AFS Publishing Canada

09/01/2024

Check out my latest blog post, Pity the Apostrophe (s), one of my favourites!

Who knew the apostrophe s after words ending in s (or zed, or x) could raise such ire amongst otherwise civilised people?

07/19/2024

Alex' Choice now available at two fine retailers in the Kingston area: Books on Main and Weasel & Easel; soon to be available at Coles Books in Ottawa (Carlingwood and Bayshore). Stay tuned for notice of author signings. Wider distribution at Indigo and Indie books stores coming soon.
Still, it's fast and easy to order directly from Lulu.com via afspublishing.ca or direct from me. Message me.

07/11/2024

Interest continues for our latest novel, Alex' Choice. Here's what one of my reviewers had to say about it:
'Life’s revelations continue for Alex Jorgenson in this engaging sequel to The Treasure of Stella Bay. Set in Ontario in the ‘60s and early ‘70s, readers have a front row seat into Alex’ trials and tribulations and with often a humorous look into his world as he grapples with maturity, independence, and love. Alex’ Choice is an emotional, nostalgic, and at times gripping story. A delightful novel that peers into the tough decisions of this young adult’s life.'

Here's the back cover, and the front cover:

06/30/2024

To all my followers and readers of this blog, may you celebrate Dominion Day with appropriate fervour and fealty.

https://afspublishing.ca/24-12-dominion-day-revisited/

Dominion Day, Revisited

'Canada Day, despite the clumsy ring of the word on our tongues, should be a hallowed day of reverence, gratitude, appreciation, and celebration. Instead, vacuous tv and radio personalities juvenilely wish us all ‘Happy Birthday, Canada’. It is to weep.'

July 1 is Canada's national day of celebrating its own identity as sovereign nation in the world. But it is evolving.

06/18/2024

Our latest opus is now available! The much requested sequel to The Treasure of Stella Bay.

'Alex’ Choice'. Synopsis: If you grew up in the 1960s, or wondered what it might have been like, 'Alex’ Choice' will take you there. This is about emerging into adulthood in small town Ontario in the period of 1963-1973, more particularly, Kingston, Peterborough, and the tiny village of Stella. Follow Alex through high school, then Queen’s, as he struggles with change and disappointment, scholastics and athletics, and girls, until, finally, he must make a choice.

Check it out on our website: afspublishing.ca and click the Buy Now button to order directly from the printer, Lulu.com.

Or if you prefer an inscribed-by-the-author copy, message me.

04/24/2024

Save the date!

If you live in or near Ottawa and you’re looking to replenish your library, visit the Kanata United Church Book Fair and browse to your heart’s content. This is the 35th anniversary of the largest book fair in the Ottawa Region. It’s impressive.

A few of my books will be there again this year: The Treasure of Stella Bay (5 copies) and a couple of copies each of The Maxim Chronicles and The Hallelujah Chorus. KUC Books sold all five of the TSB last year and some of the poodle memoirs.

As a local author we had thought I might have an author signing one day at the Fair but, alas, as last year, I’m going to be in The Philippines. So, go in my place! 😉

02/09/2024

Two recent posts on the question the author faces in terms of 'quality' when endeavouring to write and publish his books: The Trouble with Quality (https://afspublishing.ca/24-1-the-trouble-with-quality/), and A Thing Worth Doing (https://afspublishing.ca/24-2-a-thing-worth-doing/). Does he do the best he can, for the love of writing? or does he do it for [hoped-for] fame and fortune? Does she write for her audience, or write for herself?

01/09/2024

Help and advice from experienced writers.

10/23/2023

The challenges facing the independent author/publisher in the book business:

10/17/2023

Interesting work by one of our members, Canadian Authors.

10/11/2023

Canadian Authors, leading writers into the next century.

Are you an aspiring writer taking your first steps into the business of writing?

Check out our FAQ page for the answers to questions regarding publishing, agents, IISBN, and more!

https://canadianauthors.org/national/faq/

10/07/2023

Stop by Coles Carlingwood today and meet the author.

