What tangible milestones can I bring back to my clients that shows that we are moving steps forward on our book marketing campaign?

There are a few deliverables that make the grade for authors:

• print media placements
• broadcast interview placements
• retweets with links attached
• click thrus on buy back buttons
• book festival placements
• public library requests
• bookclub president rtps
• many others

However, before I bore you with tips on obtaining such desirables, I want to have an honest conversation with you about book marketing. If you let me…

The purpose of book marketing [social network/online marketing included] is to obtain and maintain your ideal customer: book buyers. Period.

So ask yourself this.  Is what I’m doing online helping me obtain and maintain my ideal customer?

Let me throw you a life-line. These things below will not:

1. Adding your graffiti [Facebook Notes] to a friend’s Facebook wall that looks like this: “please buy my ____ book…you fill in the blank)

That’s advertising.  It’s improper to advertise on someone’s wall without their permission.

2. Adding uninvited strangers, whom you’ve stalked on another author’s guestbook to your email list, then spamming them with #9.

3. Begging.

Newsflash: Book buyers purchase books and donate to charities. Decide which one you are, then act accordingly

4. Complaining about bookstores online.

5. Complaining about book reviewers online.

6. Tagging someone who is not in your picture or video.

Tagging inappropriately is backdoored spam and can get you kicked off Facebook.

7. Bad-mouthing other authors  and cat-fighting with other authors online.

Really?!

8. Not having buy buttons on your site and Facebook fan page.

I’ve lost count of the evites and blog tours that don’t have a Buy Now button on them. Come on You’ve convinced us now close the sell.

9. Sending boring email newsletters.

That includes Facebook Notes. Learn how to craft better copy or hire someone. Pam Perry, Ty Moody, LaShaunda Hoffman, and Marina Woods are great at this.

10. Forgetting that authors, bookstore manager, librarians, publicists, editors, and book reviewers buy books, too, so be careful, who you alienate online

Now, if you honestly don’t know whether your book marketing efforts are working, hit me up in the comments. I’ll tell you, honestly. And come back later this fall; I’ll tell you what things work. Also, check out my E-lunch show Media Candy Radio which airs every Wednesday at noon at http://blogtalkradio.com/mediacandy. It’s devoted to marketing techniques and answering your questions live. Also subscribe to our station for news about our other shows. Dee and Marina return this fall, as well as a new fun show with Dee and Martin Pratt of Rolling Out Magazine.

-Dee Stewart

I’m a mom, pr boutique owner, editor, book critic, and published author (Miranda Parker.)  Google me or Find me

What are your overall thoughts on the literary industry?  What about as it relates to African-American authors?  What do you think we’ll see in the next 5-10 years and what one thing would you do if you were in charge of things.

Dee Stewart shares her answers below:

If I Were Queen of American Publishing by Dee Stewart

Overall:

The industry is experiencing a paradigm shift. We no longer build books but information assets. Be it books, ebooks, novellas, manga, comics the way we share information is no longer just bound in books, but packaged digitally, mobi, and in artistic form(i.e. artists books.)

Therefore the industry is working at lightning speed to adjust to this shift in thinking. As the digitization of the music industry changed the way the players were paid, authors, publishing houses, distributors, and retailers will expand their stream of income. But only if they get ahead of the digital divide.

How does this relate to the African-American Author?

As I’ve said before AA authors must get ahead of the pace car, so to speak. There is no longer an excuse why AA authors do not:

• know what is going on with their publisher
• understand book digitization
• get digitized and mobi
• become advocates for their writing career
• understand basic marketing principles
• understand social media’s role in not just marketing, but a gamut of functions that will help them leverage their base

If an AA author does not get educated like yesterday on doing listed above, then they will not be prepared for the very near future.

Five year prediction:

And, thus, African American Authors, who haven’t gotten it together will be pushed out of the industry, because in less than five years expect:

1. A higher percentage of e-book purchases will make up your income mix.
prepare for the cost of ebooks to matter to your bottom line.’

2. A shift in dynamic pricing on ebooks that will take the price of ebooks up, which for the first three years will cause AA ebook purchases to drop.

Our culture, historically are the last to accept change in the marketplace. Some book buyers will complain of ebook price raising. However, they will—just like they did with itunes and mp3 downloads—will pick it up and be the largest consumers of ebooks.

