Saturday, November 16, 2013

Selling Books At The Lunch Table: A Crash Course In Self-Promotion



When I had just published Destiny And Faith Go To Twincentric Academy, which as I mentioned earlier is my first book, I really had no idea how to promote myself. But I did have a lunchbox.

A lunchbox? You're thinking. What does a lunchbox have to do with self-promotion?

For me, it had a lot to do with self-promotion.

I bought a plain pink lunchbox to take food and a drink to my job as a CNA. The lunchbox was plain, pink, and boring.

I drew Destiny and Faith on the front and back. Then I wrote lines from their books in the space left over.

Every once in a while I would catch someone staring at my lunchbox. One or two people pulled it closer to them to read the writing. Many people asked questions.

“Did you decorate your lunch box?”

“Yes, those are your characters?”

“Yes, they're from my book, Destiny And Faith Go To Twincentric Academy.”

“Oh, you're a published author,” they would say with enthusiasm as if they'd just stumbled upon some kind of gold.

“Yes, I'm an author.” I'd respond. Then we'd talk about my book. This resulted in sales many times.

And that's how I built a small group of followers for Destiny And Faith and my future books.

The lunchbox had proved valuable. Word spread throughout the building and I was soon bringing and boxes of books and distributing them on lunch break.

Life was good. Eventually, I would learn that word of mouth was only the beginning, but it was a great crash course in self-promotion.


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