10/01/2023

On the books front,
I’ve now written 34 Chapters, >78,000 words, on my current project (sequel to The Treasure of Stella Bay), and 10 more to go, I think. And then the hard work begins – Revision 1. I must confess this past week was a bit slow-going as I struggled to figure out how to sequence the actions of these last chapters and pull the whole story together in the end. There’s a lot going on and I keep going back to previous chapters to see whether the narrative makes sense, or is in the right place; or I forgot to actually write that idea, even though I thought I had. I’ve spent many fruitless hours scrolling through back pages trying to find the passage I’m worrying – cutting, pasting, cutting again – and many more hours in the middle of the night trying to sort it out. At this point our hero (Alex Jurgenson) has finished his first year at Queen’s, suffered his first great disappointment, and finds himself juggling two love affairs.
My second book-signing session of The Treasure of Stella Bay at Coles Carlingwood September 23 was canceled by a last minute instruction from Indigo to promote household items instead of local authors. The store manager was most apologetic and has rebooked me for Thanksgiving Saturday, October 7.
City Councillor Allen Hubley (South Kanata Ward) purchased three copies of TSB to be distributed as commendation gifts to worthy constituents. Councillor Hubley seemed most impressed that TSB is my eighth book and showed interest in the upcoming sequel, 'The Road to Queen’s' (?), which is my tenth. His office subsequently promoted me and my books on his various sm channels. Nice.
I completed my editorial review of my mentee’s manuscript and returned the marked-up text and a report to her. She tells me I didn’t make her cry, and she accepts 80% of my marginal comments. (Not that my comments were marginal but that they are written in the margins.) Apparently 20% of my comments are undecipherable.

08/27/2023

Had a good day at Coles Carlingwood: met some nice people and sold ten copies.

Returning September 23.

08/22/2023

Reminder: Hope to see you at Coles Carlingwood this Saturday August 26. Wish me a Happy Birthday by buying a copy of 'The Treasure of Stella Bay'.

08/02/2023

'The Treasure of Stella Bay' isn't the only book in our catalogue. Check out these other titles.

07/13/2023

05/20/2023

Latest post to our blog in our series On Marketing and Promoting Books features Canadian Author Terry Fallis and the challenge of the speaking circuit.

04/09/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7050911332384002048

Dropped off a dozen+ of my books to the Kanata United church Annual Book Fair on Saturday. I figured, better in the home libraries of book lovers than…

04/04/2023

Here's the latest instalment in my series on the challenges independent authors/publishers face in trying to get their creative work in the hands of readers:

Sustaining Drive, and Marketing Books, 4: Bricks & Mortar Bookstores https://afspublishing.ca/23-6-sustaining-drive-and-marketing-books-4-bricks-and-mortar-bookstores/
'So in seeking retail channels for our book, 'The Treasure of Stella Bay', we abandoned the Indigo empire and sought out local independent bookstores instead, especially those located in Ottawa (local author angle) and the Lake Ontario/Kingston region (to exploit the Amherst Island/Stella Bay locale angle). You can see my strategy here: if my book could get traction with these parochial stores, I could then lever this reputation into indie stores in the ‘big smoke’ (i.e., Toronto).'
…see more

Indie Bookstores and indie authors have a natural affinity, but the author still has put in the promotional effort.

02/17/2023

Check out my latest blog post – Sustaining Drive, and Marketing Books – in which I investigate the perils of being an indie author and publisher.

Being an author means getting your book in the hands of readers. But that's not easy – it takes courage, persistence and stamina.

01/27/2023

Maybe this cashier counter tent card can help increase sales at the 14 Indie Bookstores carrying my book. Visit my website: afspublishing.ca.

12/22/2022

Waiters as a Sales Channels

Every encounter you have has the potential to become a worthwhile one, for both of you. The server, the cashier, the sales clerk may not become a lasting contact in your Linkedin file but at least the conversation can progress beyond the menu, or cliché.

The server, most times. doesn’t want to be a faceless nameless agent for your commerce. He or she is a human being who should expect to be treated with humanity, not merely respect.

Authors tell stories. I am an author – and you, the reader may be one too – and we work hard at composing our stories hoping readers will enjoy them and admire our achievement. So we tell our stories, including to the waiters. But a true exchange is reciprocal. The waiter has her story to tell too, and we need to give these casual encounters the opportunity to tell their story too. The server’s story may even prompt the author in you to file that one away for some future project, or some episode in your next novel.

I’m often surprised at the animated response I get when I tell the waiter or clerk that I am an author. They are genuinely pleased to have met a ‘real author’; they treat me as a minor celebrity. When you discover they are also readers, or have a sister or boyfriend who is a reader, I offer them a bookmark as a reminder of my last opus.

I’ve given away dozens and dozens of my bookmarks in this fashion. I’m not sure if that has resulted in many, or even any, actual sales. But in the moment, it is very satisfying.

12/15/2022

Check out our latest blog Post: Yuletide Angst https://afspublishing.ca/23-yuletide-angst/

'in Northern Europe, a new rival for the affections of the people began to creep into the collective consciousness. Alongside the messiah of hope we now had the generous Saint Nicholas, he espousing the virtue of giving. But this wonderful virtue gave rise to an all-new kind of angst – what to give! And spawned another perturbation – debt.'

Solstice celebrations such as Christmas may bring hope but also worries of another kind: the downside of giving.

10/20/2022

Here's what one of my followers on twitter had to say recently about The Treasure of Stella Bay:

Jeff Brown

·
Aug 19

Just finished reading this book - well done, Doug! A very enjoyable read for all ages. For younger readers, they see life through the eyes of a young boy, while older readers can enjoy the nostalgia of childhood in the early 1960s.