3. A redux of AA books acquired in the industry
Publishing houses have already begun dropping their old flagship authors, but not necessarily for celebrity packaged authors like they do now, but to diminish an imprint. As publishers streamline more will not see the need for having imprints, but will add according to a specific need.

4. Publishing houses will focus on branding more, which will oust the midlist and many AA authors.
With digitization of publishing, publishing houses will secure self-pub entities to take care of the midlist and focus more on branding the house. In order to compete globally especially with the UK American publishing houses will redefine the PH using Thomas Nelson as a possible model.

In Ten Years:

1. A Change in Readership

The African American literary marketplace is saturated with poor quality, poorly written, poorly distributed, poorly crafted books. PH self-pub entities will squeeze out those books, because once traditionally published authors will have their own smaller presses and produce better looking books.

2. Mobi Books

1. Not only will the digitization of publishing add more e-readers, but smart phones will begin—as they already have—provide e-reader apps.
2. These books will be shorter and serialized. Readers will subscribe for installments.
3. These installments will also provide graphics or 12 second videos to accompany the text.

3. Language Conversion

1. More stories will become global faster. These stories need to be easily convertible by the user.

If I were queen of publishing:

1. Host a Publishing Summit, to convert all houses to agency model.

I would host a publishing summit –not digibookworld—but a summit to encourage all publishers, including small press to convert to the agency model for ebooks and begin a concerted shift to dynamic pricing for ebooks. that is the only way Amazon will stop dropping buy back buttons and the only way readers will realize that the current model isn’t doable in the long run, even for the consumer.  it is also the only way the African-American author will stop complaining to their readers about the price. let’s not make the mistake many recording artists made when the music industry went digital. many have gone out of business, lost contracts and are no longer viable in the industry. and guess what most music lovers haven’t missed them yet.

2. Change Bookstore Infrastructure & Design

• I would do away with the African American section and house books according to genre.
• I would reinforce the old buy back program, whereby publishing houses pay according to terms on books returned from bookstores that are less than a certain set amount and credit stores for books over that amount. it is not fair for publishing houses to return payment to a bookstore that cannot manage inventory, but on the other hand if a bookstore has a few books to return because of an instore event they should be credited.
• authors should receive an addendum to ebook commissions once universal dynamic pricing for ebooks have come into effect

3. Personally, if I was a published author, I would start a small press that can handle mobi.

Dee on Twitter

Last month I asked a question on my Facebook profile: If you could give up one social media platform– Twitter or Facebook– what would it be? Most respondents chose Facebook, because they didn’t get it. Although the results weren’t shocking, they were problematic. Many of those responders were authors… African-American authors.  But in this “Relationships are Imperative for Survival” age, black authors need to get Twitter. They need to get it like two years ago…

Social Media affords us (all writers) the opportunity to communicate with our readership about our stories. However, we must realize that communication is a two way activity that requires both listening and speaking.  And truthfully, more listening than speaking.

Oftentimes authors come to me with an interest in becoming a public speaker, but little to no one ever asks me how to become a Public Listener. The latter is the tipping point.

If you want to have a long lasting relationship with your readers you must listen to them. To do that effectively, authors need to master the art of building better listening stations.

Twitter is the foundation of that listening station, because:

• services like monitter helps the authors listen to the reading community within their zipcode
• services like summize helps authors listen to publishing industry buzz, especially digital publishing issues, bookstore needs,  and reader feedback about your book
• services like tweetgrid allows you to listen and respond in real time faster than Facebook
• services like hootsuite allows you create specific listening channels like
  • publishing
  • bookstore
  • deegospel
  • bookclubs
• services like disqus allow your to listen to your blog subscribers via twitter
• and guess what services like Facebook’s many twitter applications allows you to listen to your facebook friends without being tied to your laptop

All of this vital chatter, authors miss by the second, hour and day because they aren’t listening. Granted, Facebook helps you to talk to your readers better. However, Twitter allows you to listen to them and then give them what they say they need and want.

Psst…I’m seeking listeners for my upcoming book release, A Good Excuse to Be Bad. Follow me as MirandaParker2 and DeeGospel on Twitter.

All three aspects of me require basic marketing acumen. All further require a brilliant press release(either on the part of me creating one or me receiving one) to help me stay successful.

