Congrats to Penny Pinching Diva!

Our very own Blogalicious Media Correspondent, and thifty blogger extraordinaire, Shynea Hunter aka Penny Pinching Diva is featured as The Coupon Queen in this month's Essence magazine (you know - the one with a smoldering Idris Elba on the cover!) Shynea offers tips and tricks of the trade on how to get the most for your hard-earned money.
Congratulations Shynea!!
Catch the Penny Pinching Diva in person, live on the purple carpet in Atlanta this October at Blogalicious 2009. I'll be there. Hope you come, too.

Why?

If you're an author hoping to reaching progressive women bloggers of color, then you need to be there. Subscribe to this blog to stay informed or meet me live in Atlanta next month for our first Atlanta Blogalicous Meetup at StoneCrest Mall.

M & M: What an Author Press Release Should Cover

For the time being I will be merging content from my DeeGospel PR Blog into Christian Fiction, as I do an overhaul of both blogs and the site. So today I hope to add a new Monday feature called M & M: Mondays & Marketing.

Todays M & M tips is regarding press releases and fiction writers. Here are three dos and don'ts for your next PR(press release.)

Dont's:

1. do not send a boilerplate press release to media contacts and bookgroup gatekeepers. I can't tell you how many Facebook, Twitter and email messages I receive about promoting their book on my sites or on Media Candy, and how many of those messages I never read. Take the time to research the media (including blogging) outlets that fit your book's audience. Learn the correct contact's name, when to contact them and the type of content they prefer to receive from you. Then provide that. Generally, here at the blog I work with about five publishing houses, four writer's event planners, and a handful or literary publicists for content requests for the blog. Everyone one of them came to me personally about their clients or themselves. As a blogger, how effective are boilerplate releases for you?




2. don't submit a boring, non buzz worthy event. Newsflash to you and unfortunately to some of my present and former clients submitting a news release about your upcoming bookclub event isn't good enough anymore. To ensure that your media contacts take you seriously, listen to what they want from you, submit them press releases that are relevant and helpful. Otherwise use the online events calendar to submit your book club meetings and signings.




3. don't include your book's synopsis in your press release. A press release should be formatted correctly and contain info that suggests to media that my book has a public takeaway value. Use your press release to do that. Here is an example:

• Dwan Abram's Wear Red & Read Dessert Fundraiser




• Sherri Lewis finals for ACFW Writer of the Year

We will talk about the DO's tomorrow. In the meantime send me your current press release and let me fix it here on the blog. Email me at deegospel pr at gmail dot com.

And if you haven't registered yet for my summer book marketing mastermind session you still have a chance. For $75 you receive six weeks of book marketing coaching. session begins tomorrow. our first lesson is on basic marketing and this funny thing called a press release, where to distribute it, how to make it, and how to track results free. email me or direct message me on Twitter to register.

Weekend Chatterbox: E. Lynn Harris Are you Making a Literary Impact

Early this morning I received some sad news that prolific author E. Lynn Harris had passed while on a book tour for his latest title, Basketball Jones .

Harris' tales introduced me to a new kind of literature, a new kind of guilty pleasure, celebrity romance novels. His stories about behind the scenes life of celebrities, ballers, ministers were fabulous cautionary tales and all possessing themes about homosexuality, identity and redemption.

Here at the blog we featured his novel, I Say a Little Prayer. It was released during a time of controversy here in Atlanta. A popular megachurch led a public rally denouncing the homosexual lifestyle. His book mirrored this event-- but more than that--explored the tortured soul. How can you move past self-condemnation? How do you defend your faith and your identity at the same time?

I've listened and have spoken about homosexuality and the church, the prevalence of secret sin and shame among African American Christian men, and how the war against HIV/AIDS can't be won when people of faith refuse to call the prejudice out.

I don't know Mr. Harris personally or what he believed, but I do know that his works inspired my and millions of readers. Yesterday was a hard day for me, because the enormity of my financial situation has began to kick against my health. Truthfully, I wanted to lay in bed and just look at the wall all day. Then God spoke to me to get up and open the window. The sky was blue, a gorgeous blue that for some reason is captured in the color of Michael Easley and James McAvoy's eyes (really!) I got up, and then I received the call of Harris' passing. I say this to you and myself, as I ask you this weekend's chatterbox question: What are we doing with what God has given us today? Are we making a literary impact? And what will it take for us to start now before it's too late?

Summer Reading Challenge: Worth a Thousand Words

We're now well into July and I need to update you on the summer reading challenge. Today I'm going to juice things up a bit and give you a review for one of my picks for the month, Stacy Hawkins Adams Worth a Thousand Words.

Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance, Muliticultural
Title: Worth a Thousand Words
Author: Stacy Hawkins Adams
Release Date: June 2009
Publisher: Revell


Synopsis:
College graduate and photographer, Indigo Burns is staring down a bright road to her future. With graduate school in her plans, photography summer internship in her hometown[Jubilant, Texas,] and her longtime boyfriend going away to Officer Candidate School (NAVY,) she would have the time and attention to focus on what she thought was God's purpose for her life. That changes when Brian proposes. Is she ready for marriage? Can she fulfill her dreams and be an officer's wife, too?