AFS Publishing logo

10/20/2022

Sent out requests for updates to the 13 indie retailers of my book, The Treasure of Stella Bay, with mixed results. But marketing, like advertising, requires persistence.

“Sent out requests for updates to the 13 indie retailers of my book, The Treasure of Stella Bay, with mixed results. But marketing, like advertising, requires persistence.”

09/26/2022

We have dozens of copies of The Treasure of Stella Bay in inventory. If you’ve been thinking of getting yourself a copy, or gifting a copy to someone else, let me know.

08/24/2022

I'll be exhibiting my books at the Ottawa Book Expo this weekend at Lansdowne Park, Horticultural Bldg. Come out and see us!

08/05/2022

As a Supporter of AFS Publishing, and in particular my latest opus, 'The Treasure of Stella Bay’ – and I thank you for that – here’s an update on recent efforts to promote our work. And a few other Doug Jordan doings.
• On The Treasure of Stella Bay front I had these bits of positive news:
◦ One of my readers (my defamation lawyer actually) sent me accolades and promises to post reviews on Goodreads, etc.
◦ Even more surprising, one of my twitter correspondents, a journalist, discovered I am an author and that my book, The TSB, is historical fiction (his preferred genre) set in the 1960s Ontario. He ordered a copy on Kobo for reading on vacation this week. I hope he liked it and will tell all his friends.
◦ I sold two more copies to friends at the Sunday Supper club. What took them so long??? But what we’re finding is, interest continues in this book as the theme and period doesn’t go out of date.
◦ My vendor on Amherst Island, The Woolshed at Topsy Farms, has sold out of their inventory of 15 copies and have ordered 10 more. They are now my #1 vendor at 40 copies to date.
• I took the plunge and bought a table at the forthcoming Ottawa Book Expo at Landsdowne Park August 26, 27, 28. Now I have to ‘SWAG' the number of copies of my books I’m likely to sell – and hope to at least cover all my costs: for that I need to sell 100 copies. The fact that I’ve signed up suggests hope exceeded rationality. If I sell out of TSB (!) maybe I can persuade customers to buy copies of The Maxim Chronicles, or The Hallelujah Chorus, of which I have many unsold copies from the last big book fair I attended – The Word on the Street in Toronto in 2018. SWAG was way wide of the plate that time. (SWAG? Sweet Wild Ass Guess, a well-known technique used by many prognosticators.)
• Another way you might support AFS Publishing, if you haven't already, is to ’Follow’ my pages on LinkedIn and Facebook.
• I’ve almost finished the 3rd Draft of my autobiography, ‘My Story, Mostly’ but I am going to fall behind my schedule – too many hours spent rummaging through old photograph albums and trying to solve long forgotten ancient mysteries. And the bloody thing continues to grow as I find more and more ‘interesting' things I can’t resist including: now up to 137,000 words (429 pages)! Still, I hope to order a print copy next week, then to find in the 4th Draft all the errors I missed on the screen.
◦ In this regard, I’ve recruited two ‘editors' to find errors and provide me feedback by mid-October when I return from The Philippines.
◦ My goal is to have the product available for Christmas Giving, at least to my immediate family. (Let me know if you’re interested in acquiring a copy for yourself.)
◦ I’ve asked my graphics designer (One Fish Creative, who designed the cover to Travels With Myself) to take a stab at the cover for 'My Story, Mostly’. Not sure what Amanda and company will come up with. I’ve provided her with the general idea of what I want and a photo of moi for the front cover (it's after all an autobiography!) and two cute photos for the back cover of key people who also were a big part of ‘My Story, Mostly’. I still have to come up with the descriptive text. Suggestions welcome.

07/06/2022

Here's a quick update on happenings at AFS Publishing in the month of June:

The marketing and promotion campaign for 'The Treasure of Stella Bay' has slowed but we hope for positive reports from our Indie Book Store partners in the Kingston and the Islands for the summer season.
We have a new Indie Partner, Furby House Books in Port Hope distributing TSB: drop by and ask for your copy.
Here's the list of our other retailers:
Beggars Banquet Books, Gananoque;
Books on Beechwood. Ottawa;
Books on Main, Bath;
Books & Company, Picton;
Lighthouse Books, Brighton;
Novel Idea Bookstore, Kingston;
The Open Book, Williams Lake, BC!
The Wool Shed, Topsy Farms, Amherst Island;
Weasel & Easel, Stella, Amherst Island

If you have friends and family in the area, let them know about TSB and suggest they stop by one of these fine retailers and check it out.

Lulu.com, our printing and distribution partner reports a few sales in June, possibly as Fathers Day gifts.