Moonlight Mesa

Getting Your Book Published

2012-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

I am frequently asked how I go about selecting the manuscripts that Moonlight Mesa Associates, Western Book Publisher publishes. Most publishing houses have an acquisitions editor who makes the initial decision on what gets past his/her desk. Who knows where they find these folks. I know for a fact that our authors are far, far better authors than many of the authors that the "big houses" sign. It's a vicious world, the publishing world.

So, how do I chose the manuscripts? What criteria do I have? (Or it is that criterion?) It's always a tough decion, let me be perfectly honest. But there are four items I strongly consider.

First, and most importantly, I must LOVE what the author has written. That's an emphatic LOVE. I'll even consider something I may not LOVE, but that I definitely LIKE. STRONGLY LIKE. Before I look at marketability or anything else, I have to LIKE/LOVE it. If I don't feel strongly, I just won't be able to represent the book well or talk people into buying it.

Second, I try to appraise how marketable the subject is. Do I really believe this book will sell? Is this a niche market book? More than likely the book will appeal to a niche market. We're good with that here. We like niche. I really must feel that the book will sell well without me having to beat myself to death to get it sold. We ask all prospective authors to give us a marketing plan for their books. NO ONE CAN SELL A BOOK AS WELL AS THE AUTHOR! Am I ever wrong in my assessment of a book? Not often, but yes, I have been.

Third, I look at how much money and time I will have to put into this project. We do quite a bit of editing, but if I have to send the book to our editor-in-chief, that gets expensive. In fact, some small publishing houses send the manuscript back to the author and tell him/her to get it edited. If the manuscript is just too much of a mess and going to cost too much and take too much production time, I may reluctantly turn it down.

Fourth, can I get along with the author? Is the author willing to work with us and be a pleasant, nice person? If not, adios. I don't tolerate demanding, yelling, fit-throwing screamers. Period and end of sentence.

So, what are we currently looking for? NONFICTION. Western type nonfiction. In fact, we are most interested in publishing a book about mules...mule training or anything of that ilk. We've even approached two trainers, to no avail. We would strongly consider biographies, historical accounts (Western), all kinds of horse "stuff" etc.

We would also consider something non-western, like a health type publication or a how-to book.

We are NOT looking for cowboy poetry, fiction, cookbooks, children's literature, teen lit., chick lit, erotic lit., gay or lesbian lit., suspense or mystery (unless it's Western in nature).

I can't speak for all publishing houses, only for Moonlight Mesa. Finding a publisher is very, very difficult, and we know that. We try to respond to all queries promptly.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

1. Save your time and postage and don't send us something we're not looking for. In fact, don't send us anything until you read our instructions. PLEASE follow the submission guidelines.

2. Send a professionally edited manuscript if you want to leap to the front of the line. We only do a four or five books a year, and we receive a lot of queries. An edited book is hard to resist!

3. Be nice.

4. Be prepared to SELL YOUR BOOK. We can't do it all, and we won't do it all.

GOOD NEWS

Sam's Desert Adventure is now in stock! And Jere D. James' Apache is now available in a LARGE PRINT EDITION.

Publisher Signs New Author

2012-01-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

LEE ANDERSON with CONCHO (PHOTO by APATROU)

Moonlight Mesa publisher, Becky Coffield, met this past week with C.L. "Lee" Anderson to discuss terms of the new contract between the two. Both parties were amicable to changes made to the original contract offer. "The changes were just fine," Coffield said. "I have absolutely no problem with them. It's a much better contract now. It actually protects me more!"

Anderson, the author of Developing the Art of Equine Communication, is a former cowboy, horse trainer, and aeronautical engineer. "He puts on clinics and demonstrations on a regular basis for groups with his horse, Concho. He is, for all intents and purposes, still a highly regarded trainer," Coffield said. Anderson's horse, a thoroughbred and former race horse, was badly injured in a racetrack accident four years ago. According to Anderson, the horse went head over heels a number of times and sustained terrific battering and bruising. Anderson took the horse, which had no further economic value as far as racing goes, and guided the animal into becoming the most entertaining, agreeable, companionable equine imaginable.

"I have seen this horse in person," Coffield said. "He is remarkable. Truly remarkable."

"This is a dynamite book. It's written in a friendly, folksly style, easy to understand, and filled with information and ideas that any equine owner will find helpful and usable, especially the novice horse owner," Coffield said, "or the individual who may be a proficient rider but doesn't understand the horse much."

SAM'S DESERT ADVENTURE EN ROUTE

For all those clamoring for the new Moonlight Mesa young reader publication, Sam's Desert Adventure, the book should arrive by the end of next week. "We've had one snafu after another with this book," Coffield said. "I've never seen anything like it. To make matters worse, there are about 4 commas I question, so we'll undoubtedly have to upload again. Drats. I can't help being obsessive about our publications!"

APACHE NOW IN LARGE PRINT

Jere D. James' highly popular Apache, the second book in the Jake Silver series, is now available in a LARGE PRINT EDITION. The third title in the series, Canyon of Death, should be available in LARGE PRINT by fall.

AUTHOR UPDATE

Author Jere D. James has been loafing, by all accounts, but insists Canyon of Death will be ready for print this year.

Rusty Richards, author of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, has had a rough patch and been under the weather for quite a spell. We're all sending Rusty our thoughts for a full and speedy recovery!

Author Paula Silici, A Way in the Wilderness, is making steady progress in her sales. Silici, a professional editor (www.pro-edits.com)also blogs for Talking Writing.

Renee

Publisher Creates New Imprint: Moonlight Writers Press

2012-01-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

While it's not final, it's looking like it will be. Publisher Becky Coffield announced earlier this week that she is strongly considering creating a new imprint for Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. The new imprint would be Moonlight Writers Press.

"The purpose of this imprint is very simple," Coffield said. "It would be the imprint we will use to publish people's books that are NOT for sale. I get requests now and then from people who want their memoirs/biography/poetry etc. published, but they only want to give it to their family and friends."

In the past, Coffield has turned down these kinds of requests. "I don't want to be known as a subsidy publisher," Coffield said. "Yet, I can see that some people have been horribly ripped off by unscrupulous publishers who have not done right by the authors. I guess my goal is to provide a service that is AFFORDABLE, and that produces a book the person can be proud of. And, by creating an imprint just for this specific kind of job, I don't have to be concerned with Moonlight Mesa Associates being labeled a 'subsidy' publisher."

The publisher is quick to add: "If the writer wants his/her book sold, however, that is a different matter and a different standard the work must rise to."

All books under the new imprint will have a professionally designed cover and will be edited. The books will not be assigned an ISBN, nor will they be registered with the Library of Congress. The author can order all the copies he or she wants, but the book will not be released for general distribution.

"Of course, now that we've come to this decision, no one will probably call for months and months. That's okay, too. I have plenty of work to keep me busy," Coffield said.

SAM'S DESERT ADVENTURE

After a great deal of fussing, fuming, and gnashing of teeth, a proof copy of Sam's Desert Adventure is en route. "Oh my gosh. We had so much trouble with this title. First, the fonts wouldn't embed. Unbeknownst to me, when using Adobe Acrobat Pro X to convert files to a PDF, it appears you have to choose a different file than the Standard file to get the fonts to embed. Well, once I figured that out things got a bit better...two uploads later. Then there was a problem with the cover, and of course my cover guy was in California, not at his computer in Wisconsin...it just took forever."

The proof copy should arrive early next week. If there are no glaring errors, the book will be ordered and will be available by late January.

Also now available in a LARGE PRINT EDITION is Jere D. James' very popular Apache, the second book in the Jake Silver Adventure Series. The third title in the series, Canyon of Death, will be uploaded to LARGE PRINT later this year.

NEW AUTHORS AND TITLES

Coffield is in the process of signing Lee Anderson, author of a book on equine communication. "We're very excited about this book. I think it's wonderful. We have a lot of plans for it," Coffield said. "Lee's writing is very friendly and folksy. It's easy to understand, and the information is invaluable."

Still in the wings is Jerry Tindell, who is working on a book about mule training.

Submitted by Renee

Short Story Contest on for 2012

2011-12-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. has announced in the company's monthly newsy newsletter that the Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest will be sponsored once again.

Details for the contest are on our website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com. Guidelines for the contest remain largely the same, except this year the stories MUST BE SET in Arizona since 2012 marks the state's centennial. Isn't that clever?

The contest has slowly become increasingly popular, and entries are so good as to be absolutely incredible. Judging is becoming extremely difficult. We really struggle to determine the cash prize winners. Almost every story submitted deserves a prize. In fact, we are considering publishing another Western anthology in 2013, comprised of the top stories from 2011 and 2012.

The contest is open from March 1 to September 1 and costs only $15 to enter. Stories may be up to 3500 words in length, and must be original and unpublished. See the website for more details: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS:

Well for all those who don't get our newsy newsletter, I'd like to reiterate here my highly inspired New Years Resolutions. In my own mind, I figure the more people I tell, the more likely I am to keep to these! I'm a believer in good ol' New Years Resolutions. Why be all excited about a new year if you don't plan to make it any better than the last one?

1. Stop whining when things don’t go my way or sales are down or an event that I’ve paid big money for sucks.

2. Close one sale a day!

3. Make my company’s presence better known in my own home town!

4. Work less, but work smarter.

5. Stop watching so much depressing news on TV.

Now, I’m happy with those things, and I think I can do them, too! I’m not sure how I’ll go about doing some of them, especially number 4, but I’ll have a whole year to figure it out. I’ll report back.

MERRY MERRY AND HAPPY HAPPY

Since neither Renee nor Jered are available to blog over the holidays, I'm not sure I'll get back to a blogpost. If I don't, I'd like to wish everyone the politically incorrect MERRY CHRISTMAS. And, of course, have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR also.

Becky

BASIC BOOK MARKETING 101

2011-12-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

How things change, especially in the publishing industry, where every single day brings new MARKETING ideas, gimmicks, markets, and innovations. Some of these new "things" are worth exploring, but the catch is finding the right ones that work for your book(s)or company. The task can be overwhelmingly time-consuming.

The main issue in publishing, as I have said here many times, is not in getting a book published. The issue is in SELLING THE DANG THINGS once they're in print. No easy task for the vast majority of small publishing houses and self-publishers.

Time was when Moonlight Mesa Associates, a Western Book Publisher, worked on a miniscule budget but made a few bucks because we focused on grass roots activities. We depended on our authors to carry their fair share of the workload. Some did. Some didn't, despite their well-laid out marketing plans and promises. As our company slowly expanded, however, we abandoned the safety of grass roots marketing and moved into the big-boy arenas of marketing. We spent lavishly on magazine ads that rarely produced the expected results; we traveled farther and farther afield to attend events that often resulted in marginal profits, and we wasted hundreds of hours meddling in social media and seeking vendors for our products.

After recently spending eleven days lounging in Cabo San Lucas, swimming and watching the ocean ceaselessly ebb and flow, it became abundantly clear that Moonlight Mesa needs to return to its more profitable grass roots marketing progam. Forget the mailings. Forget the ads. Forget the travel. Forget the hours on the net tweeting and Facebooking (something everyone here deplored doing anyway). I guess this is what is sometimes called the KISS method of marketing: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Grass roots is what made us. Grass roots is what will save us.

We are on our way. :)

Becky, the Publisher

Western Publisher Swears Off Western Events

2011-11-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield vows that she has finally learned her lesson in trying to attend Western shows to sell books. "We have lost money at all events except one, and on that one we barely broke even," Coffield said.

Unfortunately, the latest show, Dr. Cural's Medicine Show and All West Extravaganza in Yuma, Arizona, was the biggest disappointment of them all. "The show was wonderfully organized," said Coffield. "They had charming, entertaining performers, and lots of variety in the acts! Truly the show was exceptionally well put together. In addition to all the professional performers, they had mariachi bands, Indian dances and entertainment, re-enactors, Buffalo Soldiers on site, etc. BUT NO ONE CAME despite the huge amount of advertising the promoters did. It was horribly disappointing to the promoters and to the few vendors who attended. There were never more than 25 people in attendance at any given time, and that's being extremely generous in my estimate."

The Wild West Event in Cave Creek the week before was only marginally better, according to Coffield. "We just lost our asses in both shows. There's no other way to put it. I'd like to paint a rosier picture, but it's impossible to do so."

As a result of the last highly disappointing and financially devastating two shows, Coffield will be cancelling Moonlight Mesa's appearance at the Arizona National Livestock Event in December. "I'll attend it first, and see if it's at all appropriate for our products. I refuse to spend my time, money, diesel, and energy attending shows where we can't turn a profit. Even a modest profit is appreciated!"

The publisher is still planning on Gold Rush Days in Wickenburg and Mule Days in Bishop, California. She says she may throw in a Wickenburg gun show, where books have sold fairly well in the past. And, if she's available in September, she may again do Pinetop. "Those three shows are the ONLY ones we made any money at this past year," Coffield said. "Every other show was a big loss. Bummer for us...and for our authors."

Moonlight Mesa will be closed from November 19 to December 1 while the publisher and her spouse go to Mexico. "I need this vacation more than ever," Coffield said. "I really need time to think about where we are and where we're going...and how to get there!"

Cowboy Up Contest Winners Announced

2011-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

At long last, Moonlight Mesa Western Book Publisher Becky Coffield yesterday announced the cash prize winners and the runnersup for this year's Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest.

1st Place and $250 is Laura M. Gibson of Longview, Wa. for "The Water Men."
2nd Place and $150 is Robert Walton for "The Wreck of the Annabelle Lee."
3rd Place and $75 is Murray Edwards of Clyde, Texas for "Her Final Order."

Runners up:
Bill Starr of Yuma, AZ for "Holy Night"
Bill Wilbur of West Covina, CA for "Faith"
Drew Davis of Martinez, GA for "Tragedy Falls"
Gerald M. Jarvis of Mechanicsville, VA for "Runnin' Blue".

This year the runnersup will also receive a book of their choice published by Moonlight Mesa Associates.

According to the publisher, "These stories were all just so excellent. Every single story listed here really deserved a first place cash prize! I wish we had the $$ to make that happen. There was only a 1 point difference in the top three stories."

In addtion, Coffield said there were some stories that were superb but didn't really fit the criteria of being a suspense or mystery. "We had stories that were worthy of being published in professional magazines, like the New Yorker, or The Atlantic Monthly. Very literary type stories."

Next year's contest will be announced in a few weeks. "We need to decide if we want to place restrictions or criteria for the story like we did this year, or just let people write what they want. I've also considered doing a short-short story contest which would be a story of less than 1200 to 1500 words. That could be fun, and those are very challenging! We've also talked about doing a "novella" contest and then publishing the top three novellas. So many choices!" Coffield said.

THE LITTLEST WRANGLER CHOSEN BY MUSEUM.

J.R. Sanders' award-winning historical Western book, The Littlest Wrangler, was recently chosen by the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma to be included in their "Traveling Trunks" program. This is perhaps the most prestigous Western museum in the country, according to publisher Becky Coffield. For them to select Sanders' title for their learning program is truly something to be proud of.

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW WEIGHS IN ON SAM'S DESERT ADVENTURE

MidWest Book Review's Senior Reviewer Shirley Johnson recently sent her sterling review of Moonlight Mesa's forthcoming young reader, Sam's Desert Adventure. "We were positively thrilled with Ms. Johnson's review," Coffield said. "Young reader publications are new to us. We've only done one other, so we are still figuring out how to best produce and market these books. Johnson praised everything about the book, which pleased us to no end," Coffield said.

A blurb from Johnson's review:

"Author Jonah Arizona has done a great job bringing the characters in this delightful read to life. The mischievous, trouble-prone Sam is endearing right from the start. Sam finds out that nothing comes without a price as he learns responsibility in so many areas, and adventure in so many others.

"I especially liked the family atmosphere where rules for the children were enforced with love. I also liked how the author developed a friendship for Sam with a grandfatherly figure, showing children they can enjoy a camaraderie with those older and learn from them.

"All in all, this book is a winner! It has warmth, a great story line, wonderful characters, and a top-notch ending. I highly recommend it."
Shirley Johnson, Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review

Look for Sam's Desert Adventure by Jonah Arizona in early 2012. Retail: 9.95.

To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish?

2011-10-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

That is the question many aspiring writers ask themselves. Should they spend potentially years seeking a publisher, a traditional publisher, or should they self-publish.

Let's be clear about what I mean by self-publishing. I urge anyone who seeks out the assistance of a subsidy press, or a vanity press, to proceed with caution and to be prepared to weep and gnash your teeth. If, however, by self-publishing one actually means SELF-PUBLISHING, doing everything by onself and for oneself, then I'd say it may be worth your time and effort to do so.

Too many vanity and subsidy publishers do not do right by the author. Pure and simple. Once these publishing businesses have their money, most don't give a hoot whether the book sells or not. Many do not care one whit for the quality of the book as far as editing, layout, cover, etc. go. Good luck, also, proving that they are not paying you fairly for books they may (most likely won't, however) sell.

It used to be that self-publishing was deemed too "difficult," "intricate," "overwhelming" for a person. Not so anymore if one gets one's ducks in order.

Now, it may seem odd that I, who run a traditional publishing house (Moonlight Mesa Associates), would encourage anyone to self-publish. The fact is, and I'm not telling you anything you may not already know, getting a bona fide publisher can be painstakingly difficult, and often one must wait months and months to see one's work in print, only to see it withdrawn from the hallowed bookstore shelves in a few months, or weeks, if it doesn't sell well right off.

The key to being a successful self-publisher, however, is TO DO THINGS RIGHT. That takes some money, but probably not your entire savings account or your 401k! I am continuously befuddled by how many years an author will dedicate to his/her project, and then not be willing to invest money in it, or certainly not enough money.

1. Get an editor. Get an editor. Get an editor. Do NOT think a thorough proofreading will suffice. Pay a professional. It need not cost thousands of dollars, either. Shop around. Get referrals.

2. Get a professionally designed cover. Your photo will most likely not work for a cover shot. Cover design need not be expensive!

3. Study other books in print (professionally done ones) and see how they are layed out and formatted. Laying out a book can be exasperating, but it can be done. I do it all the time. Sometimes it goes like clockwork; the next book is a hair-pulling nightmare. You don't need an expensive program like InDesign to do it, but you do probably need the professional versions of Windows XP (or a similar program) and Adobe Acrobat. This is not a waste of money. You'll most likely want to write another book, anyway!

Worst, the very worst case scenario is to pay someone else to do the layout and formatting. There are services who do this. Most people charge by the page. Again, shop around. Look at samples of books they have done.

4. As part of this process you'll want to obtain an ISBN for your book and perhaps an LCCN number (not required) also. Pricing the book correctly may take some real study and analyzing.

5. Really look for a good printing house that fits your needs. Sir Speedy may work just fine for you, or you may need a regular book printing company. You'll probably do your book as a POD, anyway, so look at books the company you're interested in has done, and make an informed decision. Ask for book samples. Bona fide printers will gladly provide them.

6. Finally, the most difficult part of all of this is selling your book after it sees the light of day, and finding others who might sell your book. By far, the VAST MAJORITY of books published do not even sell 100 copies. So, have a marketing plan and plan on spending years of your life promoting and selling your work.

You see, the bottom line is this: Writing a book is not that tough. Getting it published POD is pretty easy nowadays (either doing it yourself or using the services of a vanity/subsidy press). Selling the dang things is where the work is. Most authors don't seem to be up to that challenge.

There are plenty of resource books available to help the neophyte publisher. I've used some of them when we were starting up our tiny business. You don't need to follow the advice in all of them, but some of them have some great ideas. Do your homework. Take your time. DO IT RIGHT. You can then reap the rewards of keeping ALL OF THE PROFIT from your book. It'll probably take quite a few sales to break even with your pre-publication costs, but if you stay at it, you'll succeed if your book is any good at all.

I look forward to your comments and/or questions.

Becky Coffield, Publisher

Short Story Contest a Growing Success

2011-10-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Mesa's annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest is nothing short of a growing success according to publisher Becky Coffield.

"I am astounded, absolutely astounded, at the quality of stories that are being submitted," Coffield said. "Honestly, every year the stories are better than the year before. Maybe I should say there are MORE stories each year that are outstanding."

The contest, while not much of a money maker, is probably one of a kind. "The truth is, we barely break even in this contest, and we probably lose money if I count all the postage we use for it. People ask me why I keep running it if I'm not making any money, and the answer is so simple: there is a NEED for this contest. People want to write about the West! I see this contest as vital, actually. There are great writers out there who have great stories about the West. This contest is an opportunity for them to share their story, and not just with us. We've already published one very popular Western anthology, Award-Winning Tales, and we are seriously considering publishing a second," Coffield said. "I could see us pubishing one in 2013, after next year's contest ends."

Finalists for this year's contest are, in no particular order:

Joe Kilgore Mourning Mordecai
Jim Lindsey The Horse That Rode
Kathleen Ewing Searching for Sara AND The Burning Season
Melissa Embry No Place to Run
Ted Haynes Do No Harm
Murray Edwards Her Final Order
Gerald M Jarvis Runnin' Blue
Crystal Carey Husbanding Dreams
M. Edward Wyatt Anxious
Laura M. Gibson The Water Men
Drew Davis Tragedy Falls
Bill Starr Holy Night
Robert Walton The Wreck of the Annabelle Lee
Bill Wilbur Faith
Paul Conn I knew They Would Come

"The next round of readings will be scored using a different scoring guide. We hope there will be clear "cash prize" winners then, but the stories are all so good it make take time to really come up with the winners. We'll confer with others and with our editor, Paula Silici, if she's available," Coffield said.

2012 COWBOY UP CONTEST

Moonlight Mesa will soon be announcing the "rules" for next year's contest. The publisher is considering several ideas for it. "We've toyed with several novel ideas for the upcoming contest, but ultimately I think we'll just run a "regular" contest with no specific requirements, other than the story must be a Western," said Coffield.

This year the contest rules specified that the stories had to be a Western suspense, mystery, etc. "The stories were fabulous, but I don't want to make that a requirement for two years running," Coffield said. "I do like the longer length, though. So we will definitely keep the stories to the 3500 word length. It gives people more of an opportunity to develop their ideas and storyline if they need to. It makes the stories more interesting to read, too."

JERE D. JAMES NOW HAS WEBSITE!

Responding reluctantly to publisher pressure, Western author Jere D. James now has his own website! Check it out! www.jerejameswesternauthor.com Coffield has recently required that all authors must have a website. Only two Moonlight Mesa authors were not in compliance: Jere D. James and Stoney Bowers.

"It's a statistical fact that people are far more inclined to go to an author's website than a publisher's website," Coffield said. "So we are now requiring that everyone maintain a website. Jere's is up and running now. BRAVO! Stoney has told me for two years that he's going to get one. We'll help in any way we can, but authors need to be involved in this business of trying to sell books. Websites help immensely!"

James is also under contract to blog at least monthly. :)You can follow his blog at jeredjames.blogspot.com

Recent Stats on Book Sales Unsettling

2011-09-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Just when a person thinks the economy can't get any worse and that book sales will start to increase again, along comes a website just loaded with startling statistics that make book sales seem all the more elusive and difficult.

According to New Book Titles and Editions, 2002 - 2010, by Bowker, it looks like there will soon be far more books in print than available readers if publishing trends continue.

Bowker's list includes broad genres, and the number of books published in that genre each year between 2002 and 2010. Publications move along pretty steadily. Not alwasy, but usually there's a slight increase in the number of books published each year. The exception to this is the category of Fiction, which saw an 89% increase in the number of titles published over this eight year period.

But more astounding, is the category titled "Non-traditional". Bowker defines non-traditional as consisting largely of reprints, often public domains, and other titles printed on-demand (POD). This category had an unbelievable increase of 280% in 2009. The number of books published non-traditionally between 2008 and 2009 went from 271,851 to 1,033,065. Again that was a 280% jump.

From 2009 to 2010 the category jumped another 169%, with 2,766,260 books published non-traditionally in 2010. All told this category jumped 8406% between 2002 and 2010.

Ultimately, over 2/3 of all books published between 2002 and 2010 were in this non-traditional category. And this does NOT take into account those books published that did not have an ISBN number!

So, what accounts for this? It seems pretty obvious that in large part this jump is the result of people discovering the joy of self-publishing, either by doing it themselves or by going through a vanity or subsidy press. POD has been available for a while, but it's only been in the past few years that it has really taken off.

This figure probably also covers books printed POD by small presses, even though those books are not "self-published" or vanity or subsidy published.

That's a lot of books. Whether this total includes ebooks is not clear.

So, having trouble selling your book? This could be why.

FOURTH EVENT ADDED TO FALL CALENDAR:

Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield has added a fourth event to this fall's calendar, and that is the Arizona National Livestock Show in Phoenix between December 28 and January 1. This is a new event for Moonlight Mesa. It's five days. "I hope I can be nice to people for five days in a row," Coffield said.

YOUNG READER BOOK MAY MAKE EARLY RELEASE

The possibility is there that Moonlight Mesa's second young reader book (ages 7 - 12) may make an appearance in late, late 2011 instead of early 2012. Sam's Desert Adventure is now going out for review. The cover is finished. Illustrations are still pending on the title, however.

"I hope we can get the book out by Christmas, but if not, so be it. I know from painful past experiences that you can't rush a book!" publisher Becky Coffield said. "There will be a Christmas next year, too. I also wanted the book to have a 2012 copyright and LCCN number, so those are two good reasons to wait. Still, it's always fun having a new book to sell, and we have two good events coming in December!!"

"For certain we'll have the book by Gold Rush Days, and I can't wait to take it to Mule Days in Bishop," Coffield said. (The book features a mule.)

WEBSITES A MUST FOR ALL AUTHORS

Publisher Becky Coffield is now requiring that every author have a website. "It's a proven fact that people are far more likely to visit an author's website than a publisher's website," Coffield said. "Only two of our authors don't have a website: Jere D. James and Stoney Bowers. Stoney told me two years ago when we took on his first book that he would have a website right away. Ooops. As for Jere James...he had one once, but is willing to start another. We'll help both writers however we can."

New also will be sample chapters from the authors' books posted on the sites. "People will be able to read two or three chapters and then have a better idea whether they want the book or not. In Stoney's case, he could post two or three poems. It's a great idea, and should increase sales dramatically," Coffield said. "It'll be interesting to watch the analytics on this."

Marketing Books Proving to be Elusive and Costly

2011-09-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Despite Moonlight Mesa publisher's best efforts, marketing tactics to promote the company's Western books are proving to be elusive and costly."This is very frustrating," said publisher Becky Coffield.

About a year ago Moonlight Mesa's Board of Directors and publisher decided to invest money in advertising instead of doing all the shows and other events. "The advertising absolutely has not paid off," lamented Coffield. "Maybe we chose the wrong magazine to advertise in. I don't know, but so far it's been a massive, expensive failure. We'd have done MUCH better had we just done events."

The best sales figures for Moonlight Mesa go to the authors who have been out there aggressively pushing their books, especially Rusty Richards and Jere D. James. "Rusty has such a great, built-in opportunity to sell his book, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, when he does his singing performances," Coffield said. "Besides the fact that everyone loves this man! We are a quality Western Book Publisher, though, and all our books are great."

Coffield also made a stab, albeit feeble and still in its infancy, of promoting Moonlight Mesa authors and titles on Facebook. "I can hardly stand this social media stuff," Coffield said. "I just don't have the time for it, for one thing. I don't know if I'll continue to pursue this avenue of advertising or not. I truly do not like it, but the internet is where it's at nowadays, I guess."

The publisher has picked up half a dozen new vendors this year. "That's great when vendors approach us. We're thrilled to work with them and offer a great discount to vendors," Coffield said.

Coffield has three events planned between now and the end of the year. "We're throwing out all stops, or whatever that saying is. We're going whole hog on these next three shows, which should be quite excellent, anyway. We'll have a load of Western artwork in the booth, which helps bring visitors in, and I'll have boxes of books ready to go. In fact, I'm going to resort to the Christmas "pre-wrapped" books tactic to see if that might not stimulate sales at these events since it's the holiday time."

NEW SHOWS SCHEDULED

The fall line-up of events for Moonlight Mesa looks very promising. October is still vacant, but the publisher thinks something will come up.

NOVEMBER 4-6: CAVE CREEK WESTERN DAYS, Cave Creek, AZ

NOVEMBER 11 - 13: DR. CURALL'S MEDICINE SHOW AND WILD WEST EXTRAVAGANZA, Yuma, AZ

DECEMBER 17-18: CAVE CREEK HOLIDAY SHOW, Cave Creek, AZ

SHORT STORY COMPETITION ENDS

The third annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest is officially over for this year. Judges are reading and scoring the manuscripts, and the publisher hopes to have a list of finalists ready by October 1. The delay is because the publisher had to find a fourth reader after the scheduled reader dropped out.

Finalists will be posted here and on the publisher's website.

FIRST FALL SHOW A SUCCESS

2011-09-06T20:56:00.001-07:00

Moonlight Mesa's first fall show for 2011 was a success, according to publisher Becky Coffield. "We sold a lot of books and Western artwork, pure and simple. We had perfect weather and a good crowd. We've done better, but we've done a lot worse. Overall, I'd rate the event as a VERY GOOD. Not GREAT, but definitely very GOOD," Coffield said.

The top selling book for the event was Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black. The whole trilogy by James sold well, and even the LARGE PRINT EDITION of Saving Tom Black sold.

Also doing well was the publisher's own suspense/mystery trilogy, The Ben Thomas Series. "I don't know what I'm going to do about that series," Coffield said. "I hate how the first book, Northern Escape, is laid out and formatted. The first publisher didn't know what she was doing, and I've not changed it. It needs to be changed. I'm thinking, however, of issuing all three books as one large volume. That might work real well."

The publisher is also seriously considering issuing James' Apache and Canyon of Death in LARGE PRINT EDITIONS.

The next scheduled event for Moonlight Mesa is the Cave Creek Western Days in early November, then the Dr. Curall's Medicine Show and Old West Extravaganza the following weekend in Yuma. "We'll do one show in December when we return from Mexico. It needs to be a REALLY good one!"

2012 PUBLISHING CALENDAR

Despite the company's grand expansion plans, Moonlight Mesa is pulling back and now planning on only publishing two to three titles for 2012. "We'll only do two, maximum three, new titles, but we will most tentatively look at re-issuing Life Was A Cabaret, doing two more LARGE PRINT EDITIONS, and will possibly consider doing the Ben Thomas series as a one volume/three book publication," Coffield said.

The company is dropping its two cookbooks. "We're getting out of the cookbook business," the publisher said. "All cookbooks are now on a $5 close out."

For a certainty, Sam's Desert Adventure (a young reader book) will be published in early 2012. Jere D. James' High Country Killers will be published in mid-to late 2012 if the author actually settles down and completes the book. "That's all I know as a certainty right now," Coffield said. "I've had two outstanding authors approach me this summer with wonderful works they wanted me to publish, but I just can't take anyone on right now. Both authors had fantastic projects, but...Things are just too up in the air, including me."

The publisher said she plans to ease off on new publications and spend more time trying to market the books the company already has in print. "Marketing is what it's all about. It's tough to do, too."

COWBOY UP SHORT STORY ENTRIES NOW BEING JUDGED

This year's entries into the Cowboy Up Short Story Contest are now being read by the judges. The first round of judging is expected to take until October 1, when finalists will be announced. There will be another reading of the finalists then, and the cash prize winners will be chosen. Winners will be notified by November 1. Finalists will receive a certificate, also.

"We've debated about next year's contest, but I've almost decided just to let people write a story without any caveats being imposed. Period. No requirements to be short/long/suspense/etc. I really need to think about this," Coffield said. "I'll post information as soon as I figure out what we're going to do."

Cowboy Up Short Story Contest

2011-08-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

The third annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest came to a close this week. Despite the fact that the publisher put a major restriction on the type of story that could be submitted, entries were about the same as last year. "We at least broke even," said publisher Becky Coffield. "I don't think we made any money, but I don't think we'll lose any money, either."

This year contestants could only submit a suspense/mystery/thriller type Western. Stories could be as long as 3500 words, however, up 1000 words from last year's rules. "It can take longer to develop a suspense or mystery," explained Coffield.

Finalists will be announced October 1, and the grand prize winners will be announced by November 1. The stories are being read and scored by four judges, consisting of two men and two women. "Normally we have five judges, but at the last minute our young one had to withdraw due to college and work. I liked having a young guy on the judging panel, but that's the way it goes," Coffield said.

There will be plenty of changes for the forthcoming 2012 and 2013 contests. The final decision will be made soon, but the publisher is thinking of running a short-short story contest, with entries only allowed to be 1000 to 1500 words tops. "That's a challenge, to write a story that short," said Coffield. Entry fees would be less...probably only $10 per story, and awards would also be less...maybe three winners each receiving $100. "I'd like to do an anthology of these short-short stories if possible," Coffield said.

The other idea is to announce the 2013 contest early, which would be a novella contest. Three novellas would be chosen for publication in a Novella Anthology. "If we decide to do this, I want to give people a lot of time to think and write, so we'll actually announce it this year," Coffield said.

FALL EVENTS BEGIN THIS LABOR DAY

Moonlight Mesa's fall event schedule begins this weekend with an Arts fair in Pinetop, AZ. "If the weather holds, we should do well, but the weather is a big factor in the high country. I've heard it's supposed to thunder. Bummer," Coffield said.

So far the publisher has not signed up for anything in October, but there are two events scheduled for November: Cave Creek's Wild West Days and Yuma's Dr. Curall's Medicine Show and Old West Extravaganza. "I think both shows could be really good," the publisher said.

As for December, the publisher is looking for a show that's close to home.

MULE T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE

For those wanting a Vin Libassi original designed mule t-shirt, they are now officially on sale. The first batch of shirts come in only two colors: tan and chocolate brown. Sizes are M, L, LX. "These shirts are utterly adorable!" Becky said. "In fact, if you own a mule, they are irresistible!"

The order form for the shirts is on the publisher's website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com

MULE RIDE

For anyone who's interested, there will be a fantastic mule ride March 7 to 12, 2012, in Wickenburg, AZ. For information and to register, go to www.boydranch.org. Click on events and read all about it!

The Western is FAR from Dead!

2011-08-23T21:49:00.001-07:00

PUBLISHER COMMENTARY:

Hard to believe, but in less than two weeks Western Book Readers, a group on Facebook, has exploded in membership. Over 300 people have joined the group - MOST of them Western book writers.

When they're not pushing their books, most of the members have interesting insights into the Western as a genre and share a lot of fertile ideas. Questions are asked and many people contribute their thoughts in answering. The group is extremely active! And that's an understatement.

To a person, people in this group believe that the Western is far from dead and is, in fact, making a grand comeback. Each movie made, some argue, attests to this. What attests to the comeback of the Western to me, is how many writers are churning out books in this genre. How many are sold? Hard to tell. But the selling in this case is only half the issue; the fact that SO MANY are writing in this genre is the issue.

For a long time there's been a plethora of suspense writers. Everyone wants to write suspense or mystery. As a result, the market is so saturated with suspense/mystery, it's ridiculous. There are only a handful of suspense writers who get the shelf space in Barnes and Noble, and some of those books are AWFUL. But because the writer may have written a good first book, the publishing house puts out anything the writer churns out later.

I used to say, "Writers are a dime a dozen, and suspense writers are a nickle a dozen." I think I can now add "Western writers are a nickle a dozen" to that. One of the things that drew me, as a publisher, into the Western genre was that it was wide open. There were NO NEW voices, just the same re-issued old guys for the most part. Granted, people like Elmer Kelton and Robert Parker came along, although both are dead now, so I suppose they qualify as the "old guys." However, as flocks of new writers show up on the Facebook page I originated, I'm beginning to see that the Western is inundated with authors. Few are famous, but all are driven to pursue this genre, good or bad.

The question is, DO THEY READ WESTERNS? After all, this is the Western Book READER page, not WRITER page. If so, WHO DO THEY READ? The dead guys? Or will these writers, unlike most other writers, actually support their competitors and buy their books?

It's long been my observation, that writers are NOT usually supportive of other writers when it comes to laying out the $$ for a competitor's book. I attend many events, and I've NEVER seen a writer buy another writer's book. I have done so, but I've never seen another writer do so. Maybe a few do. I've just never seen it.

And what have I found when I've tried to be supportive and buy another person's work? Generally, a crappy book. Poorly written, unedited, poorly layed out and formatted. I've seen only a handful of self-published/subsidy published books that were laudable. Marjorie Curry's "Bunny Rabbit Milkshakes and Cowboy Eggs" (a memoir) was delightful. Peter Burt's poetry books are great...ummmm...a few coffee table books have been outstanding. Most, unfortunately, are not worth the paper they were printed on. Sadly, this seems to be the rule more often than not.

On the Western Book Reader group page, a few writers have some kind of a traditional publisher - most do not. I only hope these non-traditionally published writers will prove to be the exception to the rule. Westerns need the best writers out there for this genre to truly survive and thrive - skilled storytellers not afraid of research...people with good writing skills and even better editors. It takes more than a fancy book trailer to contribute to the great Western story-telling art and traditions left us by the likes of Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, Elmer Kelton, and others. It takes good readers, too.

MULE T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE

If you'd like a mule t-shirt, check out our website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com/id4.html.

PINETOP MARKS FIRST EVENT OF THE FALL

Moonlight Mesa will be attending the Arts and Craft event in Pinetop, AZ, over the Labor Day weekend, hoping the monsoon showers hold off for a few days.

Currently no events are schdeduled for October, but one might be added to the calendar anyway. Two events are scheduled for November, and one event is on the books for December. Hope to see you at one of these!

Are There More Writers than Readers???

2011-08-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

TOO MANY WRITERS?

This question may seem silly, but it's worth contemplating. Are there more writers than readers nowadays??

Since the huge growth in POD and ebooks, the number of books being published has skyrocketed. Literally skyrocketed. Not all of these books sell, obviously. Most books sell far fewer than 100 copies according to a 2004 statistic. But, the fact is, the books are published and available.

What brings this up, is recently Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield started a Western Book Reader Group on Facebook. The group exploded in membership almost overnight. (This in itself is startling when one knows that the administrator of the site, Becky herself, hasn't even figured out how to use Facebook well.)

Anyway, the site is supposed to be for people to discuss Westerns, but almost every single person who has signed up IS A WRITER of Westerns. Now, writers are usually readers, also, but we're talking the vast majority of these folks are writers.

"I'm wondering where these people sell their books," Coffield said. "I've never seen nor heard of most of them. I have, however, heard of some of the authors, but for the most part the authors are unknowns, much like Jere D. James and our authors. Well, they're known to me and to their readers, but they are not national names."

Just two weeks ago or so this blog discussed the plethora of published works and the lack of readership for most of these works. Now, with the economy looking like it's going to go into freefall again, sales may drop even more.

Will ebooks be affected as much as paper? Probably not. The books are cheaper, for one thing. That's probably the most important thing.

"It's a sad situation for all these aspiring writers. I'm sure some are quite excellent," said Becky. "It's a sad situation for us, as publishers. All of it: the economy, the plethora of self-published books languishing in the marketplace. Sad, very sad."

"Uncategorically, I think it's more than possible that there are more writers than readers! Who will be left standing after the next big recession when no one buys books? Maybe none of us!"

PUBLISHER FORBIDDEN TO USE PENNAME

Recently we blogged that Moonlight Mesa would be publishing a new young reader book written by a "Jonah Arizona." Obviously that is a penname. The originator of that name was none other than Vin Libassi, long-time cover designer for Moonlight Mesa. The person who was going to use the name was none other than the publisher herself.

"I know, that's tacky. I got an earful from my grown sons and my board of directors about that. They were very keen on the book I've been working on, but very opposed to my using a penname," said Coffield. "They were adamant that my own name go on the cover of the book."

Coffield has written under several pennames, much to the dislike of the Board and the few who know. "This one has to go," said Coffield. "I'm sorry about that, too. I thought Jonah Arizona was a cool name! A much better name for a young reader book than my own name!"

The use of pennames was discussed at length on the Western Book Readers facebook page recently.

T-SHIRTS ON ORDER

The new Moonlight Mesa t-shirt is now on order. "We put in a small, initial order to see what the reception for these would be," Coffield said. "We'll post them on our website and here when they are avialable. The cost, unfortunately, will be $19.95 a shirt. These are very high quality shirts, however. They won't shrink and be too small the first time you wash them! They cost us a lot." Screen printing and layout is being done by Pro5 Design.

The shirts all carry the logo submitted by Vin Libassi: If you don't read, you won't know your ass from a hole in the ground. Shirts should be available August 26th. The website probably won't post them though until the following week.

Moonlight Mesa Eases into Social Media

2011-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Dragging her heels all the way, Moonlight Mesa Western Book Publisher Becky Coffield has finally eased into the world of Social Media. Moonlight Mesa has a twitter account (and all of 107 followers - whoopee!) and has a page on Becky Coffield's Facebook account.

"I just don't get all this stuff," Coffield said. "When do people find the time to do this? I feel like I've entered the twilight zone! I will say, though, that there are some interesting conversations that occur sometimes. Usually the political ones."

Two of Moonlight Mesa's authors participate on Facebook. The most active participant is J.R. Sanders, author of The Littlest Wrangler. Paula L. Silici, author of A Way in the Wilderness also has a Facebook page. And, wonders never cease, the reclusive Jere D. James recently joined the media mixing. James also has a twitter account, but no one is sure if he actually tweets or not!

"I can see that a person needs to learn how to use this media, to schedule a certain amount of time for it. I can see that it could eat up a whole day, otherwise. I suppose if you are seriously marketing or working the sites, that could happen," Coffield said.

Oh, anybody who wants to be Coffield's friend can go to www.beckycoffield.facebook.com. At least, that's what she SAID the address was. Who knows for sure. She doesn't. But, she did start a group: Western Book Readers. You can join that and not even be her friend!

NEWSLETTER OUT LATE

Moonlight Mesa's monthly newsletter is just now getting out to some of the recipients. One batch of readers received their newsletter late last week. The other batch has yet to be sent. It'll be sent today. Email Moonlight Mesa if you'd like a copy of the monthly newsletter. It's FREE!!

Besides articles about the company, the newsletter often features individuals or other organizations. This month National Day of the Cowboy was featured. Here's a sampling of the article:

NDOC BECOMING A REALITY (PUBLISHER OPINION)

Over the past year, we’ve blogged about NDOC (National Day of the Cowboy) and also discussed it in this newsletter. After years of hard work, this fledgling dream of Bethany Brayley’s is now becoming a reality.

This past year, several more states have formally adopted the NDOC. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and many municipalities in California have recognized and adopted this day that honors the cowboy. Brayley has been able to attend almost all of these formal legislative actions thanks in part to generous donations for her travel. NDOC is a nonprofit organization that has survived on a whim and a dream.

This last month, one Barnes and Noble store took an active part in the NDOC day by sponsoring a large signing of Western authors. This event was spearheaded by Moonlight Mesa’s own J.R. Sanders.

For those interested in learning more about the NDOC, we recommend going directly to the website. It’s simple, and inexpensive, to join this organization. The mission statement is clear and its purpose is noble. The West, and all of its lore, is revered by many people in the world. Why is it not more honored here, where it all took place?

Www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com

Publisher Puts Mules in the News

2011-08-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

THE PUBLISHER AND HER HUSBAND ON THEIR "HARLEY HORSE"

Just one day back from an 11 day motorcycle circumnavigation of Colorado, Moonlight Mesa Western Book Publisher Becky Coffield has signed "Jonah Arizona" for a young reader mule book. "We're not certain of the exact age group for this new title, so I told the author to just write the book then we'll do a Frye's Reading Assessment on it and figure out the age group. We can adjust the pictures for the book accordingly," said Coffield.

Not surprisingly, Moonlight Mesa's long time cover designer, Vin Libassi, will be doing the cover and the interior illustrations. Paula Silici, Moonlight Mesa's editor-in-chief, will be doing the editing. "Young reader books must be flawless," Coffield said. "Librarians will be reading this. Teachers will read it. It must be flawless. I know Paula is a stickler for perfection. That's why we use her," Coffield said.

Coffield hopes to have the book out by late spring of 2012. "I'd LOVE to take it with us when we do Mule Days in Bishop, CA.," the publisher said. "But, I do know you can't rush a book. Still, there should be plenty of time."

JERRY TINDELL, MULE TRAINER, TO WRITE BOOK

Jerry Tindell, mule trainer extraordinaire, plans to write his first book on mules, and Moonlight Mesa plans to publish it. "I'm very excited about this project. I hope Jerry can find the time and energy to do this. This will be a top selling book, I have no doubt whatsoever," the publisher said. Tindell writes regularly for Mules and More Magazine. "His articles are terrific. His book will be terrific, too," Coffield said. "We just have to get him to sit down and do it! He's a very busy man!"

T-SHIRTS COMING SOON

"Mule-ish" t-shirts will soon be available. T-shirts will be available only from Moonlight Mesa on the website. The winning entry in the t-shirt contest was: If you don't read, you won't know your ass from a hole in the ground. The entry was submitted by Vin Libassi. Runner up in the contest was Tom Coffield's entry: Only asses don't read. Third place in the competition was Barbara Miller's: Don't be muleish! Buy our books!

"This will be a fun addition to our booth when we do Arts and Craft events, or book events, whatever. I've already taken five orders!" Coffield said.

PUBLISHER WILL REMAIN OPEN IN AUGUST

For a variety of reasons, Moonlight Mesa will not have another two week closure in August. "We have too many things coming up to close down again. It'll take me at least two weeks to get caught up from our last closure," Coffield said. "We will be closing for about five days, but certainly not for two weeks. Not having anyone in the office makes it very difficult to be gone for so long, and to take two excursions so close to each other just isn't good for business. Bummer."

Disaster Looming for Publishers??

2011-07-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Between the debt ceiling debate, rising unemployment, and the liquidation of another large book retailer, I'm just not sure where we're all headed in this publishing industry.

It's not like Borders even carried our books (their loss), but Borders was a bookseller, nonetheless. A bookseller with lots and lots of stores. It appears now as though we are down to two mega-book sellers: Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Granted, there are some independent stores still hanging on, and some do pretty well, like Powell's in Portland, OR. At least they were doing well when last I checked. But overall we're getting down to fewer and fewer booksellers and more and more published books. The supply of books is far greater than the demand for them. I think I learned about this in school long ago. So, if the supply is greater than the demand, then some publishers are going to have to seriously cut back on their production, or fold altogether.

Personally, I see the big houses in a world of hurt. For several years they've largely published books NO ONE WANTS TO READ. That leaves a lot of small houses, like Moonlight Mesa Associates, university presses, vanity and subsidy presses, and self-publishers cranking out books.

People rarely buy vanity/subsidy press books or self-published books. Obviously, some titles sell; most don't. That leaves the rest of us little guys.

The playing field in the publishing industry got leveled a while back with the advent of ebooks. Enter Kindle and Nook. ANYONE can publish an ebook. Until B&N figured it out, Kindle had the field to itself. Again, the supply of ebooks greatly exceeds the demand in the ebook world also.

Throw into this mixture the growing unemployment rate, the supposed calamity of the debt ceiling issues, and cities cutting back on expenses (like public libraries). I think it spells a tough time coming up for the publishing industry.

Of course, a tiny percentage of the population has more money than it knows what to do with. You know, the ones who have corporate jets and mansions, etc. I wonder, do they buy books? Do they have time to read or are they too busy working to make more money? Do they read Westerns? I hope so!

A huge segment of the population doesn't buy books, or read at all for that matter.

So, a modest portion of the reading population now has to weigh carefully every dollar it spends, and buying books is a bit of a luxury. A tiny luxury, but a luxury nonetheless.

Are we at Moonlight Mesa going out of business? Heck no. But we now operate with a staff of two. Of course, Renee left earlier this year to finish school, and Jered is wrapped up in school, also. But we're not replacing them for the foreseeable future.

We have cut our calendar to two books (down from five) for 2012, however, and we are upping the number of events we attend to generate any losses we may feel through flagging sales by our vendors. We know it's bad when vendors aren't paying us. (In fact, I have a juicy morsel about one nonpaying vendor in the mid-West, but I'll save it for later.)

So far this year our sales have been good. We have some very popular titles. Last year was stellar, but it's too soon to tell if this will be a stellar year or not. It started off with a bang, but it has slowed, although it is summer, and summer is not known for great book business. We'll see what happens when fall rolls around.

Meanwhile, anyone out there got any predictions? Oh, and don't miss our sizzling summer sale on our website! www.moonlightmesaassociates.com

Publisher Gives Author Free Rein in New Western Book

2011-07-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

AUTHOR JERE D. JAMES GIVEN FREE REIN IN NEW BOOK

Surprising everyone, Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield, gave Western author Jere D. James free rein in his forthcoming title, High Country Killers. Coffield has been adamant that the Westerns published by Moonlight Mesa must be "traditional" in terms of language and sexuality. However, to say FREE rein might be a bit overstating.

"I still don't want much for bad language in the books," Coffield said, "but I think a bit more "intimacy" wouldn't hurt. I was worried about Apache and the relationship between the Indian and the woman, but Apache has been an outrageously popular book. People really have liked it. So, maybe I shouldn't be quite so concerned."

In any event, James' new book will get the same close scrutiny as his other titles. "If it gets to be too too much, I'll ask him to tone it down, but what I've read so far in the first few chapters is totally acceptable, yet still a bit suggestive and racy."

"I feel like I'm on probation," James said, laughing. "I'd like to juice the books up a bit. Makes it more interesting for me, too. After I read Silici's great romance (A Way in the Wilderness) that Becky published, I thought, Hey! I can go at least this far! I loved writing Apache because I could write more like a man, and not so much like a pollyanna. I tested things quite a bit in Canyon of Death, too, in the relationship between Betsy and Jake. That got real interesting."

James went on to say, "If I could involve Jake Silver with other women, I think that'd really add to the books, but I know there's a big Betsy fan base out there who don't want to see that. I'll just have to see how things go in the new book."

James is setting High Country Killers in the high country of northern Arizona. The book will be out by mid-2012 if all goes well.

DO READERS PREFER WESTERNS WRITTEN BY MEN?

A big debate has continued for several weeks around the Moonlight Mesa office. The question being debated is, do readers prefer Westerns written by men rather than written by women? Two are adamantly saying yes, and two are just as adamant in arguing no.

We're taking the argument to our readership here: do you prefer Westerns written by men or women? Hope you'll help us out.

"I just have to think that readers prefer Westerns written by men, unless the book is a romance," said Coffield. "I think people don't think women know enough about guns and fighting to be believable. Many women DO know about guns and fighting, but I suspect more don't."

"It's the same with suspense writing. By and large, men are the preferred authors when it comes to suspense. You'll never convince me otherwise...unless you have some pretty darned good proof. Just citing one popular author's success won't do it."

Renee Witty disagrees, however, claiming that the world has changed and men and women are pretty much considered equal nowadays. And the argument goes on.

Give us your opinion. We'd like to hear from you! Do you prefer Westerns written by men or women?

Loose Ends

2011-07-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

WESTERN BOOK PUBLISHER, BECKY COFFIELD

Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield has been busy tying up loose ends the past week or two. Although there are no titles remaining on the publisher's 2011 calendar, there's still plenty of desk clearing to do, short stories to read (for the Cowboy Up Contest) LARGE PRINT BOOKS to ready for the printer, and time for seeking out marketing opportunities for the company's titles.

FIRST LARGE PRINT EDITION BOOK AVAILABLE

Saving Tom Black, Jere D. James' wildly popular Western novel, is now available in a LARGE PRINT EDITION. "I am very excited about this," said Coffield. "I have no idea who to market this book to, but I do think it has possibilities. In fact, I've readied the second book in the series, Apache, for LARGE PRINT also, just in case Saving Tom Black really takes off in this new format."

The LARGE PRINT EDITION of the book will be available on Amazon, and on the publishers' website where it is on sale for $16.95. That's $3 off the retail price.

NORTHERN CONSPIRACY NOW ON KINDLE AND NOOK

Northern Conspiracy is now available on Kindle and Nook - or will be very shortly. (The book has been uploaded but is still in the printing process.) "I'm happy to get this book behind me," said Coffield. "It's been hanging around way too long. People REALLY like the book, however, and I get all kinds of comments about not having it published in the proper order. I won't make that mistake again."

"We are looking for some good reviews for the book, so if you're a published reviewer, contact me and we'll send you a book," Coffield said.

SUMMER SALES SURPRISINGLY STRONG

Despite it being the slowest book selling time of the year, Moonlight Mesa has had good sales so far this summer. Although ebook sales were lower in June, paperback sales remained surprisingly stable. "What's interesting, is that every single title is selling. Granted some sell more than others, but I don't think there was one title that didn't get sent out last month," Coffield said.

Moonlight Mesa shipped a number of Jere D. James' Canyon of Death out to retailers and pre-orders. "I also filled some back orders for Northern Conspiracy," the publisher said.

COWBOY UP CONTEST CLOSING IN TWO MONTHS

Writers! Don't forget about the Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. The contest closes September 1. Submission guidelines can be found at www.moonlightmesaassociates.com
CASH PRIZES!

T-SHIRTS FOR SALE SOON

Moonlight Mesa will soon have t-shirts for sale! Yep. Remember the mule slogan contest that ran awhile back? Well, two of the slogans submitted will be immortalized on t-shirts for sale on Moonlight Mesa's website. One slogan submitted by Vin Libassi says: If you don't read, you won't know your ass from a hole in the ground. The other slogan submitted by Tom Coffield says: Only asses don't read.

Well, you gotta see the pictures to get the most out of the slogans!

T-shirts should be ready in August!

CANYON OF DEATH Now Available

2011-06-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited, much anticipated Canyon of Death, the third book in the Jake Silver Adventure series by Jere D. James, is now a reality! The book arrived today at Moonlight Mesa's headquarters and already half of the first order has been sent out.

"I'm relieved to get these books out," said publisher Becky Coffield. "I get nervous when people pre-pay, because then I have to be RESPONSIBLE and actually keep track of their name, address, etc."

Books will be sent to Shirley Johnson, Senior Reviewer for MidWest Book Review and Steve Myall of Western Fiction Review for reviews, as well as ezine reviewer Barbra Lee.

Canyon of Death is also available on Kindle and Nook, although the publisher is not terribly pleased with the Kindle upload and may re-do that project again. It's fine except for one page. I suppose I shouldn't obsess about it," Coffield said. The book is also available on the publisher's website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com.

LARGE PRINT EDITION NOW AT PRINTERS

Moonlight Mesa's first LARGE PRINT EDITION title has been uploaded to the printers. "I am very excited about this," Coffield said. "I just hope we can make enough money on the book to at least break even!" The book should be available in early July. Coffield chose Saving Tom Black for the first LARGE PRINT EDITION because of the book's popularity, size, and its non-offensiveness in terms of language and sexuality.

NEW AUTHOR PROJECTS

Jere D. James is heading to the Arizona high country to ride and work on his newest title, High Country Killers. The book is set in the Mogollon Rim and adjacent areas. The book is slated for publication in mid-2012.

R.L. Coffield, Moonlight Mesa's suspense writer (The award-winning Ben Thomas series) is planning on two nonfiction works: Sailing the West and Beyond the Textbook: Using Drama and Art in the Classroom to Enhance Learning. Whew. That's a mouthful. There are no certain dates for publication of either title, although 2013 and 2014 seem likely. Although neither title is "Western," the publisher said she doesn't care since it's been impossible to locate good Western nonfiction.

Paula L. Silici , author of A Way in the Wilderness, has re-started on another Western romance.

CLOSE OUT ON COOKBOOKS

Moonlight Mesa's two cookbooks are now on a close out. "We're OUT of the cookbook business! No turning back!" said the publisher. Both books, You Can Conquer TMJ: Ideas and Recipes and One Pot Galley Gourmet are ON SALE for $5.00 plus s/h. Use the order form on the publisher's website, or call or email.

LARGE PRINT Book Now a Reality

2011-06-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

SAVING TOM BLACK IS MOONLIGHT MESA'S FIRST LARGE PRINT TITLE

Never one to let grass grow under her feet, publisher Becky Coffield is charging ahead with the company's first LARGE PRINT book, Saving Tom Black. Coffield hopes to have the book available by early July.

The book will be in the 6 x 9 trade paperback format. The new large print edition runs 352 pages, and will retail for $19.95. "I hated to raise the price, but the book is very expensive to print because it's now so long," Coffield said.

"I'm excited about this little venture. If the book sells at all, I think we'll proceed with Apache and Canyon of Death. We really should do the Casey Tibbs book, but we'd have to ask as much for it as we do the hardbound edition due to its length," Coffield said. "Again, this is really only possible because the author, Jere D. James, is very flexible about his royalty...and lack thereof."

GOOD SALES

Defying the summer slump, Moonlight Mesa's sales were strong in May and are looking even stronger this month. "I don't know what's accounting for this," Coffield commented, "unless it's sales from being at Mule Days. We often have a spike in sales after a big event, but this is looking to be a GREAT month at this rate."

Ingram sales have been good, and Kindle sales are holding steady.

The publisher has no events scheduled this summer until Labor Day weekend, where the Coffield and at least one author will be in Pine Top/Lakeside for a holiday weekend event.

"If the weather holds, and the fire gets contained, I think Pine Top could be a good event for us!" said Coffield.

ANOTHER MULE SLOGAN WINNER

Get a grip on yourself over this one. Now there's a third winner in the mule slogan contest which technically closed over a month ago. This week's winning entry was submitted by none other than Moonlight Mesa's cover designer, Vin Libassi. Vin's slogan is: "If you don't read you won't know your ass from a hole in the ground." Now that's FUNNY!!

KINDLE TITLES ARRIVING SOON

Northern Conspiracy and Canyon of Death will both be in Kindle format by mid-July at the latest, according to the publisher. "I finally figured out how to get those dang books uploaded without all kinds of spacing issues!!!! It's called mobipocket. I really should re-do all the Kindle books...bummer. I wonder if I'll ever really do that?"

MULE DAYS A WHOPPING SUCCESS

2011-06-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

EARLY SET-UP FOR MOONLIGHT MESA. THE BOOTH WAS INSIDE AT THIS EVENT...A GOOD THING CONSIDERING THE FEROCIOUS WINDS THAT SOMETIMES BLEW!

Finally, after a series of dreadful events, Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield enjoyed a very successful outing at the Mule Days Celebration in Bishop, California.
“What we found was that business was slow BUT STEADY. We didn’t have any outstanding days, but overall the numbers were very good,” Coffield said.

“Many of the contestants didn’t show up because of the EHV 1 that was scaring the peewad out of people, and as a result, lots of spectators also stayed home. I can’t imagine how fabulous it would have been if the numbers were like they normally are,” said the publisher.

Besides good book sales, a lot of other merchandise also sold. “Our little cotton purses were a big hit,” said Coffield, and also we sold some Western artwork. All in all, it was very very good.”

The publisher also attended many clinics on mules, taught by Jerry Tindell. “He was fabulous. Now I know how little I know about my mule. I can see she needs some work in her ground manners. She’s very well-behaved under saddle, but she has some attitudes otherwise, mostly about being caught.”

Coffield and her husband also attended the big mule events in the main arena. “They were hysterical,” said Tom Coffield. “Absolutely hysterical. Very entertaining!”

Coffield definitely will return to the Mule Days show at least one more time. “I’d like to go there when it’s a normal year. Next year I might even take my mule!”

Big sellers at the event were the Casey Tibbs biography and the Western short story anthology, Award-Winning Tales. Saving Tom Black and Apache also sold well, as did the cookbooks, which Coffield had on a close-out for only $5.00.

NEW PRODUCT...NEW ADVERTISING

Last month Moonlight Mesa announced Barb Miller as the winner of the slogan contest for the mule mascot and books slogan. Barb won a free copy of any book of her choice. (She chose Northern Conspiracy.)

There’s another winner this month, however. The new motto for Moonlight Mesa’s Mule Mascot is “Only Asses Don’t Read.” This motto was submitted by none other than Tom Coffield. He receives a free “Only Asses Don’t Read” t-shirt.

The t-shirts will be a limited edition, but some will be sold in Moonlight Mesa’s booth at a few events. If you wish to purchase a t-shirt, reserve yours now so we can make sure we order enough when we get around to doing so.

The shirt design will be done by Vin Libassi, Moonlight Mesa’s cover designer. It’s going to be crazy good, so make your reservation now for your “Only Asses Don’t Read” t-shirt.

LARGE PRINT BOOKS COMING SOON

Moonlight Mesa will be issuing its first LARGE PRINT BOOK later this year. The title chosen for the first book is Saving Tom Black.

“We chose Saving Tom Black instead of a couple of the others because of the length,” Coffield said. “Saving Tom Black is a great story, and it’s also a length that’s affordable to do in large print.”

“I doubt we will make any money at all on this venture, but it will be a good-guy thing to do. It will cost us so much just to print the book that I suspect there will be virtually no profit in it. The author is fine with the plan, even though it means he probably won’t get much of a royalty, if any at all,” Coffield said. “But this isn’t about money. It’s about doing something nice...and helpful. We can all stand to do a bit of that now and then.”

If the book sales warrant it, the publisher will most likely do Apache and Canyon of Death. This is largely possible only because Jere D. James doesn’t give two hoots about receiving a royalty for these books.

“We’ll just have to see how this goes,” Coffield said. “But I’m thinking an audio book absolutely must be next. And yes, we’ll start with Saving Tom Black.” The length of the book just makes it more affordable.

WESTERN NONFICTION WANTED

Although Moonlight Mesa will not be publishing any more NEW books this year, the publisher is still actively looking for good Western nonfiction.

“We are planning on the large print book, and we also are preparing to re-issue Life Was A Cabaret later this year, but we won’t be doing any more new titles in 2011. However, we are really looking for nonfiction for 2012 and 2013,” Coffield said. “I had no idea that Western nonfiction was so hard to come by! Honestly, it’s a rare commodity.”

The publisher does NOT want anything written about Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, or the standard outlaws of old, “We want something new and fresh,” Coffield said.

“I even approached one gentleman at Mule Days and asked if he’d be willing to write a book. He could do a terrific book, and it’d sell like pancakes for him. So, we don’t necessarily need a biography—we will look at how-to books, historic accounts, or anything of that sort that’s Western oriented,” the publisher said.

“We can be very competitive with the big houses with nonfiction. It’s easier to find vendors for these books also. We aren’t competitive with fiction because we don’t have our books printed mass market,” the publisher explained.
Of course, fiction books sell very well on Kindle, but many people still don’t have a Kindle or Nook.

“It’s insane out here in the publishing world. It’s gone nuts. Everybody’s publishing everything since people have stumbled onto self-publishing and ebooks. There’s so much crap out right now. We just want good Western nonfiction. It’ll sell, no doubt about it. Nonfiction is huge. Ultimately, we may have to consider books other than Westerns if things don’t come along. I really don’t want to do that.”

Publisher's New Releases, Re-Issues, & Revivals

2011-05-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates Western Book Publisher, Becky Coffield, is in the process of loading up for the upcoming Mule Days Celebration in Bishop, CA. "This is a huge, long event. And it's a long ways away, so I can't just run home and get things I may have overlooked," Coffield said. "Today we took inventory and loaded extra cases of books, just to be on the safe side. I try to do a little bit each day so I'm not exhausted when I pull out of the driveway."

UPDATES ON PUBLICATIONS:

With only one full case of Life Was A Cabaret remaining in print, Coffield has decided to re-issue the award-winning, humorous, travel/adventure memoir. This time around the publisher will change from digital printing to POD and will go with Lightning Source. The book is being completely reformatted and layed out. "I never ever liked the original book. The print was too tiny and the pages were just crammed looking. But, I had thousands of copies to sell, so I had little choice but to go with what I had," the publisher said. "This time around, I'm going to do the book in a 12 font and I'll include some photos. We'll make corrections as they see them, but basically the book will be pretty much left as is. I don't expect it to be a huge seller, but it has sold well over the years and I think if Ingram is the distributor it may do well again."

As for the publisher's first cookbook, You Can Conquer TMJ: Ideas and Recipes, well, it's being revived also. Not reprinted and re-issued, but revived. "I have 800 copies remaining of this book, and I've not been including it in any of our events. We're lowering the price to $5.00 just to get rid of the dang thing. I'm OUT of the cookbook publishing business! I have cases of these books, and I want them GONE."

On the brighter side of publishing, the first one-third of Canyon of Death is corrected and formatted. The publisher is awaiting the remainder of the manuscript from the editor. "We're ready to go on this. We have an ad coming out and we need that book in print," said Coffield. "I also have a list of people who want a copy of that book, and I'm scared to death I'm going to misplace that list if I wait too long!"

Canyon of Death will NOT be available for Mule Days, but it will most likely be available by late June or early July.

Paula L. Silici's Western Romance, A Way in the Wilderness, will be "officially official" at this year's Mule Days show in Bishop. The book was actually released May 1 in Parker, Colorado, where most of the story takes place. This will be the first Moonlight Mesa event where the book available for sale.

PUBLISHER PREPARING FOR BISHOP'S MULE DAYS CELEBRATION

2011-05-10T09:44:00.001-07:00

Moonlight Mesa's Western book publisher, Becky Coffield, is preparing for the Mule Days Celebration in Bishop, Ca. later this month like she's never prepared before. "Three out of the past four events have been horrible," she said. "We need a good event. No, we need a GREAT event, and this has got to be it, considering how much money we are laying out to attend!"

News releases have been sent out to local media, with more to follow. In addition, extra boxes of books will be packed since the event is longer than most events Moonlight Mesa attends.

And, there'll be plenty of authors on hand to sign books. Jere D. James has committed to being there the whole week, R.L. Coffield will be there the whole week. J.R. Sanders will attend, and Paula L. Silici, whose book the publisher is "officially debuting," will try her darndest to get there to sign her new release, A Way in the Wilderness.

"The booth will be over-filled," Coffield said, "but we'll figure it out. I'll let the authors decided how they want to handle their time."

Packing up for the event, which starts on the 23rd, will actully begin on the 18th. "If I do a little bit every day and really take my time, I won't forget key items...like my cash box...posters. Things I tend to forget."

Hopefully the event will have attendees who actually READ.

JERE D. JAMES and JAKE SILVER ADVENTURES

Jere James has decided he will most definitely do another Jake Silver book. "I'll be taking the books in a new direction," he said. "It's time to change course and get in some real gritty, tough Western action. Enough with the love interests...not that there won't be any at all, but there'll be more variety."

James has definitely decided to set the next novel in the northern high country of Arizona. "I do like riding in the higher elevations in the summer. Setting the book there will work out perfectly and tie in nicely to the ending of Canyon of Death which took place in the Chiricahuas, still about my favorite place, despite the illegal immigrant traffic."

It is most definitely looking like the third book in the Jake Silver series, Canyon of Death, will be in print by late June. Reviews will not be in yet, but they'll be coming along shortly.

MOONLIGHT MESA NOW ON MANIC READERS

At the suggestion of J.R. Sanders, Moonlight Mesa has added titles and publisher information to a website known as Manic Readers. "I don't know if this will spur sales or not, but it can't hurt," Coffield said. "It's free, besides."

AWARD-WINNING TALES and SAVING TOM BLACK CHOSEN FOR FUND RAISER

"We are just extremely pleased that the Save the Vulture Mine Preservation Group has selected Award-Winning Tales and Saving Tom Black to sell to help raise funds to preserve the historic Vulture Mine," Coffield announced. "I visited the mine site about 8 years or so ago and it was absolutely fantastic. Apparently it's fallen into terrible disrepair, and that's so unfortunate, because there is HISTORY RIGHT IN ONE'S FACE." We make virtually no money on the books, but we're very proud that they are being sold for a great cause.

LA RIATA SADDLERY CARRIES FULL INVENTORY OF MOONLIGHT MESA BOOKS

If you ever have the opportunity to come through Wickenburg, stop at La Riata Saddlery to see the full inventory of Moonlight Mesa publications. No other business carries the full library of books. Serenity Farms does carry the paperback version of Casey Tibbs and the Jere D. James titles, but La Riata is the only outlet for all the titles. Wickenburg has NO BOOKSTORE, and the library has trouble staying open, so giddy-on-up to La Riata on Apache Street.

MOONLIGHT MESA SUPPORTING UPCOMING MULE RIDE AT THE BOYD RANCH

Moonlight Mesa publisher and staff will be supporting the upcoming mule ride scheduled for March 7 - 11 at the Boyd Ranch in Wickenburg, AZ. We won't be selling any books, but since I'm a member of the Boyd Ranch Committee, I've pledged my full support to this first ever mule ride at the ranch. My staff will also be helping out. For more information about the ride, or to get a brochure of the Boyd Ranch, call 928-415-1095, or contact us through this website.

Publishing News and Views

2011-05-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

NEWS FROM ARIZONA'S WESTERN BOOK PUBLISHER

It's now official: Canyon of Death, Jere D. James' third manuscript in the Jake Silver series, has been sent to the editor-in-chief. The book was completed in record time, due to certain "pressures from the publisher". Ideally, the book will be available in July if there are no snafus along the way. Reviews will not be in yet by publication date, but the book will be allowed a limited run and then will be reissued with the reviews.

Jere James has not committed to whether he will write another Jake Silver novel, but he has signed another three book deal with Moonlight Mesa Associates, and has agreed to one Western book a year for the next three years, although there is some leeway in the agreement.

Jere also agreed to resume blogging once a month, and to at least try to tweet.

SUMMER SCHEDULE CHANGE

Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield has once again changed the company's summer schedule. Originally Coffield had planned on a month long book tour in Colorado, but due to the escalating price of fuel, Coffield cancelled and decided to take the summer off. Now, however, the publisher is booking several events for the summer. One will most likely be in Prescott over the 4th of July, and one will be in Pine Top over Labor Day. There will more than likely be one more in August, but the location has yet to be decided upon.

In addition, the publisher is looking at an event in October, two events in November, and one event in December. The November and December events will be in Cave Creek, but the October event is as yet undetermined.

Ideally the publisher will take her mascot, Bouquet, on several of these events and extend her stay so she can ride her mule in the high country of Arizona, where the temperatures are more agreeable.

SLOGAN CONTEST WINNER

Winner of the mule slogan contest is Barbara Miller of Wickenburg. Her slogan was: Don't be MULEISH about buying our books. Or something like that. Barbara wins one free copy of any Moonlight Mesa publication that she wants. Runner up in the slogan contest was Betty Watt also of Wickenburg.

NEWS YOU MIGHT USE

A couple of changes will be made to Moonlight Mesa's website which will benefit anyone looking for a tremendous buy on books.

Shortly, book prices will be adjusted on six titles. The Ben Thomas trilogy titles will sell for $12.95, $3.00 below the retail price of $15.95. In addition, if all three books are purchased at once, shipping will be free. This will only be available, however, if one uses the mail order form.

The same price break will occur with the Jere D. James books: Individual books will be priced $3.00 below retail price of $15.95 each. If all three are ordered at the same time, using the mail order form, shipping will be free. (The third title in the Jere D. James' books, however, will not be available until July.)

That's a tremendous savings, very competitive with Amazon, and on top of it all, the Jere D. James books and R.L. Coffield titles will be signed.

If books are purchased individually, the price will be $12.95, but the shipping will not be free.

These two trilogies make wonderful gifts! Be sure to remember this for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and other holidays.

Also, Award-Winning Tales and A Way in the Wilderness will continue to be priced at $16.95 each, that's $3.00 off the retail price of $19.95 per book. The price reduction on these two titles is temporary, but will be good through the spring.

New Voices in the Western Genre

2011-04-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

WESTERN BOOK PUBLISHER BECKY COFFIELD

Breaking into the Western genre has its ups and downs. The upside, is that the books sell much better than the suspense genre, although that might be because Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield is pushing those books more. The other upside, is there's just not that many new writers in this genre.

The few publishers who DO publish Western fiction, seem to keep themselves busy re-issuing the great classics by Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, Matt Braun and a few others. One might consider Johnny D. Boggs a newer writer, but certainly not a classic one. Yet, anyway.

Sadly one of the greatest of the "old-timers", Elmer Kelton, passed away not all that long ago.

The downside to the Western genre is that it's a small market. A small market, but a devoted one. Getting people to buy their first Western though can be like pulling teeth, it seems. Once they try one title, however, they tend to get hooked.

A few areas in the Western genre are HOT, one being Western ROMANCE. But then, Romance in general is HOT. The trick is for the author and the publisher to get the author's name out there. Western Romance readers are always scouring for new books, and once someone discovers an author, better stand out of the way as they run to Amazon...or the bookstore, if there are any bookstores left.

Another area that is dynamite hot is Western NONFICTION.

Moonlight Mesa is extremely proud of its authors. The publisher's newest author, Paula L. Silici, author of A Way in the Wilderness, a yummy Western romance, has been working hard to prepare for the official launch of her book, which will happen May 1. The publisher will debut the book also at the Mule Days Celebration this year in Bishop, California.

J.R. Sanders, author of The Littlest Wrangler, has perhaps one of the very best young reader Westerns ever. Hands down, this book is meant to soar into being a classic. Sanders is also working on a nonfiction for adults, entitled Some Gave All.

Rusty Richards, author of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, is the sellingest guy around. Rusty attends so many Western events, that his book is a natural. Between him and his wife Amy, they have sold close to fifteen hundred copies of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride in about five months. In fact, the publisher will be ordering up the title's second printing some time next month probably.

Stoney Greywolf Bowers is struggling to find the key to success with cowboy poetry and has spent a great deal of time studying the internet and the opportunities it provides. Hopefully, Stoney will share his wealth of information with Moonlight Mesa and the other authors.

Jere D. James is out there plugging his books every chance he gets. (Saving Tom Black and Apache.) His newest title, Canyon of Death, should be released sometime this summer.

Every one of these authors has received OUTSTANDING reviews from neutral sources. Moonlight Mesa does NOT pay for reviews.

So if you're looking for a fresh, new voice in the Western genre, look no further. These authors will entertain, thrill, scintillate, inspire, sadden, gladden, and give you hours of enjoyment. Guaranteed.

New Western Title Taking Shape

2011-04-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Jere D. James' much anticipated third novel in the Jake Silver Adventure series is coming together, and quickly. Orders for Canyon of Death have already been taken. People who've purchased the first two books are asking for the third.

James has been pretty much camped in the publisher's office for the past week, pounding out a chapter a day. "Of course, there'll be a great deal of re-writing and editing," said the publisher, "but the book simply has to be completed. It's been more than a year since the second book came out. This book is already past due. Jere tends to get side-tracked with other activities."

Cover design again is by Vin Libassi who's been hard pressed to produce the cover in record time since the publisher has scheduled an ad for the trilogy to appear in the August issue of True West magazine. "We won't even have reviews in by then, but that's the way it goes. We can add the reviews to the front of the book later and just do another upload."

The big question is, will James write a third Jake Silver novel? "I suspect the author will write another novel. Whether it will be a Jake Silver Adventure or not remains to be seen. The author's in a tough spot. The series is becoming very popular, so there's a good reason to keep it going. James is the ONLY fiction writer we will be publishing. Although we could do one other. Mostly I am just looking for good, solid Western nonfiction at this point," said Coffield. "If I were a gambling person I'd say yes, he'll do another Jake Silver novel."

Canyon of Death will be the last Moonlight Mesa publication for 2011. J.R. Sanders' Some Gave All will be scheduled for release in 2012.

CASEY TIBBS - BORN TO RIDE STILL HAVING STRONG SALES

Sales have been outstanding for Rusty Richards' biography of Casey Tibbs. "We had a big run on web orders last month because of the Western Horseman review," said the publisher. "In addition, Ingram sent out over 100 copies of the paperback, and of course the ebook sales were good too. We're hoping for the same response when Cowboys and Indians features the book in June."

In fact, ebook sales have been holding steady, according to Coffield. They aren't huge, but they are definitely helpful. "I don't care how people read the books...just that they do. In some ways, the ebooks are far more profitable!"

AWARD-WINNING TALES ADVERTISED IN TRUE WEST

Moonlight Mesa's Western anthology, Award-Winning Tales, is advertised this month in True West magazine. "So far, there's been absolutely no response, but it's still early. This was an expensive gamble, and I hope it pays off. I'm getting worried, I have to admit." Check it out. Page 83.

NORTHERN CONSPIRACY NOW IN PRINT - FIVE YEARS LATE

Five years later, Nothern Conspiracy, the middle Ben Thomas book in the Ben Thomas trilogy, is now in print and available. Price is $14.95. It is not available in ebook format yet, and won't be for a month or two -- if ever.

COWBOY UP SHORT STORY CONTEST UNDERWAY

Don't forget about the annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. So far very few entries have come in. There are still 4 1/2 months left to get your story in.

Western Events Need Re-Thinking

2011-04-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

PUBLISHER BECKY COFFIELD AND HER RIGHT HAND MAN AT WESTFLOP, LOOKING FOR NONEXISTANT CUSTOMERS

Good grief. The last three out of four Western Events that Moonlight Mesa publisher Becky Coffield has attended have been DUDS. The question is, why don't these wanna-be cowboys who actively participate in these events,support the very events that are designed to raise interest in their activities, lifestyles, etc.

The fact is, by and large the "cowboys" do not support the very events or vendors that are designed to bring attention to them.

Out of the last three rodeos where Moonlight Mesa has had a vendor booth, only four rodeo participants came to the booth to buy a Casey Tibbs book, and that was at the Wickenburg Senior ProRodeo. FOUR. At Tucson's Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo, not one "cowboy" purchased a Western book of any type. Nor did they frequent any of the other vendor booths for that matter, so it's just not books they have an aversion too.

