Monday, August 27, 2012

A flattering invitation...and some advice for readers

I have been invited to be the speaker at the opening luncheon of Women's Ministries at my church, University Christian Church. I found the invitation flattering, and now I find the all-out effort they're putting into publicity even more flattering. I went to the restroom on the way to the service yesterday morning--and there I was, in living color. There are posters on bulletin boards throughout the church, and the luncheon was announced in the monthly journal. Last night at Fall Kick-off there was a sign-up table, with the same poster (Jacob and I posed by it for his daddy). Several women I know made a point of telling me they'd be there that Sunday, and special thanks to Jordan for saying she'll go be my cheering section. And to Reverend Cyndy Twedell for the great publicity.
All this made me think I'd better scurry home and work on my comments--the luncheon is September 9, which isn't all that far away. I have always been one to prepare comments in advance and read them often enough that I almost don't refer to them when I deliver the speech. In fact sometims I get so familiar with it that I bore myself. But this time I noticed several places I could enlarge and embellish. I'll have bookmarks, but I also worked on a handout--something telling ladies where to find my books and me on the web...and on the backside of the handout I'm going to put suggestions for helping your favorite authors.
I'm sure readers don't know to click "Like" on Amazon or cick on tags or even leave a review. I guess my biggest hint to them will be "If you enjoyed a book, tell your friends." They say word-of-mouth is the single most important factor in the success of a book or an author.
So wish me luck. I'm taking a slight break from the manuscript that had my bumfuzzled and doing things like getting ready for this talk, writing some guest blogs ahead of time, and the like. For the time being it makes me sleep better at night but I know guilt will soon kick in.

No comments: