When was the last time you completed a Random Act of Kindness? Your challenge for May is help one person without anyone knowing about it (or any more people than absolutely necessary). Pay for the person behind you in the drive-through line, mow a neighbor’s lawn while they are out of town. The key to finding RAOK opportunities is to listen for need. If you listen to others, you will hear what their needs might be and can offer help, preferably anonymously. Then, come back here and post your RAOK’s, so we can all get ideas.
Interview with the Duggars
Have you had a chance to check out my interview with the amazing Michele Duggar? You can read it here:
http://home-school.lovetoknow.com/Duggar_Family_Interview
Hope you enjoy!
Lori
Amazing Author Promotion – One More Spot
As I began laying out the pages for the setup of the author yearbook, I realized that I have one more spot if another author would like to be involved. If you know of someone looking for an inexpensive and comprehensive group promotion, please let them know. Here is the initial email that explains the project:
Hi all,
After discussing some ideas with authors involved in this project, I’ve added quite a few more perks. The cost is still low, much less than many single ads. Details are below. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be closing entry into the yearbook as soon as it is full.
Lori
AUTHOR YEARBOOK/RADIO EXPOSURE PACKAGE
Register for the 2009/10 Author Yearbook and start receiving the following benefits spring ’09! The yearbook itself will be released in late spring, but some of these promotions will help us gear up for its release and beyond:
Here is what is included in the package:
- Yearbook is in print and ebook. It is offered free in e-format to the list of 30,000 + readers, and also sent to my list of librarians and booksellers (about 33K people in all).
- Your participation in the project includes:
- Listing on yearbook page
- Full page (8 1/2 x 11) personal note from you to your readers. You can do other things with this page. Just ask me 🙂
- Interview/quotes throughout book
- Radio interview. These will go on my radio network and will also be made available to a couple of hosts I know for free use. We will also be uploading as podcasts.
- NEW!!! Free ad in quarterly newsletter sent to 30,000 readers.
- NEW!!! Author Yearbook website with your bio and book featured.
- NEW!!! Interview posted on website and quarterly free workshops and chats to bring even more readers streaming in.
- NEW!!! One month banner ad on the site featuring your book and link to place where it can be ordered.
- NEW!!! Yearbook presence on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, etc.
We may add more items as we go along and they occur to us and funding/time allows. But this is a nice start for the project and should help us all see an increase in book sales.
I am limiting the number of authors involved and will close registrations once I reach that number, so space is limited. You can register by clicking either of the links below.
Lori Soard
Reserve space with first payment of $96 (please note that this is a limited three month subscription. Total of 3 payments of $96.00 each).
Pay in full and receive 10% discount
Questions? Feel free to email me 🙂
Keeping Disenchanted Tabs on Spring’s Arrival
The temperatures have crept into the single digits and snow covers every spare inch of ground. How I long for the moment when the crocuses begin to peak their purple bonnets above the frost one chilly winter morning. That usually signals spring is near.
The groundhog, that scoundrel that calls himself Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his cozy dwelling (ceremonially, of course), as he does every February 2nd, and promptly saw his stinking shadow. C’mon Phil! Can’t you give us a break just once? Those of use who’ve been snowed under for over a week could truly use a break from the cold temperatures. Even a hint of hope would probably get us through.
I would say that this cold weather is for the birds, but birds are smart enough to fly south for the winter. Scary thought, but apparently I’m not even as smart as a bird, because here I sit, bundled up in blankets and stockings, wishing I were somewhere warmer.
Oh, and I just remembered… my dog dug up the crocus bulbs last fall. Is this an indication, like that of the groundhog seeing his shadow, that winter will last longer this year?
Making Christmas Memories that Will Last a Lifetime
Hi all, I have a new article up at my Examiner page. Here is a sneak peak:
Whether you have wonderful Christmas memories from your childhood or your memories are lacking in that area, chances are that you want to create magical Christmas moments for your children that they will treasure for a lifetime. Every family has unique traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. Sometimes those traditions are commonly shared by many different people: purchasing and putting up the Christmas tree, having ham on Christmas day or going shopping the day after Thanksgiving.
