December 2022
Holiday Greetings!
It’s the “most wonderful time of the year” once again and I love how we are able to take time during the holidays to focus on being thankful and grateful! Marji and I are thankful for so many things: our families, our 30+ year friendship, books (the many books we’ve written, worked on, and published over the years), and the many authors who have become friends over the years, including you, our readers!
We also love that the Christmas season is a time of giving and receiving gifts, and (no surprise!) Marji and I love books as gifts.
These days there are so many ways to give books. You can “gift” actual printed books tied up with a bow, or you can gift ebooks and audio books online (Amazon makes that so easy). I love how simple it is to foster the love of reading and books, especially in children.
I am fortunate to have seven grandchildren, all under the age of nine years old! (We had seven babies in five years — whew!). So I am thrilled to be able to give books to them as gifts. Yes, I give them toys, but they all get a book of some kind, too!
And if you have little ones, here’s a super cool idea. My little people have a Yoto — it’s a screen-free audio book reader. It’s a little box with book “cards” that they can pop in and listen to books all by themselves. (They also have music cards, too.) And for older kids, there’s a comparable Tonie audio reader along the same lines. How fun to get them into books as they grow!
Speaking of giving books, this is a great time to remind folks that your book might be the perfect gift for someone they know or love! In fact, last year a friend of my daughter’s asked Steve if she got a copy of his book, would Steve be willing to sign it as a Christmas gift for her dad. She thought it would be right up her “very hard to buy for” dad’s alley!
Autographed books are great gifts – if you can personalize the book, even better!
Even though Steve’s book The Bezos Letters has been out for a few years, it’s still new to many people. Just last week I took six signed copies down to our local bookstore, Landmark Booksellers, in Franklin, Tennessee, so they could put them in their “local author” area of the bookstore. (Yes, our book is about Amazon but we love supporting local businesses, too!)
How can you “remind” folks that your book is a great gift? As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. For example, here’s a Facebook post from Morgan James Publishing author Gary Miller:
The nomination for next year’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize in book fiction and numerous national book awards have all been unexpected and amazing blessings, but how can having Santa Claus love Finding Grace be topped? Not possible. 😊 Finding Grace is a very personal Christmas gift that is so much better than a gift card. Check out the Finding Grace website’s page with links to a number of online book sellers. Please feel free to share this post with your friends. And, if you’ve already read Finding Grace, I hope you found the story to be entertaining and heart-warming. Thank you, and an early Merry Christmas!
We think Gary did a great job in promoting his book — it shows even Santa can get in on the act! :-) And this is just one example of how you can promote your book in the holiday style!
No matter what gifts Santa brings this year, Marji and I are so very grateful for the opportunity to help authors like you share their messages, sell more books, and have more impact.
During this holiday season, we wish you good health, happiness, and much joy now and in the New Year!
Karen and Marji
