Day 1 – Professional Development & VIP Night
On Friday, April 10th, the conference room at Caesars Windsor was full of authors and aspiring authors hungry to learn. There was a full roster of speakers on topics such as Querying Agents and Publishers, Writing Diaspora Romance, Identifying Marketing Bottlenecks, What “The Female Gaze” means when writing attraction, and Plotting vs. Pantsing. I absolutely LOVED the Female Gaze workshop and got so much out of it as well as the Marketing Bottleneck one.
Along with the scheduled workshops, there were also professionals who were available for one-on-one discussions. I had decided to take full advantage of those meetings and had booked time with three of them. Although they’d been booking 15 minute timeslots, most of them weren’t fully booked. So I got to spend 45 minutes with Kristy Gibb and her partner, Eric Tucsok, from Dead Trees & Ink talking about how to edit my books so that they would fit into both the contemporary romance genre and the women’s fiction genre. We pretty much tore apart “Jumping in Puddles” from a developmental standpoint and they agreed that it would fit nicely into both genres, but that the real push would have to come from the marketing standpoint.
My next meeting was with Hayley Gallant from Hayling Bookstorm and Shaylyn Jackson-Zilke from Storyline Design & Branding to talk marketing and branding for this new direction and we chatted for over half an hour. I was really psyched to meet with a Canadian marketing company…I’ve been thinking about trying to get professional help in this area, but every marketing firm I’d come across was from the US…nothing against them, but I think that a Canadian firm would be a better fit for my Canadian stories. I loved that they were both willing to work with a DIY author like myself to help me fine-tune things, if that’s what I wanted to do instead of letting them take over my marketing. Shaylyn brought up several websites she’d designed and gave me some great tips on how to make my website more user friendly and easier to navigate. The sites she showed me were all single page with links from the menu to the different areas of that page. Looked great and easy to navigate!
Next I moved over to chat with Amanda Portelli from Just Ask Amanda SEO about optimizing my website and what that would look like. She brought my website up and told me that most of her job would be on the back-end, optimizing the code to make sure my website would come up first on searches. She loved the graphic I have as a banner, but advised me to have the main page just be a welcome with everything else in the menu. She is also Canadian and actually lives close enough to me that we could probably do lunch! I loved her energy!
At the end of the day, I had booked a mini interview with Backstage with the Book Babes with Nikki Jewell and Alby Blake. As this was my first interview, I was understandably a little nervous, but Nikki and Alby were both so lovely and open, they made it easy. AND anything that didn’t work, they said they could edit out, which really made me happy as I stumbled a bit with some of my answers. I’ll be posting in Insta and FB once the interviews go live.
And that was it for our professional development. It was a great day and I think everyone got lots out of it. It’s going to take some time to process everything, but I know that last year’s professional development day moved me up to the next level and I believe that this one will as well.
After a lovely dinner with family, I was back to have some fun at the VIP night where I got to meet a couple of VIP readers from Sudbury, one of which is a Blue Rodeo fan just like me! I also got to chat with D.S. Walls, whose book “Steamy On Set” I’d picked up last year at RCRC and enjoyed. Author Samreen Ahsan and her PA were at our table as well. Hayley and Shay (from my marketing meeting) were also at our table and they’re the reason I ended up coming in 6th in the trivia…there were LOTS of questions where I had no idea of the answer…I guess I need to read more romance, eh?
After that, it was set-up time! C.A. Krause and I worked hard to set up our shared table, which was working okay for me, but she has about 15 books out, so her half of the table was a little cramped. When we asked our esteemed organizer, author Kate Smoak, if we could pay the difference and each get a full table (we knew there were a few authors who’d had to back out at the last minute), she was more than willing to accommodate us…so C.A. Krause stayed where she was and I moved to a table that was right beside the tattoo artists. I was a little concerned at first that I wouldn’t have enough stuff to fill a full table, but we artfully stacked books to create interest and I think it worked!
After that, it was home to try and sleep…
Day 2 – Signing and meeting the VIP Readers/Authors
Our day (me and my PA and niece, Victoria) on Saturday, April 11th started at 8 am when we arrived at the venue to finish setting up our space before the doors opened for the VIPs at 9 am. That 2 hour window was actually lovely. Everyone who came by seemed really interested in hearing about our books and we had a few early sales from people who made a beeline to our table specifically to pick up “Jumping in Puddles.”
At 11 am, the doors opened for the General Admission ticketholders and the hall got much busier and louder. We had a few familiar faces drop by our table – my good friend and book bestie, Lauren, came out and brought me a lovely plant as a congratulations for my first signing; Murielle and Yvette, my mother-in-law and her sister, along with my hubby, Frank, were early visitors; several of Victoria’s friends and co-workers were in attendance and popped by to say hello; and later in the day, my sister-in-law, Bev, her sister, Barb, and their friend, Lee Anne, popped over to pick up a couple of books and shop the vendors.
The chocolate and stickers we had out for the taking definitely helped to draw people to us, especially since I’d invested in some “Heated Rivalry” stickers. I know the show and books are not in the same genre as my writing, but I enjoyed meeting so many “Loons” and hearing from readers who knew people in the show. One girl told me her brother was one of the hockey players. Another was very proud of her daughter who was an extra and appeared in the bar scene in Florida behind Shane and Ilya. I love that this show was a Canadian production and filmed in Canada using so much Canadian talent! And the source material is by a Canadian author! A truly home-grown success story!
Day 2 was exhausting and exhilarating, so I was more than glad to be able to finish the day and go home to a nice meal and a quiet evening. Many of the other authors and vendors went to the Masquerade Ball at the Water’s Edge Event Centre, and as much fun as it seemed to be, I was glad for the quiet night.
