Philip F. Harris, author of Jesus Taught It, Too, sent me a message about his book. Actually he sent it to all of his Amazon list, the list that Amazon calls "Amazon Friends." I'd never used it so I had to go see how it works. Phil says, "Sometimes the easy things are overlooked!"
It occurred to me that this is an Amazon feature that everyone should be using. Here's how. Booklovers keep reading. There's something here for both authors and readers. Even authors who read!
Go to any book's Amazon page. (Authors will probably want to start with the page for their own books! If you need a sample of one of mine, click here. Look on the right side; the 8th box down has a link that says, "Tell a Friend." When you click on that, there is a drop-down menu where you can choose specific friends you added at one time or another or you can choose to send to all of your Amazon friends.
This, of course, works better if you have been collecting Amazon friends all along, but it's worth a whirl to let just a favorite reading friend know about a single book. Authors can put the word out about their own books but also about the books of their author friends. It's Zen. Don't do it often, of course, but every once in awhile give yourself or a fellow author a treat by putting out the word.
For instance, I could send a notice to my Amazon Friends about Lisa See's new book, Peony In Love. Her book has nothing to do with me and I don't know her personally, but I do strongly recommend it. So, shouldn't I help out an author I love and in doing so, give a gift of sorts to my Amazon friends.
In the meantime, an author might want to start building that "Amazon Friends" list so that when his or her book is released, it will be ready to go. Readers can forward the cause of reading the same way. Phil and I both recommend it.
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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. www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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