CalMeacham Book Publicity Continues

Marketplace
1

I just learned that the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) will shortly be publishing an article that I wrote for them about Wonderland Park in their magazine, the NAPHA Chronicle.

Tomorrow (Saturday May 22) the Boston Book Fair will be running a series of “commercials” for recent books, made by the authors, to be called “Book Bites”. The last of the non-fiction books is my Lost Wonderland
https://bostonbookfest.org/year-round-events/ma-book-bites/

And the Oxford University Press blog will sometime soon be running a piece I wrote for them about “Tanagra Theater and the Fishbowl Mermaid”, publicizing Sandbows and Black Lights, which just came out in March.

2

My Oxford University Press (OUP) blog article “The Mermaid in the Fishbowl” has hjust been published online:

3

For some reason, Amazon has decided to cut the price of Sandbows and Black Lights in half! You can buy it now for $21, which is a reasonable price.

I have no idea how or why, but at this price I can wholeheartedly recommend the book.

4

And now Amazon is selling Lost Wonderland for less than $6.

How can they do this?

5

So now some of the hard print editions of my books are cheaper than the kindle editions.

This is very weird.

6

I just received the latest issue (Summer 2021) of the NAPHA Chronicle, the magazine of the National Amusement Park Historical Association.

Its featured article (running eight pages, including the centerspread) is one I wrote about Wonderland. There’s also a six-page follow-up.

I learned something that I had not been aware of – Kennywood Park outside Pittsburgh opened up a section called Lost Kennywood, an homage to parks and rides of the past. Lost Kennywood’s gift shop entrance is am almost perfect copy of the Main Entrance to Wonderland (but reading “KENNYWOOD” instead of “WONDERLAND”)

I’m gonna have to go see that.

7

Do you get the same cut regardless of the price Amazon sets?

8

I should.
Amazon buys from the University Press, but the rates the Press pays me is set by our contract. Which makes me wonder even more how they can do it. Possibly Amazon is so freakin’ big that they can play games with prices and not notice a loss.

9

There’s a Sand Sculpture Contest at Revere Beach this weekend, and one of the entries features a prominent view of the front entrance to Wonderland. They must have been inspired either by my book, or by the postcard we used for the front cover

10

Got my royalty statement for the first year of Lost Wonderland.

One year of relentlessly pushing the book handing out bookmarks, lecturing in libraries, writing publicity articles for websites, magazines, and newspapers. Making a publicity video.

Don’t go into writing for the money, kids. Make sure you love doing it.