Updated Monday, March 2nd

Marketing Tips Workshop: March 28th 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Richardson Public Library: 900 Civic Center Drive, Richardson, TX

Whether you are a seasoned writer or a novice writer with your first book in hand, one of the toughest things you may find yourself doing is getting your book in front of readers. Unless you are fortunate enough to have an agent secure a marketing budget from the publisher when you sign, you will find that most of the marketing work is up to you.

The Samson Effect author, Tony Eldridge, shares his ideas and experiences about his journey of marketing The Samson Effect. He put his experience as a Marketing Director for a growing company to use to help promote his book. Now, he will share that knowledge with you. Here is a taste of the topics he will cover:

How to create a growing mailing list
How to find other mailing lists worth thousands of dollars that you can send your message to for free
How to recruit an army of soldiers to go forth and spread the message about your book (and not have to pay them a dime)
Ideas for getting in the newspapers without buying an ad
Navigating the currents of the Social Media (MySpace, Facebook, Goodreads and a few more you may not have heard of before)
Blogging-finding readers and keeping them coming back for more
and much more....

This self-proclaimed frugal writer will show you ways you can create impactful marketing plans without breaking your budget. If you don't mind rolling up your sleeves and applying a little elbow grease, then you may pick up a tip or two that just may help you find a whole new readership dying to read your work. 
 

Updated Tuesday, February 17th

It has been a while since my last update. Now that the holidays are over, I am back to work at keeping the web page updated with useful information. I have also been battling my web hosting provider, 1and1.com, with some major problems they have had on my site since July of last year. Seems data from my site keeps getting deleted and they cannot figure out why. I thought the issue was resolved before the holidays, but when I logged in to update the site today, more data was missing. I have only been able to get from them that they are installing a mysterious "fix" for the problem, but I assume it was the same mysterious "fix" that they have been claiming to install every time we talk. I am beginning to think that this is what their tech reps are claimed to say every time they get stumped on an issue. No worries-- we will just push through. Let's hope this is the end of the issue now that I have deleted the old pages and started over with this one.  

Well, here are a couple of new items to mention. The contest I am running to name a character in my new book after the winner is now officially closed. I am expecting to contact the winners and announce them next week sometime.

*ALSO, Megalith, an online review site for action/adventure books, came out with their Meg Awards. I am honored that The Samson Effect has taken Best Book By A New Author for 2008! I am in good company, too. Others who have been names as winners of 2008 Meg Awards include Thomas Greanias, Jeremy Robinson, and James Rollins. You can view the awards at the following link:

2008 Meg Awards

You can also read the review of the Samson Effect that Megalith posted at this link:

Megalith Review of The Samson Effect

*There  is also chatter in the biggest movie studios about The Samson Effect. Though chatter is not official and it is premature to comment on it, it is nice to hear. The producer who acquired the film rights has also been approached about the projects by actors who have read the book. Things are getting exciting in Hollywood for the book. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

*Check back soon for the results of the last contest we had and for info regarding a new contest that will land you a signed copy of one of my upcoming books. Currently, there are four planned in the series with number two well into the story line.

*Be sure to check out the new praises from readers at Amazon.com about The Samson Effect. I have included them on the Praise Tab today. Find out what people are calling The Samson Effect  a novel that you cannot give less than 5 stars to; "edge of my seat", full of "intrigue and surprises", and "thoroughly enjoyable." Even see how one business man missed out on a round of golf because of the Samson Effect!