What I’ve found is that my press release submission ratio is higher than most and my press release acceptance ratio is very high. In short, I’m pretty successful creating press releases, but unsuccessful retrieving good ones to help me satisfy my many writing assignments.

So I thought it would be best if I share the three major guffaws a writer should never take when creating a press release. All three are mistakes I’ve witnessed and/or participated in before I knew any better.

3 Dont’s:

1. Do not send a boilerplate press release to media contacts and book group gatekeepers. I can’t tell you how many Facebook, Twitter and email messages I receive about promoting their book on my sites, columns or on Media Candy Radio, and how many of those messages I never read. Instead take the time to research the media (including blogging) outlets that fit your book’s audience. Learn the correct contact’s name, when to contact them and the type of content they prefer to receive from you. Then provide exactly that. Generally, here at the blog I work with about five publicists, three editors, ten trusted literary sources, ten published authors, and three book clubs to source content. These people have become my dream team. Imagine if you were a member of your favorite blog’s dream team.
2. Don’t submit a boring, non buzzworthy event. Newsflash to you and unfortunately to some of my present and former clients…Submitting a news release about your upcoming book club event isn’t good enough anymore. It’s no longer news, but a community event that is befitting for a local events calendar(nothing wrong with that, by the way.) To ensure that your media contacts take you seriously, however, listen to what they want from you, submit them press releases that are relevant and helpful and trendy. Otherwise use the online events calendar to submit your book club meetings and signings.
3. Don’t include your book’s synopsis in your press release. A press release should be formatted correctly and contain info that suggests to media that my book has a public takeaway value. Use your press release to do that. Here are two examples:

The 2009 Faith and Fiction Retreat
Sherri L. Lewis Award Announcement

We will talk about the DO’s next time. In the meantime send me your current press release and let me fix it here on the blog. Email me at deegospel pr at gmail dot com for details.

Dee Stewart
www.christianfiction.blogspot.com

As great as I love to give great content to my readers, I also love to provide for my daughter. I wondered what value are my words to the reading community. I wondered what are authors willing to pay for, and most importantly, is what they’re getting for nothing worth it.

This week at The Writers View, an online community of Christian publishing industry professionals, we were discussing the devaluing of service providers (reviewers, virtual assistants, proofers, copy editors, Prs.) We learned some publicists had been stiffed by their clients, authors been jerked by their publishing houses, publishing houses  robbed by their distributors…the list goes on, a chain reaction from top to bottom. The only reason you don’t see it, because it never affects their personal bottom lines. However, us plain folk…

Once people’s money get funny they do unfunny things like:

* trolling the internet for book marketing tip freebies like the kind you would find at Christian Fiction Blog without acknowledging where you received the information from

* pulling contacts from author’s guest books to build an unauthorized eblast list

* circumventing publicists with the hopes of getting bookings from the contacts they had introduced you, so as not to pay you for creating that opportunity

* asking family and friends to preorder a book that you haven’t published yet, because they don’t have the money to pay the publisher

* cutting discount deals with wholesalers which albeit saves your bottom line, but ruins your relationship with your authors

* book reviewers throwing out 5 star ratings like Santa Claus holding a bag of candy in a Christmas parade to get good page ranks

All those acts aren’t illegal; some are even applauded, but all border the fence of carrying a stench of unethical. And this bad practices issue is the rub for this post.

What are you getting for free? Are you really getting what you don’t pay for? How would you know?

Here are four sure indicators that you may need to retool your current tactics:

* you didn’t have a contract with the event planner, so now you’re stuck footing the bill just to save face

* book club presidents aren’t responding to your boilerplate release

* authors jumping ship

* distributors refusing your catalog or an audience with you

So how do we stop the madness?

* authors: drop the myth that there is a cookie cutter application to breaking 21k in book sales. Just because your favorite author bought a Facebook ad doesn’t mean you need to.

* hire an agent to fight for your book, a VA to fight for your production, a publicist to fight for your image and an editor to fight for your message

* publishing houses stop substituting championing for your authors for a lackluster online marketing campaign

* publicists stop overpricing for items the author can do themselves

* understand that a price will be paid for what we do either now or later and with double doses

* and most importantly, understand that if the publishing industry does not begin to take care of each other without hurting the other, the entire thing implodes

With Voice Over Internet Protocol(VoIP) book clubs can hang out with their favorite author on the cheap and in the comfort of their own homes. Moreover using VoIP’s will greater the probability of an author meeting his/her scheduled book club, since challenges like flight delays, double bookings, etc.  VIPs give you and the author’s publicist more opportunities to connect with your book club.

