Great News

[PaulC44446]

I have some good news people.

I'll be doing a book signing in Cleveland on Oct. 22nd. I'll also be giving away free signed prints of some of my artwork at the signing. A person from The Plain Dealer (The Cleveland Daily Newspaper) contacted me about doing a radio interview before hand about the show etc.

Also, I did an interview last night with Kenoma Journal. Here's the link to the interview should anyone want to read it:

http://kenomaeditor.journalspace.com

PaulC44446

[LesFloyd]

Hey, nice one Paul! Great interview, too. Congratulations all round! 

[PaulC44446]

Thank you. Just never enough time to get everything done. Wish there were more hours in the day.

Paul

[Ed]

Fantastic news, Paul - well done.  You deserve it

[SharonBell]

Congratulations! Well done! 

[Geoff_N]

Good luck with the signing, Paul, and great interview.

Les knows I had a small queue for mine in Carlisle, in spite of heroic efforts by him to get the literati of Carlisle motivated. But I did sign over 20 copies even if some were pre and post orders!

It will be interesting, Paul, to compare notes with my upcoming book signing in Chester, UK on Oct 15th. Giving away signed prints? Interesting idea - I'll work on it

Geoff

[JoyceCarter]

Aren't there some great times around?  Well done all of you!

[PaulC44446]

Thank you very much everyone. I also purchased a bunch of those really nice invitation cards. I plan on running them through my color laser printer and printing up some really nice book type fliers to pass out. I might also use some of them as a mini free chapbook with a short story of mine and advertising the book. I also have plans of doing an audio CD to hand out as well, again a freebie that will advertise my current and upcoming book. I have a lightscribe drive so they should turn out professional looking. That's providing I have time to do them. Again, the signed prints will be of my artwork. I plan on using this as a double edged sword to advertise my book(s) and my artwork. I'll have 2 different business cards also to hand out. I buy everything at final clearance price and save things like this for times like this. It turns out to be a very cheap form of advertising. It also puts on a nice show when people can have a ton of freebies.

Paul

[JoyceCarter]

Paul, it sounds as though you're a hot-shot at marketing as well as the two strings to your bow we already know about!  Good for you. 

[PaulC44446]

I've been in sales/advertising all my life pretty much. If I can't sell something, then it can't be sold in most cases. I have a dregree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I learned at an early age that presentation is everything. It goes back to people judging a book by it's cover. If it looks good then the public assumes it's good. Also, advertising is the key in most cases. A person can have the greatest items in the world and they can be giving it away and still not sell a one if people don't know about it. It reminds me of a full page ad I ran once in one of my magazines about advertising when I owned my publishing company. The ad pictured a lemonade stand in the middle of the desert. The sign above the stand said free. yet there were no customers. It had big bold words under it that read "Should've advertised". It comes down to one simple fact... you have to spend money to make money.. or at least put in some time. You wpould be amazed at how many businesses agree to bartering. You just have to have something they want inexchange for something you want and you have to sell them on the idea. In the USA bartering is tax free between 2 businesses up to 10k per year also. I used to allow my employees a full page apiece per issue to barter with for their own needs. It was amazing what they got trading that advertising space. I used to barter every summer with amusement parks and other summer attractions in the tone of around 75k. I would give them advertising throughout the summer in exchange for tickets. I then would donate the tickets to the needy children in my area that without me they never would've been able to go to these places. I've just recently started bartering again. I'm now doing illustrations in exchange for free advertising of my book(s) in e-zines. People are starting to take me up on it as well. One of these thus far is "Tales From a Moon-Lit Path". I'll be illustrating their feature story in exchange for a bunch of advertising which otherwise I would've had to pay for.

PaulC44446

[JoyceCarter]

Excellent business practice.

[PaulC44446]

Advertising is key whether people believe it or not.

Paul