Sharon Dow

The past few weeks have been hectic and heady. It has been a fascinating ride since the arrival of the books. I wondered what 1000 books would look like. Would they fill my house, fill every corner and empty space? I was pleasantly surprised to receive a very compact delivery; four layers of boxes loaded on a wooden skid and shrink wrapped in heavy plastic! Very convenient and easy to manage.

The Book Launch was the next big event on the book calendar. It was exhilarating and overwhelming. Many people attended; family, neighbours, friends, reporters, and people from the community. It was a great beginning for Antipas: Martyr.

I’ve spoken to one senior’s group, had a book signing in my church, have been asked to do 5  more book signings, have at least two bookstores that are carrying my book with several others considering it. I’m still waiting to hear back from Chapters’ head office regarding whether their distribution centre will carry the book. I have received information that several distribution centres in the USA are carrying it also. I attended a conference this week and sold a number of books.

The internet has proven to be an amazing vehicle when promoting a book. I have used many aspects of it. My facebook page has 600 friends, so I am able to communicate information quickly to a large number of people. Antipas now has his own facebook page where I can post things about the book. One regular posting I do is a daily total of number of books sold. Since the day of the launch, I have sold at least one book every day, and several days have had multiple sales. To date, I have sold 226 books.

Also on the internet, I’ve been able to access email and postal addresses for churches, libraries, bookstores etc and have been able to promote my book through these channels.

I have some other speaking engagements and opportunities to sell my book which are in the process but not yet finalized. Every day brings forth some new avenue for the book.

It was brought to my attention that there is a writers’ conference here in Guelph in June. I have registered for it and look forward to being able to meet with publishers and other members of the publishing world to promote my book.

But the big news of the week came in the form of an email from my publishing company. I have been asked to attend a conference in Atlanta, Georgia in July. Here are some quotes from the event.

“Special Invitation to Select Deep River Authors to the

International Christian Retailing Show

July 10-13, 2011

Atlanta, Georgia

ICRS is where the Christian resources industry meets. There is no other time or place where so many people, products, services, media, authors, artists, and craftspeople are gathered together in one place. The show incorporates more than 125,000 square feet of exhibit space, 425 exhibits, and nearly 100 meeting rooms. The show brings together more than 10,000 attendees and exhibitor personnel from across the United States and more than 50 other countries. Thousands of book store buyers come, many of them making major year-long buying decisions about which books to stock in their stores.

Deep River has selected you as one of the authors we would like to feature at this year's ICRS.

·    You will be scheduled for Author book signings in the Deep River booth. DRB will furnish 100 copies of your books for these signings.

·    Your book will be displayed at the STL/DRB booth on the convention floor during the entire show where there will be on-hand sales people to take orders for your book.

·    You and one other person of your choosing will receive badges for entry into the show for all 4 days.

·    You will have opportunities to attend various special events at the show at no extra charge to you.

·    Your name will be placed on the media list for possible interviews by Christian radio and TV talk shows broadcasting live from ICRS. You will receive PR services from Bring It On! Communications who will create a media kit, posters, and will assist you in securing interviews.

·    You will receive two passes for a complimentary dinner held exclusively for Deep River Authors on Sunday evening.”

So, we’re going! I don’t know where this will lead; I only know that, at least for now, I will follow. There are exciting possibilities for this book and books to come.