Skype is the most widely used VoIP program for PC to PC calling, and allows you to talk to anyone around the world for free. One of the most popular Skype users on the planet is Oprah Winfrey, the book club queen.

Below is a guide for using Skype for book clubs.

Book Club Technology Requirements:

You must ensure that both you and your scheduled author meet these requirements. (Contact me for a listing of authors who Skype.)

• A broadband Internet connection
• A microphone
• Speakers
• Skype

Setup Instructions:

_1. Visit www.skype.com/go/downloading to download a free installation of the software.

_2. Once it downloads you will see a pop up window asking you “what do you want to do with skype.setup.exe. Click ‘Run,’ to execute the program.

_3. A confirmation message may appear asking if you’re sure you want to run this software. Just click ‘Run’ again.

_4. When the download has finished, the Skype Setup Wizard will appear and guide you through the rest of the installation.

NOTE:  Do not install Internet Explorer toolbar unless you want it. It’s not necessary at all, and you have enough to deal with.

_5.  After the installation is complete, you will see a blue circle with a white S inside icon on your PC desktop.  This is the Skype Icon. Click it.

6. For your first time you will see a login dialogue box. This is where you will enter your Skype login details. At this point you don’t have an account. You must create one.  Click “Don’t have a Skype name” underneath the Username field. Fill out the complete dialogue box and accept the terms and conditions, by clicking next. Another dialogue box pops up asking for your current email address and your Country and city. After filling out these fields, hit “Sign in” and you should be signed in.

_7. After you have successfully signed in for the first time, a “getting started” guide will appear. This guide will help you configure your mic and speakers.

_8..  To test your set-up, go to the main Skype window. In the contacts section, there should be 1 contact, the Skype test call. By calling this number (double clicking) you can listen to what your microphone sounds like, and what to expect from a call. Once you are satisfied with your sound, the set-up is complete.

Organizing your Skype Book Club Event.

1. Designate a date and venue for your meeting.

2. Contact the author or her/his publicist to place them on your Skype meeting calendar.

3. Exchange Skype numbers.

4. Confirm your Skype meeting one month before the event.

5. Order books. (Check with me on bookstores who have discount rates for book clubs.)

6. Read book.

7. Create author questions. You can submit them before hand or ask on fly. Make sure the author is comfortable with the questions. Obtain a fact/interview sheet from author or publicist. This sheet will help you build your questions and learn something unique about the author, when the author will be coming to or near your city.

Have Big Fun

Dee Stewart
DeeGospel PR
www.deestewart.com
www.christianfiction.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/dee.stewart
770.298.7539
Deegospelpr@gmail.com
Created via BlackBerry by AT&T

I’m excited about this trip. I wonder what new things it will teach me outside of “Why bookclubs matter?” and will I get to meet Spud McKenzie(here’s here reportedly with Dominque Wilkins?)

In week four of my upcoming summer marketing mastermind session I will teach participants three reasons why online newsletters (e-letters) aren’t successful. One of those reasons is the author’s inability to have an authentic conversation with their readers. Instead of selling
books to reader’s, try sharing your books to readers.

A great example of an author e-letter is Tyler Perry’s. It is a simple letter to his fans. In every letter he shares something unique about himself and a life lesson. Then he does a vital action every newsletter should have. Those who participate in my teleseminar series will learn what that is.

As I sit here preparing for authors and book clubs to arrive I am reminded that fans will travel wide and large to meet their favorite artist/author. If I had the money, I would have paid and flew to see Michael Jackson perform again. Wouldn’t you want a fan to feel the same way about you?

If you have not registered for my Summer Marketing Mastermind Session, there is still time. Email me at deegospelpr at gmail dot com for details.

And a question for you I would love for you to chat with me about on Twitter. Use hashtag #fafr so that I can respond back. My twitter handle is @deegospel.

Here’s the question:

What artist or author makes you feel like you’re a part of their family?

However, last month–one particular week– I experienced the most busiest, Big Fun, craziest and saddest weeks of my lit life. To get through it, I journalled. I thought I would share one of those days with you. Let me know what you think.

