Wednesday, October 26, 2011

News! Deb Simpson @ Fairytales Books 11/19/11


Saturday November 19th 2011 1030 to 1230 
Deb Simpson, Pink Place and Blue Blaze 
Book Reading and Signing 
Prizes and fun for all kids!  
Stop by and see Blue Blaze 
(The Monster Truck)
 Crush The Competition!



www.DebSimpsonBooks.com/news.html

Monday, October 24, 2011

Ready? Set? Launch That Book!


8 Ways to Make Your Book Launch Take Off

First, decide whether you want to run all of your activities on a single day, over the course of a week, or extending to a longer time period. Any of these options is workable, and I encourage you to spread them out if your time is already at a premium. Remember that you’re in charge, so you get to decide the exact parameters of your book launch. Here are some things you might include in your book launch:
  1. Media Kit – This is essential. It’s the established way for you to get your information to book reviewers, media contacts and other bloggers. I won’t go through the whole media kit here, but it should include your book launch media release (see below for more information), photo of your book cover, photo of the author, marketing information, sample interviews, and a concise cover letter.
  2. Guest Posts – One of the best ways to bring your message to new groups of readers is by offering to write guest articles for other bloggers. This can be done as part of a blog tour or on its own. In any case, by introducing yourself and your subject to new networks of readers, your book will get more of a boost at its launch.

  3. Book Trailer – Short videos that act like movie trailers for your book have become more and more popular in the last couple of years. Some books seem to lend themselves to this treatment more than others, and some of the most effective I’ve seen are for fiction, like thrillers and romances.
  4. Media Contacts – One way to help your book get off to a good start is to get the attention of the media. This might be through an interview with the local newspaper or radio station about your book, or it might be articles you submit to magazines or online periodicals in your niche. Developing a list of media contacts who are interested or who have reported in the past about your topic will be very useful for this effort.
  5. Book Reviewers – Planning your review campaign well in advance will allow both print and online reviewers plenty of time to prepare a review about your book. Although we can’t dictate the schedule on which these reviews are released, let reviewers know when the launch will be happening and other events scheduled for the time period of the launch.
  6. Contests & Giveaways – One of the techniques that’s been used to good effect by lots of authors is to give away a set number of books during the launch period. These may be offered by lottery, for leaving comments on your blog, for posting Tweets about the book launch, or any other way you can dream up to attract people’s interest. Free anything is still a powerful pull for lots of people, and getting your book into as many people’s hands as possible is the aim of your launch, so get creative here.
  7. Blog Tour – A blog tour organizes the guest posts, giveaways and blogger networking into a formal schedule during your launch period. Setting up guest appearances on blogs, which allows the bloggers to introduce you to their readers, is a terrific way to grow your own reader community and enhance your relationship with lots of bloggers in your niche. You can promote your tour schedule on your own blog and through social media to create some excitement for all the events you’ve planned.
  8. Media Release – Although your media release is an integral part of the Media Kit I mentioned at the beginning, it’s really a key piece of your book launch as well. Why? A well-written and targeted media release will bring together all the best reasons people should be interested in your book, your subject, you and your book launch. And if your book legitimately addresses more than one audience, take your basic media release and re-write the headline and first paragraph to highlight the connection to other groups.
Taken together, putting together a book launch can be a lot of work. But there are a lot of tangible and intangible benefits you get from going through all this trouble. And while our basic aim is to sell books, if you’re in this for the long haul, you’ll recognize that these benefits will repay your efforts in many ways. For instance, by going through the launch, you can:
  • Create better relations with other bloggers in your field
  • Better understand your readers and why they respond to you
  • Explore aspects of your subject that might be of interest to different groups of readers
  • Learn which approaches work best in driving traffic, and interest, about your book.
Running a book launch can be a demanding, exhausting and exciting adventure. You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll be able to use that learning for your next book. So give it a try.http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/10/top-8-tactics-to-power-your-online-book-launch/

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Little Pink Books at the Country Awards Show in Nashville!

Hello there!
Below are two wonderful updates from the Little Pink Book at Hope Matters Productions.

1. Friday, October 28th at 8pm CST: Join me at the Inspirational Country Music Awards! You can watch the awards thru the links listed below. I'll be walking the Pink Carpet with my heroes---136 breast cancer survivors; then enjoy VIP seating as we become the PINK back-drop for awards stage!
75 of those 136 survivors will be After Breast Cancer Program participants; one of the organizations benefiting from sales of my Little Pink Book entitled When Your Mom Has Cancer. I'll also be walking beside two of my dearest survivor friends, Vicki Kennedy & Tina Henderson. Also honored on this very special evening: precious loved ones whose lives were stolen away too soon. My Little Pink Books will be featured in several surprising ways throughout the awards!

Meet me at the awards through one of these links:

For more viewing options & information, please go to: http://blog.becausehopematters.com/posts/little-pink-book-bound-for-inspirational-country-music/

Major award nominees for this year’s honors include: Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Ronnie Dunn, The Band Perry, Josh Turner, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, The Isaacs, and George Strait. Artists set to perform include the Oak Ridge Boys, Lee Greenwood, Ricky Skaggs, Guy Penrod, Buddy Jewell, and Chuck Day with additional artist presenters and performers to be announced. 

2. Please also enjoy my latest feature in the Emerald Coast Magazine:
http://emeraldcoastmagazine.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=531

I'm SO excited! Thank you all for your encouragement, support & prayers along this entire journey of HOPE---Huge Outcomes are Possible Everyday!

Hugs,
Maryann
P.S. Attending these awards came in part from my book appearing in Martina McBride's music video, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It."
If you haven't seen it yet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxIt70j_SPk

--
Maryann Makekau
Author & Inspirational Speaker
Founder, Hope Matters Productions Inc.
850.582.3496
PO Box 2021
Fort Walton Beach, FL  32549
http://becausehopematters.com/2011/

Another winner from Amanda Stephan!

Amanda has done it again!

"Lonely Hearts" is a well written tale of finding love later in life, after you're certain it will never again be yours. Injected with gentle humor and fierce faith, it is a story that can be read by all ages without concern.

The interwoven practices of church and prayer and the strong belief in homeschooling tell us much about the heroine, Becky, and the author, Amanda.

With enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and enough joy to make you rejoice, "Lonely Hearts" is a sweet and enriching read.

Thank you, Amanda, for being the author and muse in this story!

Another Success--like "The Price of Trust" (Amanda's first novel...) 







Lonely Hearts
One lonely mother. Two matchmaking kids. Three eligible bachelors and some very yummy apple pie…
Becky Callis is the widowed mother of two, trying to make ends meet. Moving to a new town, things get a little complicated when her mischievous children think she's been lonely far too long and try to take romantic matters into their own hands.