At the Ranch Rodeo in Wickenburg, not one roper or rodeo participant purchased a book. Granted, people attending the event purchased books, but not one participant.

But it doesn't stop there. Even at the Tombstone event that Moonlight Mesa attended last spring, ONLY ONE re-enactor purchased a book, and that was for his son. Not one of the fancifully dressed, pretend gun-toting, wanna-be Western characters that swarm up and down the streets of the town even looked at Western books. Fortunately, visitors to the event bought plenty of titles.

No need to mention WestFlop since that was discussed in gory detail last week. Mesa's Old West Days proved equally frustrating when the publisher last attended (something Stoney Bowers will never let us forget). At least Moonlight Mesa sold SOME books there to the few tourists around; most vendors sold absolutely nothing.

So, what gives with these guys? Or do we even want to know? Or, do we even care anymore since Moonlight Mesa WILL NOT be participating in future Western events...unless there's a standout crowd of non-Western participants who know how to read.

Moving on...

AWARD-WINNING TALES SOLD BY SAVE THE VULTURE MINE COMMITTEE

The Save the Vulture Mine Committee has chosen to sell Award-Winning Tales and Saving Tom Black on their website and at their events to raise funds to help preseve and restore the rapidly decaying, historic Vulture Mine.

Moonlight Mesa is honored to be able to assist in this small way to help the committee save the fantastic old mine site. "This mind is HISTORY. It just must be restored," said Coffield. "We were lucky to tour the mine before it fell into such disarray. It's now terribly sad, and many of the original buildings are unsafe for people to walk through."

Anyone wishing to use Award-Winning Tales for a fund-raiser, should contact the publisher directly.

LAST SUSPENSE NOVEL AT THE PRINTER

The last suspense novel that Moonlight Mesa intends on publishing is currently at the printer, and the publisher is awaiting the proof copy. Northern Conspiracy, the missing, middle book in the Ben Thomas trilogy, will be available in mid-Aprilish.

"We will not, most likely, be doing any more suspense novels. Unfortunately, fiction writers are a dime a dozen, and suspense writers are a nickle a dozen. It's very difficult to break into the mainstream with unknown writers. The books are tough to sell unless we're personally out there selling them. The Westerns are MUCH easier to sell. Now, if someone wants to write a WESTERN SUSPENSE, we'd surely consider that," said publisher Becky Coffield.

CANYON OF DEATH UNDERWAY

After months of procrastinating, author Jere D. James has RESUMED work on the long anticipated Canyon of Death, the third book in the Jake Silver series. "We are already getting calls for this book," said Coffield. "I'm telling people it'll be ready by September...I hope it is. We have an ad coming out in the June issue of True West advertising the Jake Silver trilogy...we need to move on this as quickly as possible. I'm hoping Jere has the book finished by late May so we can send it to the editor in June. Then I'd like to have corrections made and it uploaded in late June, early July. We all need to focus on this project for the next few months. This could get stressful, I fear."

MEET THE AUTHORS

Only four months behind schedule, Moonlight Mesa now has its author page on its website up and running. Here's a chance for readers to meet the authors and read about them. Links are provided to connect readers to each author's website. See the face behind the book! Go to www.moonlightmesaassociates.com and click on MEET THE AUTHORS.

A Molly Mule Mascot for Moonlight Mesa

2011-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

BOUQUET (BUCKET) IS A BIT CAMERA SHY ON HER FIRST DAY AT HER NEW HOME

Publisher Becky Coffield just purchased her first mule, a lovely little lady named Bouquet (aka Bucket). Although Coffield has owned horses, this is her first venture into the mule kingdom.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit concerned. I read about how mules are very unforgiving and don't forget...ever, and I'm worried lest I do something to upset her. But in the four days I've had her she has become much more friendly towards me, so that's a good sign. We had a minor mishap when I went to halter her for the first time, but it ended well," Coffield said. "I need to stop treating her like she's made of glass, and get on to the business of enjoying her. I have read though that mules are extraordinarily smart...I just hope she's not smarter than I am!"

The publisher hopes to make Bouquet a mascot for the publishing firm, if her accountant doesn't have a fit over that. Meanwhile, and towards that end, the publisher is running a slogan contest for people to come up with a slogan that connects the mule to books. Winner of the contest will receive a FREE Moonlight Mesa publication of their choice. The contest is open for the month of April.

RANCH RODEO SLATED FOR APRIL

Despite saying Moonlight Mesa would never participate in another rodeo, the publisher has agreed to do a local ranch rodeo the weekend of April 9th and 10th in Wickenburg. "I told them I'd only do it if we could set up on the cement patio, and they actually agreed to that," Coffield said. "I think this will be a great event for us...it certainly will be better than WestFlop, and cost a fraction as much."

Wickenburg has consistently been a strong market for the publisher.

CASEY TIBBS ON A ROLL

Sales of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride have been extremely good according to the publisher. "Part of the reason for this is we've been picking up reviews, a lot of unexpected, glowing reviews," said Coffield. "The Tibbs book (paperback edition)has been number one on Amazon since it came out. We find it extremely odd, however, that two contests we've entered the book in have failed to even place the title as a finalist, yet it's been in the top 5 on Amazon for months now. Go figure."

As a fact, Ingram, the distributor for the trade paperback edition of the Tibbs book, sent out over 100 copies of the title in March, and the book's ebook sales surpassed Moonlight Mesa's long-standing best selling ebook, Life Was A Cabaret, which has been number one since the company got into the ebook market.

"We just had a review by Western Horseman which brought great results, and we had a review in the Rapid City newspaper and in another periodical. We're expecting to be reviewed in June by Cowboys and Indians," Coffield said. "That should give us another surge in sales. Casey deserves this, and so does the author, Rusty Richards. People truly enjoy this book so much. I have several customers who are ordering multiple copies, even."

FIVE YEARS LATER...

Five years after R.L. Coffield wrote Northern Conspiracy, the book will at long last come into print in April. This is the missing, middle book in the Ben Thomas Trilogy. Originally, the book was titled Murder in Thomas Bay, but the author (and publisher) felt the title might be confusing since the detective's name is Thomas also.

"This will be the LAST suspense novel we publish," said the publisher. "The Westerns and the Western nonfiction just sell circles around the mystery/suspense. I wouldn't have done this one even, but we've had so many people ask for it because they read the award-winning first book Northern Escape, and then Death in the Desert, the third book, and they wonder where the heck the second book is."

Northern Conspiracy makes three books published by Moonlight Mesa so far in 2011. The publisher plans on one more title for 2011, Canyon of Death by Jere D. James, and then will proceed with two titles, and ONLY two titles, in 2012.

WESTFEST IS WESTFLOP

2011-03-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

SAYING GOODBYE TO WESTFLOP!

Talk about disappointing! Palm Springs' much touted WestFest was the biggest WestFlop imaginable. Unfortunately, it appears as though the show's promoter spent thousands of dollars advertising in big name Western magazines, and not enough money advertising in Palm Springs.

"I had such high hopes for this event," said Moonlight Mesa Associates Western Book publisher Becky Coffield. "It was so bad, that we called Rusty Richards and Jere James and advised them not to come on Saturday and Sunday to sign their books. We called J.R. Sanders also, but since he lives only 40 minutes away, he decided to come over and check it out. He left early. Fortunately, Paula L. Silici did not come all the way from Denver. It turns out the news release announcing the release of her new book, A Way in the Wilderness, did not get sent out as promised."

Many other vendors apparently felt the same way that Coffield did, as some were packing up and leaving the event early Saturday, definitely a breach of protocol. Coffield packed up Saturday night. "I couldn't take it anymore. It was hideously depressing. We've never had such a bad show in the all the years we've been doing shows. It's unfortunate also, because there was some beautiful Western art at the show, but no one came to see it!"

"Never again! That's all I'll say about the matter," Coffield said. "I should have known better from the beginning. There were so many miscues, misinformation, and just bad policies by the promoter, that I should have cancelled early on."

PERKY SALES ELSEWHERE

Despite the pathetic WestFlop ordeal, sales have been good for Moonlight Mesa this month. Overall, Kindle and Nook sales have been strong, and Ingram has sent out quite a few books also. "Most of the books sent out by Ingram were Casey Tibbs paperback books. That book has consistently been a strong seller, but it seemed to get an extra boost this month, probably from the book review in Western Horseman."

AUTHOR UPDATE

Rusty Richards and his wife Amy are selling machines and have been promoting and selling the Casey Tibbs book wherever they roam.

J.R. Sanders will be finishing up his nonfiction book, Some Gave All, probably in late April or May. He'll be attending Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and will be signing his young reader book, The Littlest Wrangler.

Paula L. Silici is whittling away on her stack of books, A Way in the Wilderness. The book does not "officially" come out until May, but copies are selling on Kindle and Ingram has been sending some out. Silici is firming her calendar up now.

Jere D. James will be resuming work on Canyon of Death. He'll also be signing books at Mule Days in Bishop, CA. in May.

R.L. Coffield, at long last, is finishing the final proofread of Northern Conspiracy, the missing, middle book in the Ben Thomas trilogy. FINALLY.

Blogger Dude

WE'RE MULISH!!

2011-03-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Okay...back to business as normal. I did my venting last week, now I can focus on the road ahead!

Moonlight Mesa will be participating in the WestFest held in Palm Springs March 24 to 27. Well, we'll be participating unless there's a big plume of radioactive fallout floating over California, in which case I'm staying home and drinking margaritas!!

We'll be selling Paula L. Silici's Western romance, A Way in the Wilderness, for the very first time. This book is so yummy! It has a hefty price (19.95) but it's a full-bodied, sexy 337 pages of richly engrossing action, suspense, and ROMANCE. It's nothing short of fabulous, really!

AUTHOR UPDATE

Rusty Richards is the workingest guy around. He's at the Festival of the West from March 17 to 20, singing and signing, both. He just came from a huge event in San Simeon. Next weekend (WestFest weekend) he's in a parade and will try to make it to WestFest on Sunday. I think he needs a day off, though!

Jere D. James is in the process of moving into my office once again to commandeer one of our computers to finish Canyon of Death. That's good. He can feed the animals when we're gone! He'll be a WestFest signing books on Friday.

J.R. Sanders will be at WestFest on Saturday, March 26th, and maybe Sunday, signing books.

Paula L. Silici will also be at WestFest, travel and weather permitting.

And that's everyone at this time! Me? I'll be at WestFest selling and signing, too!

COWBOY HALL OF FAME

Hurray!! The Cowboy Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs is now, at long last, carrying Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride. Casey's statue stands outside the museum. Now the book is inside the museum!!

NEW BOOK RELEASE

It's mostly official, but Moonlight Mesa will, at long last, be releasing the long-awaited, missing, middle Ben Thomas Detective novel, Northern Conspiracy, April 19. Northern Conspiracy is the book that follows the wildly popular, award-winning Northern Escape. The middle book was overlooked and the third book in the series was actually published second because of the intense border issues along the Mexican/American border. Death in the Desert, the third novel, has been a very popular selling book in Arizona. Now, all three will be available in print and on Kindle and Nook.

This will undoubtedly be the last suspense novel published by Moonlight Mesa. The company has turned to Western publications, and has found those books much easier to market.

WE'RE MULISH

It's official. Moonlight Mesa will be adopting a mule as the company's mascot. In this case, the mule is a molly mule named Bouquet...or Bucket. Take your pick. We're in the process of developing a motto. For now it's simply: WE'RE MULISH. BUY A BOOK.

Or, how about: WE'RE MULISH ABOUT OUR BOOKS. Or...well, you decide. Send me a motto and win a FREE book of your choice if your motto is chosen as the winning entry!!

SELLING BOOKS TAKES WORK BY EVERYONE

2011-03-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

If you are so lucky as to have a bona fide publisher, and are not self-publishing or using a vanity or subsidy press, you are extremely fortunate. I don't have to tell people who read this blog that there are fewer and fewer traditional, bona fide publshers out here in book world.

However, that being said, one thing authors may not realize is that even if you have a bona fide publisher, you're still going to have to work your ass off to sell your book. Your small publishing houses cannot do everything for you.

In fact, many publishers don't do anything for the author, unless they are John Sandford or Stephen King, etc.. No advertising, no reviews, zero, zip, zilch. The author gets the books published at no cost to him/her, and that's about it. If the book doesn't sell, most publishing houses pull the book after six months and it's sayanora to the author, and good luck finding another bona fide publishing house once you've been dropped by one.

Even Stehen King has to get out there and do book signings and appearances. Why shouldn't you?

Publishing is, in many ways, a dying industry. Certainly the traditional publishing house is rapidly declining. The problem with self-publishing or using vanity and subsidy presses, is that all too often the books are poorly done with little or no editing, inferior paper and print, crappy covers, etc. Not always, mind you. Just usually, which is why self-published books have a hard time making it in the commercial market, although some rare exceptions do.

When you find someone who is willing to invest their time and money in your work, the very least you owe them is some willingness to get out and help sell this creation of yours. Just because you've written a book does not mean the world will greet you with open arms. It's a sad lesson many new, aspiring writers learn. Who do they blame when the book fails to fly off the shelf? The publisher. Not themselves and their lack of energy or interest in promoting their own work.

We at Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. work our asses off for our authors, quite frankly. We scrounge for legitimate, professional reviews for the books (we never pay for reviews); we advertise the books; we take the books FREE OF CHARGE to book events where we display and sell them at no cost to the authors; we blog about the books; we tweet the books; we do, basically, everything possible that we can afford to do. We also give the authors huge discounts to buy their own books to sell; and we pay way more than the industry standard in royalties. We are very upfront about our expectations from the author: we expect authors to take an active interest in selling their books. If they can't do that, then they should most definitely not ask us to invest our time and money in it.

We've been very fortunate at Moonlight Mesa, for the most part. Some of our authors are go-getters and are making a lot of money out there selling their hearts out. When these people work as hard as they do, we are inspired to work even harder for them.

Our authors, mostly, have been tremendous. They appreciate our efforts on their behalf. They appreciate the beautiful books we've put out for them at no cost to them. They understand the publishing/marketing process and understand that NO ONE CAN SELL THEIR BOOK AS WELL AS THEY CAN.

This year we committed to five books; it looks like we'll only be doing four and will be carrying one title over to 2012. In 2012 we are doing only one or two books and are spending our time and money on marketing ploys instead of publishing. Whether we continue publishing or simply market and distribute books is up in the air at this time.

However, no matter which small publishing house does your book, you're going to have to put some energy, effort, time, and even money into making your publication a true success.

Sudden Surge in Sales

2011-03-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

No one at Moonlight Mesa is exactly sure what is causing it, but in recent months the company has seen a surge in book sales...all books. "Maybe it was just the holiday season," said publisher Becky Coffield. "People get gift cards for their Kindles and Nooks and Amazon. But I'm hoping that word is getting out that Moonlight Mesa has quality Western books, and not the tired same-old, same-old. We have bright new voices, excellently edited manuscripts, ambitious authors, and outstanding cover designs. It's beginning to pay off, I hope."

Ebook sales in February were the company's best ever. "Of course, we added Casey Tibbs- Bornn to Ride, Award-Winning Tales, and A Way in the Wilderness. That's three solid titles," Coffield said. "But Apache has sold like pancakes. And, of course, Life Was A Cabaret, our sailing book, always has great sales in the spring. People are preparing to go boating, or are buying a boat."

ADVERTISING

Moonlight Mesa recently signed a three ad agreement with True West Magazine. Ads will run in June, August, and Nov./Dec. issue. The first ad will feature Award-Winning Tales.

"In January we talked about cutting back on some of our book events and putting the money we'd spend on those into advertising. True West was the only magazine we advertised the Casey Tibbs book in that really paid off. The others were a waste of time and money for us. We hope we get the same response from our new ads that we got from the one Tibbs ad," the publisher said. "The new ad is really cool, if I do say so myself."

The publisher also advertises on cowboy.com. Coffield feels those ads are most beneficial during the holiday season, but she has elected to run ads year-round this year and has posted ads so far for Award-Winning Tales and A Way in the Wilderness.

Ezinearticles.com is also a good source for advertising. Two writers in particular have more or less "adopted" Moonlight Mesa and post reviews of the publisher's books. Anyone on the web can download the articles for free and repost them on their own sites as long as credit is give to the authors of the articles.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Only two "big" events are planned for this spring. The publisher will travel to Palm Springs March 23 - 27 for the 2nd Annual WestFest Celebration. In May, Coffield will go to Bishop, CA. for the Mule Days Celebration.

"I'm very excited about both of these events. I think we'll do well," the publisher said.

Two smaller, local events the publisher may participate in are Grand Desert Days April 9th in Morristown, and Yarnell Days May 8, in Yarnell. "The only issues I have with these two events is that they are only one day, and it takes two hours for us to get set up nowadays. Plus, the events are on dirt. We're putting a screeching halt to dirt venues this year," Coffield said. "We sell a lot of books at these small venues, and the entry fees are cheap, so we actually MAKE some money, but I just don't know...I guess I'll wait and see what the weather's going to do."

No summer or fall events have been scheduled yet. According to inside sources, Moonlight Mesa, uncategorically, we WILL NOT be doing more rodeos.

AUTHOR APPEARANCES

Author Rusty Richards (Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride) will be signing books at this year's Festival of the West in March in Scottsdale, AZ.

J.R. Sanders (The Littlest Wrangler) will be signing his book at the WestFest in Palm Springs.

Jere D. James (Saving Tom Black and Apache) will be signing books at the WestFest in Palm Springs.

R.L. Coffield (Northern Escape, Death in the Desert, Life Was a Cabaret, etc) will be signing at the WestFest in Palm Springs.

Submitted by the Blogger Guy

Western Romance on the Horizon

2011-02-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

PROUD AUTHOR PAULA L. SILICI

Western book publisher, Becky Coffield, recently finalized the company's first Western romance for printing, A Way in the Wilderness, by Paula L. Silici (SEE PHOTO). "This is our first romance, and will probably be our only one," said Coffield. "The book is terrific and has already received some dynamite reviews."

Shirley Johnson of MidWest Book Review said, "Secrets are revealed, and situations become life threatening as the past meets the present for more than one character in this wonderful read. Indians, slave traders, cowhands, townspeople, friends and foes, all merge together to bring to a pinnacle the exciting conclusion. This is a wonderful romantic read laced with adventure, mystery, and western flair—one that truly shows the strength of love, the sacrifices love will make, and the beauty it becomes. Recommended." Well, she said a lot more than that, but there you have it in a nutshell.

Early reviews for the book have also come in from Sandy Whelchel of the National Writers Association, and Karen Majoris-Garrison, Award-winning author and speaker; president, Tri-State Writers Society, who wrote, "Written with descriptions so vivid readers can taste the windblown Old West Colorado dust in their mouths, and told with the blue lightnin’ pace of courage and depth—A Way in the Wilderness is sure to leave its mark of an unforgettable love story branded on readers’ hearts forever," and none other than Cassie Miles, USA TODAY Best-seller List.

"We're hoping to offer pre-publication copies at the WestFest in March in Palm Springs. Whether that will be the official 'release' has not been finally decided. We could wait for Mule Days, even Cheyenne Frontier Days. We have to think about that one," Coffield said. "I'd like for the author to be present at the release. Right now, though, I don't know if we'll be attending the Cheyenne Frontier Days or not."

CASEY TIBBS HARDBOUND NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON AND EBOOK FORMAT

Despite saying she wouldn't do so, Coffield has finally allowed the hardbound book of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, to be sold on amazon. "There are several reasons why I decided to do this," commented Coffield. "First of all, as most publishers/readers know, we have one year to really reap the benefits of sales from this book. Already four months are gone. The author and his wife have done a brilliant job of selling the hardbound and will continue to do so wherever they appear. Amazon's sales will not hurt their sales, I'm quite certain. People will want a book signed by the author, from the author, when they see him. I look at this as another revenue stream for the book."

As for the ebook, "We uploaded the paperback to ebook format for Nook and Kindle. We all agreed this would not hurt the sales of the hardbound and, in fact, might even stimulate sales. The ebook does not have any photos. I think true rodeo fans who read the ebook will want a paperback or hardbound edition for their personal collection, and for the photos. All in all, I think it was a good move. In all fairness, I will also offer cowboybookworm.com a distributorship of the hardbound since he is distributing the book to several museums and bookstores in Texas."

JERE D. JAMES' CANYON OF DEATH AVAILABLE BY SEPTEMBER

It's final. The third book in the Jake Silver Adventure Trilogy will be in print by September. Guaranteed. "This will be our fourth book for the year. We'll spend the summer formatting and doing layout, also having it edited. It should easily be in print in September. We've been getting calls asking when it will be out. Now we can say with a certainty: SEPTEMBER."

Both the trade paperback and ebook versions of Saving Tom Black and Apache have been selling well. "Considering we've done absolutely no advertising on these two titles, they've done terrifically well. If we spent money on all the titles the way we've spent it on Casey Tibbs, they'd be best sellers also. I need to pay more attention to this. It's becoming a sore point with a few of the authors," Coffield said.

AWARD-WINNING TALES TO BE RELEASED THIS WEEK

Award-Winning Tales, Moonlight Mesa's incredible Western anthology, will officially be released this week at Wickenburg's Gold Rush Days. "I cannot begin to express how incredibly pleased we are with this anthology. I hope the authors whose stories are included feel the same way. And, so far, everyone who's contacted me has been very, very happy with the publication. The stories are so unique, original, and different. Everyone's style just shines and because of the different writing styles, the book doesn't get stale they way a book can when one writer does all the writing."

Ebooks, Pterygiums, and Global Warming

2011-01-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

BARROM BRAWLER?

Well, here we go. I get one week off and my blogger disappears and Egypt is in revolt. What is the world coming to?

It gets stranger - surprising even myself, Moonlight Mesa (Western book publisher) now has titles available on Nook. Regular readers here may remember when, a year ago, we made a big to-do about getting books loaded onto Kindle. I felt pretty smart that I'd been able to manage all that. Hopefully those early books look okay. Imagine how surprised I was a week and a half ago when I filled out forms to publish our titles on Nook. And imagine how even more surprised I was to find we'd sold 8 books on Nook by the time I returned from California and the eye surgery. Now, 8 books won't make us millionaires, but golly, that's 8 books that sold that I didn't have to bust my butt to go out and sell. 8 people are enjoying the writings of Jere D. James mostly, since of those 8 titles sold, 6 are Apache, the second book in the Jake Silver Adventures.

I'm astounded, really, and beginning to question why we need paper books, except for dinosaurs like me who insist on dog-earing pages and underlining juicy passages. Guess you can do underlining on Kindle too. Probably Nook also for that matter.

Already Award-Winning Tales is selling on Kindle and Nook, and we haven't formally released the book yet (that'll happen during Wickenburg's Gold Rush Celebration February 11 - 13).

We'll also be uploading A Way in the Wilderness by Paula L. Silici to ebook format within a day or two after we upload the pdf file to our printing house. And, coming this spring readers will find Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride which has had a hell of a run on Amazon (the paperback version).

I may have to buy one of those gizmos one of these days.

BYE BYE PTERYGIUM

The eye surgery I recently had went well, and now I have my green iris back without the whiteish blob half across it. The surgery was easy. The first night was a bit brutal because I waited too long to take a pain pill. I'd read that some people experience no pain, and some do experience some discomfort. Well, when I read that some experience no pain, I stopped there and naturally assumed I'd be a person who experienced NO PAIN. Bummer. For a while there it sucked to be me.

If you need a pterygium removed, for certain check out Harvard Eye Associates. They're doing a new, experimental surgery that requires NO STITCHES and so far has a 0% grow back rate (compare that to a 50%+ growback rate for the traditional surgery).

OFFICIAL RELEASE OF AWARD-WINNING TALES

Award-Winning Tales, our fabulous short story anthology, will be officially released at the Gold Rush Days Celebration in Wickenburg, AZ. You'll find us at the rodeo grounds. I already said this. Hopefully the arctic blast of weather will be finished by then!

GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE

Speaking of arctic blasts...I read that one Chinese scientist claims we are actually at the beginning of a NEW ice age, NOT global warming.

Did anybody here besides me read The Coming Super Storm by Art Bell and Whitney Streiber? (I think it was Whitney.) Now the movie sort of, kind of based on the book was not really based on the book, but the book was mind-boggling and actually very well researched. Scary too. I asked a few scientists I hung out with back then about it, and they concurred with a lot of the things stated in the book. (I bet you didn't know I was so brainy.)

I better stop here.

1 DOWN - 4 TO GO

2011-01-17T18:37:00.000-08:00

The proof copy of the first title of 2011 has been approved for print. Award-Winning Tales has been approved, and the first order has been placed. "There have been some snafus with the Kindle edition of the book, but I think we've got those problems solved...I hope," said publisher Becky Coffield. "The biggest issue was that I was listed as the editor AND the author. That was a gigantic mistake. We've since added ten of the authors to the author category. Unfortunately, we could only add 10 names and not all 23." The book contains 26 award-winning Western short stories.

The publisher expects delivery of the title in early February...plenty of time for the company's first event of the year, which will be the Wickenburg Gold Rush Days where Moonlight Mesa will have a booth at the rodeo grounds this year. Every contributing author will receive two free copies of the book. :)

FINAL PROOFREAD OF A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS

Despite the publisher's best efforts to upload the company's second title for the year, A Way in the Wilderness, the book, a Western romance by Paula Silici, has been temporarily put on hold until two more expected reviews come in. "We've had a lot of problems with the layout and formatting of this book as it is," said Coffield. "I've had to re-do it twice, no less. So, it's probably best it have this thorough proofreading just to make sure it's all there and reads how it's supposed to read."

Because of the delay, however, the book will not be available for the Wickenburg event, but will most likely be available for the Fiesta de los Vaqueros held in Tucson, Arizona, later in February. "I'm extremely disappointed in the delay, but you CAN'T RUSH A BOOK! Been there, done that!"