A day, any day in May, 2009…

6:00 a.m.: Wake up my daughter to get her off to school

6:15a.m.: Respond to a late night text message about a possible Atlanta bookclub event. Some of my clients are on pacific time.

6:30 a.m.: While driving daughter to school, I skim reporter’s requests that just came through.

7:56a.m.: Work out, but not breathing correctly through the poses, because I hear three text messages come through my Blackberry. One is from a new bookclub forming, the other from an irate client, and the other from an editor I owe content to.

8:00a.m.: At my Home Office desk(have taken my morning heart meds,) reviewing my “to do” list and calendar. Dropping in info for my next blog post. Reading Newsfeeds.

8:30a.m.: Sort through 100+ new emails in my inbox. Respond to urgent emails, submit one reporter’s request pitch to magazine searching for young adult summer picks.

9:00a.m.: Phone pitching begins, then ends abruptly. An event that I’ve booked four authors for haven’t been promoting the authors via the radio station that is hosting the event. Must call the radio station and the bookstore president for clarification. Where are my clients? Why can’t I hear about them on the radio? Not happy, trying hard to keep the Hulk in me hidden. Send out a prayer request via Twitter.

10:00 a.m.: Submit EPKs to a reporter, who asked for it. Converse with a mag editor friend of mine about a national writer’s festival I will be promoting for the summer.

10:30 a.m.: Reading and editing clients tip sheets before I present them to editors for possible inclusion in magazine.

11:15 a.m.: Work on Phase 2 of an existing pr campaign. Target podcasters and vloggers that fit client’s fanbase. He’s a romance writer. Throw chicken in the crockpot for dinner. Curry chicken on the menu.

12:00p.m.: …Want to break for lunch, but take two calls instead. The bookstore finally calls, but with another challenge. Need more books pronto. Must call book vendor friend to see if she can be the bookstore’s solution. Send another prayer request out. Doc wants me to take a lunch break for my heart. Yikes!

2:15 p.m.: Rest break over. Now pick up Selah from school, while taking a call from an A & R manager seeking pr support for one of his music artists. Receive another she-say-she-say call from a client about a client/friend which saddens me. Now my mind shifts into crisis-management mode for the second time today.

3:30 p.m.: Home. Brainstorm campaign strategy for new book about a mid-life woman starting over. How will this story get media attention? What’s the psychographic for this book? Women Oprah’s age, starting over, forever young, Christians having face lifts, what?

4:00.: BFF called. Wondered if I was free this weekend. No. I’m not, just too tired. Need to follow Doctor’s orders. Receive tip about another lit event. I refer that opp to Tanisha at Grand Central Publishing and ask if the PH can find funds to send our clients. She agrees to ask and get back with me.

4:30 p.m.: Take another call with bookstore vendor about a new book tour project we want to put together.

5:00 p.m.: Homework with daughter. (Supposed to be end of business)

5:30p.m.: Attend “media analysis” telemeeting with prospective client. Discuss media potential for this client and announce our strategy to increase public attention. This author comes to me months after release date, which drops media hit potential dramatically, but I have a plan. Will she trust me?

6:20 p.m.: Take late call with client, who hints at wanting more sales opportunity surrounding this Book Event that has now become a thorn in my side. I remind client that I care about there success and want the best for them but I am not their booking agent or sales manager. My job as stated and agreed upon in our contract is for Media Services, but I can’t do my job for doing tasks that aren’t pr related. I do promise to check with book events host and a book club friend to see if they can cook something up. I jot down a note to write a post about PR and author expectation(coming soon.)

7:00 p.m.: Join an online radio chat to hear another client’s interview, while finalizing itinerary for the Book Event. The Radio station called and gave me the concessions I asked for. Received an email from my bookclub president buddy that her church would host a book signing after Sunday service. Then leave the chat to take a call from events host and radio producer. Good chat. Things should be looking up, but received a call from another client shortly after, who was concerned about said client/friend’s issue with the event. I begin to think the challenge is more with me than the event, but when I contact said author she seems okay. (??? confused now) Told her some of the new additions to the itinerary, not all, because the contract is not complete. But tomorrow I will ask client if she wants to continue on in this event before this contract gets in my hand. I can see the end of my rope with this foolishness now.

7:30 p.m.: Wrap up loose ends, daughter’s giving me the Mom we must Eat look. Have Mercy!

9:00 p.m.: Return to my desk to write this post in draft and turn in my article to my waiting editor. Isn’t she sweet?
wrote:-

Midnight: email from a peer on Central Time. She wants me to speak at her event. I text while sleeping. Don’t know how I responded.

Question: Do you think authors have misconceived idea about what pr support is? Do you think I could have handled myself better? Is this your idea of what a publicist does?

When Books Come to Life

Before I blogged I was a journalist. I reported about Christian apologetics and how it affected the Christian worldview. I featured entertainers who were Christian, but didn’t necessarily believe that their art and faith needed to mix. I wrote articles about people who overcome obstacles because of their faith. Sometimes I even wrote about my life: single parenting & dating, domestic violence, my heart condition, and my concerns about my daughter’s future. I’ve shared challenges, heartbreaks, and fears…some secrets. But not the juicy kind, the kind that made reporters and tabloid bloggers famous. No. I kept my meaty secrets to myself.

Likewise, as a journalist I’ve witnessed some secret shames that affected the laity concerned and people of great Christian faith. I’ve had to keep secrets; withhold from exposing those secrets to our readers and listeners because the telling would not just hurt the one possessing the secret but many in a trickle down effect, whose outcome– when you look at the whole– seemed more befitting to keep the secret close to my heart or put away in a secret box maybe to be shared in a memoir once I’m older or by the parties involved.

So I know secrets. I keep secrets not just for me, but for many. That fact is a part of who I am and it is not a secret.

But when I read Xavier Knight’s God Only Knows(Grand Central Publishing) all the secrets that I have kept begun to whisper to me. “Out of all the secrets that you have which ones are you willing to take to the grave and why? ”

Why did this book trip me up?

This novel is the story of four women who have kept a dark secret since their teenage years. This secret if revealed would threaten their professional lives, their physical lives, and in some cases their romantic lives. Yet they took that chance, and to their chagrin realized that the secret had begun to tear at their souls.

And this was where my drama began. Am I willing to keep a secret that could ultimately separate me from my peace, my contagious joy, my only love-God? What would that feel like for me, and did I want to risk it?

My answer to the question for all the secrets I have (save one) up until before I read God Only Knows was yes. The reason: I didn’t see how sharing the secret would help anyone. But the book ignited something in me that would no longer allow me to feel at ease with that answer.

What if the secrets I kept gave someone else freedom and peace?

I decided to do a little investigation of mine own.

Don’t laugh. :) I went to Facebook and posted the same question and I went to Twitter and set up a poll. Here are some of the responses I got?

My conclusion?

I’m still not ready to share any secrets that I have, but in the future I will be quick to put myself in anymore situations where I’m stuck with someone else’s secret or worse I’ve found myself making another horrible mistake. Your thoughts…You can leave them here, on twitter or at my facebook page.

Dee Stewart is a book critic, writer and owner of DeeGospel PR, a boutique literary PR firm in Atlanta. You can find her on twitter and Christian Fiction Blog.

If you don’t have time to read, click below and listen:

Hi, I’m Dee and I need to share a secret. My books have a life of their own. Yes. It’s true and I can prove it.

This month I’ve been reading Sherri Lewis’ The List. Sherri is an Essence Magazine Bestselling author of two novels, My Soul Cries Out and Dance into Destiny. She is also a good friend, so I had the privilege of reading the novel through all stages of publication. Little did she know or I for that matter that the novel began to become a part of my own life. Her novel, The List is about four successful African American Women who decide to use a list to help them findthe man they believe God has made them for. But when their lists become more of a problem than the solution, what will these women do?

You have to read the book to know that, but let me tell you what I’ve done. For the past sixteen years or so I’ve used various lists to guide me through the dating process. I had a list that contained my physical preferences, financial preferences–some of anything preferences, none of them worked. The product of my last ten year relationship was an annulment and the birth of my daughter, Selah. The latter–Selah is my most prized possession. I love that girl like crazy. However, the relationship between more of her father is the thing of legend and a little Maury Povich. Last year after my final(and I mean final) separation from him I met a new guy. A great guy. Let’s call him Teacake for you Zora Neal Hurston (“There Eyes Were Watching God “) fans. Teacake was thirteen years younger than me, but quite mature. We had a ball together. But I soon realized to my chagrin that I wasn’t the woman for him. It had nothing to do our age difference, but what I knew he deserved and what I knew was waiting for me, if I just step out of God’s way. You know what I mean?

