Year End Results at Pegasus Books.

I've done the year-end figuring on Pegasus Books for 2018.

Every category was up but comics. We were down...just...slightly overall, not so much that it affects us much. And while the monthly comics were down, graphic novels were up significantly.

In May, we expanded the space for graphic novels and books by quite a bit, and that really seemed to spark a resurgence.

I'm especially pleased that games saw a slight increase because suddenly everyone and their uncle are carrying Euro games. Target and B&N and everyone else. For years I was pretty much the only one in town that carried a full line. A game store did come to town, but we were still able to increase sales. But when the big boys start carrying games, then you have to be careful.

I'll try to maintain games at the current level, at least.

Books are doing well, and I'll continue to support and increase them. I'm low on space, as usual, but there is still room to grow.

Card games did pretty good, mostly because I supported them fully, carrying every release of Magic that was affordable.

Graphic novels really kicked in almost from the day we expanded our display space for them. We basically went from no covers face-out to a quarter of the store face-out. It looks better and highlights the graphic novels much better. Plus we have room to keep expanding for once. When I say that comics are down, this doesn't include graphic novels, which are climbing.

Toys are hit and miss. I can really only afford to carry them when they are on sale. So I grab them when they drop in price. That seems to work pretty well.

So overall, I'm pretty pleased with the results. The increases in all categories almost completely covered the drop in comic sales, as planned. We're still well into the black. As long as I continue to pack the store with product, I think we'll thrive.

Best of all, I can continue to pay my manager, Sabrina, and my weekend guy, Dylan--and continue to write!

New Year, same as the Old Year

My resolution isn't so much to start anything (or stop anything) new, but to simply do what I've been doing for the last six years.

Writing and walking. Walking and writing.

My pace has slowed down, partly because I've accomplished so much. I could continue on at that pace, but to what end? I'm thinking it's time to slow down, to give each book some breathing room, especially after the first draft is written.

Deadfall Ridge is a great example of that. I finished it and sent it off to a publisher--didn't hear back from him, so had some second thoughts and tried to spice the book up and sent that version off--then didn't hear back, and so then combined the best of both versions. This last version was by far the best.

Fortunately, I also found the right publisher. The original publisher left me hanging. What's ironic to me is that my book is currently nestled between two of that publisher's books in the rankings. Wonder if he noticed.

Crossroad has done right by me and I'm glad I could send it to them.

A couple of lessons there. I shouldn't send off a book until it's ready, and I need to give myself time to think about it.

Thing is, I often don't get these second thoughts until after I've committed. It's like the actual commitment is what triggers the re-evaluation.

So not sure how to get around that.

Turning "Takeover" into a Hart Davis book.

"Takeover."

Awhile back, I wrote a book about the fictional takeover the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, based on the Malhuer standoff. The first half was an experiment in storytelling, pretending to be first hand witness accounts by the various players.

The second half turned into a regular thriller.

I ended up liking the second half better. I mean, I liked what I did in the first half, but it just didn't really come together as a complete book. It needed a lead narrator, really, to tie it all together.

I've been thinking about it ever since. I know which character could do the best job of it. I would have to have him as the POV in the first two or three chapters, then I could seed in the other 1st person accounts--or turn those into 3rd person accounts.

The only reason to do this is that I think the story is pretty good, but because of the way I wrote it, the current book just doesn't work.

So I always had the intention of rewriting the first part of the book.

With "Deadfall Ridge" doing so well, I'm wondering if I can't turn the main character into Hart Davis, the protagonist of the latter book. I've sort of figured out a way, I think.

It also kind of excites me to try to do it, which is the crucial factor in any writing endeavor. So now I know what I'm going to be doing in January.

BookBub is a hell of a thing.

BookBub is a hell of a thing.

It really works, like nothing else works. I mean, I was happy just to be selected, because I knew that wasn't an easy thing.

It's doing better than I expected, really. Amazing.

As you may have noticed, I've stayed out of the way while the BookBub promotion is going on. Fortunately, I did a little research in advance so wasn't nervous about the time-lag. I think I've been superstitious about jinxing it.

I can get a general sense of how things are going from the rankings. David Wilson from Crossroad emailed me mid-afternoon to say they've already covered it, so I'm happy about that.

I'm exposing myself to a lot of new readers. With any luck they'll check out some of my other books.

