Yule be bookringed
I’ve decided to turn Yule Be Mine into a bookring. I’ve put a notice on the Bookcrossing forums, and I’ll collect up the names of anyone who wants to read the book, arrange them in some sort of vaguely sensible mailing order, then pass the book to the first person on the list. Once they’ve read it, they’ll pass it on to the next person on the list (either hand it over in person, or post it), and so on, until it eventually comes back to me. Of course, non-Bookcrossers will at this stage point out that it’s not the most efficient way of getting to read a book, but who cares? It’s fun! (simple test of whether you’d make a good bookcrosser or not: can you understand why waiting 6 months or more to get a book that several other people have read before you (and then having to pay postage to send it on to someone else) is more fun than going out and buying your own copy?). Those of you who know the author might also be thinking “Hang on, but aren’t you losing her sales by doing this? If you give people her book for free, then they won’t have to buy it.” True, but how many of those people would even have heard of her book (or her) otherwise? Getting Yule Be Mine in a bookring might mean they won’t go out and buy their own copy (though they might if they really like it!), but they will have discovered a new author, and if they like her writing, they’ll then go and buy a copy of her next book, and recommend it to their friends… viral marketing, I think it’s called in the business world.
I got an email today telling me someone had made a journal entry on a book I’d released in Kingston in August, when we were on our way down to Stewart Island with Dad and his wife (they were most amused by the idea of bookcrossing, and were having fun helping me to find good places to leave books). It got caught in September in a cafe somewhere near Christchurch, by an American who then obviously took it home with them, because it’s now been caught again, in Connecticut! The new finder is going to release it in New York, so who knows where it will end up next…
Back to work on Monday 🙁 so of course the weather is finally starting to improve. I should have known summer wouldn’t start until my holidays were over. Oh well, at least the bad weather has meant I’ve had more time to spend sitting at the computer sending emails to prospective convention attendees (I sent 119 PMs yesterday to NZ bookcrossers, reminding them about the convention. I keep flipping between thinking that we’re sure to get a good turnout and panicking that we won’t get enough people to cover the costs (which is silly, because we’re working on a minimum of 20, and we’re almost there already – and there’s still two months to go!)) Someone please remind me next year never to volunteer to organise a convention ever again!
Currently reading: Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles