Brenda Spalding | Updates

Pioneer Day

Brenda Spalding — Sun, 8 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I love this event. It's a little out of the way to get there for me, but most of my books have roots in that area. The Arcadia, Myakka area has a rich history in Florida. As I talk with people, everyone brings up the book, A Land Remembered.

I'll be at the Turner Agri-Civic Center bright and early, from 9 am to 3 pm, inside the building. Please come find me. Let me tell you about my books. I love talking about my books. Try the BBQ and the Strawberry Shortcake. They have a marvelous plant sale, too.

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Le Marche Market

Brenda Spalding — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Outside in Five Points Park in Downtown Sarasota. I'll be with fellow author Lucy Tobias, Saturday, March 7th, from 10 am - 4 pm. We attend this event twice a year. It's a great fun place to meet readers and people-watch. The Farmers Market is only a block away, so stroll along Main St, take in the sights, and support your local community.

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UUCOV Library

Brenda Spalding — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Celebration for the opening of the UUCOV library. It's show-and-tell for other authors and me. I'll be speaking about my books and networking with book clubs and guests. Stop by and meet some of the areas authors.

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Smashwords winter sales

Brenda Spalding — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hi!

I’m excited to announce that all of my books will be available as part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale! This is a chance to get my book, along with books from many other great authors, at a promotional discount.

You can find the promo here: http://smashwords.com/sale

If you wouldn’t mind lending a hand to the other indie authors taking part in this sale and me, you can share this promo with your friends and family. Just forward this email to anyone who would love a chance to find their next favorite book!

Thank you for your help and support!

Happy reading!

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Nokomis Art Market

Brenda Spalding — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The last event before the New Year, Saturday, Dec. 20, 9:30 am - 3 pm. This one is outside, and the weather is going to cooperate. It's a small event with local vendors and one of my favorite places. Located at 106 Pocono Trail in Nokomis at the Cottage Gallery, right behind Captain Eddy's on 41.

It's one of my favorite events of the season. There is jewelry, pottery, artwork, and of course, my books.

Check out the cottage for original cards, prints, and other items by local craftspeople.

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Author and Illustrator Book Fair

Brenda Spalding — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It's been a while since the Art Center in Sarasota did a book Fair, and I'm so excited to be included. The art center has been the hub for art in the area since after World War 11. It's a great place to visit when you are in the area.

The book fair will run from 12 pm to 4 pm. I know that two other award-winning author friends of mine will be there, Lucy Tobias, a great travel writer, and Kevin Kuhens, who has a fantastic thriller.

Please stop by and check out the authors and illustrators and pick up something for that special person on your gift list.

Located at 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, next to the Municipal Auditorium.

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The trend in children's books

Brenda Spalding — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sixteen years ago, I wrote and published my first book. It was a children's book called Just Batty. I was so proud to hold that book in my hands. The illustrations were dreadful, and it had some spelling and grammar errors, but I was selling it.

I was also learning my craft. I found a new illustrator, Jackie Gill, who is terrific and would continue to be my illustrator for several more books. I republished minus the errors. But things had begun to change. Technology was changing, and children were no longer reading books the way they had been. Kindle was taking over for paper books.

Another thing I've noticed over the years. Parents do not buy children's books. Grandparents buy children's books. I take my children's book to the craft fairs, and they sit there. Occasionally, someone will pick one up, say how cute it is, put it down, and walk away. Parents with children in tow do not even glance at the books. A grandparent will come along and buy one for each grandchild. I wonder if that child will even turn a page of that gift.

It seems that many of the new authors I meet want to write a children's book. I question why. The darn thing will not sell unless it is exceptional, and the author can market the hell out of it. I say good luck to them. I had fun writing my children's books and still love them.

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In the wild

Brenda Spalding — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fellow author, Lucy Tobias, and I will be at Book Store 1 in Sarasota, 117 S Pineapple Ave Sarasota, FL 34236, USA (941) 365-7900... from 6p - 7p for a conversation and book signing. Lucy is an award winning author taking you on a tour of her travels around Florida. In my books you will discover Florida’s beauty hides a dark side. Poachers. Killers. Smugglers. We dive into a crime series where fact meets fiction.

Spend time with us as we walk on the wild side.

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Books not selling?

Brenda Spalding — Thu, 9 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It's a common complaint I hear from authors all the time. "my book is not selling but it's a great book."

I have to ask what are you doing to help sell your book? Are you just sitting there and hoping someone will stumble upon your listing on Amazon and find your book interesting enough to purchase? That is not how it works. I've said this a million times.

After you publish the hard work begins. I don't care if you are traditionally published or and Independent author you still have to put in the work to promote your book.

Get out the door and attend local events like craft fairs, church bazaars. Where ever they will have you and most importantly, where your genre fits. Ask you local independent book store if you can have a signing.
Can you write a series. A series sells more books. You can also bundle a series of eBooks together as I have done with Kindle.
Use social media. It takes time to post on Facebook, Instagram, and X (twitter). I spend at least an hour each day on social media promoting my books but it pays off.

It's the age of technology. Use it to your advantage.

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Arts and Craft sale

Brenda Spalding — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'm back at one of my favorite places, the Venice Gardens civic Center on shamrock Blvd in Venice. It's a small event but the vendors and organizers are great and the cheesecake for the back sale is to die for. It runs 10a - 3p. You never know what you might find to start your Christmas shopping.

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how are you doing today?

Brenda Spalding — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most every day I get an email or message on my Facebook page that begins with "how are you doing today?" or "I saw you book today" and the person wants to know what my inspiration was or for me to tell them about me book. I bit into it at first. I was over joyed that someone was interested enough and wanted to know more about me and my books. Along the way I learned that it was all a scam to get me to buy into what ever they were selling.

I'm a poor struggling author with hardly a penny to my name. I don't pay anyone to do anything I can do for free. And you should not either. I spend about an hour each day promoting my books. I rotate through them. Sometimes by season or as the mood strikes me.

You can make up your own ad and post it on Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter) Remember to hit the repost button. Don't be afraid of technology. This is where technology is your friend. doing your own marketing and promotion will pay off in the long run. Don't pay someone to do what you can do with a little time and effort.

You can use platforms like www.Zeely.com to create ads and campaigns but they can get expensive. I tried them and did not get a good ROI. www.EBookhabitat.com is good and not a lot of money.

Here's an ad created by Zeely. I copied it and put it in my Blood Orange file. Now I can use it anytime I want to promote the book.

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marketing matters to the bottom line

Brenda Spalding — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I was at an event yesterday where I didn't expect to sell much of anything. It was at a senior living center in Osprey Florida. these places are notorious in the authors circles for not buying books. The organizer had a select few vendors, jewelry, gifts, cards, and books set up in the lobby. I did surprisingly well. I'll do this event again if asked.

I've also been doing a lot of social media marketing and it's paying off. I spend about an hour or more on my Facebook authors page, LinkedIn, Instagram and X (Twitter) promoting different books. I check my reports every day and it's working.

I hear authors complain that their books are not selling, but they are not doing anything to make themselves visible. If no one knows about you and your book how can they buy it??? Get your butt out the door and click those keys. Challenge yourself and see what you can do.

I may not be making a lot of money but I'm having fun making friends with other authors, vendors, and organizers.

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Heartis Senior Living Center

Brenda Spalding — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I know it seems like a strange place but I'll be there with a few select few other vendors. The event is open to the public from 10a - 2p and located at 1020 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. I'm bring my Florida theme books and my children's books and crossing my fingers for a good turn out. It's still early in the season so I'm rolling the dice on this one.

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Arts and Craft event

Brenda Spalding — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It will be here before you know it and summer will be gone.

I'll be at the Venice Gardens Community Center on Shamrock Blvd. from 10a - 3p Saturday September 6.

It's a small but mighty event that I enjoy very much. The vendors are great and the cheese cake is wonderful. I think I'd go just for that.

Most vendors come back every month so you get to know them. They have baked goods and hotdogs for lunch.

Stop by and support your local community.

I'll have my newest book, The Preserve, there for my readers.

Check back as more events hit my calendar.

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I'm pressing some new buttons

Brenda Spalding — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'm trying something new this month. Zeely.com is an interesting marketing platform that I'm playing with. It's for any type of product or service that you can think of and that a person wants to promote.

As an author I'm creating static ads using their templates and AI goes to work and makes up the ad. I used my Florida Wildlife Heroes Series first. Zeely helped me make a campaign to promote all four books in the series. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it did. Before I sold maybe one or two eBooks, with a Zeely campaign I did a lot more. Zeely promotes my campaign to several social media sites.

The only thing is it's a pay pre click. You buy credits and hope you get a good ROI. I'm not there yet but it's building. You do get to see which ads are paying off and see the charts. I find it incredibly interesting, challenging and fun to play with. I do have to watch my pennies and had to only take the lowest of the three plan options they have.

Next I used their video to make an ad to the series and posted it as many places as I could think of, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Like I said. I enjoy pressing the buttons an trying new things. I see if I stick with this or not.

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adding more wheels to the wagon.

