Swag alert!!
Okay, now that I've got your attention, there's 122 orders to go by mid-February so if you're following and you haven't ordered "Women Like Us", now's a good time!! And, hey, even if you have pre-ordered, there's no harm in snagging one for a friend, or if you're a fellow Inkshares author and you have any spare credits laying around, by all means -- after all, two is often better than one, no?
Speaking of two, and here's where the potential swag comes in, I think it's time for a raffle, and the prize will be these two beautiful mugs you see here, courtesy of my friends at Osoporto (more on this in a moment). But take a look at the mugs! You want these, don't ya? The next 10 people to pre-order will be entered automatically into this raffle, and one random winner will be drawn from...a mug! So take a look.
Why these mugs? Well, water is actually a pretty prevalent theme in "Women Like Us". Henry's first memory of his grandmother Edith Vale, for example, is of her tossing him into her pool so that he can learn how to swim. Yeah, it's a little rough, but that's how Edith rolls. Both Henry and his father Andrew surf occasionally. And Mrs. Vale also owns a ramshackle cottage at Trancas, which is at the north end of Malibu and was, back in the day, a far scruffier place than it is today. Much like El Porto, which once was its own little town but now is part of Manhattan Beach (although many would glare at you if you mention this so maybe don't). Osoporto, which is where the mugs come from, is a site devoted to El Porto, and it features a whole line of cool clothing artwork and other goods. The mugs just seem like a good fit, and I love the way they look. If you'd like to know more about Osoporto, and its creator Jon Berry, hit this link:
So that's it for now. C'mon and get in on this raffle! And stay tuned because there's a Beagle Freedom-themed swag coming up too.
I'm sending you a message because I wrote a book, and I'm hoping you'll give it a chance and check it out." etc etc) messages to individual people, and that method brought in the most orders. And giving away stuff, too. Everyone likes a contest or giveaway.
I got a pretty good response for a few days from pitches, but then it trailed off and no one was responded to those anymore. I think everyone just started sending out so many pitches that people started ignoring them.
I constantly remember a piece of advice from Lindsey Buroker, a self-publishing author that I really respect and admire - she said you pretty much have to hand-sell your first 1000 copies. If you're an unknown author, you have to just go order by order, one person at a time. It's gonna be hard.
But if each of us can get you an order or five, that will help!