book. Okay, now that you know what this wonderful new promotion avenue is, you can begin to travel down this road with these ten steps.

1. Setting up an Online Home

Before you can invite your guests to this ongoing book party, you’ll need to create a special hosting site to house your private group. Since I am clueless how to pull this off I hired my webmaster to create a beautiful page on Facebook that would coordinate perfectly with my website as well as my Reader Page. If you’re clever and techno savvy, which I am not, you can set it all up on your own.

2. You’ll Want a Jazzy Title

I decided to call my book launch team Backstage Pass, and I call these amazing women in my group, Backstage Beauties. And believe me, they are beautiful in every way, not just because they promote my books, but because they have become friends who are precious to me.

3. It Shouldn’t Always Be About You

I discovered that for my team to spend all their waking moments thinking about me and buzzing about me, well, it was going to get a little strange. I was at risk of becoming a narcissist. So, Backstage Pass is also about the members too. Once or twice a week I post a “getting to know you question.” And they really do participate. Also, we share prayer requests, and that has also helped to foster a caring environment. We have truly built a community of women who not only like to read my stories but who also care about each other. In fact, these women have become so important in my life that I’ve dedicated my next book to them.

4. How Many Team Members Should You Have?

Right now I have 55 members, but I intend to slowly grow the group to 100. There are some members who don’t participate, some who drop in once in a while to leave a comment or help out with some promotion, and then there are others who are committed to creating some serious buzz. I am grateful for them all. I feel honored that they would want to be a part of the group. But as far as numbers, I do think if you go over 150 members you would lose that intimate feel of community that makes this kind of group so special.

5. Make it Fun Run contest for prizes.

We celebrate every time we reach ten new members in our group. I ask a novel-related question and do a giveaway that is also connected to the book. The last prize I gave away was a silver charm bracelet festooned with a tiny musical charm, because this type of bracelet was important in my new book release, Winter in Full Bloom.

6. Ask for Input and Delegate Jobs

Team members are creative people—hey, they’re readers, aren’t they? And so ask them if they have ideas on fun ways to interact within the group. One of my team members suggested sharing recipes, which is great. Another woman acts as a head greeter when new members arrive, and she gives us a brief devotion on Sunday morning. Also, my members know of fresh ways to create book buzz—ideas that I hadn’t even thought of. So, ask your team for input. And don’t forget to delegate. God really does give everyone special gifts, and it is awesome to watch those talents bloom in a close community.

7. How Do You Choose Team Members?

I started with friends and relatives as well as people from my church who I knew liked my work. That got me started, but then I branched out to include women from all over the US, who emailed me, telling me how much my stories meant to them. I knew these gals might enjoy being on the team. Do remember, though, not to build your group too quickly. Make sure these are readers who like your stories and your world view and who would genuinely enjoy this kind of camaraderie and book buzz.

8. Share Your Heart, Not Just Your Books

Part of the reason readers want to be in your private group is because they will get an insider view of what it’s like to write books and carrying on with a career that is sometimes hidden to people. But when sharing, don’t just give your launch team the nuts and bolts of the writing process and your career—offer them pieces of yourself.

9. How Effective is a Book Launch Team?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any numbers to show you concerning how many books sales came directly from the buzz created by my launch team. But I do know that a grassroots, word-of-mouth effort has always had a history of selling books when mere advertising might fail.

10. What Do You Do Between Book Releases?

There will come a time when your new release is no longer new, all the buzz has been buzzed, and your next book doesn’t come out for months. What do you do with that gap in book releases? I haven’t faced that scenario yet, but when I do, I’m going to keep the community alive and close and happy by continuing to allow prayer requests and updates, running contests, and fostering even more of that wonderful heart-sharing sense of sisterhood. Then when I do have another book come out—after a season of fun and refreshment—hopefully, we’ll be ready to roll again!

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A Marriage in Middlebury by Anita Higman

Charlotte Rose Hill has been serving up country delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky but beloved customers for more than 10 years. But for her, marriage seems like an elusive butterfly, always out of reach. At 18, Charlotte fell in love with a young man, Sam Wilder, but his family convinced her to walk away from their relationship. She did, and then became engaged to another man, who later died before they were married. Now, more than a decade later, Charlotte finds that she still has feelings for her first love. Initially thrilled to learn that Sam has come home to Middlebury, Texas, Charlotte is devastated to learn that he’s brought someone with him: his fiancée. But all is not lost when the townsfolk decide to get involved. Will Charlotte and Sam find their way back to each other?

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Guest Blogger ~ Anita HIgman

Anita Higman is the award-winning author of 24 books, including her latest, Love Finds You in Humble Texas. (Summerside Press). To view the book trailer visit her website.

Several months ago I held a book launch party to celebrate the release of my latest novel, Love Finds You in Humble Texas. This was the first time I’d ever hosted one of these events, so I was a little nervous about the cost, the workload, and about getting it right. After much planning and a lot of help, I was greatly relieved when the party turned out to be a success. Here’s how I did it.

My dream of a book launch party

For many years I have participated in book signings at conferences, bookstores, and speaking engagements, but I decided my latest novel needed something special. This time I wanted to have a party, not a sales event. But big parties can be time-consuming and expensive to host, especially if you rent a space. Having sponsors to help with the work and expense seemed ideal.

