Several months ago I received a call from a Girl Scout leader who’d gotten my name from the local library. She was looking for a published author to come speak to her troop, some of whom are aspiring writers. Simply getting the referral is the result of what I call my very minimal version of grassroots marketing. Every time there’s been a Local Author event at the library, I’ve said, “Yes!” to the invitation to participate. Not great for sales but a low-budget publicity opportunity.
I love a chance to share my knowledge and experience, and if it serves to help others get their work published, all the better.
So on Friday evening I stood before a small group of up-and-coming writers and artists and shared my story. I brought along the original notebook for organizing the very beginnings of “Eating Clean”, color transparencies from the cover shoot, press releases, newspaper articles, favorite resource books from my office shelf, the vision board for my “Safe Harbor” manuscript, and lots of lessons learned the hard way.
The girls shared a bit about their own creative pursuits and seemed eager to see their work in print. I told them about my new favorite internet place, Blurb.com, where it is possible to create your own book and order just a single copy or put the title up for POD (print on demand) sale in the Blurb Bookstore.
Giving the talk was great fun and I look forward to sharing again next month, when I’ll be showing my power point presentation, “My Online Adventure of Marketing Eating Clean”, to the Nashua chapter of BPW.
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Lisa,
Your blog is so inspiring! What a lucky thing for me that I happened upon it while hunting down help on the Aran Island Mitten pattern. Thanks for your help, without which I’d still be frustrated over that little cable stitch. I’ll be visiting often, looking for inspiration on everything artful!!