Day 3 – Final Day of Signing
On Sunday, April 12th, I started the day with a photoshoot with Kyley Doeber. I love her unique energy and we ended up chatting for WAY too long but it was lovely to get to know her a little bit. Can’t wait to see my new headshots!
As I rushed back to our table after the photoshoot, I was followed by my cousin, Linda, who’d had no idea I was writing and publishing! So glad she came at the beginning of the day and we were able to take a few minutes to chat and catch up before the crowds started to come through. I also had another lovely visit from two of my best friends from the GTA, Cindy, and her daughter, Maya, who came down just for the show and to support me. Maya picked up some really interesting books (which I hope to be able to borrow once she’s done!) and they both had a wonderful day.
As expected, there were fewer people on Sunday, which allowed us the luxury to wander a little bit and check out some of the other authors and vendors. I’ve already posted about some of the merch I picked up as well as one ebook (I was being so disciplined!). It also allowed me to wander around a couple of times offering “Emotional Support Chocolates” to the other authors, which were very well received. Being so close to the tattoo tables, we got to see lots of fresh tattoos and I was really impressed with their artwork!
The raffle prize I provided included an insulated mug and phone holder, both engraved by Express Embroidery and Engraving (also Laser Artists Engraving & Embroidery on Etsy). There was one customer who told me that she’d put all of her tickets into the bucket for my raffle prize and couldn’t buy my book until she found out if she’d won! Unfortunately, she didn’t, but she was true to her word and was at my table right after the draw.
The winner was one of our VIP readers named Marwa. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks of the book and how she’s enjoying the swag.
To finish the day off, we had one more visitor, Mary Ann, who is a cousin of my husband’s. She’d gotten the times wrong and showed up after 3 pm just as everyone was packing up. But she did come over to chat with us and pick up a book as we were getting everything packed away, and we invited her back to my mother-in-law’s place for a visit.
Aftermath
Ugh, that sounds like the end of a disaster movie…I might change that!
I’ve spent the last few days posting about the con and following and chatting with other authors, vendors, and readers I met. I squeed when I saw my book as part of reader’s “haul” posts. And I found a new relative – Shay from Storyline Design and Branding is the niece of one of my cousins. So it’s been a very busy couple of days.
Here are some of my take-aways from the con and the conversations I’ve had since:
- My books are definitely on the edge between Contemporary Romance and Women’s Fiction and I will start marketing them that way.
- I really want to work with Hayley and Shaylynn to move my marketing and branding to the next level and will be checking out their websites to figure out which services I’ll be able to afford. Until I’m ready for a full overhaul, I may take advantage of the one-on-one meetings they offer.
- Posting everyday really is a great way to get more engagement with readers…but it’s also a great way to attract marketers and weirdos…why do random men feel they have to be creepy on the internet? BUT along with those, I’ve gained a bunch of new followers, so I’m going to keep posting every day to keep that going.
- I LOVE DOING BOOKCONS! There have been a few other cons that have come across my feeds in the weeks leading up to RCRC that I hadn’t signed up for because I wanted to see how this one went. But I’ve now put interest forms in for one in Port Credit in June and another in Edmonton next April/May. And there’s one in the planning stages for Kingston sometime in early 2027 that I’m looking forward to attending.
- Next bookcon, I should plan to spend most of my time standing. Shay messaged me about this. Authors who stand 95% of the time get more book sales. She actually tested it out by sitting on Saturday (before she found this out), then standing on Sunday and she got more sales on Sunday, even though there were fewer people coming through. Something I will definitely be trying next time.
I can’t think of a single negative take-away from last weekend. Kate Smoak, Sarah L. Rose, and all the volunteers did an amazing job of organizing it and keeping on top of everything. The final numbers blew my mind, although they shouldn’t have since they ran out of almost everything at the front desk…even raffle tickets at one point on Saturday. The final count showed that we had close to 1,000 people come through the doors.
In other news
Jumping in Puddles – Audiobook
I have been at a standstill with this since our eavestroughs fell to the ground almost 2 months ago. It took forever to get them fixed and in the meantime, there was a constant dripping sound that wouldn’t let me get back to recording. But never fear, the audiobook will get completed! It won’t be until after the release of my next book, In the Shadow of Secrets (please note the title change) in the next month or so.
In the Shadow of Secrets – name & Release Date Change
I have had to push back the release date for my next release due to the fact that I’m waiting on my ISBN. But that does give me time to review my current publishing situation and see if I can find something better, and to revisit the name of the book. Although I did love “When Dragons Wake,” and “In the Dragons Wake,” the books aren’t fantasy and I was concerned that people would think they were and be disappointed. So I spent some time on my girls’ weekend this past weekend with my besties brainstorming, and this is what we came up with:
In the Shadow of Secrets – Book 1 of Shadows & Secrets Duology – to be released this spring.
Rising from the Shadows – Book 2 of Shadows & Secrets Duology – to be released in the fall.
Works in Progress
Currently working on a story that started as a MF romance, but now seems to work better as an MM romance. The working title is “Collateral Hearts.” Our main characters meet in a hospital emergency room when Rory’s brother is involved in a workplace accident and Indy’s ex-boyfriend has been in a car accident. Even though they’d never met before, they end up supporting each other as they deal with trauma and heartbreak. Still in the early stages, but I’m really loving the dynamic between Rory and Indy. Watch for future updates!
Okay, that’s it from me! Hope you enjoyed joining me at Rose City Romance and I can’t wait to tell you about the next con I attend! Until then…
