Back to square one

Recall that I've been in communication with Jason Haugen at Hastings Entertainment corporate headquarters, trying to arrange book signings for the Hastings locations in San Marcos, New Braunfels and other places not too distant from my locale. Initial dates proposed were for April 15 and 16, and another signing for April 29. Haugen thought these were doable, and would get back to me.

He didn't get back to me. Emailed queries went unanswered. Finally, yesterday I called Hastings HQ to ask what was up. The long and short of it: Haugen no longer works for Hastings. And no, none of the preliminary arrangements with the local Hastings I was to do signings with have been done. And as there is a new person I'll have to deal with, I'm going to have to do the whole "No, I'm not a vanity press or POD author" song and dance once again. Which I'm getting really sick of. And no, the new person has not returned my emails or phone calls.

I went by the Borders at the northeast tip of San Antonio yesterday, just 15 minutes away from my house. Their inventory manager was in a meeting, so I couldn't go through the "not vanity" spiel. I left some promo material for him, but will have to follow up. The one bright spot was at the New Braunfels Hastings. I'd not managed to meet the book manager there previously, and the Haugen mess prompted me to do so for lack of success on the corporate front. Her name's Amber, and for once a manager didn't look stricken and desperate for a way out when I introduced myself as a local author. She was polite and friendly, even moreso when she realized my book was returnable (see? I still had to do the "not vanity" spiel, only not so forcefully this time). She seemed genuinely enthusiastic about hosting a signing for me, and was both surprised and sympathetic when she heard about my initial ill-fated dealings with Hastings HQ. So that provided a much-needed boost to my spirits. We'll see if any of my other efforts pan out. But geeze Louise, it's proving harder to even get bookstores to consider stocking my book than it did to get it published in the first place!

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