Book Marks, Post Cards & Chocolate

by Katie Hines

Here's an article I wrote when my book first came out and I was marketing using bookmarks and postcards. Just a little bit of humor...

This morning my bookmarks were delivered by UPS. Anxious to see them, I ripped open the box and there were my little gems, all lined up nice and neat. All 1000 of them.

Previously, I had ordered postcards, and they were lovely, too. All 100 of them.

Both proudly sported a drop-dead gorgeous book cover by the very talented Diana Navarro.

There the similarity ended. The bookmarks had a blurb, contact information and buying information. The postcards were blank on the back. So, I experimented with my printer, and printed contact and buying information on the back of them. Works pretty well, especially since I didn't mail them out because everyone I would mail to got an email sent to them.

Bookmarks are pretty easy to figure out: go to the local library, ask the local bookseller to hand them out, and use them for book festivals. Since I had so few postcards, I am limiting them to taking to the book festival this weekend.

So where does the chocolate come in? Well, for those of us chocolate lovers, chocolate is a must have in times of stress and distress.

With my first book festival this weekend, I am really stressing about how I'll do. I'm not sure what to say about my book, although I have a blurb I am working on memorizing (it seemed the smart thing to do), and hopefully will sell a lot.

And eat a lot of chocolate.