So I had to cut TeaCake Off, and ultimately go on a Man Fast.

What’s a Man Fast? My term for cutting off communication with men I am attracted to, who are attracted to me, and turning off the flirt flag that lives in me. I’m a shameless southern flirt. Don’t mean no harm. lol.

Anyway…I went on a Man Fast, because last year outside of Tea Cake I found myself seeing men, who were all different and all not satisfying(outside of TeaCake hint hint) I realized that like some of the women in The List I didn’t know who I was. And, thus I was saying to the universe “bring any man to me, I’ll take him” which wasn’t true, else I would have kept Tea Cake. He was yummy yall.

See. I want an authentic relationship with people, not just men, but with my girl friends, my family, my clients, my daughter. I want to matter to people and so I am no longer wasting my time dealing with people who don’t want to be for real about themselves and who don’t want to share their real selves with me.

Really. If I’m giving up Tea Cake. It better be for a good reason. LOL.

I love God and I know He loves me. But I have to be honest, I’ve done a piss poor job showing others I love them and treating myself like I love Dee. And I can honestly say Sherri’s book, The List helped me see that.

I hope The List will be an authentic eye opener for you.

Now let me ask you a question? Did/do you use a list as a dating guide? You can comment here or at my Poll Here.

Thanks so much for sharing your five minutes with me. You can find me here every other Thursday or on twitter in the RAW4ALL Yahoo Group or at my community site Christian Fiction(psst you don’t have to be Christian to join the community. You’re invited.

Dee Stewart is the owner of DeeGospel PR, a boutique public relations firm located in Atlanta, GA that specializes in Christian entertainment & publishing.

 Local authors, it seems, sometimes expect things of their local bookstore. They expect us to carry their books, to feature their books on a variety of applicable displays and to host events for them. In turn for this I get to carry their books, often treasures that thrill me to put in the hands of my customers; I get to design displays with their books in the hopes that more people will buy their books, and lastly, I have the pleasure of having a book release party for them or other celebration of their book. When all of this works well, it’s an exchange that everyone understands.

But then I go to the author’s website to fact check something for a press release and I see a “Buy This Book” link and it goes right to Amazon.com and often only Amazon.com. Ouch. Straight to the place that seemingly makes it easier to buy the book. Straight to our biggest, most tenacious competitor that has let people believe that bricks and mortar stores are becoming a thing of the past.

 - an excerpt from Josie Levitt’s Publisher’s Weekly Blog Post Authors and Amazon

I spend a great deal of my work time assisting bookstores with instore and special events. Bookstores need events to organically build foot traffic not just through the store to the mall, but to retain the foot traffic and convert some of those walkers to book buyers.

I’ve lost count of how many times I cringe when I just gave a bookstore manager or community events coordinator a client’s website, knowing that outside of the site they are linking to Amazon. Bookstores don’t care what store you point your sales traffic to. They are excited that you, the author supports them as much as they support you.

Moreover, it is a hard sell to convince a bookstore event planner who doesn’t know your client that you client will drive book buyers into the store when it is clearly evident that your author is driving online sales.

We have a few more weeks before Christmas, Kwanzaa, Watch Night and New Years. Bookstores have geared up for holiday shoppers, so no instore events for you to grab at the last minute. Public libraries have geared up for holiday reading events, so no author readings for you to participate in at the last minute. So what do you do? Table selling your books until 2009 or do you take advantage of Holiday Cheer? I say take advantage. Here are 10 ways to do promote your writing through the holidays.

1. Host a free children’s book drive at your local library.

It’s not too late to schedule a meeting room or space at your local library or church bookstorefor a free children’s book drive. If you plan it now, you have time to get a local reporter and local vlogger to the event. Invite the public to drop off new books to the library for either giveaway or for the libary’s children’s section. On your event day have holiday punch and cookies and invite the public to pick up their free children’s book.

2. Give your book to local coffeehouses to include in holiday gift baskets.

Next week I meet with a popular lil house in my town by request of the owner. He loves authors and great books. And he’s Christian. We’re going to talk gift baskets with my client’s books inside and whether the spot will the my new spot for my Winter Reading Series. Local Atlanta Authors, let’s do this.

