Creating Community Through Books

By Judith Ashley

Jan’s Paperbacks is a supporter of romance authors. I know that because I've had the pleasure of signing my books there as well as attending other authors’ signings. Also, in November 2013, owner Debbie Burke was a featured speaker at a Kobo Event held in Beaverton, OR with a massive book signing (eighteen authors) in her store that evening. Not only was I impressed with how everything was set up at the mega-signing, I found the information she shared about how to approach book stores if authors wanted them to carry their books to be invaluable.  

Diana McCollum, Judith Ashley, Sarah Raplee 

One tip was to make an appointment. Another tip was to respect that the book store as a place of business. Therefore, when customers come in, the staff need to wait on them and we, the author, need to step aside. I took those tips to heart so I made an appointment to talk to Debbie at a time that worked best for her. Jan's Paperbacks does much more than support romance and other genre authors. 

One of Debbie’s passions is creating community: a community of authors and readers.

How do Debbie and her staff do this?

Mark this date: Saturday May 16^th.

Jan’s is spinning off on the BOGO idea by promoting local authors. If you are in the area, stop by and meet local authors, purchase a book, and you’ll get a used book free. As you can see, there is something for everyone – definitely a win-win opportunity.

Want to self-publish a book? Want some ideas about marketing? Check out Jan’s educational programs for writers. Sign up for their newsletter so you can attend the next educational event. If you can’t make one of the seminars, you’ll find great books on self-publishing on the shelves.

National recognition for Debbie’s work supporting local romance authors came in the form of Jan’s Paperbacks being named a Romantic Times Book Review Magazine Bookseller in 2012.

While Jan’s Paperbacks has supported authors for many years, the other half of the equation is readers. Creating a community of young readers is one way Debbie supports readers. She works with schools, giving them discounts on books, problem solving to get new reading material into school libraries with minimal funding. She has a teachers’ “wish list” of books. Want to help? Contact Jan’s to see how you can put books into schools and make wishes come true.

Win-win is a fundamental piece of creating community. Jan’s Paperbacks has chosen to become part of the Kobo community of independent book stores. Readers can purchase digital books from Kobo through their website. Why would an independent bookstore who sells paper books promote Kobo e-readers and digital books?

“E-books are not going away,” Debbie said. “With Kobo, I’m able to educate my customers about e-books providing them with another service.” You can click on Jan’s Paperback’s website and order an e-book anytime. If you don’t have a Kobo e-reader, you can purchase one from Jan’s or just download the Kobo app to your tablet or cell phone.

Jan’s Paperbacks is located in Aloha, Oregon. If you aren't in the “greater Portland area” look for an independent book store near you. Ask about local authors, sign up for their newsletter. Supporting our local independent book store creates community and supports our local economy.

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Womens' Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nourish the soul. She is also a co-founder of Romancing The Genres.

Wow!!!

Judith Ashley

The latest issue of RT Book Reviews arrived in my mailbox on Friday. Saturday I took a few minutes to look over the Historical and Contemporary list of reviewed books because that is what I most enjoy reading. However, as I was leafing through the pages I caught sight of Delilah Marvelle’s picture and a few pages later, an ad featuring Opal Carew. My curiosity piqued I started at the beginning and read every article and looked at every ad as well as skimmed down the list of names being reviewed. What was I looking for?

If you are reading this post, you know about Romancing The Genres. If you are new to RTG, you may not know that two years ago in February, Sarah Raplee and I conceived the idea of a group blog featuring romance authors from a variety of genres. We’d each blog on a particular day of the month (I’m the first Friday). Having guests would be an added value to our readers and we thought Saturday would be a good day to schedule them.

Even in the beginning we thought of having a time and place where the Genre-istas could post short stories. We launched Free ReadsFrom The Genre-istas in February, 2011.

You can click on the links above and scroll down to see who our guests have been and what our Genre-istas are writing about.

Back to RT…

Delilah Marvelle, who has been our guest in August and September 2010 and December 2012, is featured in an article on clothing from the early 1800’s which is where her stories are set. She’s also listed as a Top Pick with 4.5 Stars for Forever a Lord, book three in her latest series.

If you look on page 21, you’ll see an ad placed by St. Martin’s press touting six books coming from Genre-ista, Opal Carew. Because her career is shooting into the stratosphere with demands for more works, deadlines, etc., Opal’s January post will be her last with us.
Madelle Morgan will be joining us in February on the 2^nd Tuesday of the month.

Matt Buchman (M.L. Buchman) our 12/08/2012 guest is listed in the Series Rap Sheet. Matt was also featured in Eloisa James’ NPR column. Matt’s book Wait Until Dark was given a 4 Star rating. Reviewer writes “…this book has it all. The only thing you’ll ask yourself is “When does the next one come out?” the full review is on Page 70.

Genre-ista, Paty Jager’s The Secret of an Aztec Temple is included in the All Romance e-book advertisement on Page 28. Paty writes our 1st Monday post.

Genre-ista, Bronwen Evans’ To Challenge The Earl of Cravenswood which is self-published, was given a 4 Star rating. Bron, who has been a Genre-ista from the beginning, also won the 2012 RomCon Reader's Crown for her Invitation to Ruin. Bron's regular post time is the 1st Thursday of the month.

But that’s not all! The 2013 Romantic Times Convention also has familiar names.

Genre-ista Kris Tualla is a presenter in two workshops on Self-Publishing. Kris’s regular RTG post time is the 1^st Tuesday of the month. She also was a December guest because of her knowledge about Self and Indie Publishing. If you are interested in a great book on the subject, check out her Becoming an Authorpreneur: Navigating A Career in 21st Century Publishing.

Other RTG Guests are presenters at the Self-Publishing Program during the Convention. You can attend workshops with Theresa Ragan and Bob Mayer. Bob, who we see as a generous supporter of RTG, has shared his insights on self-publishing. He and Jen Talty co-authored The Shelfless Book and she is also co-presenting the workshops with him.

Check out Theresa's inspiring self-publishing story.

While we certainly had hopes and dreams about the success of Romancing The Genres, neither of us would have predicted how much we’ve grown.

This month we will pass 50,000 page views!

December 31, 2012 marked our 560^th post.

December 30, 2012 we had 41,112 comments on those 560 posts.

Free Reads From The Genre-istas should pass 3,000 page views late in January or early in February. Each post is a short, short story. Romance Genres included are Western, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Steampunk, Paranormal, Fantasy and Historical.

December 31, 2012 marks 31 posted stories.

And we’ve had 107 comments on those 31 short stories.

All I can say is “Wow!” We did it and then some. Thanks to each and every one of the Genre-istas and to each and every one of you for making an idea flourish into a growing, living labor of love (well, most days it’s a labor of love).

And, if you ‘follow’ us, you don’t have to click around or remember to check us out. We’ll show up most days on our own.

www.JudithAshleyRomance.com