About SharingwithWriters Blog


Named to "Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites," this #SharingwithWriters blog is a way to connect with my readers and fellow writers, a way to give the teaching genes that populate my DNA free rein. Please join the conversation using the very tiny "comment" link. For those interested in editing and grammar, go to http://thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Powell's Wants to Give Readers Free Books

Powell's is a bookstore long famous for its browsing. Old. Hard-to-find. Out-of-print. They were around long before the Web was. And one would guess that like many other strong independent bookstores, they would be online.

That is putting it mildly. Now, Powell's has added a new twist to their online site, neat news for both readers and promotion-minded writers. I'll get to that in a bit.

I know about this because Google Alerts let me know that my new book The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success is now for sale on the site. So, I had to go peek around. It's very Amazon.com like except for this: Readers can win free books just for expressing their opinions on the site.

To see how this works, go to my page, leave a comment, and let's learn about this together! Maybe even win some more good summer reading.

Oh, and by the way, for reviews that will turn you onto other good reading, go to my new blog The New Book Review. These are favorite reviews submitted by readers, reviewers and authors themselves.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.

2 comments:

  1. Dear Carolyn,

    I read in your Sharing with Writers and Readers newsletter about Powell's adding a new twist to their online site to promote new books. I had known about this writing opportunity since my book, Flying Hugs and Kisses was placed on their site. You jolted my memory, so I decided to try it out with a new young adult book I have just reviewed called, Maggie Come Lately by Michelle Buckman. Here is what I learned.

    First I had to sign up for a free user account by giving my email address and making up a password. Then I was free to leave my book comments. At the end of leaving the comments the query questions asked if I would like to sign up for the Daily Dose. ABOUT THE DAILY DOSE, each day shortly after midnight Powell's post the day's featured title on their web site and in an email to Daily Dose subscribers. The reader whose comment they use has until that day's end (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time) to visit their special contest page and claim the prize. Each day the prize goes unclaimed, they add $20 credit to the available total!

    To Learn more here:
    http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/contest/dailydose_contest

    Now you have it, a lesson learned in how to have a cyber-ticket drawing! You don't have to be present to win, they notify you by email. The best of both worlds! I will let you know if they draw my winning book comment ticket!

    Kind regards,
    Jewel Sample
    Award-winning author of Flying Hugs and Kisses (2006), also translated: Besos y abrazos al aire (Spanish edition) and Flying Hugs and Kisses Activity Book (2007)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the homework, Jewel. This is something that could be as much fun for readers as the contests authors sometimes run on their sites.
    Very best,
    Carolyn
    www.howtodoitfrugally.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting on posts at #SharingwithWriters blog, a Writers Digest 101 Best Websites pick at
www.SharingWithWriters.blogspot.com. You might also find www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com full of resources you can use and
www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a free review site will benefit your book or increase your reading pleasure.