In my novel, Love Finds You in Humble Texas, one of my main characters is a financial advisor and another character is an image coach. Since I had friends in those professions—Pat Durham and Brenda Jackson—I asked them if they would like to help sponsor my book launch party. Amazingly, both of my friends said yes! I would get assistance with the party, and in return, they would have a venue for entertaining their current clients as well as a way to attract new customers.

The overall plan

The three of us had a planning meeting at a local café to work out all the details. We each agreed to pay for a third of the cost of the event and each of us would take on a portion of the workload. One of my jobs was to prepare the invitations; and then later we would send the invitations to our own individual mailing lists. The party was now more affordable, but it was bigger since there were three mailing lists feeding into the event. I saw this as a benefit, not a drawback.

I purchased some simple but elegant invitations at a local party supply store and printed them at home. We invited around 450 people, knowing many of them would not be able to attend. We had about 60 to 70 guests, which was a good number for the size of our space.

In the end the total cost for the party was around $1000, but once again, that cost was divided three ways. One sponsor donated the use of her office suite for the evening, and that helped to keep the overall costs down. It also was a great place for the event, since her suite looked much more like a model home than an office.

Details can make or break an event

1. Adding an RSVP to the invitation turned out to be very helpful, since we really had
no idea what the response would be. We then had a ballpark figure to gauge the purchase of food, beverages, and gifts.

2. I wanted to give each guest a small gift, but I wanted it to be something that would remind them of the book after the party. So, instead of handing out a fresh rose I gave each female guest a tiny frame that featured a picture of the book cover. (I bought these tiny frames at the dollar store and then wrapped them each in tulle and flowers and ribbons.)

3. Another way we created a festive atmosphere was to have door prizes. The main gift was a pretty basket, which featured my books as well as a teapot. Also, when people signed up for the drawing we were able to gather their names and email addresses, which we could use later as a more refined customer list, or in my case, women who might be interested in signing up for a newsletter.

4. My daughter, who is a talented guitarist, was hired for the evening to play soft acoustic music. This added a nice ambiance to the evening, which the guests really enjoyed.

5. We set out an array of gourmet sandwiches, a fruit platter, a selection of cheeses, desserts, punch, wine, champagne, and chocolate truffles. All of the food and drink was a big hit.

6. One of the office supply houses created a huge color blow-up of my book, which they glued to a foam board. This giant hardback poster made a lovely centerpiece around the books. To coordinate with the yellow and blue colors of the cover, we set out yellow candles in hurricane lamps as well as chiffon table runners, bouquets of fresh yellow roses, and blue and yellow silk petals, which were strewn across the tables like fallen leaves. All of this enhanced the presentation of the book.

7. I wanted to make my novel easy to purchase, so I lowered the publisher’s price from $12.99 to $10. Also, I asked a friend from church to take care of the book sales. Looking back, it would have been hard for me to autograph books, visit with people, and also make change, so that extra help with sales was necessary and greatly appreciated.

What were the benefits of my launch party?

1. Invitations were sent to hundreds of people, and even though many were not able to attend, those same people did see my book announcement as well as the cover.

2. The Chamber of Commerce was there from two difference cities, so I counted that as good publicity.

3. The local media was invited to the party. They did not attend, but there was some buzz generated in two of the local papers.

4. I sold over thirty books, and I believe I gained some new readers.

5. People had a great time, and they were so generous. I was given flowers, a book, and a large framed portrait, which was created by a local artist. I was flabbergasted at the generosity of the guests who attended!

6. And then there were the not so tangible benefits of the book launch party. I don’t think you can put a price on sharing the celebration of one’s artistic endeavors with people who are excited about what you’re doing and want to cheer you on. It was a wonderfully memorable evening for me.

7. I was able to write about my book launch party on the publisher’s blog. In case you want to see some photos of my party, I’m the 7th blog down from the top.

Would I do it all over again?

Even with the generous sponsorship and all the help, the book launch party was still a lot of work. It turned out so well, though, and everyone had so much fun, I’m seriously considering another party for the next book.

It’s a wrap

If you do choose to have an event like this one, just remember to start the planning early, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and then relax and enjoy the ride. People have parties for every kind of life event imaginable, so it’s only natural that authors would want to include a book launch party in that list. Also, don’t forget that this kind of event can be scaled back to a less expensive and more intimate soirée.

I’d love to hear about your unique celebrations! You may email me.

Love Finds You in Humble Texas

Trudie Abernathy is a little inelegant, and she’s never had much luck in love. To makes matters worse, her thirtieth birthday is fast approaching and her sister, Lane, has decided to “treat” her to a makeover and a blind date. Trudie is about to protest, but then she meets the kind and devastatingly handsome Mason Wimberley. In spite of Trudie’s humble manner, Mason finds her attractive, funny, and smart. But there’s one obstacle in the way of the budding romance: Lane suddenly decides that she’s in love with Mason! Trudie has never been one to compete with her glamorous sister, even when it means giving up the things she wants. Will she be able to stay true to her humble self and find her heart’s desire in the process?

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