THIRD TITLE FOR 2011 WITH EDITOR

Moonlight Mesa's third title for the year, Northern Conspiracy, is now with the company's editor-in-chief. Once the book is edited, it'll be in print very quickly. The cover is almost finished as it is. "My fab. cover designer, Vin Libassi, is really the one who's responsible for getting this book off our hard drive and into print," said Coffield. "He came up with a cover design before I'd committed to the project for 2011. I think he got tired of hearing me say that I had to get that darn book into print, and kind of forced my hand!"

This title is the middle book (the missing one) in the Ben Thomas Trilogy. At long last!

NEWSLETTER RESUMED

After a month break, Moonlight Mesa's newsletter is up and going again, with the January issue out last week. Anyone who'd like to subscribe to this monthly newsletter need only send us an email requesting it. IT'S FREE and full of good advice, malarkey and baloney.

COMPANY CLOSED FOR LAST WEEK OF JANUARY

Due to the publisher having a minor eye surgery to remove a pterygium, the company will be closed from October 24 to the end of the month. Business will resume in full force on February 1.

FEBRUARY EVENTS

As mentioned above, the company will participate in two events in February. Gold Rush Days in Wickenburg, Arizon, runs from the 11 to the 13th. The Tucson Rodeo, also known as the Fiesta de los Vaqueros runs from the 19 to the 26th. Anyone who shows up and says they read about this in the blog will get a 10% discount on a book of their choice.

COWBOY UP CONTEST OPENS SOON

Don't forget! The annual Moonlight Mesa Associates Cowboy Up Short Story Contest opens March 1. Submission guidelines are posted on the publisher's website:
www.moonlightmesaassociates.com

Off and Running in 2011

2011-01-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates is ready to upload two new 2011 titles this next week...if all goes as planned.

First to head into print will be Award-Winning Tales, an incredibly excellent short story anthology comprised of award-winning Western stories. The first review by Shirley Johnson, Senior Reviewer for MidWest Book Review, was outstanding. The publisher is looking forward to receiving a review from Western Fiction Review also.

"We are extremely excited about this anthology," said the publisher. "Some of the stories just knocked my socks off when I read them! In fact, they're all just extremely good. Usually in an anthology, some stories are good and the rest are fair. Not with this one. Every story is outstanding. They're all very different. Some are "olden-days" stories; some are "modern-day" Western tales. There's romances, murders, even a mystery. It's great! To be honest, I've never been much of a short story reader, but I LOVED these."

Coffield plans to upload the book to the printer by January 7th. Everything is finished, and once the LCCN arrives it'll be time to send the file off.

WESTERN ROMANCE ON THE HORIZON

Moonlight Mesa's first Western Romance, A Way in the Wilderness, is going to be a smash hit also, according to the publisher. "I'll be honest, I couldn't quit reading the darn thing! It just teases and tantalizes the reader all the way through. It's great," said Coffield. Written by Paula Silici, Moonlight Mesa's editor-in-chief, the book is set in Colorado in the 1800s. "It's historically very accurate, romantic, exciting, sexy...it's got it all. Not as sexy as Matt Braun can get, but definitely more romance and sex than Louis L'Amour!"

Coffield hopes to have A Way in the Wilderness uploaded by January 14th at the latest, assuming there are no snafus. "I'd love to have it by the Wickenburg Rodeo event, but we may not make it. It'll be touch and go."

Coffield went on to say that the first review that came in on the book was excellent. "I'm sure we'll get more. It's a great book!"

NORTHERN CONSPIRACY...AGAIN

Third book on the 2011 calendar is the publisher's own title, Northern Conspiracy. "We started out with that title, then changed it to Murder in Thomas Bay, but now have changed back," said Coffield. "Anyway, it's the missing middle book in the Ben Thomas trilogy. Many people are upset that it wasn't published in order, but I felt Death in the Desert was critical to publish next because of the border/immigration issues. Northern Conspiracy has lots of sex and violence. R-rated for sure. I think that's another reason I've hesitated to put it out there. I'm kind of embarrassed."

The book is now en route to the editors after having lived on the computer for 5 years. "I'm lucky I didn't delete it or lose it or something," said Coffield.

"I think I was forced to get this into print because my cover designer did the cover for it whether I was ready or not!" Coffield said. The publisher hopes to have the book in print by March...

AUTHOR UPDATES

Jere James is still alive and well and says he's going to get busy on Canyon of Death any day now. That sounds familiar! He says he's going to show up at Moonlight Mesa and camp until it's finished. Saving Tom Black, James' first title, was Moonlight Mesa's best selling fiction book in 2010, followed by Apache.

Rusty Richards is heading to the Elko Poetry Event next week in Elko, Nevada, where he will be selling his best-selling nonfiction Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride. Rusty's book was "officially" released at the NFR in Las Vegas this year, and it sold extremely well!

Paula Silici is giving A Way in the Wilderness one last look-through before the book goes to print.

J.R. Sanders is working on Some Gave All, getting the okays/permissions for all the artwork and photos used in the book.

No word from Stoney Bowers, although he's assured the publisher that he has a big year planned for sales in 2011.

KINDLE TITLES

The publisher will be uploading two new books to Kindle: Award-Winning Tales and A Way in the Wilderness will both be on Kindle by mid-month. "I think these two titles will have strong Kindle sales," Coffield said.

"Eventually we'll get the Tibbs book onto Kindle also," she said. "I'm going to wait for at least six more months, however. I think the author will be more comfortable with that. We can wait for a year, if need be. Kindle readers usually just wait for the book to come out in Kindle. I don't think it would hurt the hardbound or paperback sales in the least to have it available for ebook readers, but we'll wait."

Saving Tom Black and Life Was A Cabaret were the best selling books on Kindle for Moonlight Mesa in 2010.

STAFF CHANGE

Due to an overwhelming school schedule needed in order to graduate in June, Renee Witty has resigned from Moonlight Mesa Associates. Her position will not be filled...at least for now. "I'll have no one to blame for all the problems now," said Coffield. "Bummer!"

Happy New Year to all!

Saying Goodbye to 2010 and Hello to 2011

2010-12-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

"Publication wise, 2010 was one of our best years," said Becky Coffield, Moonlight Mesa Associates publisher. "We had a great year overall, although I will admit it was one filled with its share of mistakes and stress. I can now say, 'Been there, done that.' All I can say is, I did the very best job that I could. I gave it everything I had. My editor, Paula Silici, gave it her all, and my book cover dude did a tremendous job."

Coffield maintains that 2010 was the end of the Arts and Craft Shows for the company. "We did several, and we did well, but I think we're ready to move on," she said. "I'm not saying we won't ever do a Craft show again, but I'm seriously doubting we will. I'd have to be awfully bored, put it that way."

2010 saw the company's first hardbound book, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, come out, printed by Bang Printing in Minnesota. "We'll definitely do business with Bang again," said Coffield. "We'll probably use them for J.R. Sanders' next publication, Some Gave All. I'm also thinking I may bundle the Jere D. James books and do a one volume trilogy. That's a ways off yet, particularly since the third book is as yet unwritten!"

2010 saw Moonlight Mesa run the company's first magazine ad for the Casey Tibbs biography. "We ran our first ad in True West. It paid off handsomely. I'm not so sure about the other magazines we advertised in, unfortunately," the publisher said. "I'd do True West again if they'd ever give us a book review."

2010 saw one of the company's new publications win an award. The Littlest Wrangler won in the Arizona Author's Literary Contest, and the publisher expects at least one more win for it. She's planning seriously on Casey Tibbs winning some awards in 2011 also.

2010 saw Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black and Apache begin selling in the U.K. Saving Tom Black's sales continued to be terrific for Moonlight Mesa.

2010 saw the publisher launch 5 titles on Kindle.

2010 saw the company buy a new three horse slant horsetrailer in which to travel to events for book sales. The publisher maintains the trailer, named "Plain Jane," is like the Taj Mahal compared to the camper.

2011 PUBLICATIONS

As for 2011, there will be five new publications:

January 2011: Award-Winning Tales (anthology)

February 2011: A Way in the Wilderness by Paula L. Silici, Western Romance

Marchish 2011: Northern Conspiracy (The Thomas Bay Murders) by R.L. Coffield (the missing middle Ben Thomas Trilogy book).

Summer 2011: Some Gave All by J.R. Sanders, Western Nonfiction

Fall 2011: Canyon of Death by Jere D. James. Western Fiction. The final book in the Jake Silver Adventures Trilogy...or is it?

COWBOY UP CONTEST WILL BE A THRILLER!

The third annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest will be a thriller in 2011, as all stories must be a Western suspense/thriller/mystery, etc. The contest is set to open March 1 and run through September 1. Cash prizes for the top three winners.

LOOKING BACK, AND LOOKING AHEAD

"Overall, I'd say that 2010 was just a super year for our company, and I have no doubt that 2011 will be every bit as good. We have some major events planned, and we have some terrific new titles coming out. We're thankful for our success this past year, and we're excited and hopeful about the upcoming year," Coffield said.

Renee Witty

Back to the Business of PUBLISHING

2010-12-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy year. Though Moonlight Mesa Associates has had record sales in 2010, the fact remains the company put out only 3 books this past year: Jere James' Apache, John Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler, and Rusty Richards Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride. Two titles were postponed, however, due to the Tibbs project.

Leading sales at this time is Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride. A close second is Jere James with Saving Tom Black and Apache.

STILL leading Kindle sales is Life Was A Cabaret - A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat and a Big-A** Ocean, the publisher's own sailing adventure/memoir.

The only award-winning book in 2010 was The Littlest Wrangler, and the publisher fully expects this title to pick up another award or two before the next year is out. Future copies of the book will be sold with an educational packet included in the price. The packets are only available if the order is placed with Moonlight Mesa Associates, however.

Coffield said she fully expects the Casey Tibbs book to win some awards also. "We were extremely disappointed that Saving Tom Black got overlooked this year, particularly considering the sales and the incredible positive, glowing comments about the title," said Coffield.

NEW PROJECTS

As expected, Award-Winning Tales is scheduled to be published in January and will be released ahead of the publication date. "This is a fabulous anthology," Coffield said. "I've never seen another Western anthology that begins to measure up with the number of quality stories that are included in this one. I'm very excited about this book. I expect this title to be a BIG seller for us."

In addition, Coffield hopes to have Paula Silici's Western romance out in January, again several months ahead of its scheduled publication date. "I'm very curious how this title is going to go. This is a terrific story, but my experience with romances is nil. If any romance sells, though, this one should be dynamite!" Coffield said.

Both titles will be released on Kindle shortly after their release in trade paperback. "I seriously do not think this will hurt the paperback sales at all. I guess we'll find out! But Kindle readers want the book on Kindle...they're not going to run out and buy a paperback!"

NFR EXPERIENCE

"Well, I was told I wouldn't believe the NFR and Cowboy Christmas events until I saw it in person...and that's an understatement! Wow! What an amazing display of Western artwork, tack, furnishings, clothing, and collectibles. We were very proud to see some of our titles being sold at the NFR also!" Coffield said.

The publisher plans on being in the office for the remainder of the month. Employees will be given the remaining time in 2010 off, but the publisher will be around and available. "I have a lot of catching up to do after being closed for almost 3 1/2 weeks!" Coffield said. "The NFR trip was just the frosting on the cake for us. We're back to work. Vin's back to work - Paula will be shortly as I have a huge editing project for her. I'll give her the holidays though. :)"

A NEW YEAR

"I'm very positive about the upcoming year for Moonlight Mesa Associates. We have some fantastic titles out, and several more coming out in 2011. We're planning on attending some big events, and I know the sales in 2011 will be record-breaking again," Coffield said. "I know people think I've kind of coasted the last two months, and maybe I have, but I do a lot of work...even when I'm coasting!"

Submitted by Renee

Publisher and Board Set New Direction

2010-12-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hola from sunny Cabo San Lucas!

Despite a great two weeks in Cabo and a terrific Board of Directors meeting with most of the board members present, publisher Becky Coffield and her husband left for the States five days early. “I can only sit around just so much,” the publisher said. “I did some proofreading on the anthology and looked over Jere James’ early chapters on Canyon of Death. That was the sum total of my work. I got antsy, I guess.”

At the yearly Board meeting, several key decisions were made. First and foremost, those present unanimously voted NOT to accept other titles to sell along with Moonlight Mesa titles. Every board member felt strongly that ONLY books published by Moonlight Mesa would be offered for sale on the company’s website and at its book events.

PUBLISHING SCHEDULE

A second major decision involved the publishing schedule, which the publisher herself has changed several times this past year. It was unanimously agreed upon that in 2011 Moonlight Mesa would publish five titles as planned. After 2011, however, fewer titles would henceforth be published in order to give those titles more marketing time and attention. All agreed with Coffield’s suggestion that the company cut back to one title for 2012 and postpone the other titles for an indefinite time in order to establish more markets for the titles currently in print. Since no contracts for 2012 have yet been signed, everyone agreed with the new proposal. The publisher announced that the title slated for 2012 is by Scott Stewart of Wickenburg and will be largely a “donation” publication for a fund raising venture for the new horse camp in town.

COWBOY UP CONTEST

Third, it was agreed that the company would offer the Cowboy Up Short Story Contest again in 2011. The publisher announced that the theme of the stories would of course be Western with emphasis on mystery/suspense/thriller, etc. Awards have yet to be decided upon, however. Past awards have been $250, 150, and 75 for the top three winning entries. There was discussion about a possible second anthology consisting of Western mysteries. No final decision was made.

ODDS AND ENDS

Staffing for the company will remain nearly the same. Vin Libassi will again be the company’s primary cover designer as a subcontractor, and Paula Silici will be the company’s chief editor as a subcontractor. Renee Witty will not be replaced when she graduates in 2011 largely because far fewer titles will be published in 2012.

Sales events will continue be at the publisher’s discretion.

The purchase of a new laser printer was okayed, and the purchase of a new printer for color productions was also okayed. The current printer is on its last legs.

Since the company is acting as distributor for the Casey Tibbs title, Tom will now handle all shipping. Undecided is whether the company will use America West Books as a distributor for the hardbound Casey Tibbs book also. Tom will also assume directorship for out-of-state Western marketing. His first contacts will be at the NFR in Las Vegas, and then the Big R stores.

Undecided was the decision on whether MMA should obtain a vendor’s booth for the NFR for 2011. The publisher expressed concern about MMA competing against its own vendors at this event, particularly Cowboy Bookworm and Western Horseman, who has expressed a strong interest in the Casey Tibbs title and several other titles as well.

The meeting was adjourned, and a good time was had by all. Next year’s meeting place was not decided upon.

Submitted by Renee Witty

Nothing Quiet About the Western Front

2010-11-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Things continue to be as hectic as they've ever been at Moonlight Mesa Associates. Publisher Becky Coffield is slaving away on the anthology, Award-Winning Tales. "This book has been more than challenging. I've tried to find perfect photos/art work for all the verso pages and it's been very, very time-consuming," said Coffield. "Then there's been the proof-reading. We're trying VERY HARD NOT TO CHANGE a single word in anyone's story, but there are still little errors in some of the manuscripts, which is to be expected and is quite normal. But it takes careful reading."

Coffield went on to say that she believes the anthology can be ready in January, despite her absence of three weeks in Mexico. "I can work in Mexico, too, you know," she said.

THE LITTLEST WRANGER WINS AWARD

J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler received its award Saturday night at the annual Arizona Authors Literary Contest banquet. Sanders, his wife Rose, and the publisher were in attendance.

"I'm betting this is NOT the only award this book is going to win," Coffield said. "The book is just too perfect not to win something else!"

Author Update

Jere D. James claims to be working on Canyon of Death, the third book in the Jake Silver Adventures Trilogy. Just to be sure it gets finished, the publisher has moved the book to the last quarter of 2011.

Rusty Richards is recovering from a bad spell, but Rusty's wife Amy reports that he's doing well and definitely plans on being at the NFR in December to officially present his book to the public.

Paula Silici has been working with Vin Libassi on the cover for her forthcoming Western romance, A Way in the Wilderness. Coffield will set to work on this project as soon as the anthology is completed. Readers may find BOTH the anthology and the romance available in January if there are no snafus!

Stoney Greywolf Bowers seems to be keeping under the radar a lot lately. Not sure what's going on there.

J.R. Sanders says his new project, Some Gave All, is pretty much on schedule. "This book is going to be fabulous," said Coffield. "I think we'll be putting it out in hardbound with dustjacket. It's going to be a big seller, I can tell! I hope we can have it out by June. Going hardbound, however, is extremely time-consuming. The printer folks have the book almost a month. Layout is extremely challenging. Harbounds just take a lot of time."

Adios. Moonlight Mesa will return in three weeks. There might be a blog from Mexico, but...

Dealers Wanted - Inquire Within

2010-10-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

The bane of every small or micro publisher is getting people to sell the danged books, and Moonlight Mesa is no different. While the company does have a few vendors selling its titles, it is actively seeking more. If interested, by all means contact the publisher.

"We not only have the fiction titles by Jere James, and a young reader historical fiction by J.R. Sanders, we're also signing Western Romance writer Paula Silici. We now have a NONFICTION rodeo book, and we'll be putting out an anthology plus another nonfiction Western this year," the publisher said. "In other words, we're getting a goodly number of top quality books. Many are award-winning on top of it all." That doesn't even include Moonlight Mesa's suspense novels and sailing book.

Moonlight Mesa Associates staff will be in Las Vegas in December during the NFR primarily looking for possible vendors for their books. "We sell boxes of books on the road," said Coffield, "but I really can't be publishing when I have to be out selling. We offer vendors a good discount on top of it! More than the industry standard, anyway."

WESTERN ANTHOLOGY UNDERWAY

Work on the Western Anthology planned for 2011 is going full steam ahead. "I think we can have this out by February, believe it or not," said Coffield. "I just really really want to have it for the two rodeos we're doing that month. But, if it's not ready, it's not ready. I'll be very disappointed, however. I've learned, though, that you can't rush a book!"

The book has over 25 award-winning stories. "I just think it's going to be great," said Coffield.

OFFICES CLOSED FOR THREE WEEKS

A reminder to anyone submitting orders, Moonlight Mesa will close for three weeks in November while the publisher and staff go to Mexico. Members of the Board of Directors will meet with the publisher there during one of those weeks. The 2011 publishing calendar will be discussed and revised, the new Cowboy Up Contest will be decided upon, and decisions will be made on whether or not Moonlight Mesa will sell books published elsewhere on consignment.

"I have a DISTINCT feeling the Board is going to unanimously veto this idea of my selling other publishers'/authors' books," said Coffield. "I can see their point, however. Our booth is rapidly filling anyway with our own products."

SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER

If you're looking for unique, great gift ideas for the holidays, look no further. You can, starting November 2nd, go to Moonlight Mesa's website and save lots of money on the special holiday sales on several titles.

Just download the order form and send a check or money order to the address provided. Books will arrive before Christmas. Those ordered before November 10th will be sent immediately; those ordered after the 10th will be sent on December 6th.

Books make a terrific present for everyone! Children love books, and The Littlest Wrangler is a great gift for the young readers. Books make great gifts for office/work partners, and any boss will be impressed to find an autographed book inside instead of a stupid tie. Be original this year! Give the gift of literacy!

A LOTTA LOTTA LOTTA GOOD NEWS

2010-10-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

The new cover for Award-Winning Tales?

A LOT OF NEWS!

A lot has happened in the last two weeks! For starters, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, is still hovering around number one on Amazon!

For another, Moonlight Mesa Associates is in the process of signing its first WESTERN ROMANCE writer, freelance writer and professional editor, Paula Silci. "Actually, I'm kind of excited about doing a romance," said Coffield. "I know nothing about Western romances - I just know I had a hard time putting the manuscript down once I started it!"

And, the first draft of Vin Libassi's cover for the upcoming Western anthology is in, and it's FABULOUS. "I'm sure we'll go with it or a slight variation of it," said Coffield. "I love this guy. He delivers a quality cover every single time!"

2011 COWBOY UP CONTEST ANNOUNCED

Although it's not totally formal, Coffield has tentatively announced the dates and data for the 2011 Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. The contest will run March 1 to September 1. Again, it will allow 3000 words. Entry fees will remain at $15. The big change this year is that the stories MUST be a Western suspense, mystery, thriller, etc.

"I know this'll be tougher, but I know the writers who enter this contest can come up with brilliant ideas! I can't wait to read them!" Coffield said.

There may be a slight change in awards. Coffield has made no final decision on that yet.

2011 EVENT SCHEDULE

Although it's always changing, Moonlight Mesa's 2011 Event Schedule is beginning to take shape. Here's for starters:

January: Probably a show in Yuma again
February: Wickenburg's Gold Rush Days RODEO
Tucson Rodeo (Fiesta de los Vaqueros)
March: unscheduled
April: unscheduled
May: Mule Days in Bishop, CA. ???
June: Western Writers of America Conference in North Dakota
July: Prescott Rodeo??
August: San Juan Island Tour (3 weeks)

Coffield has said that she will do everything under heaven and earth to obtain a booth at the 2011 Cowboy Christmas event in Las Vegas, NV. "We have enough books now, and every title we have is a QUALITY BOOK," she added. "I'm ready for Cowboy Christmas."

Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride Hits #1 on Amazon

2010-10-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates had its first number one hit on Amazon last week when the trade paperback edition of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride was ranked 1st in Books>Sports>Rodeo. It was ranked 94th in biographies at that time.

"What is so amazing about this," said publisher Becky Coffield, "is that the book isn't even officially released yet. It's pub. date is November, and its 'formal' debut/release is at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December. We're not complaining though!"

The hardbound edition arrived at the publisher's on Friday, October 8th, to much fanfare and margarita drinking. "The book is, quite simply, very beautiful. I don't even want to read it again though. I don't want to know if there's a mistake in it or not!"

800 books will be delivered this week to the author, Rusty Richards, at his home in Modjeska, CA.

"We've already gone through several boxes filling orders, sending copies out for review, and sending some to contests," said Coffield.

The hardbound is being distributed exclusively by Moonlight Mesa Associates. Orders can be placed at www.moonlightmesaassociates.com

The publisher is looking for vendors for this book and the publisher's other Western titles. Cowboybookworm.com is a new vendor for Moonlight Mesa, as is Casey Tibbs South Dakota Center.

ANTHOLOGY IS A "GO"

The Award-Winning Western Tales anthology has been given the green light. Almost every author who was asked, agreed to grant Moonlight Mesa a one time publication right and electronic rights (for Kindle). Each author will receive several free copies of the book and will be entitled to buy any others at a 50% discount. The book will be released as a trade paperback in the spring of 2011 if all goes as planned.

BOOK CONTESTS

Moonlight Mesa publisher sent three books to the Western Writers of America Spur Awards Contest this month: The Littlest Wrangler, by J.R. Sanders; Apache by Jere D. James; and Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride by Rusty Richards.

"This worked out real well," said Coffield. "All of the books were in separate divisions, so there were no conflicts with Moonlight Mesa titles competing against each other."

Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler has already been announced a winner in the 2010 Arizona Authors Literary Contest and the author will be receiving his award in November at the gala banquet.

Sanders also entered the book in the Western Heritage Awards.

KINDLE UPDATE

Against all odds, Life Was A Cabaret is still Moonlight Mesa's number one selling Kindle title, followed very closely by Saving Tom Black and Apache, both by Jere D. James.

Renee Witty

Cowboy Up Contest Winners Announced

2010-10-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Winners in the 2nd Cowboy Up Short Story Contest are as follows:

Finalist and Runner-up: W.D. West, The Coffin Cowboy
Finalist and Runner-up: Drew Davis, Coahuila Captive
3rd Place and $75: Melissa Embry, Eight Seconds
2nd Place and $150: James O'Brien, The Dead Rope
1st Place and $250: M. Carolyn Steele, Waitin' for a Friend

In the Romance Category:

1st Place Winner of two Moonlight Mesa signed publications (including the NEW Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride!) Joe Kilgore, The Gesture.

All finalists will receive an award certificate.

"This was just a terrific group of stories," said publisher Becky Coffield. "Actually, last year had a number of dynamite entries also. This is a very very difficult contest to judge, is all I can say."

Despite the contest's success and forth coming anthology, Coffield is uncertain whether to continue the contest or not. "It's A LOT of work, far more than I ever imagined. We may take a year off...I just don't know yet. Gotta think this through!"

SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY SCHEDULED FOR 2011

Despite saying that she'd only publish two books in 2011, publisher Becky Coffield is already adding to that count. Enough of the authors in the Cowboy Up Short Story Contest who were contacted agreed to have their stories published, that the project has been given a green light. "I'm thinking I can get this done in 2011," said the author. "Almost everyone was very enthusiastic about the project. I need to contact a few people via snail mail as I can't get them via email, so we may have even more."

Besides the anthology, Coffield announced earlier that she would be publishing J.R. Sanders' newest nonfiction Western book, Some Gave All, and Jere D. James' third and final Jake Silver book, Canyon of Death. In addition, the author may publish the missing Ben Thomas book in the Ben Thomas trilogy, and she may re-issue Life Was a Cabaret since there remain only about 80 copies in print.

ADS ADS ADS to PROMOTE WESTERN BOOKS

Moonlight Mesa had such a positive response from its ad in the September issue of True West magazine, that the publisher is planning an advertising blitz for the new Casey Tibbs book. The company's next ad will appear in The Rodeo News. "Depending on the response to that ad, we may run a December ad also featuring all of our 2010 publications. We're also looking at advertising in Cowboy Rodeo News. We're hoping that we garner reviews in the magazines that we'll be sending copies of Casey Tibbs to, as well as receive orders from the museums where we sent complimentary copies," said Coffield.

Cowboybookworm.com made a substantial order for the Casey Tibbs book, and the publisher is trying to place Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler with this vendor also.

"I'm thinking I may do a lot more advertising this coming year," said Coffield. "It may prove to be cheaper than all this traveling around in terms of time and cost. We do sell a lot of books at some events though, and that might be hard to duplicate with advertising. Probably a combination of attending events and advertising is the way to go for awhile yet."