Naval aviator candidate Brian Harper knows his destiny and believes that Indigo is a big part of it. But when he attends OCS in Rhode Island he is reminded of a nasty skeleton in his closet that would surely ruin his chances in the Nacy and with Indigo. With his past clouding his view can he now face the truth about his want for marriage?

My review:

Ok. Stacy. Girl, you did that. LOL. Ooh, Honey. This was a sweet and fast read, perfect for the summer. Stacy's writing has grown. I'm so proud. I didn't know how this story would end, yet it still held the qualities of a great summer romance. Kudos!

I recommend this book for a study with single ministries, wedding guilds, and young adult ministries. I also think it is a great bookclub discussion with topics that extend far past the puplit. ($12.99)

Dee Stewart,
Reviewer

Why Fiction Matters: Tyler Perry & Disney World Answers

Today I received a great newsfeed that would be great for our Why Fiction Matter's Tuesday piece. Read a snippet of the article below and ask yourself: What can I do with my writing voice that will help my community this summer? I'm answering the question myself and will come back with a response later this week.

From Susan Candiotti and Jean Shin CNN
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Tyler Perry, the star, writer and producer of films such as "Madea Goes to Jail" and the television show "House of Payne," could be adding philanthropist to his growing list of credits. According to his publicist, Perry is sponsoring a Disney World trip for 65 Pennsylvania children at a largely minority day-care center after a swim club canceled pool privileges for the children.
"He wanted to do something nice for them and let them know that for every negative experience, there are people out there who want them to succeed regardless of the color of their skin," said Keleigh Thomas, Perry's publicist. She added the entertainer would be footing the bill for all transportation, hotel, admissions and food costs at the Florida theme park.

"I am ecstatic for the children," Alethea Wright, director of the Creative Steps day-care center, told CNN. Perry's team extended the offer to her on Friday, she said. The Disney World stay will be from August 1 to 3, according to Perry's Web site.

...In a statement posted Monday on his Web site, Perry summed up his feelings about the pool situation: "This made me so angry," he wrote.
"This is awful, and for anyone that has grown up in the inner-city, you know that one small act of kindness can change your life," he wrote, adding that with the trip to Disney World, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them. This is all about the kids."

How to Speak to The Readers You Can't See

Today I chatted with a bookclub president, who told me that her club selects their book of the months from Christian Fiction Blog featured reviews. I was honored and ashamed.
I hadn't been posting book reviews as much as I could have despite the fact that I had read many book this year. For some odd reason I had assumed no one cared for the reviews. I checked my blog stats often to see which posts readers viewed most, to determine what content you wanted me to provide. It hadn't ocurred to me that one blog reader could equal ten book readers, that perhaps one subscriber was a bookclub president representing many. I hadn't thought about the untrackable and unmanaged things.

I was thinking too much inside the box. This is easy to do when you think you have total control of your outcome.

I have author friend's who obsess over what sales tactics another seemingly more successful author does, so they can mimic that formula. They believe that this magic formula will work for them.

But as Christian writers we need to remember that there is no magic to what we do. There is only God. He sees what we can't see. He knows who's watching us off the grid. He knows our future.

He knows when you will meet me, too. ;) I hope you meet me this summer. This month I launch the summer mastermind session and host my first tweetup event with my seatl tweetup buddies on Facebook. I will be speaking at The Phillips Arena in August about DeeGospelPR, the North Carlina lit Festival in September and Blogalicious09 conference in October. Let me know if you'll be sending a delegate. :)

FAFR: The #1 Reason Why Your Newsletter Bores Readers

Yesterday I arrived in Orlando for the Faith and Fiction Retreat. This town was my childhood summer home. I learned how to ride a ten-speed bike very fast, that Michael Jackson was the best thing since hot peach_cobbler with a scoop of homemade ice cream drizzled on top, and how to kiss a sixteen-year-old Jamaican boy properly.

I'm excited about this trip. I wonder what new things it will teach me outside of "Why bookclubs matter?" and will I get to meet Spud Webb(here's here reportedly with Dominque Wilkins?)

In week four of my upcoming summer marketing mastermind session I will teach participants three reasons why online newsletters (e-letters) aren't successful. One of those reasons is the author's inability to have an authentic conversation with their readers. Instead of selling books to reader's, try sharing your books to readers.

A great example of an author e-letter is Tyler Perry's. It is a simple letter to his fans. In every letter he shares something unique about himself and a life lesson. Then he does a vital action every newsletter should have. Those who participate in my telesemnar series will learn what that is.

As I sit here preparong for authors and bookclubs to arrive I am reminded that fans will travel wide and large to meet their favorite artist/author. If I had the money, I would have paid and flew to see Michael Jackson perform again. Wouldn't you want a fan to feel the same way about you?

If you have not registered for my Summer Marketing Mastermind Session, there is still time. Email me at deegospelpr at gmail dot com for details.

And a question for you I would love for you to chat with me about on Twitter. Use hashtag #fafr so that I can respond back. My twitter handle is @deegospel. Here's the question:

What artist or author makes you feel like you're a part of their family?