Goodreads Giveaway

Received a box via UPS this week containing my ten author copies of Applewood. Planned on taking a picture of them (most author copies I've ever received!) but they were bundled up so nicely, in two separate packages, I didn't have the heart to open them both. That, and my digital camera sucks.

Gotta say, the book itself looks wonderful. I know the cover graphic looks dark on the computer, however it looks really good on the cover. The pages are cream (which I've never used on my own books) and that looks really classy. I've always liked the font, particularly the one used for the diary entries. They definitely look like something out of the nineteenth-century.

For what it's worth, I'd point out too that this is the first book of mine available in a hardcover edition, to any friends or family that might want it in that format. I know I do! Alas, my author copies are paperback . . .

In terms of the author copies, two or three are pledged to friends who were beta readers and offered encouragement over the years, and the rest I planned to give away in some kind of marketing manner, but I wasn't sure how. I'd seen some folks use twitter ("Be the 100th person to retweet this and win a signed book!") but I have so few followers it would have to be the fifth or the seventh retweet, and that would just be embarrassing.

That, and I hate using twitter for marketing. Setting aside it doesn't seem to work for me, I think it turns off more people than anything. I think its larger purpose is to brand yourself, and hopefully the rest will follow.

Anyway, I was on Goodreads.Com the other night, a cool community with about 10 million members that brings authors and readers together, and saw they had an excellent giveaway mechanism. So, if you're already a Goodreads.Com member, simply click the gadget on the right and sign up! If you're not a member, it's really easy to sign up, and if you love reading, it's definitely worth your while.

The giveaway itself opens on May 30th and runs through June 30th, so plenty of time to sign up. I'm giving away two signed copies, and the winners are selected randomly by Goodreads.

I'll be giving away the rest over the next few weeks and months, some of them here on this blog, guaranteeing the book has at least ten readers anyway. Or goes up on ebay, which might only help.

In other ruminations, I'm torn between offering another free short on Smashwords or doing the complete opposite and pulling the ones already there. They don't seem to help sell books at all, mine, anyway. It might just be because my most popular free shorts are zombie tales that probably have lots less blood and guts than most zombie aficionados like. It could also be that two of them are humorous tales, and two of them are classic horror, maybe confusing potential readers about what exactly my books are. Or, it could just be that they suck. What the hell do I know.

Anyhow, to my friends and family, if you haven't yet purchased "Applewood," please do so at your earliest convenience. I think these early sales are vital to the book having much of a chance at all. As always, thanks.

And if you do click the Goodreads link, you'll see one of the reasons I have yet to sign up for Facebook. I have one friend! (Thanks again, Aaron!) If you're a Goodreads member, I'd be happy to be your friend.

But I ain't gonna beg.