Moonlight Mesa has no major events planned for the rest of the year, a shocking change after last year's frantic push at the end of the year. "We need to regroup and prepare for the BIG push in 2011. We're all exhausted after two years of busting our butts running around the country selling books. We just need a break," said the publisher. "Our schedule earlier this year was exhausting, and getting the Tibbs book into print was one of the more stressful things I've ever done. But it's done!"

Renee Witty

Short Story Contest Finalists Announced

2010-09-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your patience. All of the readers have turned in their score sheets,and here are the finalists for the 2010 Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. The stories are listed in no particular order:

Coahuila Captive, Drew Davis
The Spittoon, Mark Redmond
Waitin' for a Friend, Carolyn Steele
Eight Seconds, Melissa Embry
The Dead Rope, James O'Brien
Old Outlaw, Edward Wyatt
Lost Letters, Barbara Marshak
The Toughest Ride, Marlene Baird
Showdown at Diablo Flats, Michael Fishman
The Coffin Cowboy, W.D. West

These stories will be scored once more by at least two readers. Because of an upcoming hectic schedule, however, it may be a little bit into October before the cash prize winners are announced. I apologize for the delay. If it's possible to get the stories re-scored earlier and announcements made, we certainly will.

Every one of the above mentioned stories deserves a first place. These are just spectacular stories! I want to thank you for sharing them with us, and I hope you'll be willing to let us publish them in an upcoming anthology. I'll be contacting many of this year's and last year's entrants about using the stories. We'll even be taking some from the semi-finalist list as several of those stories missed out on being in the finalist division by only a few points.

Again, we thank you very sincerely for your entry into our contest and for trusting us with your work. This was such a difficult contest to judge because the stories were all terrific!

The Romance Category winner will be announced at the same time as this category.

Becky

Semi-Finalists Posted for Cowboy Up Short Story Contest

2010-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

The following stories/authors are semi-finalists for Moonlight Mesa's 2nd Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest.

I think I have everyone, but if someone got left off the list I'll get it posted asap. We have one reader who has not quite finished with scoring and reading all of the stories. Most are finished, however. So, that being said, here are the semi-finalists for the Cowboy Up Short Story Contest.

The Spittoon, Mark Redmond
The Dead Rope, James O'Brien
The Spirit of Christmas, Allen Russell
Waitin' for a Friend, Carolyn Steele
The Coffin Cowboy, W.D. West
Showdown at Diablo Flats, Michael Fishman
Lost Letters, Barbara Marshak
Old Outlaw, Edward Wyatt
Eight Seconds, Melissa Embry
Crawl Off and Die, Mark Redmond
Coahuila Captive, Drew Davis
Growing Pains, Arthur Kerns
Gunfight in El Paso, Vincent Doherty
The Toughest Ride, Marlene Baird
Navidad, Robert Walton
Never Summer Mountain, Paul Conn
All the Water You Want, Jerry Guin
Wyatt Earp, Allen Russell

Again, if I've left anyone off I'll send out another notice asap. Thanks for your patience! Finalists will be posted in about a week.

FINALISTS FOR ROMANCE CATEGORY

And here are the FINALISTS for the Romance Category. The stories are in no particular order.

The Princess Annie, by Ellen Hantzis
LLano Estacado, by Lane Thibodeaux
The Gesture, by J.R. Kilgore
The Bard of Stockman Flat, by Harold Miller
The Banker's Wife, byT.A. Uner
Remote Possibilities, by Patricia A. Cox
Kayenta, by L. Crissman
A Cowboy's Valentine, by Allen Russell
The Best for Last, by Kathleen Ewing
The Best Things, by Paula Silici

As the sponsor/coordinator of this contest, I truly want to thank everyone who entered. The stories were excellent which made the judging very very difficult. Tom, John, Alice and I really enjoyed reading the entries. They were entertaining as heck.

As a Western Book Publisher, we are seriously thinking of producing an anthology of the award-winning stories and many of the runners-up and finalists. So, even if you
don't win a prize right off, you may be offered an opportunity to have your story published in an anthology. This is, of course, AT NO COST or OBLIGATION to any author. We'd just like for others to be able to read some of these great, great stories!

Becky

Moonlight Mesa Preparing for Marketing Blitz

2010-09-12T15:46:00.001-07:00

CASEY TIBBS - BORN TO RIDE IN THE WORKS

After months of stress and intensity, the hardbound edition of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, is in the final production stages. "We made a couple of technical changes to the manuscript," said Coffield. "Largely we needed the margins adjusted, and gold foil on the front cover. That was pretty much it. I've read the book so many times I'm not sure I'd see a mistake now if one was printed in bold red ink!"

Coffield anticipates the book will arrive in late October and hopes to start sending out to vendors in early November. Orders placed before November 10th will be filled immediately. Orders placed after November 10th will not be filled until December 6. Moonlight Mesa will be closed from November 13 to December 5th.

Moonlight Mesa Associates is the sole distributor of the hardbound edition. The trade paperback may be purchased from them or from Ingram as well.

"We're also pushing J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler right now," said Coffield. "The book is an award winner this year in the Arizona Author's Literary Contest, and that's worth a lot of mileage, so we're trying to work that angle also."

For now, the Casey Tibbs trade paperback can be purchased using PayPal or Visa on the publisher's website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com. Readers can also go to the Mail Order page and order that way.

Signed copies of the hardbound edition may be purchased directly from the author at www.rustyrichards.com.

SHORT STORY CONTEST FOR 2010 CLOSED

Entries for this year's Cowboy Up Short Story Contest far exceeded last year's entries, according to publisher Becky Coffield. "The stories are ALL good. This is such a difficult competiton to judge!"

Semi-finalists will probably be announced this week. Finalists will be announced around the 21st or a bit after. "It's going to be so difficult to pick only three cash prize winners out of all of these wonderful entries," Coffield said. "I'll be contacting a number of people, though, about putting their entry in our Western Short Story Anthology. This anthology is being published at NO COST OR OBLIGATION to the writers. I just wanted a great anthology filled with fantastic stories!"

This year, all finalists will receive an award certificate, and those who submitted a self-addressed stamped envelope will get their scoring sheets back also. The winning romance writer(s) will be awarded new, hot-off-the-press hardbound editions of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride.

UPCOMING EVENTS

There's only one event scheduled for the remainder of 2010, and that's the Rex Allen Days celebration in Willcox, Arizona, in early October. Moonlight Mesa offices will be closed for three weeks in November. "Hopefully December will be devoted to mailing out hundreds of copies of Casey Tibbs!" said Coffield. People will get the book in time for the holidays if they order early. Books will be mailed the day Moonlight Mesa reopens on December 6th.

Moonlight Mesa Title Wins Award!

2010-09-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler is an award winner in this year's Arizona Authors Literary Contest.

"We are truly thrilled about this," said publisher Becky Coffield. "It's been awhile since we've had a book win an award in this contest. The last award-winning book was Northern Escape, in 2004 I think it was."

Both the author and the publisher have plans for entering The Littlest Wrangler in other upcoming contests. "It's going to do well. I love this little book! The minute I read the first chapter I knew I was on to something good!"

"This is our first Western book award, but I assure you, it won't be our last," Coffield said.

The book was illustrated by Vin Libassi of spiralpath.com.

CAPE DORY 25

"Even though this has nothing to do with Western books, the news is too good to keep to myself," Coffield said. The publisher and her husband just returned from a whirlwind trip to Racine, Wisconsin, where she purchased a Cape Dory 25.

"I know Racine is a long ways to go for a boat, but there just aren't any Cape Dory 25s for sale on the West Coast, and I wanted a Cape Dory 25 with a trailer, pure and simple. These boats are trailerable, but are tough and sturdy and suited for offshore cruising. I got a peach of a boat loaded with gear, and I was so lucky because there were SO MANY offers on it and so much interest in it," Coffield said. "I'm naming it Lucky Me. The boat has been very, very well taken care of."

TRUE WEST ADVERTISEMENT

Don't miss Moonlight Mesa's first magazine advertisement ever in this month's True West Magazine, page 47, lower right hand corner. "This was a perfect opportunity," said the publisher. "The entire issue is devoted to rodeo, and features a terrific article about Casey Tibbs. I couldn't resist. Couldn't afford it either, but did it anyway. I do believe the ad is stimulating sales!"

Currently only trade paperback editions of Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride are available. The hardbound edition of the book will be available in late October. It will retail for $24.95 + s/h. The trade paperback retails for $19.95 + s/h.

SHORT STORY CONTEST CLOSED

The 2nd Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest closed September 1. Semi-finalists will be announced September 14th. Finalists will be announced the 21st, and the winning entries will be announced by October 1. Names of all will be posted here and on www.moonlightmesaassociates.com website.

Submitted by Renee Witty

"Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride" Now in Print

2010-08-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Rusty Richards' long awaited biography of rodeo superstar Casey Tibbs is now available from Moonlight Mesa Associates, Western book publisher - but only in trade paperback so far. Hardbound copies will not be available until late October.

"The interest that this book has generated is almost staggering," said publisher Becky Coffield. "I don't know if it's because the Western is seeing a resurgence in popularity, or if rodeo is having a big surge in popularity, but something for sure is going on."

The trade paperback, a POD by Lightningsource, retails for $19.95 and the limited edition hardbound, a digital production by Bang Printing, will retail for $24.95. The hardbound will have a dust jacket, designed by Vin Libassi of spiralpath.net, and gold embossing on the cover. Anyone wishing to reserve a copy of the hardbound can do so by emailing the publisher. Contact information is available at www.moonlightmesaassociates.com.. A signed hardbound copy can be purchased from the author at www.rustyrichards.com.

The trade paperback can be ordered on Moonlight Mesa's website using PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, etc. or as a downloadable mail order form. In addition, the trade paperback can also be ordered through bookstores. Moonlight Mesa Associates will be the sole distributor of the hardbound edition, however. Interested vendors should contact the publisher using the contact information provided on the website.

"The book is excellent," said Coffield. Richards spent over 20 years writing the manuscript and many years searching for a publisher. "Rusty always says that Moonlight Mesa was meant to be the publisher. Maybe so. I only know that I found the story absolutely fascinating. This may be the best Western biography yet. After reading it I truly felt that Casey deserved to have his story told, and Rusty was the perfect person to do so. I'm honored to have been able to be a part of bringing Casey's story to light."

Richards, a singer, songwriter, actor, and cowboy, was a close friend of Tibbs. He did not, however, let his friendship interfere with telling the truth about Casey - his exploits, pranks, loves, weaknesses, and brilliant success in rodeo.

Endorsements for the book have come from a myriad of people, including Baxter Black, Charlie Daniels, Red Steagall, Harry Carey Jr., Buck Taylor, Larry Mahan, Steve Ford, and a host of other well known individuals. Magazine reviews will be arriving shortly.

The book is technically not due out until November and will "debut" at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, NV. in December. Richards will be signing the book there.

MOONLIGHT MESA CANCELS WESTERN LEGENDS IN KANAB, UTAH

Due to unforseen circumstances, Moonlight Mesa Associates has cancelled its participation in the Western Legends event in Kanab, Utah, August 27 and 28. "We won't be doing another event until the Rex Allen Days in Willcox, AZ. in October," said Coffield. "I truly regret not being able to attend the Kanab event, but I can't be everywhere at the same time, and no one on the staff was available to go in my place."

"This was our only other opportunity to test market the Casey Tibbs book. Judging by the reaction of people to the book so far, though, I don't think that will be a problem. I practically had to hold an auction in Big Bear because the demand for the sole proof copy was so high!" Coffield said.

Moonlight Mesa Publisher Chooses Titles for 2011

2010-08-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

In a surprise move, Moonlight Mesa Western Book Publisher, Becky Coffield, has selected only two Westerns for the company's 2011 calendar. A third book, a missing suspense novel in the Ben Thomas trilogy written by the publisher, may also be published.

"We simply must make a big push for better marketing," Coffield said. "I can't keep doing all of these events to sell my authors' books. Somehow, we've got to get the word out that we have some QUALITY WESTERN TITLES. When J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler and Rusty Richards' Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride start raking in awards, that may do the trick. Both books are superb in their categories."

"We're particularly excited about these two titles. They're unique and pretty much without any competition. Jere James' books are far more difficult being historical fiction, and it's hard for a trade paperback to compete with the mass market paperbacks due to the pricing/cost factor. Jere has said he's going to finish Canyon of Death , the third Jake Silver Adventure book, and possibly move into nonfiction. He emphasized possibly," Coffield said.

"The bottom line is this, if we can't get more books SOLD, it's like swimming against the tide. The books sell well when I'm out there pushing them, but we're just not making it into the mainstream at all."

CASEY TIBBS PROJECT COMPLETED

After several hundred hours of hard, intensive labor, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride is ready to roll. The latest trade paperback proof was finally accepted by the publisher and several cases of books have been ordered for review purposes and test marketing.

The hardbound will be uploaded and printed once the author, Rusty Richards, and his wife review the pdf file and place their order. The book officially "comes out" in December at the NFR in Las Vegas. Books will be available somewhat earlier, however, for those wanting to do some Christmas shopping, or who are just plain eager to read this long-awaited, excellent biography of rodeo super-star, Casey Tibbs.

"I'm exhausted," Coffield said. "I won't be publishing anything else this year - I even cancelled two other contracts...fortunately they weren't signed. I've had it. We're devoting our time at this point to marketing what we currently have in print."

"I was wanting to do the Western anthology, but it will probably have to wait another year...."

Submitted by Renee Witty

WELCOME TO ARIZONA!

2010-08-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

TENGA CUIDADO! Oops. I meant to say, BE CAREFUL!

Forewarned is forearmed, that's our motto.

WE'RE BAAACK!

2010-07-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

We're back, and work has commenced once again! The three weeks we were touring New Mexico seems like a distant dream, yet at times it seemed forever!

LAST CALL ON SHORT STORY CONTEST

There's only one month left for writers to submit their Western stories to the Second Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. Submission details are at www.moonlightmesaassociates.com. Cash prizes and possible publication in our first anthology of award-winning short stories! (No cost or obligation in any way to authors.)

CASE TIBBS BIOGRAPHY IN THE FINAL STAGES OF COMPLETION

After months and months of work, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride will undergo its final (I hope) upload for the trade paperback book. The hardbound book, being printed by Bang Printing in Minnesota, will follow shortly. The trade paperback will be issued primarily for test marketing and for review purposes. It will be distributed by Ingram, but the hardbound will be distributed solely by Moonlight Mesa Associates.

The book will debut at this year's National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas, NV.

This brings us to OUR FIRST MAGAZINE AD!

Moonlight Mesa will have its first magazine ad in the September issue of True West Magazine. This issue features "rodeo" with a large article on Casey Tibbs. Even though magazine ads are NOT in our budget at this time, when we were contacted by Joe Freedman of True West and told of this opportunity, we couldn't turn it down.

We'd already planned an ad for another publication, but we've postponed that one for the time being. Gotta make hay while the sun shines!

NEW MEXICO...LET BILLY THE KID REST IN PEACE

I like Western history...but enough is enough. There are folks who cannot let Billy the Kid rest. How many books can possibly be written about this guy? He died young...is there really enough grist for the dozens of books about him? Well, it seems many New Mexicans think so.

On our recent book tour of New Mexico, besides seeing Carlsbad Caverns, the Alien Museum in Roswell, the Ruidoso area in detail, Santa Fe, Taos, Pecos etc. etc., I saw more books about Billy the Kid than I ever imagined existed.

We attended the Wild West History Association Convention in Ruidoso while in NM. Sales were brutal since the attendees had a definite penchant for NONFICTION ONLY. I couldn't even talk these guys into HISTORICAL fiction. Nope. NONFICTION ONLY. Fortunately, people at RV parks saw the big Western Book Publisher sign on our horse trailer and bought plenty of books, but the convention was a big disappointment as far as sales go.

AUTHOR UPDATE

I think everyone is still alive and kicking. I've only had contact with Amy Richards so far, author Rusty Richards' wife. Jere James is still in the Chiricahuas - alive the last we saw of him. Had to have a little heart-to-heart with that writer about getting his manuscript written!! I wouldn't call it a butt-kicking exactly...how about a gigantic pep talk?

Jere's third book in the Jake Silver Adventure Series is due out in 2011...hmmm. That's going to be here pretty darn soon! He's already thinking about book four though, so that's a GREAT sign! I told him to think about book three for right now, though, and get it FINISHED!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Moonlight Mesa will be at Big Bear, California, in August for a Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, and at Western Legends in Kanab, Utah, the following week. Hope to see you there!

No events are scheduled for September (yet)...this'll be a BIG marketing month for us what with the Casey Tibbs biography forthcoming.

NEWSLETTER

Our monthly newsletter is becoming very popular. If you'd like to get a FREE copy, drop us an email. The newsletter is sent out in PDF format via email. You're gonna like it! Money back guarantee!

Western Publications for 2010

2010-06-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

This will be my final blog for the next month...heading to New Mexico for a book tour! So, check this out and buy a book!!

Professional Editing Before Submission a MUST

2010-06-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

QUALITY WESTERN BOOKS

I had a good question asking about professional editing from a delightful British subscriber to the monthly Moonlight Mesa Newsletter . His thinking on the subject mirrors the thinking of most authors: i.e. Doesn't the publisher take care of the editing?

TOO MANY WRITERS...TOO FEW PUBLISHERS

Publishing houses, traditional ones anyway, do use the services of an editor...usually someone on staff. I subcontract our editing to Paula Silici at www.pro-edits.com. However, realize that most of the major houses will NOT accept unagented manuscripts. This is to weed out the millions of queries and poorly written/edited manuscripts they receive. So, think of an agent as not only someone who's going to shop your book around, but also as one who seriously screens your work.

It costs a publisher time and money for a thorough editing of a manuscript. Think about it: if I have two manuscripts, and one is near perfect and the other one is filled with passive voice, point of view shifts, unclear pronoun references, etc., it's pretty obvious which one I'll choose, even though the poorly written one may have terrific potential. But as a publisher, or acquisitions editor, I probably won't give the mistake-riddled one more than a cursory glance.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but no one writes a perfect manuscript. No one. An author will spend years writing a book, but will balk at investing his/her own MONEY in it for editing, unless it's to pay some fly-by-night vanity press beaucoup bucks to see it in print, mistakes and all. Odd, don't you think? Wouldn't you want to put your book forward in its best possible light?

I know one very successful, small publishing house that returns manuscripts to authors and tells them to get the manuscripts PROFESSIONALLY EDITED and then resubmit. If authors argue, the publishing folks just say, "Fine. Find another publisher."

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDITING AND PROOFREADING

For pete sake! Don't think because your mother, wife, girlfriend, husband, etc. reads the book that it is being edited. Proofreading and looking for spelling errors, punctuation errors, even word choice, unclear pronoun reference, and grammar usage, is NOT editing. True editing goes far, far beyond a cursory reading.

While editing includes those things, it also is incredibly more involved. Point of view shifts, passive voice, characterization, plot contradictions, etc. etc. are just a few examples of items that an editor will look for. Many editors also do a significant amount of data/fact checking, historical research if your book is historical, checking language usage/vernacular for the time period you may be writing in (if the novel is fiction). A good editor is worth her/his weight in gold. If you find one, treasure him/her!!

FINDING A GOOD EDITOR

Some people claim to be editors. They aren't. They're glorified proofreaders. Don't just hire the first editor you find. I recommend submitting a short story, or a few pages from a short story to several editors and see what they do with it. Shopping for an editor should be serious business. An editor can make or break your book!! A good editing job can make the difference whether your manuscript gets round-filed or read.

Editors' fees vary greatly. Some are unspeakably expensive, which is probably one reason why writers hesitate to use an editor. Some charge by the word (that annoys me) and some charge by the page. Rates range from $2 a page, which is quite a bargain, and up. The fee is often based on how much time the editor must spend making corrections.

Must you adopt every change suggested? Not necessarily, but if you're going to ignore them all or argue about every suggested change, don't bother spending your money. That's why it's vital that you find someone you can work with and whose corrections not only make sense, but greatly improve your work.

On Jere D. James' first novel, Saving Tom Black, there were SO MANY corrections, he wondered if he should put the editor's name with his own as author!! Why did I accept his manuscript? I LOVED the story. And, to be honest, I was desperately in need of a Western book to print. Nowadays, I assure you, I'm not desperate.

WRITING GROUPS

OMG. Don't get me started! Do writing groups help? For many people they are very, very helpful. They provide camaraderie, feedback, support, etc. However, please remember that the majority of the time the people in a writing group are not PROFESSIONAL EDITORS. They may or may not give good advice and feedback. In trying to be supportive they probably won't say many negative things or closely scrutinize your work. Just because your mom, your writing group, your friends think your book is terrific, doesn't mean it is. I'm sorry.

I don't want to sound like a grump on this. Maybe I am a grump. I just think writers do themselves a terrible disservice by not taking a few extra steps to insure that their work is as good as it can possibly be. It's a competitive market out there. Sure, you can self-publish and have a book in print overnight. Unfortunately, because of the poor editorial work in most self-published books, self-publishing has gotten a bad reputation. Even if you can't find an agent or a traditional publisher and do self-publish, at least put a quality book out there! There's no excuse not to.

Western Book Publications

2010-06-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

QUALITY WESTERN BOOKS

I get asked all the time why Moonlight Mesa Associates won't publish anything except Westerns. And that's a fair question, particularly when the someone asking has a good saleable manuscript in search of a publisher.

A NEW PARADIGM

Moonlight Mesa originally started off as a self-publishing company for moi. I ultimately self-published the award-winning Life Was a Cabaret: A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat, and a Big-A** Ocean. And after allowing Northern Escape to be published by Helm Publishing, I took that title back after a few years and re-issued it under my own imprint. I self-published my next several books, making some gargantuan mistakes along the way. But I was floundering, not really sure where I was going with all of this.

Then, I had what you might call an epiphany, and I suddenly realized that the Western had my name written all over it. I quickly got Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black into print, and that got the ball rolling for us. I've not looked back or second-guessed my decision.

I did not want to be another subsidy/vanity press, however. That's the real challenge - supporting this cottage industry!

WHY THE WESTERN

There are several reasons why I chose the Western. Besides the obvious ones - I'm a Westerner by birth, like Westerns, grew up with Westerns, and have always been fascinated by Western history - I saw a niche that I felt needed to be filled.

Yes, there are other Western book publishers who publish mass-produced paperbacks and who can afford shelf space in Barnes and Noble. Regularly these companies re-release reprints of classic Westerns. Seldom do they introduce a new voice in this genre, however.

That's where I come in. In the last year I've introduced Jere D. James, a person who was rejected out of hand by every publisher out there. I have no idea why. James' books sell like pancakes for us! J.R. Sanders shopped The Littlest Wrangler for four years. This book is phenomenal, and I expect it to win its share of young reader book awards. Rusty Richards (forthcoming book entitled Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride)looked for a publisher for 20 years. I guarantee this book will be a classic.

UNIQUE

There are thousands of publishing houses that produce a smorgasbord of genres. We produce one. Quality Western Books - that's what we're all about.

A Hot Time in the Old Town!

2010-06-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Stoney Bowers' book and rodeo pix on display in Show Low.

Whew! Show Low, Arizona, celebrated its 10th Show Low Days Celebration this year, and of course, Moonlight Mesa had a booth at the event. Sales were fair, maybe fair+, but the weather was TORPID.

Unfortunately, Moonlight Mesa was one of the unlucky vendors to get a spot with no shade trees. The temperature on the asphalt was 106* and the roar of 18 generators was deafening for three days. The fact that we sold as many books as we did is actually quite miraculous. While Phoenix baked at 110 over the weekend, the humidity in Slow Low was its undoing...simply murderous.

Sales were only 3/4 of our projections...but whatcha' gonna do? I'm sure many people did not attend the event because of the blistering temperatures. Top selling books were R.L. Coffield's Death in the Desert, (which I at times thought was happening to me) and Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black.

Interestingly, however, last month's sales report from Ingram, Moonlight Mesa's wholesaler, places James' second book in the Jake Silver Series, Apache, ahead of Saving Tom Black for year-to-date sales. And, I do believe that Kindle sales favor Apache. No doubt about it, Apache is a sexy, hard-core, gritty Western. Yummy too.

And, for all those who've emailed asking...Nantan Lupan, the Apache in Apache, will be in the third, and possibly final book of the Jake Silver series, Canyon of Death, expected out in 2011. Jere D. James has assured me of that.

Speaking of Jere James, he's in the Chiricahuas still...I think it's his avoidance technique.

JUNE NEWSLETTER...I'M OKAY...YOU'RE OKAY

A few folks have emailed asking if everything is okay with Moonlight Mesa because the tone of June's newsletter was a bit grumpy in places, shall we say, like page 2. Please remember that Renee is gone for the summer, as is Jered, so a large part of the newsletter fell to yours truly. I must admit I got a bit heavy-handed one day...but everything I said is TRUE!! None of our authors were being targeted. My thanks to Stoney Bowers, Ian Craine, and a few others who asked if all was well. I also received several emails asking for more explicit information regarding traditional publishing and self-publishing.

ARC UPLOADED

The ARC (advanced reader copy) for Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, by Rusty Richards, is at long last uploaded to Lightning Source. I did this ARC very differently than usual. I'm nervous about how it'll turn out, truth be told. This book will be sent to various magazine and newspapers for reviews. We'll also order 25 copies or so to test market. The hardbound copy will be issued (hopefully) in the early fall. I'm not sure if I'll do the layout for that publication or hire it out.

STRAWBERRIES, ANYONE?

Our next vendor event will be next weekend back in Pine, Arizona, for the Strawberry Festival. This has been a GREAT show for us in the past...hope it's another great one this year.

STAFF UPDATE

Jered has taken off for the summer to Kodiak, Alaska. Promises he'll return in the fall to work for my "slave labor" wages, as he calls them.

Renee is gone also for the summer. Right now she's not sure if she'll return or not. Depends on her fall schedule.