Save Money at Restaurants
It seems that everyone is tightening their belts these days, thanks to an ever increasing difficult economy. If eating out is still on your budget at all, you likely want to eat out as inexpensively as you can. Here are a few tricks to slash your restaurant bill by as much as 50 percent!
Author Yearbook and Radio Exposure Opportunity
Hi folks,
Many of you probably remember the highly successful author yearbooks I put out every so often. We started out doing a scrapbook, but this yearbook model was such a hit, that we decided to move to that instead. Anyway, I try to do one every year or two and it’s time for a new version. Those who’ve been involved in the past have been happy with the results.
This is great exposure for authors and businesses. The yearbook is put out in print and in e-book format. I think you can still scrounge up some old copies of the last yearbook on Amazon. The yearbook is automatically e-mailed to my list of 30,000 + readers that I’ve gathered over the years of attending conferences and doing author promotions.
This year, I will also be sending out to my list of librarians and booksellers. In addition, many people order a paperback copy. I set the price on the paper copy at right around cost to print, so they are very reasonably priced and even more of them sell. If any real revenues come in, then I take out additional ads and we keep the ball rolling until the yearbook fizzles out. It usually takes a year or two for things to slow down. These have become collector’s editions for many readers. You may have seen them arrive with a copy to gather signatures at various functions.
In the past, we’ve had several different packages, but these can get complicated. This year, we’re going to start with just a single package and see if we can fill the yearbook up that way. The package includes:
*Listing on yearbook page (for example, if you are a romance author, your listing would go on the romance author page).
*Full page personal note from you to your readers. You can do other things with this page, such as a poem, short excerpt, short story and so on. The more creative the better!
*Full page ad of your book on opposite page of your note.
*Author Interviews
You reach 30,000 readers, 3000 librarians and booksellers and numerous other fans and readers. The cost is 3 payments of $96.99. One to reserve your space, another due in November and the final payment due in February ’09. If you prefer to pay the full amount by November 15th, you’ll receive an additional 10% off. We can lock in pricing with our printer, so early payments go toward the discount we wind up getting, which is about 10%.
I also have 10 radio spots available. I will interview 10 authors and put their interviews up on our radio show site. These interviews will also be made available to a couple of radio hosts for their use and will be uploaded as free podcasts to increase exposure. The authors will be able to download the interviews for use on their websites or however else they would like to promote themselves with the interview. These 10 spots will likely go fast, so the sooner you can reserve, the better. To reserve a spot now, see the end of this email for links. If we run out of spots, I will let those registering know in case they want to cancel registration.
We must have a minimum of 10 authors involved in the project in order to pay for minimum printing and advertising costs. The more authors involved, the further our promotional and advertising budgets go. I will also write articles, distribute press releases and conduct interviews about the project. Because I invest quite a number of hours into putting the project together, editing, and publishing and advertising, I do reserve a spot for myself in the yearbook to promote my own books and writing services.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me. You are welcome to share this email with others, but you might want to reserve your spot first. Remember that I only have a limited number of the radio promotion slots available and they will be first come/first serve.
Warmly,
Lori Soard
Reserve space with first payment of $96 (please note that this is a limited two month subscription. One subsequent $96.00 payment will be taken out in November and you will be invoiced separately for the final payment in February).
Vote Tuesday November 4th!
Dear Friends,
In this very historical and vital election, I felt the need to share my plans for next Tuesday.
First, I want to encourage you to take the time to participate in the voting process. We are so blessed in this country to have the freedom to choose our political leaders. Yet, only around half of our eligible population votes. Exercise your right to vote and get out there next Tuesday. Off peak hours are typically 11 am to 1 pm, and lines will likely not be as long during those times.
I am supporting John McCain for president. Senator McCain’s views line up most closely with mine, including:
*Against partial birth abortion. Partial birth abortion is a heinous crime. It is murder as far as I’m concerned.
*Against taxes. We don’t need anyone to be taxed with the way the economy is struggling. To tax small businesses will translate to lost jobs.
*Against socialism. Spreading the wealth around is socialism.
*He makes me feel safer. I know that if our country were attacked again as on 9/11, that John McCain has the experience to know how to handle the situation and protect our citizens.
