The countdown skips....

As a diarist, I'm terrible! The week that I've skipped has been a blur and a flurry.

If my book is released on September 30th, that means I have approximately five weeks to get myself organized.


Tuesday 19th.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif (Day 7?)
Spent a little time on EONS.com, also on LibraryThing.com

At midnight my GoodReads.com giveaway of 5 ARCs to GoodReaders in the USA came to an end. My giveaways for the rest of the world are still going.

Wednesday 20th (Day 8)
I notified and congratulated the winners, considered thanking the remaining 340 entrants, but decided that contacting them even on GoodReads might be too much like stalking, so I didn't.

Posted ARCs to the winners. I think Wednesday was also the day that I became aware of the international day of blog action (for Poverty).

"There is one topic and everyone is asked to register their blog as participating and then to blog about the topic on October 15th. This year's topic is Poverty."

http://blogactionday.org

Aside... I shall be posting an interview with a Capuchin monk who has taken vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. I worked on the questions on Monday.

This isn't strictly about promotion, but I feel "called" to participate. I am an author of humorous, racy romances, but I can use my communication talents to help.

Thursday 21st
Firmed up details for an interview on terrestrial radio in mid-September. Agonized about whether my time during my release week would be better spent on the internet, or sitting hopefully in a local bookstore, hoping people will buy my book!

Spent the rest of the day working up an interview (interviewing 'Rhett, hero of Knight's Fork) for a feature at The Romance Studio. Doing interviews is a day's work. I'd probably be better off if I typed ten to twenty pages of the next book.

On the other hand, I consider interviews as an alternative to writing free short stories as a gift to my readers.

Michele posted a fantastic review of Knight's Fork on LASR. I told some friends. I really ought to have posted a link to it on all the yahoogroups that allow PROMO, but it was Thursday, which isn't one of the days favored for PROMO.


Friday 22nd

Deborah Macgillivray posted a lovely review on GoodReads.com of Knight's Fork.

Changed the print cartridge (printing is so expensive, I try to get every last good copy from a print cartridge, even if I have to wait ten minutes for residual ink to trickle into place from the exhausted old one). Printed several FAQ sheets for reviewers and readers' groups.

I'm including suggested discussion topics in my cover letters to readers' group leaders. I recycled some of my own questions, and put them up on GoodReads.com in my "Author Group".

Late on Friday night, Pat Rouse sent out her updated list of Readers' Groups. There were eight new ones. I got ARCs and intro letters into Saturday's outgoing mail.


Saturday and Sunday, I heard that Michele's review was up for an award, so spent a little time on Facebook and MySpace taking advantage of the news to let social networking friends know about Knight's Fork.

I've already mentioned what I did on Monday (Poverty interview)

Today is August 26th. Most Romance Writers of American chapter webmistresses and newsletter editors like their member news on or around the twenty-fifth of any given month.

It's a great idea to keep a calendar, and remember to send out whatever news an author has every month, anyway.

I've just sent out news of a couple of fantastic reviews that came in over the weekend, and also of a contest that a review of Knight's Fork won.

Countdown-- day 4 and 5

I've just signed up for the Blogging Day of Action on October 15th!

I was desperately trying to clear my emails which are up to 998 (and rising), and I came upon a posting to a yahoo group (by Marilu Mann) about the day all bloggers turn the internet into a global Think Tank on the topic of Poverty.


I LIKE think-tanks, and I daresay it won't hurt my productivity if I take a day to bend my mind to Poverty. Better here than on Alien Romances!


http://blogactionday.org

From the What It's All About Page:

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the
world's bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same
issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a
global discussion.

Mass Participation
From the smallest online journals, to huge online magazines, to EU
ministers, to professionals and amateurs, Blog Action Day is about
mass participation. Anyone is free to join in on Blog Action Day and
there is no limit on the number of posts, the type of posts or the
direction of thoughts and opinions.

http://blogactionday.org




Meanwhile... I haven't accounted for my activities on Monday and Tuesday.

Having sent ARCs to the top booksellers, librarians, and independent readers on Pat Rouse's critical literary opinion maker list, I pored over Pat Rouse's other lists in hopes of identifying booksellers who would really like to hear from me.

That's an imponderable!

I also returned to LibraryThing.com and revised some information about myself, and attempted to enlist some friends (as I had one!!!) from authors I know. I also joined Eons.com and did some trouble-shooting with a spotlight feature.

A wonderfully kind review was posted on LASR, so I thanked the reviewer (which generated some pleasant correspondence) and forwarded the splendid news to my editor, the publicist, and a couple of blogs.

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/0808/KnightsFork-RC.htm


I'm being interviewed by Jim Albright for WHBC on September 12th

On Tuesday at midnight, my giveaway on Goodreads ran its course. I am gratified that 346 people on GoodReads signed up for a chance to win an ARC. Today, I am mailing the ARCs.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

Day 2 and 3

If Susan hadn't kindly commented this evening, I'd have forgotten all about my countdown blog!

Yesterday (Saturday) I took another $50-in-postage worth of Advance Reader Copies to the post office. These were to librarians and influential booksellers. Then I emailed some readers' group leaders whose groups meet before August 20th, in case any of their group members might be interested in trying to win a free ARC from the giveaway on GoodReads.com.

I didn't have the nerve to give the same message to booksellers!

I also wrote about 10 pages of my next book... not to neglect that sort of thing.

Moreover, I set up a profile on Eons.com, commented on a couple of friends' blogs, contacted some independent reviewers to see if they were willing to review my next book, and did a few other things....such as booking radio appearances, and fulfilling responsibilities on the IWOFA blog.

Today (Sunday), I posted a couple of my most recent reviews of Knight's Fork on the Dorchester Forums, sent out some bookplates, made an executive decision not to blog on a review site that allows free-for-all weekend blogging. It's my day to moderate the FFandP loop, so I participated in a couple of discussions. I was a day late for the IWOFA inaugural chat, but posted my intro, a contest, and notice of the goodreads.com/giveaway thing.

I also shared a few tips on synopsis writing with a soon-to-be published friend, read a chapter of Eats, Shoots and leaves with my child, swam with my child, cleaned toilets... which has nothing whatsoever to do with my count down, but life intrudes.

I prepared more FAQs, and signed and numbered ARCs, ready to go to the post on Monday. I've now sent out about 90 ARCs to a combination of reviewers, bloggers, librarians and booksellers.

Tomorrow, I intend to visit LibraryThing, which also has an ARC giveaway program, but I also have to supervise a playdate (it's still school holidays).

Good night, everyone.

Rowena

Countdown to a book launch

Friday August 15.

Knight's Fork is due to be released on September 30th.

A six-week countdown is long enough for any blog, but I have to say that I think I was snookered before I began.

I'm still sending ARCs to booksellers and reviewers.
In the case of booksellers, I should have been sending advance galleys out six months ago. That would have been February. I don't believe I finished writing this book until May.

I am running a contest. That is the good news.


Maybe the prospect of winning a $25 book token isn't as compelling as I think it should be, but the contest rolls over every month.

I ought to visit my local bookstores and set up a signing... I ought to have done that 3 months before my release date! However, I have to have a press kit ready to take with me.

It's a Catch 22.

Tomorrow, I'll be back with more of what I should do, and what I've actually done.


Rowena