Tom, my faithful historical editor, is leaving for Oregon for a few weeks to work a job that pays significantly more than I do. But he promises he'll return in time to go to New Mexico for the Wild West Historical Association Convention in Ruidoso.

Looks like I'll be working overtime...again...as usual. :)

Author vs. Publisher Responsibilites

2010-05-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Every publishing house is a bit different, with big houses being less compliant and helpful perhaps than smaller ones. However, some things don’t change. If you’re an aspiring author, keep these things in mind.

First, it is the author’s responsibility to provide the manuscript and any accompanying material, such as graphs, photos, drawings, etc. It is NOT the publisher’s responsibility to do this. The only exception here is with illustrations. Many publishers go with their own illustrators, although this is not always the case.

It’s the author’s responsibility to provide the acknowledgements, forewords, prefaces, and front matter of this nature. It is also the author’s responsibility to provide material for the dust jacket covers, such as author photo and biography, and information about the book. This should be done in a timely manner.

Authors are also expected to round up endorsements for the book. Most publishers will get professional reviews, but this is not the sole responsibility of the publisher.

The publisher has the responsibility of getting the book listed in Bowker’s Books in Print, assigned an ISBN, edited, and the cover designed. The publisher sees to the layout and design of the book, its upload, printing, and distribution.

Marketing is more and more left to the author, although big name authors still get plenty of easy press. For the rest, it’s a lot of work. Some publishers help with this, most small houses do not. Books that don’t move in six months are dumped. Once an author has a book dumped, it gets harder to get another title accepted. The author has a “bad” reputation and isn’t considered worth the risk.

Small publishers often keep books available in print far longer than big houses. Moonlight Mesa has two titles still in print that are five years old...and still sells them! Most of the time this doesn’t happen, however.

Part of the reason small publishing houses can keep books in print is because of POD (print on demand). It’s not a problem to order up as many, or as few, books as wanted. Inventory, storage, and things of this nature are not a problem with POD. It doesn’t really cost the publisher very much to keep a file active. And POD quality has greatly improved!

Work with the publisher and many misunderstandings can be avoided. Authors must fulfill their obligation by helping to sell their books. If you’re not interested enough in your own title to get out and sell it, don’t expect anyone to publish it!

Rumor Control and More

2010-05-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates is a micro-small publishing house, and like most small publishing houses, operates on the verge of extinction on most any given day. Despite record sales so far this year, "We are not out of the woods yet," says the publisher.

"However, we have a number of very good forthcoming events. We've added three more just in the last month. And, we paid out well over $5000 in inventory this year, so we won't have to order any more books anytime soon. That ate a lot of cash, but not having to buy more inventory will help in the long run," said Becky Coffield. "It's lean now, but that's the way it goes. We may have to postpone the release of one of our titles this year, but that's the worst case scenario. We're talking only postponement. I'm not sure the book will be ready as scheduled anyway. It'll be close."

Rumors have filtered in via email since the publisher removed all submission information from the website and closed the door to queries until 2012, that the company is closing. "Not true," said Coffield. "We are inundated with queries, even when I say no queries, we still get queries, so I just removed all the information. I don't want to be a publisher that just throws books out there willy-nilly. We spend a lot of time and money getting books out and ordering advertising, etc. We are doing our best to produce 'Quality Western Books,' not mass market products," Coffield said. "So, we are not closing anytime soon, that I foresee, anyway. We just can't handle anymore queries."

In point of fact, the publisher recently warmed to the idea of publishing a trail guide for equestrians riding in the Wickenburg area. "This will obviously be a nonprofit publication for us. The trail guide will be sold as a fundraiser. It should do really well locally," Coffield said. "We'll post it on Amazon, but we won't be listing it through our wholesaler, Ingram. We're not sure when it will come out. Scott Stewart is writing it - I'm not sure if he's even started. But we'll be ready when he's ready," Coffield said. "This will not be an expensive book to produce. It'll be trade paperback. It's the hardbounds that are financially deadly for a publishing house our size. We could produce trade paperbacks every month."

SCHEDULE FOR REMAINDER OF 2010

For the remainder of the year, Renee Witty has confirmed the following events for Moonlight Mesa:

May 29-30, Arts and Craft Show, Pine, Arizona
June 4—6, Show Low Days, Show Low, Arizona
June 12—13, Strawberry Festival, Pine, Arizona
July 2—4, 4th of July in the Pines, Heber/Overgaard, Arizona
July 19—22, Wild West Historical Association Convention, Ruidoso, New Mexico
August 19—22, Big Bear Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, Big Bear, , California
August 26—29, Western Legends, Kanab, Utah
September—TBA
October 1—3, Rex Allen Days, Willcox, AZ
November 6, Home Tour and Holiday Market, Wickenburg, AZ
November—Cabo San Lucas :) Closed for remainder of the month
December 7—? National Finals Rodeo??, Las Vegas, Nevada
December - TBA

"We have a few gaps in the schedule, but Renee is doing a great job finding us events that will be both productive and FUN. When this stops being fun is when I stop," Coffield said.

SECOND ANNUAL COWBOY UP SHORT STORY CONTEST

Entries are slow in arriving at the Second Annual Short Story Contest. "I hope people don't wait until the last minute," Coffield said. "We need more entries though to pay for judging fees and the cash prizes." Winners and finalists from the contest are asked to release their stories for publication in a short story anthology the company hopes to publish in 2011 or 2012. No strings attached. No money required.

The contest is open until September 1. There's still plenty of time to enter. Submission details are available on the website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com

National Day of the Cowboy

2010-05-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

For a change, we won't be pushing books here...or gossip. Instead, we'll be pushing an organization - one that people might want to give some time, and thought to...money would be helpful also.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Bethany Braley, head of the National Day of the Cowboy organization. I can't begin to explain Bethany's travails regarding this organization, but I can tell you her commitment and passion for it are out of this world. She has struggled for better than six years trying to get this organization established, and for six years she has met nothing but roadblocks, barriers, and formidable obstacles. Still she perseveres.

Not that Bethany hasn't had a few lucky breaks, especially from a fellow actually called Lucky, but still, the uphill battle wages on.

Despite the fact that some states have already adopted the National Day of the Cowboy, and that many cities and towns have celebrations and festivities of some sort on that day, and despite the fact that both Congress and the Senate have approved the day, it is still not recognized as a NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY yet.

Even though Bethany's National Day of the Cowboy flag has actually been in outerspace, photographed with an astronaut holding it by the space capsule window as the earth can be seen far below, the organization hangs on by a thread and by Bethany's unfathomable commitment to honor the cowboy that is not only a part of American tradition, but Canadian, Mexican, South American, Australian...

Unfortunately, according to Braley, "A huge media conglomerate is pushing for a National Day of the American Cowboy, in order to benefit and promote one of their publications, which impedes the progress of her nonprofit's efforts. In fact, the official mission statement of the National Day of the Cowboy 501c3 is even appearing verbatim in flyers promoting that publication which also offers deals to adveristers who support the National Day of the American Cowboy rather than simply 'National Day of the Cowboy.'"

Well, not being political or well informed, my job is to pass this information on to you. Check out Bethany's website: www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com

If you see fit, contact her at the email on the website. Become a member. Help preserve a love of all that is Western, especially the cowboy!

Moonlight Mesa Associates, a Western Book Publisher, will proudly be flying the National Day of the Cowboy flag at all of its future events.

"Death in the Desert" Sells Out at Festival...AGAIN

2010-05-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

R.L. Coffield's controversial Death in the Desert once again sold out...this time at the tiny Yarnell, Arizona, festival May 1. "Unbelievable," said publisher Becky Coffield who manned the booth. "We were only open for 5 hours. I took one case of that title, and in 5 hours we sold the entire case!"

"This book is so incredibly timely right now. The book deals with the Arizona/Mexican border, but its concern is with the river of middle-eastern terrorists who are crossing the border illegally, along with the flood of narcotics. The book is not anti-Mexican in the least. In fact, one of the main characters, and heroine, in the book is a young Mexican woman," Coffield said. "The main theory behind the book is that middle-eastern terrorist groups are subsidizing/supporting the drug cartels. The book is positively frightening in its implications, and so much of it is true. While the book is based on FACT, the characters are mostly fictional. The names of the guilty were changed. That's about it."

Moonlight Mesa will be removing the book from Ingram, since they haven't even bothered to put the correct cover on the Amazon website, and the publisher will once again place the book with Moonlight Mesa's Amazon Advantage account.

The festival's number two seller was Saving Tom Black, by Jere D. James.

J.R. SANDERS and THE LITTLEST WRANGLER

J.R. Sanders had a busy April with appearances at Buckaroo Bookshop at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and radio interviews.

Sanders has several signings lined up for May, plus he'll be heading to the Big Bear Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival in Big Bear, California, in August to sign books for Moonlight Mesa Associates, western book publisher,

Sanders' book was a favorite at the Santa Clarita Festival, with cowboy poet Don Edwards picking up a copy to read to grade schools that he visits. In addition, Sanders was asked to submit his book for next year's Storyfest at Big Bear.

STONEY GREYWOLF BOWERS

Stoney Bowers, author of Reflections from the Wilderness, had a big event in Jean, Nevada this past weekend. Will Stoney attend Big Bear in August, or the Western Legends in Kanab, Utah? Stay tuned.

ARIZONA ISSUES

As most readers of this blog undoubtedly know, Arizona has a number of issues that are bringing national attention to the state...not all of it favorable. Many people are upset about the new 1070 law that was recently enacted. Their concerns seem to be genuine, for the most part. Yet, what most people don't see on the nightly news is the wave of lawlessness and crime that is being perpetrated by drug cartels, human smuggling, and kidnapping in Arizona. Why is the media conveniently omitting this information?

Yesterday's news in Arizona dealt with the assault by a gang on a sheriff. This gang laid in wait and assaulted the officer with an AK47 out in the desert. Then, they tried to shoot down the helicopter that came to take him to the hospital!

Phoenix is now the kidnapping capital of America!

Only a few weeks ago an Arizona rancher was shot to death on his ranch.

Arizona is also the car theft capital of America.

Human smuggling and drop houses are epidemic in Phoenix.

This law is not aimed at Hispanics...it's aimed at CRIMINALS. And not just "Hispanic" criminals. There are, at last count, at least 40,000 Hamas members who have infiltrated our border and are at large in the United States. Will it take a major, national catastrophe before Washington...and the rest of America...gets it??

This is not a political blog. We won't be blogging about this situation again. The 1070 law, basically, is probably wrong. No matter what the governor says, innocent American citizens could be challenged and harrassed...could be. This is not fair to them, but the response across the nation to the law is not fair to Arizona.

UPCOMING

Watch for Moonlight Mesa, Jere D. James, and R.L. Coffield at the Pine/Strawberry Festival at Pine, Arizona, over Memorial Day weekend.

Blogger Guy

Not so Quiet on the Arizona Front

2010-04-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, what a difference a week makes. Arizona's latest attempt at controlling the border is causing quite a stir among people both in the state and elsewhere. Excuse me for saying, but if you don't live here and aren't the one being shot at, you need to keep your opinions to yourself. Having just returned from the Chiricahua National Monument where we were advised NOT to camp in the Coronado National Forest because of illegal "traffic," I'd say something needs to be done. So, let's see...I'm an American citizen. I'm a citizen of Arizona. I CANNOT safely stay in my own state where I'd like because of illegals...??

Okay, on to happier topics...

KINDLE REPORT

Yet another month where Life Was A Cabaret: A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat, and a Big-A** Ocean is again Moonlight Mesa's number one seller! Go figure!

Stoney Bowers' Reflections from the Wilderness has been uploaded to Kindle, although the pictures were removed from the book. The photos just didn't match up well with the ebook format.

Saving Tom Black, Apache, and Death in the Desert also had price adjustments made. The price of the books on Kindle was reduced to $7.95.

STATUS OF FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

Rusty Richards' biography of Casey Tibbs has received its first real edit from "head editor" Paula Silici. The book will be returned for a second read-through by Paula. There were so many changes, that we want to be certain we got them all. Speaking of changes, Vin Libassi is working AGAIN on the Casey Tibbs cover. Unfortunately, other materials have already been ordered...and paid for...that won't have the new "revised" cover. Final determination on the cover rests with the publisher, so we'll see what transpires. Cost is an issue. If the book is to come out by November, we need to move ahead and not have to backtrack on items.

Jere D. James has actually started Canyon of Death! Whew. Although he was given an extension because of the Casey Tibbs project, we were still beginning to get worried!

J.R. Sanders and Moonlight Mesa have come to an agreement on his new Agreement. Sanders has had a busy schedule promoting The Littlest Wrangler. The author was at the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival this past weekend. J.R.'s new book, Some Gave All, will be a Western nonfiction and is scheduled for publication in 2011.

The Tibbs title and Sanders' new title will make two Western nonfiction books for Moonlight Mesa. As a Western book publisher, we get a surprising lot of requests for nonfiction. Unfortunately, it's a very niche market. Avid readership. But niche.

So...catch you all on the re-ride.

Tombstone and the Chiricahuas Just Fine

2010-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

On left, Gary Spessard, a Tombstone Vigilante and a True West Historical Society Member in Tombstone.

On right, a view of the fabulous Chiricahuas.

Moonlight Mesa publisher attended the Old West Founders Days Event in Tombstone last weekend and sold lots of books, then spent an extra four days hiking and enjoying the Chiricahua Mountains. "It was fabulous," said Western book publisher Becky Coffield. "Really, I think the Chiricahuas are on a par with the Grand Canyon...not in size, but definitely in beauty. I can't wait to return.

"The monument itself is perfectly safe to visit, however, the surrounding Coronado National Forest does have migrant traffic. Even still, there were people camped along Pinery Creek - most appeared to be armed," Coffield said.

"As for the Tombstone event, we had Good+ sales. Not GREAT, but definitely Good +. As usual, we met a lot of nice people too," Coffield added. Not surprisingly, Death in the Desert, by R.L. Coffield, was far and away the best seller for the weekend, followed by James' Saving Tom Black.

True West Member and Tombstone Vigilante Re-enactor, Gary Spessard showed up at the booth and received a 25% discount on a title of his choice: The Littlest Wrangler.

"Our next event is a small one May 1 in Yarnell, AZ., and then we have a big one in Pine/Strawberry. Last year we had record sales there. I'm hoping for a repeat performance!" Coffield said.

IBPA

Moonlight Mesa recently joined the International Book Publishers Association. "I'm incredibly reluctant to join groups," Becky said. "I never attend meetings, but I think the IBPA could be helpful to us at this stage of our business development. We'll see soon enough."

Member benefits include opportunities to display/sell books at very large book fairs at a reduced price. There are also seminars, classes, and lots of other programs that publishers can benefit from.

AUTHOR UPDATES

Jere James is doing research for the next Jake Silver book. After spending time in the Chiricahuas, he realized he needed to spend A LOT MORE TIME there to really get a feel for the area. He returned to Wickenburg with a stack of books and is planning on spending time again in the Chiricahuas in late July and in October right after the Rex Allen Days where he plans to sign books for Moonlight Mesa who will be attending the event.

J.R. Sanders is (hopefully) working on Some Gave All, his nonfiction book about Western lawmen killed in the line of duty. Coffield hopes to have the book in print in time for next summer's five state tour. Sanders also has a heavy signing schedule in April, along with radio interviews, appearances, and readings.

Stoney Bowers has disappeared again. Stoney, where are you??

SHORT STORY CONTEST

Entries to this years Cowboy Up Short Story Contest are slow in coming in. So far, only ten entries have arrived. "It's still early," Coffield said. "I just hope everyone doesn't wait until the last minute. We read and score the stories in batches of ten, so it's not to anyone's advantage to wait until the last minute." The first ten will be read and scored by five independent judges sometime this month.

NEWSLETTER

Remember the monthly newsletter is FREE. It contains publishing news, author updates, recipes, movie reviews and lots of other stuff too. Contact us if you'd like to receive a free copy.

Blogger Dude

Packing Iron in the Chiricahuas

2010-04-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

ARIZONA RANGERS - PACKING IRON IN THE CHIRICAHUAS??

Moonlight Mesa publisher and her spouse are heading for Tombstone, Arizona, this week for the Old West Founders Day Event, and then are off to the Chiricahuas in search of author Jere D. James who headed that way to begin work on Canyon of Death, the final (?) book in the Jake Silver Series.

"We'll both be packing iron," said Coffield. "How 'wild West' does that sound? Ever since the rancher in southern Arizona was recently killed, I'm beginning to feel a bit paranoid, particularly after a Tombstone businessman suggested we be carrying weapons into the Chiricahuas...both for snakes and two-legged snakes. I know Jere brought his horse back and picked up a rifle and handgun last week and headed back down there.

"It completely angers me that I cannot go into a national monument in this country without being armed because of foreign drug cartels and their henchmen. This is because we have a crowd of politicians who are NOT doing their jobs...obviously. Maybe if the cartels were running amok in Washington D.C. they'd get off their asses and do something about the border. OH! Cartels are running Washington?"

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J.R. SANDERS

In other news, J.R. Sanders' recent proposal for Some Gave All, a nonfiction Western work, was approved by the publisher. Sanders was sent an Agreement, and work will commence sometime in 2011 after the book is finished. "I'd love to take this book on the Casey Tibbs Tour next summer," said Coffield. "It'll be close, that's all I can say. We have the new Jere D. James book to get out before then too."

Sanders' new book is an account of Western lawmen who lost their lives in the line of duty and who have been unrecognized, unsung heros, unlike Wyatt Earp and others of his fame. "This book will absolutely appeal to those people who want to read Western historical nonfiction!" said Coffield. "I see a large audience for this. We get so many requests for nonfiction!"

UPCOMING EVENTS

Event coordinator Renee Witty has been hard at work lining up a number of new events for Moonlight Mesa Associates. "New this year is Show Low, Arizona, in June, and the Wild West Historical Association Convention in July in Ruidoso, New Mexico," said Coffield. "Renee has also applied for Kanab, Utah, in August, and the Rex Allen Days in October, along with a Wild West Show in October in Glendale, Arizona. We're booked for Tombstone this month, and Yarnell and Pine/Strawberry in May."

September is still open for the company, as is December, unless the publisher can get to the NFR in Vegas. Moonlight Mesa will be closed for three weeks in November/December.

Probably no new blogs next week since everyone will be gone.

Submitted by Blogger Guy

We Got Lucky!

2010-03-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Despite the economy and the EXTREMELY POOR TURNOUT at this year's Festival of the West, Moonlight Mesa Associates did "okay."

According to publisher Becky Coffield, "Our sales were 40% lower than what we'd predicted/anticipated/planned for/wanted, but we still covered expenses. This was such an expensive venue, that I'm not sure we made much money, but at least we didn't lose - which is more than I can say for the vast majority of vendors there. The festival was brutal for some folks. I'll know more when we take a good look at the books.

"We also had quite a bit of competition from Barnes and Noble who sold books for Western Writers of America. Still, when the dust settles, I think we'll find that we held our own!"

Top selling book for the festival was Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black, followed VERY CLOSELY by J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler. Both Sanders and James attended the festival and signed books.

JERE D. JAMES UPDATE

Jere D. James took off to the Chiricahuas and the southeast corner of Arizona after his brief appearance at the Festival of the West. He plans to begin work in earnest on Canyon of Death, the third and final book in the Jake Silver Adventure series. He plans to continue writing Westerns, but isn't planning on adding to this series...at least at this time.

UPCOMING EVENTS in APRIL and MAY

The big event in April is Tombstone's Old West Founders Day. From Tombstone, the publisher and her husband will join Jere James for a week or so in the Chiricahuas. The offices will be closed during this time.

In May, Moonlight Mesa will be participating in the Yarnell Daze event in Yarnell, Arizona. "This is a tiny, tiny event, but it's become important to us - it was one of the first events we ever did, so we do it for nostalgia and to support this beautiful, small community. We sell a fair share of books at this event also, and the cost is very low, so we'll undoubtedly make more profit than we did at the Festival of the West. That's funny," said Coffield.

Also scheduled is the Pine/Strawberry Festival over Memorial Day Weekend, which has traditionally been a good venue for book sales.

SHORT STORY CONTEST REMINDER

Don't forget about the 2nd Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest now underway. The contest closes September 1, so there's plenty of time to get those stories in! Check www.moonlightmesaassociates.com website for submission guidelines.

Submitted by
Blogger Guy

DAZED AND CONFUSED

2010-03-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

We are, to put it mildly, DAZED AND CONFUSED. Frustrated, irritated, and impatient also. Those who know me recognize these qualities right off, sorry to say.

LIFE WAS A CABARET

Our very first publication, Life Was A Cabaret: A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat, and a Big-A** Ocean is just about out of print. There are perhaps 90 or so copies left, and last year we decided not to do another print run on the book. It's five years old and has sold well, particularly when marketed in the Pacific Northwest where the book is set, but we market mostly in the desert Southwest nowadays.

Imagine our surprise when this title has been our leading seller on Amazon's Kindle! We almost didn't even bother uploading it to Kindle.

It is a classic story: two idiots buy a boat about which they know nothing and take off and manage to survive and have a (mostly) hilarious time while doing so. The book is funny and instructive both. It won two awards and has even sold in the desert, albeit not as well as the Northwest.

JERE D. JAMES

Two other titles doing well on Kindle are Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black and Apache. Sales are picking up each month, although Saving Tom Black continues to be our best selling O-T-C book at events.

James is migrating to the Chiricahuas in April to work on Canyon of Death which we hope to put out in early 2011.

Oops. I just pushed a key and accidentally published this blog. I need the blog guy back NOW.

STONEY BOWERS

Stoney Bowers has showed up...got lost in his computer for a bit. He's got some exciting upcoming events he's planning on doing some readings at.

CLOSED FOR 10 DAYS

We are officially closing the office until after the Festival of the West. Emails will be answered, but that's about it. No work will be done on any of the upcoming projects.

SHORT STORY CONTEST

Early response on the 2nd Annual Short Story Contest is very good. We're excited about the calibre of the entries! I'm quite certain, if this continues, that we'll have enough excellent entries to put out our anthology next year.

LIMBO

We're in Limbo at this time. We're not moving forward, or backward. In fact, we are DAZED AND CONFUSED and won't know what we're going to do about much of anything until after our spring events.

Meanwhile, we've sent the edited version of Rusty Richards' biography of Casey Tibbs back to Rusty. If he doesn't like what we've done, there'll be no hard feelings, but we'll both head our separate ways. If he likes it, we have a mountain of work to do there, which may shove Jere James' book and the anthology back a bit. Like I said, we're in LIMBO! I think it's time to take a breather!

Catch you all in about 10 days.

NO ONE CAN SELL A BOOK AS WELL AS THE AUTHOR CAN

2010-03-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

Much to the delight of author J.R. Sanders and Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc., The Littlest Wrangler is proving to be quite popular in institutional settings. “Just this past week we filled orders to NMJC in Hobbs, New Mexico, and the Flagstaff Museum in Flagstaff, Arizona. We have several other pending orders from museums/historical sites. We’re also trying to develop an interest in the book in elementary schools,” said Becky Coffield, publisher. This is largely due to Sanders sending out hundreds of postcards to prospective purchasers.

The hardest part about being a small publisher, is getting the books into the mainstream. It’s very difficult. It takes an extraordinary amount of time and postage. “We feel so lucky to have authors like J.R. Sanders, Stoney Bowers, and Jere James who are willing to roll up their sleeves and really dig in and help with the marketing of their books. NO ONE can sell a book like the author can, pure and simple,” said Coffield.

“Many writers who query us just don’t want to be bothered with having to sell their books. I just won’t give these folks my time. If an author doesn’t care enough about his/her work to commit to marketing and selling it, they shouldn’t ask us to give our time, money and energy to publishing it! Like, hello, they aren’t a Stephen King, for pete sake!” Coffield stated. “Few publishers do half as much as we do to help authors out. I know this for a fact!”

SIGNINGS

Moonlight Mesa has been rained out now for three weekends for book sale events. However, the following signings and appearances planned for March and April will see authors at these events.

March 13, J.R. Sanders, History Day L.A. at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA.

March 18 – 21, J.R. Sanders, Jere D. James Festival of the West, Scottsdale, AZ.

March 28 – Moonlight Mesa Associates/Jere D. James in Cave Creek, AZ. ???

April 9 – 11, Moonlight Mesa/Jere D. James in Tombstone, AZ.

April 25-25 J.R. Sanders Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, Santa Clarita, CA

ANYBODY SEEN???

Anybody seen or heard from Stoney Bowers or Jere James, let me know. These two rascals have probably taken off on some far flung expedition!

2ND ANNUAL COWBOY UP SHORT STORY CONTEST

Stories are beginning to trickle in for the annual short story contest. The contest opened March 1 and closes September 1. This is a great opportunity for people who love the Western genre to try their hand at it. Entry guidelines are available on our website: www.moonlightmesaassociates.com Click on Contests and have at it!
Cash prizes!!

Event Rained Out

2010-02-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

Look who got a haircut! Publisher Becky!

__________________________________________________________
Bummer. For the first time ever, Moonlight Mesa Associates got rained out of an event scheduled in Cave Creek, Arizona. "Rain just doesn't work for books, posters...or customers," said Becky Coffield, publisher. "I was hoping to have one big last test-marketing venture for J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler. Drats."

With this event rained out, that means Moonlight Mesa's next event isn't until March 18, when the company sets up for the National Festival of the West. In the interim, a huge book order in preparation for the event will be submitted, along with custom work on a new overhead banner for the company. "We've got plenty to do," said Coffield.

PUBLISHING CHANGES...AGAIN

It's almost embarrassing to write about yet another change in the publisher's calendar for 2010/11. Murder in Thomas Bay, the long awaited missing middle book in the Ben Thomas series, has been put on the back burner once again. Coffield has not given her reasoning for this decision. Instead, work will proceed full steam on Rusty Richards' biography of Casey Tibbs, assuming Richards and Coffield can come to a mutual agreement regarding the book.