3. Host an Under the Dryer Book Signing at a Beauty Salon.

Have you ever been in a beauty salon? The long wait, the old reading material. What if someone was selling a book I could read while sitting under the dryer. Bingo!!  A client of mine sold out this weekend doing this event.

4. Write a Christmas story and have it published in your local community paper or regional magazine.

I wrote a story for Precious Times Magazine a few years back titled “Kissmas Time” from that story I received so many invitations to write articles for other magazines. I have a mailing list of people interested in my book (whenever that comes.) And I have had speaking engagement requests since that story.

5. Sponsor your local Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts Christmas Parade Float.

I just participated in my town’s annual Christmas parade. Loads of fun. I saw many familiar faces and have become a friend of the mayor. Yippee. Just because I’m out and about in the community. Sponsoring a float, making a banner, providing costumes, or just chaperoning kids in the parade will put you out in the community. People will become familiar with you. If you are an author, have the kids pass out bookmarks with candy attached to them or take your little Christmas story package it up and give it out to those on the parade route.

6. Read Christmas Stories at your local elementary school media center.

If writing is your life long passion, if you write for a young adult market, a soccer mom market, then get yourself to your local school and read the coolest book to kids. Host a Santa letter party.

7. Host an Online Book Giveaway, but not your book, instead giveaway:

• one you know your readers want like Ted Dekker’s Kiss that comes out in January, or
• one tied to the holidays like a Paula Dean Holiday Cookbook, or
• give away a book to your friends you know are afraid to buy, but would love to read (for instance Carleen Brice’ Buy a White Friend a Black Book Month Project)

promote the giveaway and the winner by sending a press release to the winner’s local paper.Put the book in a gift basket from your local coffeehouse, Avon lady, you know what I mean…

8. Host a Holiday Book Party at a local restaurant

Publisher and author Dwan Abrams will be hosting a party this weekend in downtown Atlanta to celebrate her birthday, the holidays, and her fourth novel book release Married Strangers. The event is free to attend. It is also a book drive for a Women’s Prison Literacy Project. She’s got localebrities, book reviewers and bookstore managers popping through. The event has been promoted on local gospel radio stations, online mags, local papers, and to anyone within two paces of her.You do know now is the time to throw a party?

9. Build a tip sheet

Center the sheet around your book’s theme and the holidays, submit the tip list as filler for major local magazines and online magazines your readers read. My client’s can pull these tip sheets out throughout the year and tweak the

10. Be a frontdoor vendor at your local bookstore.

Ask your local bookstore if you can set up a table on the weekend to sale your books. Ask for two tables. One to sell your book and another to giftwrap patrons book gifts as a free service to the bookstore. All bookstore chains allow authors to do this. However, some bookstores will only talk to publicists or publishers.

Bonus, contact your bookstore every week to see if any big time authors had last minute cancellations for their Holiday In Store Events. But be prepared to get books to them on short notice. You can do that right? If not, you might not to sign up for my BMP coaching sessions in 09.

If you read the lines, you will see that the most important thing here is to become a part of your community. The holidays are the best and most opportune to do this. There’s something to say about holiday cheer. It comes once a year. Take advantage of it.

This month Christian Fiction will host it’s last 1 question interview series of the year. The question is  what’s your favorite Holiday book. Send me a private message with your answer, blog site address, and book blurb, and I will post your answers on the blog.

Related Posts:

·    Pay it Forward Fall: Gifting Your Service

·    How to Maintain Peace through the Publishing Process

·    10 Book/CD Release Party Don’ts

Dee Stewart is a bookseller, multimedia journalist, novelist, publicist and now talk show host.  She is also inspirational book reviewer for Romantic Times Magazine, Atlanta Satellite Bookseller for The Mocha Bookstores, and owner of Christian Fiction Blog.  Her writings have appeared in: Spirit Led Woman, Gospel Today, Advanced Christian Writer, Atlanta Christian Family, Mosaic Literary, Precious Times, Vertical Fix just a few.  In 2009 she will begin hosting book marketing coaching sessions for Christian artists. Follow her on Twitter at DeeGospel. Or visit her site at www.deestewart.com.

Don’t forget every Tuesday at 8pm EST join Dee and her gal pal, EIC of Good Girl Book Club Magazine, Marina Woods on Dee & Marina Reports on Blog Talk Radio. It’s a current events talk radio show discussing book publishing, media, and Christian entertainment from a progressive Christian WOman’s point of view.

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