Sunscreen - Why I Will Never Quit

As I was working on our "$100 cash to one of the first 100 people who buy our book" promo yesterday, I became discouraged. Again. The NCCCA Dream Picnic book signing and presentation on June 30th was a bust. I put it in all the calendar of events, 1100 fliers to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students at local elementary schools, posters all over the place. Colleen, the DEC Coordinator and Educational Programs Director was there and brought a neighbor, a very nice young girl. Colleen also sent some fliers to some students but to no avail.



See, what happened on the same day was a ceremony for a fallen soldier. Hundreds of people attended and I would have, too, if it weren't for the commitment we made. It was a very sobering and sad day for Plattsburgh.



We did sell seven books, five of them were to a postal employee who bought three initially then came back for two more! So, it was worth it. Colleen and I also talked about hosting a winter "Read Around The Campfire" book reading. Our book is a perfect readaloud around the campfire so I think it'll work out well.

Back to the beginning of the blog and my work on our "$100 cash to one of the first 100 people who buy our book". I decided to fax or mail a flier announcing the promotion to each store which carries our book. Haven't heard anything from one of them. Are they in the trash or being displayed? Hmmm. Becoming discouraged. Time to take action.

I played my favorite song, Everybody is Free aka The Sunscreen Song, by Baz Luhrmann. I played it over and over again. I cried. Then I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper which I've been meaning to write. Then I went to camp. My haven. I'm ok. I'll never quit. I'm simply not a quitter. I'm just human.

Rachael Ray, Are You Out There?

Well, I did a little detective work and found the contact information for Rachael Ray. I sent her two more books, a fan letter and a pre-stamped, self-addressed postcard. All I'm looking for is a little written endorsement for the michigan sauce recipe in our book. That would be so cool and the press would be great.

Are you out there, Rachael Ray?

We missed the deadline for the North Country Cultural Center For The Arts (NCCCA) newsletter. They send out to 21,000 people. Ouch. So, our "Dream Picnic Book Event" isn't in the newsletter. It's on Saturday, June 30th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I've been able to get fliers in most of the 3rd-5th grades in the area, about 1100 of them. I also visited the Plattsburgh Public Library and they put up a flier and said they'd order the book. Put some fliers in a few other places. I'm running out of ideas...anyone have ideas for me? I'll look at some books I have for marketing to kids. I sent notices to every single local calendar of events media I could think of.

I've got to get pounding the pavement again this week. The kids will be out of school and can fend for themselves for a day. I really want to get to Tupper Lake and the surrounding area. Something always seems to come up. Like life. Or death. My neighbor and friend, Dot Scott, passed away and I'm brokenhearted about it. The wake is today and her family will be here all weekend. Time to go pay respects. Take care.