Monday, August 1, 2011

The Garden Book You Need Now

Sleep, Creep, Leap: The First Three Years of a Nebraska Garden, is ready for you. I wrote the book last winter with one press in mind, and although the editors liked it, the marketing department did not. A few solid compliments from other presses--and stories of other author success--and I've decided to self publish my collection of essays in hopes of attracting a publisher. Will you please help me spread the word? I'd even love to do an author q&a at your site, interview, guest post, something quirky--whatever!


Below is the back cover copy:

Peeling off sheets of skin from a sunburned back. Spending $1,000 at five nurseries in an afternoon. Raising 200 monarch butterflies. Hearing the wing beats of geese thirty feet overhead at sunset. How one piece of mulch can make all the difference. These are the stories of Benjamin Vogt’s 1,500 foot native prairie garden over the course of three years. After a small patio garden at his last home teases him into avid tinkering, the blank canvas of his new marriage and quarter acre lot prove to be a rich place full of delight, anguish, and rapture in all four seasons.

Full of lyrical, humorous, and botanical short essays, Sleep, Creep, Leap will leave you inspired to sit a while with your plants, noticing how the smallest events become the largest—and how the garden brings us down to earth so that we can come home to our lives.

$4.99 in paperback from Amazon (112p, 13 images, list of native plant sources)

$2.99 for Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Sony Reader (12 images)

[And in case you were wondering, I priced these books at the minimum threshold for certain basic services. On each sale, I'll get about $1, ebook or paperback. I don't intend to make money on this, it's not really the point.]

For a book excerpt and more about me, link here to my new author website.

And why not join my Facebook book launch page? Just so many ways to be distracted.

Finally, here's a book trailer with loads of images:


Ok, that's enough. I already feel cheap about all of this. But authors who score a press, even a commerical one, have to do a lot of the work on their own anymore. If you get a copy I'd love to know what you think of the book--yay or nay. It'll help me either way. Now, off to work on another book since it's been 100 for 6 weeks, and the garden can only be visited by wistfully gazing out of my kitchen window. (I do have about two dozen monarch caterpillars inside, so they help comfort me.)

19 comments:

mr_subjunctive said...

Marketing departments never like anything.

Benjamin Vogt said...

Especially in a bad economy. But that's why I threw caution to the wind and took a chance on this. Why not. This is America and one can do anything they set their mind to--and have success. Right? RIGHT????

Diana Studer said...

NOT cheap - the workman is worthy of his hire - and your writing is not 'worthy' but worth something.

Benjamin Vogt said...

D--I'm may be a bit obtuse today after reading 150p about water and geology, but what are you saying? I'm reading about water in an attempt to convince myself it's not 102 outside.

Diana Studer said...

(was just trying to be encouraging and supportive, not succeeding, sorry)

Kathy2h said...

I'm excited about the book! I want to get a copy for my Nook but it looks like its only available in Kindle format. This maybe a dumb question, I'm new to ereaders, but how would I get a pdf, epub, or other nook version?

Benjamin Vogt said...

Kathy--It's on Nook! When I go to the Barnes and Noble website, I see it! I know for sure it's ready for Kindle, Nook, and iPad right this minute. Let me know what you think!

Amanda B. said...

Ordered!!! Can't wait to get it!:)

Sissy said...

Best of luck, to you. I am a long time lurker, but wanted to let you know I will look for your book! Congratulations on finishing such a tremendous project!

Benjamin Vogt said...

AB--Yay! Read it to yer kids at bedtime. :)
Sissy--Thanks for lurking, and now commenting, I'm honored. This book was a baby project, but a a joy to write. The big one is what I call the Oklahoma memoir, Turkey read, which will try to bring together memories of my childhood on red dirt, the history of my Mennonite German settler family in the 1800s, history of Plains Native Americans esp the Cheyenne, and prairie ecology.... See, it's even a lot to say here! :)

Jim Groble said...

Just downloaded it.

Benjamin Vogt said...

Jim--Thank you!! I'm honored. Please let me know what you think--not about the subpar digital format that plagues this new medium, but the words.

scottweberpdx said...

Congrats! I'm still a bit of a Luddite when it comes to reading...so it's the paperback for me!

Benjamin Vogt said...

Scott--Ha! I will ALWAYS be a a full blown Luddite. I don't like reading an ebook, though I've tried, PDFs and Docs I can do, but not books. Thank you--let me know what you think of the book? I might do another over the winter.

Jim Groble said...

Benjamin: Outstanding! Your love of gardening shined through like a bright star. I did not want to put the book down, so I read it in one sitting. I kept nudging Pat and having her read bits and pieces till she told me to give her the book when I was finished. We share a whole bunch of experiences. I also have a mr.-mow-all-the-time and a mr.-use-the-leaf-blower-for-hours-on-end. We even have a mr.-cut-all-his-trees-down. He lives behind us. I invite anyone who comments on our yard in for a tour, and I don’t care if I sound preachy. I’ll even offer them free plants! Most just say “looks like a lot of work”, as in “I’m not doing this.” Oh well, their loss. You gave me some ideas for our front yard. It is dry and in sun all day.

I loved your book. It was a great read, even on Kindle.

jim

Benjamin Vogt said...

Jim--OH man, you have no idea how happy your note makes me feel--that's we us writers write, to connect, even if we are misanthropic and solitary. I am so very thrilled you enjoyed SCL (even on Kindle, ha). Mr. Mows moved a week ago, and the FIRST thing the new neughbors did was water and mow--can't tell the difference in grass height, but they are nesting. I'd love to give them some things from my garden--it's getting too big for its britches.

kathy2h said...

Ok, got it. First e-book I've ever bought (all my others are from the library) - that's how jealous I am of your garden, lol.

Benjamin Vogt said...

Kathy--I still can't get comfortable with ebooks, but sometimes that option has been nice to have. How can I make you even more jealous of my garden so you buy more of my books? :)

Groupdmt said...

yes i need that book .
retouche de photos