It's interesting that I've gotten these encouragements on a regular basis--not too often, but often enough--to keep me going. I've sold out of my physical copies at the store, needed to order more.

So it's back to writing full-time next year, pretty much the same way I've been doing it. The writing is the thing, though I don't mind seeing some results once in awhile!

duncanmcgeary.com

Many of you are reading this blog on the front page of my new namesake website, thanks to my wizardess, Chloe Leis.

https://www.duncanmcgeary.com/

What I like best about it is that this blog is that is now front and center on my homepage. I've written on this blog almost everyday for over 12 years now, so there will always been something fresh. (There does seem to be a time lag, but this post will get there soon enough.)

For those who are new here, I mostly talk about my writing process these days. Sometimes I talk about my business, Pegasus Books, in downtown Bend, which I've owned for 35 years.

The impetus to finally get this up to date is my newest book, "Deadfall Ridge," which has a Featured New Release from Bookbub on December 26th, 2018, which is pretty exciting. (For those who don't know what BookBub is, read my earlier blog post.)

So welcome everyone, and thanks to all who have continued to read this blog over the years. There won't be any change to those who come to "The Best Minimum Wage Job a Middle-Aged Guy Ever Had" site.

So to everyone discovering this site, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Working at Pegasus Books.

I worked the first three hours yesterday at my book store, Pegasus Books, and felt completely overwhelmed. I'm sort of out of the routine these days. People were calling and asking obscure questions, which I would normally try to answer, but I had to resort to "We're insanely busy. Could you call back a little later?"

One of our busiest days ever.

I was tied to the register for a couple of hours, not really able to go out onto the floor and ask if people needed help.

It seems like Christmas spending takes off later and later every year, so it's a bit nerve wracking. What if something happens? Several feet of snow? National emergency? But I think people are determined to at least have the happiness of those last couple weeks of the year.

I'm really thankful for Sabrina and Dylan, who are so cheerful and do such a good job.

I came into the Christmas season certain it was going to be a slow one. So far, it's been good, a little better than last year, though it might be hard to do as well the last week. Still, I was keeping my expectations slow.

I also sold almost all the "Deadfall Ridge"s I had in stock. Too bad I don't work at the store all the time, because I could probably sell some of my books every day. But then I wouldn't be writing.

I'm giving myself a break this season, not worrying about whether I write. What it reminds me of was the pure creative surge I felt those first few years. Absolutely nothing got in the way of my writing--I was a maniac.

Now that I've accomplished much of what I set out to do, that mania is dying down. So it will be interesting what happens from here on out.

I will be writing, without a doubt. I'm too addicted to it now. 

Holiday break.

I'm taking the holidays off. I've been kinda stuck on "Ruby Red and Robot" anyway, so giving it more time to percolate isn't a bad thing. Todd and Toby will be home for Christmas.

I figure I'll probably be glued to the computer on December 26 for my BookBub promotion for "Deadfall Ridge." I mean, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. It appears to really help some books, but other books fall between the cracks. Since I'm not particularly known, nor do I generally write in this genre, and because it is a stand-alone, I probably should keep my expectations low. If I have real guts, I'd just ignore it and let whatever happen...happen.

But I don't think I can pull that off.

Saw an old friend at the writer's group X-Mas party and gave her a copy of "Deadfall Ridge" and she wrote back and told me she'd read it in two sittings and loved it. It pleased me a great deal because it's hard to get friends and family to read my stuff. (Understandable because I've written so much.)  And I respect her opinion. Sometimes that's enough to keep me going. Also got a 5 star review from Sandy in Texas, who was my first real reader, and I'm really grateful for that. 

My wizardess, Chloe, and I are still working on updating my duncanmcgeary.com site. We're going to use a different provider in order to place this blog on the front page. Lots of details to fill in. It's not something I could have done on my own.

I'm hoping to get back to my regular walking and writing routine next year. They work so well together. I've been losing weight, but not because of a diet. I'm not eating anything before noon, which was always true, but now I'm not eating after 6:00. In between, I'm eating when I want to, but being moderate about it.

Poor Panga's belly is swollen. She doesn't seem to be in pain. We're watching her carefully. She still seems to have more good days than bad. But I fear the end is near.

Going to work today to put away books. Always an exciting time at the store. Also meeting my wizardess to work on the domain site some more.

Trying not to get too frightened by national affairs. (Oh, my poor IRA!!)