Introducing...

Marco, the marketing gorilla! I kinda felt like DevCo could use a mascot (not that I don't love the fish!). What do you guys think?

Also, on a total aside, I'm trying to find a way to a) put our profile pictures with our names at the bottom of each post and b) rotate the scribes list, so my name isn't always at the top. If anyone has any ideas on how to do either of these things, please let me know.

And now for the actual reason for the post, which wasn't really going to be about Marco, but was going to be about marketing. I want to know what you think of this idea for marketing on less than a shoestring:

My thought is this: I want to do a book tour, but without the author, the signings or the book stores. Not a blog tour (although I do plan on having one in the mid-to-late summer), but an actual physical tour. What I want to do is send a single copy of my book to someone who has agreed to read it, review it (this may be optional, not 100% decided) and pass it on to someone else who has agreed to read it (possibly review it) and pass it on to someone else, etc., etc.) Each person who receives it will write their name (full, first or last), approximate location (as long as they give province/state and country, they don't have to give a city if they don't want to) on the inside cover, along with, if they want, the date they received it. They'll also be encouraged to include small stickers/business cards/lightweight, flat tokens of their location (ie small canadian flag stickers, or whatever) next to their names or on the inside back cover of the book. For my specific purpose, I plan to include a little paper doll of Moloch which will fold flat and make the journey with the book, so that participants can post pictures on the Facebook fan page/blog that I'm going to create for the purpose of Moloch in their town/ wherever he ends up. I kind of want to make it an interactive sort of deal, where the page (wherever it is) would track the book's progress (and Moloch's adventure) as it travels around to various places.

So, that's my plan. Thoughts?

Ugh.

So, I went to my library today. Well, first I went to the nearby Williams so that I could grab a muffin and gather my courage, then I went to the library. I was crazy nervous until I convinced myself that all I was doing was asking the library to accept a free book. Finally, I made it up to the desk to speak to someone and was told that the library generally only accepts books from recognised publishers. Apparently, there are a very few exceptions, but basically, the chances of my book getting in to my local library are pretty slim. I get that a lot of self-published books are absolute crap, but so are a lot of books that were published through traditional means. Anyway, I'm going to go back in a week or so with a copy of the book and basically tell the lady who's in charge of fiction selection that if they decide to include it in their collection, they can keep that copy and if not, they can do whatever they want with it. My huge concern here, though, is that if I bring her the book and she reads it and hates it or is really offended by it, she could stop it from getting in. I'm not saying she would do that, but I don't know for sure that she wouldn't; people are strange.

I know I shouldn't be letting this get to me, because I haven't actually been refused yet, but I feel like absolute crap. I honestly might throw up. I don't think it even occured to me that there was a chance the library wouldn't want to carry my book.

Interesting point, though: while I was wandering around, trying to work up the courage to approach the information desk and talk to this lady, I came upon a book called A Dangerous Profession, which was about writing. Just the title made me happy.

Le zzzzzz

I'm really tired right now, but I just wanted to post this quick before I run off to bed.

First, I wanted to mention something cool about Amazon. CreateSpace makes a point of telling their clients that their titles will not be available internationally, so today I started trying to figure out how to get my stuff to Canada. I figured I would have to sign up with another print-on-demand company, one that was based here. Luckily, before I got too involved with this process, I went to Amazon.ca on a whim and found my book there. It's also on Amazon's U.K. site, their German site, their French site and their Japanese site. This makes me super happy - almost happy enough to ignore the fact that Aigaion Girl is ranked lower than 1,000,000th on Amazon.com.

So, my plans for tomorrow include finishing my sell sheet (still not 100% sure what they're for) and buying paper to print a couple of sell sheets on and some pens. Then, on Monday, comes the scary part: going to my local library and trying to convince them that they need to hold a book release for me. I'm hoping to butter them up by giving them a free copy of the book and offering to sell and sign copies, etc. Tuesday is the other scary part; I'm going to go to the local Coles and see if I can convince them that they need to carry my book. I saw a guy there a few weeks ago that seemed to have gone a similar route for publishing. He was having a signing and they still have a few of his books in stock, so if I look professional enough, maybe I'll be able to convince them.

Anyway, those are my plans. I'm realizing now that this post isn't horribly coherent. I guess I should go to bed before trying to face the day... or something.

Debut Novel, "Back to the Homeplace," set in the Southern Missouri Ozarks

Debut Novel, Back to the Homeplace, set in the Southern Missouri Ozarks

Vision to Action Publishing announces the release of Back to the Homeplace, the debut novel of William Leverne Smith, a resident of Hollister, MO, on April 2, 2010.

Hollister, MO, April 2, 2010 -- Back to the Homeplace, the debut novel of William Leverne Smith, will be available to the public on Apr 2, 2010. The novel is set on a farm and in a nearby fictional community located in the southern Missouri Ozark hills and near a fictional western branch of the Current River.
The story revolves around a family dilemma following the death of their matriarch and the unusual will she left to insure the continuity of the farm, which has been in her family for over 150 years, intact.  The year is 1987. The varied background and viewpoints of the adult children coming back to the Homeplace ignite controversy and expose long kept secrets as each family member searches for his or her share of the family legacy. While the older family members stake their claims on land and fortunes, the younger ones search for love and acceptance. Subplots involve AIDS Awareness in 1987 issues and a support group for domestic violence incidents.
At the heart of this family life story is how we do or do not effectively communicate among family members - parents with children, among children and grandchildren and that we must each face the consequences of our individual actions. What happens when they come back to the Homeplace?

See Video Book Trailer at: http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html
See Author's Blog at: http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/

About Vision to Action Publishing:
Vision to Action Publishing designs and develops print, e-book, web, and video materials to support life-long learning and leisure activities. It is a family business with offices in Austin, TX, Teasdale, UT, and Hollister, MO, and does not accept author submissions or outside advertising.

ISBN 978-1451560404

Contact: William L. Smith, Corporate Secretary
417-336-0692
http://eduscapes.com/v2a/

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I'm so eXciteD

I'm now a selling published author!