"I'm ready, at last, to really go on the Casey Tibbs book," said Coffield. "I'm not a multi-tasker. I needed TIME for Rusty's book. I'm making time now. The Ben Thomas book can wait. Jere D. James is a long ways off from completing his third book...if he's even started it yet. (Although, he's promised a shocking ending to the third book.)We've released Apache and The Littlest Wrangler early...both of them. Our first short story contest is behind us. Now is the perfect time for Casey Tibbs."

"My priorities this year are Rusty's book, followed by Jere's book. Jere's book will most likely not appear, however, until 2011. And that's okay. I'd sure like to get Rusty's into pre-pub. staus this year though," said Coffield. Meanwhile, the publisher is still hoping to gather more award-winning short stories for Moonlight Mesa's planned anthology, out in 2011. (???) Moonlight Mesa's Second Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest opens March 1.

THE LITTLEST WRANGLER

Post-pub. work continues on The Littlest Wrangler. "We've had many queries about the book from museums and the like," said Coffield. "Plus we've been busy getting buttons, flyers, and other promotional material ready for the book's debut. We're still sending out review copies to places like School Library Journal and BCCB, and others. The books already has a string of impressive endorsements.

"It's keeping us busy as we transition for a new project," said assistant Renee Witty.

FINAL COUNT

Final count for book sales in 2009, show that late comer Saving Tom Black (not released until late October) was the top selling book, followed by Death in the Desert, while previous top selling book (for four years!) Northern Escape was a close third.

Surprisingly, or not, One Pot Galley Gourmet had fair sales, as did Life Was a Cabaret: A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat, and a Big-A** Ocean.

Submitted by Blogger Guy

Gold Rush Days Was Best Event Ever

2010-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. had its best three day event EVER this past weekend at the Wickenburg Gold Rush Days.

Saving Tom Black took top honors for sales. Apache was sold out by Saturday afternoon, and Death in the Desert had very respectable sales.

"I was furious that I hadn't stocked enough copies of Apache," said publisher Becky Coffield. "Partly, the weather back east slowed delivery of our order, and partly I sent out too many pre-sold copies when we got our first delivery in. But basically, I just plain didn't have enough inventory on hand. In fact, we're down to only 12 copies of Death in the Desert and we have an event coming up February 21st. There's no way I can get copies here by then. In addition, we left La Riata Saddlery in Wickenburg with hardly any book inventory. I really screwed up."

The balmy, spring-like weather, after weeks of cool, cloudy weather, brought crowds out en masse for this 62nd Annual Festival.

Moonlight Mesa will do a one day event in Cave Creek, February 21st. The main purpose of the show is to do more test marketing with The Littlest Wrangler, J.R. Sanders' young reader book which will officially debut at the Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona, March 18 - 21.

LOOKING FOR TITLES

Coffield is still looking for a good slutty Western - no porn, just steam - for publication in 2012. Also, the publisher is seeking Arizona historical nonfiction. You got something, send us an email.

CONTEST OPENS MARCH 1

Just a reminder that the 2nd Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest officially opens March 1. Check the Moonlight Mesa website for submission guidelines (www.moonlightmesaassociates.com).

RUSTY RICHARDS ENDORSES THE LITTLEST WRANGLER

Rusty Richards (singer, songwriter, actor, cowboy) recently endorsed Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler. "It's almost like a who's-who with this book," said Coffield. So far the young reader book has received glowing reports from Midwest Book Review, Don Edwards, Jane Plain, Rusty Richards, and a review has appeared on ezinearticles.com.

"Reviews on ezinearticles.com are great," said Coffield. "They allow others to post the articles on their websites. So, one review could end up on dozens of sites. It's like free advertising."

Submitted by Blogger Dude. (I got a $5.00 raise!)

HUGE Upcoming Events

2010-02-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. is preparing for a big year in sales. Make that a HUGE year in sales. Our events coordinator (and she wears 1/2 dozen other hats around here too) has scheduled some outstanding events for 2010.

January sales this year were terrific, especially considering that we didn't attend the Seattle Boat Show as usual, where we normally sell boxes of Northern Escape, Life Was a Cabaret, and One Pot Galley Gourmet. Instead, we opted to go to the Old Town Jubilee in Yuma and the Wickenburg Ranch Rodeo. Both events were extremely good for sales.

FEBRUARY EVENTS

February events will be every bit as good as January's, maybe even better. We'll be attending the Wickenburg Gold Rush Days, February 11-14, which is always a great venue (and this year the weather looks like it'll straighten out for that) and we're signed up to go to Cave Creek for an event on February 21. Hopefully, we'll be in the local Gun Show too February 27 - 28 (but someone has to cancel!)

MARCH DEBUTS

We're totally looking forward to attending the Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona, March 18 - 21, where J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler is set to debut. Jere D. James' Apache will make its debut there also, although the book will have been sold at the Gold Rush Days. Festival of the West really is intended to highlight Sanders' book, however.

More events are being lined up for the upcoming months, including the Pine/Strawberry Festival over Memorial Weekend, and the
Wild West Historical Association Convention in July in New Mexico. We're scheduling a number of smaller, local one day events also this spring, and these have always been surprisingly productive for us.

KINDLE SALES SLOW BUT STEADY

Sales on AMAZON'S Kindle are slow, but steady. I'm pleased. I see a definite spike in sales after every event we do...a lot of people like their Kindles, and when they hear the books are available on Kindle, they prefer to use that. I think sales will climb as time goes on, no doubt.

SHORT STORY CONTEST SOON UNDERWAY

The big story for us is the 2nd Annual Short Story Contest which will officially open March 1. We are so pleased to have this contest approved by our Board of Directors again. See last week's blog, or our website, www.moonlightmesaassociates.com,for further details.

We are still in the process of selecting this year's judges. Again, we'd like to have five individuals reading and scoring the stories.

2010 PUBLICATION

Work is proceeding on Murder in Thomas Bay, our only publication for 2010. The book is undergoing its first in-house edit at this time. Once the edits are finished, an ISBN will be assigned and work on layout and formatting will proceed. Look for this title by mid-summer.

2nd Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest

2010-02-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

We're getting mounted up for another outstanding contest this year. Changes to this year's contest are highlighted.

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

When: Submissions open March 1, 2010 to September 1, 2010.

What: Original Short Story - Unpublished - Western theme

3,000 words maximum

Typed - Double-spaced

Must involve a cowboy or two - or other western character(s)

Fiction only

Send three copies of the story

Put title and page number in upper right hand corner of each page. No names please!

Include cover page with title, word count and all personal contact information with each copy

Special Award this year for Western Romance. Indicate "Romance" on cover page under title.

How Much: $15 entry + registration form below. Download and print.*

Prize Money: Rope in $250 first place; $150.00 second spot; $75 for third

Name _________________________________

Address _______________________________

City/State________________________Zip____

Phone__________________________________

email___________________________________

Title of Story____________________________

Word Count_______________

Signature:________________________________

All stories will be shredded six months after winner is announced unless SASE for return is included. Winners will be notified by mail and names will be posted on this website in November...MAYBE OCTOBER.

Scoring guides will be returned to those who send along a SASE in their packet.

Scoring Guide will be posted here next week.

Award Certificates issued for all finalists.

Send to:
Short Story Contest
Moonlight Mesa Associates
18620 Moonlight Mesa Rd.
Wickenburg, AZ 85390

Questions? Contact by email posted on website or through blog.

*You may enter as many stories as you like. Submit a separate registration form for each story.

Moonlight Mesa Dedicated to New Direction

2010-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Lightning Joe, The Wrangler! Drawing by Vin Libassi. The Littlest Wrangler is by J.R. Sanders.
___________________________________________________________________________________

After a "business holiday" week in Pto. Vallarta, Mexico, Moonlight Mesa Associates folks returned to Arizona with new determination to become a first rate Western book publisher. We're happy with our sales and our direction, and we're committed to continue in our endeavors to be a publisher of quality Western books.

Unfortunately, most of us returned with colds, also. Probably the result of too many late nights and margaritas.

Some of the decisions and changes made are briefly discussed in the February newsletter. Anybody wanting to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, please send an email. It's FREE.

BOOK NEWS

J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler had its final upload this week and should be available immediately upon proof acceptance by the publisher...hopefully sometime next week. We will be test marketing some pre-publication copies this weekend, but most of the pre-pub copies will be sent out for marketing purposes.

A limited supply of Apache, Jere D. James' second Jake Silver Adventure novel is in. It too will be test marketed Saturday. "Apache" is currently being submitted for reviews.

There will shortly be a new upload of Saving Tom Black. No major changes, just a few minor technical corrections.

SHORT STORY CONTEST

One of the items the Board of Directors unanimously approved at our recent gathering was to continue the Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. This year the contest will run March 1 to September 1. This will help avoid the holiday rush stuff, but still give everyone plenty of time to enter.

There will be a special award this year for Western Romance. Prizes will remain the same, as will entry fees. Wordage is increased to 3000, but the contest is limited to fiction only. Details will be forthcoming in February and will be posted here as well as our website, www.moonlightmesaassociates.com.

PUBLICATIONS

Other Board decisions involved our publishing calendar. After lengthy discussion, it was decided that Murder in Thomas Bay will be the only title issued by Moonlight Mesa Associates in 2010. Our focus in 2010 is almost exclusively on marketing.

2011, however, will see several new Westerns, including Jere D. James' Canyon of Death, a Western anthology of short stories, and hopefully Rusty Richards' biography of Casey Tibbs. Stoney Bowers' Native American Reflections is also being seriously considered.

2012 is still uncertain, but we're hoping that Paula Silici's The Giving Season will be ready, as will another Jere D. James title, and we're still looking for a good slutty Western!!

BLOGGER DUDE

My blogger man wants the semester off from this fantastic opportunity! (I think his college loan came through and he doesn't need my $5 a week!) He'll still be helping with the monthly newsletter though.

Catch you all on the re-ride.

"Business Holiday" to Mexico Has Serious Side

2010-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

(Photo is an illustration by Vin Libassi for J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler.)

Moonlight Mesa Associates' office will be closed this week while staff and Board of Directors head to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a "business holiday."

ISSUES, ISSUES, AND MORE ISSUES

We'll be discussing a number of issues: Obviously we need to iron out a better way to determine upcoming publications! Marketing is another major issue for us to do some creative thinking about, and we've recently had an unusual situation arise that we need to spend some time sorting out.

We make every effort to authenticate an author's submission to us. We do not want to publish work that's been plagirized! We also spend a lot of time checking "facts" that appear in "fiction" books, such as the Westerns written by Jere D. James. Even the suspense novels get careful scrutiny. Sometimes we find errors in fact and make corrections before publication. (We hope we get them all!)

However, recently an issue arose when a disgruntled person made an out and out attack on one of our authors, disputing the author's biographical data that we'd shared with reviewers. The quality of the author's work was not disputed, simply facts that we'd endorsed to be published about the author were challenged.

We do not, and have not, required authentication of an author's biographical data. Nor do we wish to do so. In any event, it seems that we may ultimately refrain from sharing any biographical data about anyone with any reviewer. This could also ultimately change the nature of any comments made by the publisher in the introductory material of a book. So, this will no doubt prove to be a major discussion item this week. How important is it to know about the author to enjoy his/her work? Any thoughts from readers of this blog?

There are also a lot of loose ends and housekeeping issues we'll be discussing: BLOGS, TWEETS, NEWSLETTERS, 'AUTHOR AGREEMENTS', ROYALTIES, ADVERTISING, ETC.

SOCIAL MARKETING SITES A FAILURE

Recent studies indicate that social websites, those .ning sites and other chat rooms/forums, etc., are poor venues for stimulating book sales. While the internet may be "free," it is not at all cost effective in terms of time invested. This is not to say that one might not derive enjoyment from these social sites, but they aren't productive financially given the time investment. It'd be more worth one's time to go door-to-door to peddle books.

Speaking of which, I also read an article about a New York author who stated that he left his apartment every morning with ten books to sell, and he didn't come home until he'd sold all ten. Somedays he said it only took an couple of hours; other days he was out until the wee hours of the next morning.

Interesting approach!!

NEW TITLES

The final upload of J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler will be January 28th. The book will be available within a week of the upload and proof acceptance.

Jere D. James' newest title, Apache, is now available! The book is also available on Kindle, although one must look up the full title to easily find it: Apache, A Jake Silver Adventure.

And, we've set late August as the pub. date for Murder in Thomas Bay, the missing book in the Ben Thomas Series.

Death in the Desert has been reformatted and uploaded. The previous format was not...ummm...how shall I say...it wasn't really correctly done.

So, see you all in a week. Hopefully Blogger Dude will be back and will have run out of excuses. Until then, ADIOS!

Moonlight Mesa Picking up Steam!

2010-01-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

We're off to a great start this year here at Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. Except for my blogger guy still being on Christmas break, things are really looking rosy!

EBOOKS

For starters, we now have five titles uploaded to Kindle. This grieved me greatly, to be honest. I love books: the feel of paper, the weight, the covers, the bookness of it all. So, uploading titles to ebooks was difficult and made me feel a bit trashy, like a pulp novel or something.

But the deed is done. Ironically, Apache, Jere D. James' second novel, is actually out on Kindle BEFORE the paper addition has arrived! In fact, I ordered it last night for my husband's Kindle machine.

Northern Escape, Saving Tom Black, Apache, Death in the Desert, and Life Was a Cabaret are now all available on Amazon's Kindle.

We have not yet uploaded Reflections from the Wilderness, Stoney Bowers' cowboy poetry. The pictures in the book are presenting problems, and the file is so large, my wonderful Hughes server can't seem to handle it.

YUMA, ARIZONA

Our first event this year took place in Yuma, Arizona. I can't say the event was GREAT, but it definitley was GOOD. Maybe GOOD+. Top sellers at the event were Saving Tom Black and Death in the Desert. We're not complaining one little bit! Astonishingly, Life Was A Cabaret tied with Northern Escape for third in sales! Who'd have thought there were so many sailors in the desert!!

PUBLISHING CALENDAR

We've changed this so much, I hesitate to bring it up, but of course, I will. Our publishing calendar has changed yet again. I can now say, with almost 100% certainty, that the following titles will appear sometime in 2010/11:

Murder in Thomas Bay, R.L. Coffield (the missing Book II of the Ben Thomas Trilogy)2010 for certain. (?)

Canyon of Death, Jere D. James, Book III of the Jake Silver Adventures.

Casey Tibbs Biography, Rusty Richards...probably 2011.

Award-Winning Tales from the Corral, Anthology, 2011

Native American Reflections, Stoney Bowers, 2010/2011.

SLUTTY BOOK

We're also looking for a really good, slutty Western. I guess I could write one myself!! I'm thinking of a cover with a buxom gal and a guy with six-pack abs with a set of Colts below. Good golly! We don't want porn; we want steamy. :)

OFFICES CLOSING FOR A WEEK

We'll officially be closing for a week in January while we take a "business holiday" in Puerto Vallarta to drink margaritas and discuss our Western direction. So, if you order any Tom Black or Apache books using the coupons, know that we'll fill your order the minute we return!

An Exciting New Year

2010-01-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Just when things seem like they can't get better, they get better. I came in the office this morning to find a slew of positive, complimentary emails regarding our first "real" Newsletter. This is a monthly publication that will not only tell Moonlight Mesa news, but also Western publishing news in general. We'll also have author interviews, interviews with professionals in the publishing business, and a smorgasboard of other writing/publishing related topics, including a monthly coupon good for 25% off the featured book.

If anyone reading this blog would like to subscribe to the monthly newsletter, send me a comment/email/what have you. I'll be glad to send you this month's newsletter to check out.

2ND ANNUAL COWBOY UP SHORT STORY CONTEST

Information about the 2010 Cowboy Up Short Story Contest will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. We'll post it here and also in our newsletter and on our website.

APACHE

Jere D. James' exceptional new book will be available just as soon as the books arrive on the UPS truck! We are allowing pre-publication sales because of the unusual interest/demand for the title. Also, there will be no changes from this copy to the "official" edition that will debut at the Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March. Jere will be on hand at that festival to sign books!

J.R. Sanders' The Littlest Wrangler is in the final stages of pre-publication detail.

JANUARY EVENTS

It's now confirmed. Moonlight Mesa will be participating in the Old Town Jubilee in Yuma, Arizona, January 8 - 10.

Our second January event will be the Wickenburg Ranch Rodeo in Wickenburg, Arizona, January 30th.

KINDLE

We've pretty much agreed that both of Jere D. James' books will be issued on Kindle some time this month. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but...

UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS

We put out a lot of books (for us) this past year. 2010 will be a moderate year, with so far only Murder in Thomas Bay pretty much assured a spot on our calendar.

We are, however, laying groundwork for some other new titles, among them Jere D. James' third Jake Silver Adventure: Canyon of Death. Also, we will be issuing an anthology of award-winning Western short stories in 2011. Who knows what else we may sneak in!

BLOGGER DUDE

Our blogger guy will return shortly. Christmas break and all. Good grief!

Preparing for 2010

2009-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the office is very quiet this morning. I'm supposed to be "closed" this week, but what the heck. I missed the smell of books too much to stay away.

Been thinking quite a bit about this past year's events and publications. Some of it's not very encouraging, but on the other hand, there's always onward and upward thoughts to spur me on.

EBOOKS

I recently (okay, over Christmas I was in the office too) published Northern Escape as an ebook. This was hard for me to do...I love that book. I love the characters, the setting, the whole darn story! Obviously others do too since the book won an award in the Arizona Authors Literary Contest and was our number one seller for several years. Ebooks just don't seem like real books to me. Anybody else feel that way? Or am I just a dinosaur? We'll definitely keep the book available in paper, but it is now in cyberspace.

I'll be uploading Life Was a Cabaret this next week as an ebook. It's been an award-winning book and a great seller also. But, hey, it's also been out now four or five years, so this might breathe new life into it.

How far does one go though? Should all the new books automatically be issued also as ebooks? Eeks! What does anyone reading this post think? I'd like reader opinions on this.

COWBOY UP CONTEST

Well, we wrapped up the First Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest. I've received some nice emails from people about the contest, and some that offered good, constructive criticism. I agree with all the recommendations people have suggested, by the way. My only concern is, can we afford to run this contest again? This was NOT a profitable experience. Had we even broken even I wouldn't hesitate, but this was truly a money-losing venture. Hmm. By the time we paid the judges and paid out the winners' prizes, we were actually a bit in the hole! Go figure.

We'll probably give this another go, but there'll have to be some changes, that's certain.

APACHE

Jere D. James' second novel, Apache, will be released in January for pre-publication reviews and early-bird sales. I think the official publication date is June. This book has received absolutely STERLING reviews so far!

THE LITTLEST WRANGLER

J.R. Sanders' book will be sent for printing in early January right after we receive the preassigned control number. It should be available for the Festival of the West in Scottsdale in March. Sanders' book has been highly endorsed by Don Edwards and other notables.

2010

Nothing is truly certain at this date, but I have made a commitment to publish Murder in Thomas Bay, the missing book in the Ben Thomas Trilogy by R.L. Coffield. Books I and III (Northern Escape and Death in the Desert) are available. In the last week I received five inquiries in three days about the missing title. Time to move on it.

ONE POT GALLEY GOURMET

This is probably the end of the road for this publication. We've sold out of the third (error-free) edition, and now have only 2nd editions left. I keep saying we won't re-issue this title, but it has been a slow, steady seller. What to do! What to do!

EVENT CALENDAR

We are slowly filling in our event caldendar for 2010. I refuse to do more than two events per month this year. Guess the ones we do better be good ones then!! We'll be starting off January 8 - 10 in Yuma at a festival, followed by Wickenburg Ranch Rodeo on January 30th. If you come by, tell me you've read this blog and get a 25% discount on any title in stock.

You all have a Happy New Year! Make lots of resolutions. It's more fun that way!!

Winners of Cowboy Up Contest Announced

2009-12-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

I should just cut to the chase and list the winners, because basically that's all anyone really wants to know, so I'm probably wasting my time/energy saying the things I'm going to say, but after two brandy/eggnogs, I feel like I have to say them anyway.

This is the first contest we at Moonlight Mesa have sponsored. It was truly a wonderful experience, although it was terrifically grueling at times, particularly here towards the end when two stories tied for first place, and two tied for third place. I thought this wouldn't happen because of the number of judges and the number of times each story was read and scored. Wrong.

This is a testament to the excellent calibre of stories that were submitted. Even those who made it only to the semi-finals had WONDERFUL stories. Stories that were eliminated earlier in the judging process were also entertaining and well written, and eliminating these stories was very difficult for all of us. There simply was not a bad story submitted. I'm not just saying this because of the eggnogs either. I know it took a huge leap of faith for people to enter a contest sponsored by a nano-no name publisher, and for this, we thank you so very, very much. The interest expressed for the Western genre surprised us all!

I feel priveleged that all of you shared your work with us. I cannot tell you how much this meant to us, and to me in particular.

So, before I get all teary and weepy and weird, here are the cash prize winners and runners-up for this First Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest.

Runners Up:

Drew Davis - Martinez, GA. "Maniac"
Simon Lake - Penzance, United Kingdom, "Hostage to Fortune"
Kathleen Ewing - Prescott Valley, Arizona, "Living Legend"
Loree Westron - Southsea Portsmouth, England, "The Difference Between Cowboys and Clowns"

3rd Place and $75.00:

Robert Walton - King City, CA. "Indio"

2nd Place and $150.00:

J.R. Kilgore - Austin, Texas, "Ned"

1st Place and $250.00:

Jonathan Adams - Wahpeton, North Dakota, "The Wild Ones"

Checks will be mailed next week. I promise that they're good!

Next year's contest will be open to fiction only, 3000 word maximum, open from March 1 to September 1, and again a $15 entry fee to help pay for judges and winner prizes. There will be a special award for the top story that fits "Western Romance". I do hope that all of you will consider entering the contest again!

I'll be sending out emails this next week with more information. Also, information will be posted after the first of the year on our website.

Again, I thank you so very much.

Becky

New Venues, New Titles, New Year

2009-12-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc. is planning to attend a host of new events in 2010. According to the small company's publisher, "We'll be exploring a lot of new venues, including a lot of new Western events. In the past we've pretty much just done book fairs, Arts and Craft events, and such. We're trying new things this year, and we're starting off with the Wickenburg Ranch Rodeo, January 30th, in Wickenburg." New also will be the National Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March. A list of Moonlight Mesa's 2010 venues will be posted soon.

NEW TITLES

Moonlight Mesa will be releasing Apache, by Jere D. James, the second Jake Silver Adventure, in early 2010. Pre-publication review copies will go out in January, but pre-publication copies of the book will be sold at the Wickenburg Gold Rush Days in February if the order arrives in time.

J.R. Sanders' The Littles Wrangler will also be released in time for the Festival of the West held in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March.

CONTESTS

Winners of the First Annual Cowboy Up Short Story Contest will be announced on Wednesday the 23rd, not the 22nd as scheduled. "The stories that were sent over a week ago, priority mail, to one of our readers have not yet arrived. I will deliver copies of the stories IN PERSON later today. I believe I know who the top winners are just based on the scores of 3 of the judges, but we do need the fourth judge's input."

Next year's contest will be announced in February. Details for the contest are still being worked out. The contest will be open, however, from March 1 to September 1. "I don't want this contest to coincide with the holidays again!" Coffield said.

SALES

After all the tallying, despite being issued as late as October, Jere D. James' Saving Tom Black turned out to be Moonlight Mesa's best selling book in 2009, followed by Death in the Desert, then Northern Escape. One Pot Galley Gourmet and Life Was A Cabaret rounded out the top five sellers.

This tally only includes books sold DIRECTLY by Moonlight Mesa, and does not include titles sold by individual authors. "In that regard, Stoney Bowers did nicely with Reflections from the Wilderness," Coffield said.

Despite One Pot Galley Gourmet's steady sales, the publisher will NOT be re-issuing the book. "The third edition has sold out, but we still have second edition books available. The only difference between the two editions is a slight variation in layout, and the third edition has a few more recipes. We will NOT be re-issuing this book - at least until the second edition is sold out, and probably not even then. This has been a slow, steady seller. We can count on it, but I'm getting out of the cookbook business," said Coffield.

VIVA MEXICO

Moonlight Mesa will be closing for a week in January for the staff to take a well deserved break in Puerto Vallarta. Naturally, the publisher will try to sneak a box of books onto the plane!!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for announcements on this year's contest winners.

Submitted by Blogger Guy

Finalists in Cowboy Up Contest

2009-12-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

Hello, Everyone,

Here is the list of finalists for the first annual Moonlight Mesa Associates Cowboy Up Contest.

Every story that was submitted was wonderful. You need to know that the judges did not take this contest lightly, and a good deal of time was spent reading and scoring every entry. I wish I could allot every semi-finalist a cash award, but I cannot.

Also, last week, through my error, Thomas McNulty was left off the semi-finalist list. Also, several people entered more than one story, but in each case only one of the stories that the authors submitted was a semi-finalist entry.

Finalists for Cowboy Up Short Story Contest:

(Not in any particular order)

1. Drew Davis – “Maniac”
2. Paul Conn – “Bull Pen”
3. Simon Lake – “Hostage to Fortune”
4. Jonathan Adams – “The Wild Ones”
5. Loree Westron – “The Difference Between Cowboys and Clowns”
6. Robert Walton – “Indio”
7. Kathleen Ewing – “Living Legend”
8. Roy Raynor – “This Place, This Moment”
9. Hal Swift – “Lean, Mean, Bathhouse Clean”
10. Merle McCann – “Nasty and the Hoodlum”
11. Harold Miller – “Desert Justice”
12. J.R. Kilgore – “Ned”
13. Thomas McNulty – “The Ghosts at War Eagle Hill”
14. E. Richard Womack - "The Forbidden Trunk"
15. Arthur Kerns - "Pottery for Sale"

I hope I haven't omitted anyone again this week by accident!!! The cash prize winners will be posted next week.

Thank you all for your participation in this contest, and for your patience.

Becky