Brenda Spalding — Mon, 4 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'm always looking for ways to get my books out there to readers. I had my eBooks with Draft2Digital. They recently offered Digital Voice audiobooks for free. Yeah!! I love Free. I had to do it. I already had some of my books with Findaway voices and paid a narrator/producer.

Then Findaway merged with spotifi and now they are INaudio. My poor brain. I had just created several books created with digital voices through D2D. Some of them have made it to IN audio but some have not. I'm scrambling to get all the metadata moved over.

The hardest part is the book covers. The audiobook covers must be 2400 by to 2400 square. Here's where AI comes in handy. I had to convince CHATGBT exactly what I wanted it to do. It got it right but after several tries. CHATGBT spit out 1024 by 1024 and I had to expand and resize to 2400 by 2400.

Now I have wait for the review which can take up to 30 days.

The other thing I've been doing is putting my eBooks up on Google Play Books. That's another challenge, getting all the metadata and waiting again for approval. I'm working on my Florida Wildlife Heroes Series first. https://amzn.to/3Tvm8V1

I think I'm getting too old for this.

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Audio books and AI

Brenda Spalding — Wed, 2 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Did you know that Audio books are being created using AI now? I've created several audio books using AI through Draft2Digital. That's where I publish my eBooks. D2D uses the Apple platform to distribute audio books. I've been very happy with them so far.

Today I found out that Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon) also uses AI to create audio books with their Audible platform.

For years authors wanting an audio book had to pay a narrator/producer or try an do it on their own, which I would not advise. The cost ran into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

My first experience with audio books was with ACX (Amazon) back in the day. I switch to D2D for better distribution and my sales increased.

When I found out this years that I could have D2D create audio books I was delighted. I'm going through my titles and having all my adult novels made into audio books. The process is slower than with KDP but worth it for the better distribution.

A point to remember is that KDP(Amazon) is a retailer and D2D and Ingram Spark are distributors. As authors you want your books to find the largest audience possible.

check out Blood Orange on Audio and let me know what you think

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/blood-orange/id1705074072

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It doesn't have to be difficult

Brenda Spalding — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

New authors some times try to make things more difficult than they have to be. Things are constantly changing. Companies are taking over other companies. You have to keep up or get lost.

Recently I spoke with an author that had been out of the loop for a while and trying to publish a book and eBook to multiple platforms that was not necessary.

In my opinion you only need one platform for a print book, either Kindle Direct Publishing ( part of Amazon) or Ingram Spark. Amazon is a retailer with limited distribution. Ingram Spark is a distributor with access to libraries and bookstores.

For eBooks you want Draft2Digital which is a distributor, one of the largest in the world. It recently acquired Smashwords another giant in the industry.

D2D occasionally also do audio books through Apple. Here is The Alligator Dance, available for $9.99

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-alligator-dance/id1704343652

D2D runs specials for holidays where you can promote your title to readers. Put in the work to get the sales.

An author does not have to go to each platform individually and upload their title. A couple well place platforms and you are done.

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Are coupon codes worth it? Yes!

Brenda Spalding — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I never used a Smashwords coupon before until this past Easter Weekend. I didn't think anyone was actually using them. Boy was I wrong. I made a coupon for The Alligator Dance and each of the books in the Green Lady Inn Mystery Series. I was shocked by the downloads they received.

I posted about the coupon on my Facebook author page, Instagram, and the Smashwords page. I'll try another eBook next month and keep the rotation going.

Most of also are connected to Smashwords. I'll be sure to make a coupon for them as well.

As authors we usually don't have large budgets to play with. using Smashwords coupons and Draft2Digital promotions are free and only take time.

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You know who your friends are

Brenda Spalding — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I wrote a little sarcastic post on my personal Facebook page the other day when I was feeling used and abused. It was after i came home from the eye doctor and he pronounce that i might have the beginnings of glaucoma, wonderful.

Today I went to a luncheon sponsored by the National League of American Pen Women-Sarasota Branch of which I am a member. I was surprised at how many of those members came up to me and commented on that post and asked how I was doing.

Usually I only vent to my therapist.. She gets paid to listen to me. However, that day I vented on Facebook. Scroll down to April 2.

https://www.facebook.com/brendaspaldingauthor

Yes, I have run away from home. I have a dear friend who takes me in when I need a break.

I think we all need that time away to recharge our batteries, to think, to be alone with our thoughts, to unscramble the myriad of things that plague our lives. Sometime just to zone out and do nothing but binge watch TV in blissful solitude.

I know I need that time but with with six people in the house all vying for my attention it rarely happens. Thank God for therapy and happy pills.

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