In Just One Week...

My book will be available!

And I am hoping you guys will help spread the word!

Below is a list of things you can do starting now. (Kudos go to author Deborah Raney, who originally wrote this list and has it posted on her blog.) I have modified it to fit my book and I have bolded the ones I think are the easiest to do for most anyone.

And yes, you really do make a difference in a book's success. If you've ever heard me speak, you have probably heard me talk about how we all have a sphere of influence. Well this is your chance to work within yours!

(Read all the way to the bottom for a "win it before you can buy it" giveaway opportunity!)

•Write a review for the book on an online bookstores such as:
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
http://www.christianbook.com

•Write a review at one of the many online book review sites, including:
http://www.acfw.com/bookreviews.shtml
http://www.faithfulreader.com/wom/wom.asp
http://www.epinions.com
http://www.goodreads.com

•At http://www.christianbook.com you can recommend books via an e-mail link that will take your friends right to the page of the book you’re promoting.

•Recommend the book as a featured title for an area book discussion group (or start your own bookclub!). This is especially appropriate if the book has discussion questions in the back. (The Mailbox does!!)

•Mention the book on your blog or on e-mail loops you’re a part of.

•If you have a website or write a newsletter, consider featuring novels you’ve read and enjoyed.

•Add the book to your list of favorites on facebook or other online communities.

•Post one-line reviews in your status on facebook or shoutlife, or "tweet" about it on Twitter as you're reading it.

•After reading and reviewing the book, give it away as a prize in a drawing on your website or blog.

•If you have a unique perspective—for instance, personal experience with the book’s topic, a man offering a male perspective for a women’s fiction book, etc.—offer your insights in venues that might not ordinarily hear about the book.

•Print out a review you’ve written, or other reviews of the book and give them to your public or church librarians for consideration.

•If you're in a local bookstore, “hand sell” the book by talking it up to customers shopping in the fiction department. (Ie, stalk customers while trying not to look creepy.)

•Talk to the clerks in any bookstores and libraries you visit and ask if they carry the book. If not give them a short book report and recommend they order a few copies.

•When visiting bookstores, do a little creative rearranging to turn the book face out on the shelves. Use good judgment and don’t hide one book to promote another. Also keep in mind that in some stores front-table space is paid for by the publisher, so don’t “steal.”

•Offer to write a book review for your church newsletter, neighborhood newspaper or any other printed source that might reach readers.

•At your next women’s retreat, volunteer to organize a book table, where you will feature the book.

•Offer to organize a blog tour for the author, setting up a week when numerous blogs will feature the book and interviews with the author.

•When you’re finished with the book, tuck it into a gift basket for someone who is ill or in the hospital; or take it to your next dinner party as a hostess gift.

•Leave the book in a waiting room where someone with a few extra minutes might start reading it.

•Prison ministries are always looking for wholesome books to distribute. Check out groups like Prison Book Project.

•Word-of-mouth is still probably the number one way books hit bestseller lists, so simply start conversations about the book. Tell your friends and family what you’ve been reading and why you enjoyed it so much.

Now... if you've read all of these, I have an opportunity for you to win a copy of the book before you can buy it! Simply leave a comment telling me what you are going to do from this list to tell others about The Mailbox. I will choose one winner on Friday and announce it here.

To all of you who will go the extra mile and do one or two things from this list-- I can't ever thank you enough. I know the success of the book depends on people like you.

And I promise not to talk about the book all the time-- just let me get through the launch and we will return to our regularly scheduled programming. :)