I hope you’ll consider voting for John McCain this coming Tuesday, but most of all, I hope that you exercise your American patriotic right to vote.
God bless!
Lori Soard
Want to volunteer to help McCain? You can make phone calls on behalf of John McCain to encourage voters to go to the polls. http://www.johnmccain.com/ActionCenter/RecruitVoters/RecruitVotersThankYou.aspx
Drunken Pony Falls Into Pool
I came across this hilarious story this morning and thought I’d share. Sounds like Fat Boy will be nursing a hangover from his adventure 🙂
This is the moment a ‘drunken’ pony fell into a swimming pool after gorging himself on fermented windfall apples.
Read more and see pics at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1077831/Pictured-Fat-Boy-pony-got-drunk-fermented-apples-fell-swimming-pool.html
What Do You Believe In? McCain Vs. Obama
Dear Friends:
This blog post may anger some of you. I won’t apologize for that. Whether you agree with my politics or not, I do stand on very solid principles that have never wavered for the last 20 years of my voting life. At the very least, you should respect my steadfastness and loyalty to my core principles. I base my beliefs upon the Bible. While I haven’t always followed the Lord in the way I should, I have grown a lot in this area in the past few years and have grown bolder and more outspoken on these issues. This year, I will be voting for John McCain in the general election. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything McCain stands for, I do agree with far more of his policies than Obama’s. I’ll be honest, I just don’t get why Obama is up in the polls.
The man is an excellent speaker, when he has a script in front of him. But, without a script, he stumbles and mumbles. Even with the script, he really doesn’t say much of anything. I disgree so strongly with his votes for partial birth abortion and his stances refusing to vote against infanticide, that for those reasons alone I would not vote for him.
Add to those points his many connections with people I consider to be terrorists and criminals and his childhood ties to Islam. The book Obama Nation outlines many of these ties. How anyone could consider voting for this man after 9/11, I just don’t get. Have people forgotten the horrors of that day so quickly. Just this past week, there have been ties to another Muslim extremist who put in a word to get Obama into Harvard.
Once you’ve read a book like Obama Nation, you realize how this man lies and says whatever he thinks people want to hear. In other words, he is willing to do anything to get into the White House. If he is willing to lie now, what will an Obama presidency look like if he were to make it into office?
But, enough about the man. What I really want to talk to you about is why I am voting for McCain. John McCain is a war hero. He served his country nobly and was tortured horribly for his patriotism. When he was given the chance to leave the concentration camp he was in, he chose to stay behind with the men under his command. The torture continued.
I also believe McCain to be a man of integrity. I can believe what he says and I also don’t think he will just say whatever to get elected. How easy would it be for him to make broad promises? One of the biggest reasons to vote for McCain, whether you are Republican or Democrat is to keep a balance of power between the White House and Congress. Imagine another Democratically controlled government. I find his economic proposal to be much more reasonable. Our taxes will be lowered instead of raised. Quite frankly, there is no way that Obama can fund everything he is proposing without raising taxes on nearly EVERYONE. Sure, he says only those making over $250K (I have problems with this too because of small biz), but he hasn’t told the truth about many other things, so why would he tell the truth on this one either?
Although I rarely listen to Rush Limbaugh, because his paper tapping grates on my nerves, I did catch a bit of his show today. He mentioned that there are rumblings that as soon as Obama is elected (but before he is sworn in) that the Democratically controlled congress has plans to roll back anything they’ve recently passed that is too conservative, including the off shore drilling our country so desperately needs. I hope this isn’t true, but it wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
Please do your research. Don’t just believe what the Main Stream Media feeds you. They are so biased it is unbelievable. Find alternative sources of information and dig into the background of both candidates. I think you’ll be surprised at what you find.
If you are a Republican, I urge you to vote. When good men do nothing, evil triumphs. Do something. If you need a ride to the polls, call a friend. If you don’t really like McCain, consider voting for him anyway. You are voting against something that would truly do our country harm, in my opinion.
You can help the McCain campaign by making phone calls for him and urging others to get out and vote. Here is the link:
http://www.johnmccain.com/PhoneBank/?guid=0A517F03-C3ED-4A24-A14A-3BD9D5F32F2F
Happy voting!
Lori