Dan Thompson’s The Caseworker’s Memoirs is Free on ebook June 14th to 18th!

 It’s Dan Thompson’s blog’s first birthday! To celebrate his novella ‘The Caseworker’s Memoirs’ (ebook version) is FREE  from Friday 14th June – Tuesday 18th June!

Synopsis

Malcolm was losing touch with the world; a retired counsellor and recently widowed, he lived each day sat at his desk, watching the world pass him by. That’s until his daughter gave him a leather-bound notebook. She encouraged him to write about times long past that he shared with his loving wife, but as dreams of his previous patients take hold of him, he has no choice but to share his experiences and thoughts. This is Malcolm’s attempt to rid himself of his pent-up guilt, his emotional involvement with his former occupation, but perhaps most of all, his attempt to have a purpose in life. From the rational fear of heights to the peculiar fear of time, from the obsessive fear of terrorism to the psychological ignorance of homophobia, The Caseworker’s Memoirs is not only a tale of one man’s grief, but also the tale of seven other families that are affected by real phobias.

The links are:

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Caseworkers-Memoirs-ebook/dp/B00CAUIY7Y/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1370944798&sr=8-1&keywords=the+caseworker%27s+memoirs

US/AUS: http://www.amazon.com/The-Caseworkers-Memoirs-ebook/dp/B00CAUIY7Y/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1370944824&sr=8-1&keywords=the+caseworker%27s+memoirs

Dan Thompson is the author of The Black Petal, Life is all but a vast array of Colours & The Caseworker’s Memoirs

Website & Blog: Dan Thompson

Twitter: @dan_pentagram

Author Facebook Page: Dan Thompson

Why not check out his Goodreads page too?

Preparing for a convention Part 3: Freebies

So back on to the topic of preparing for a convention and specifically the use of freebies to drive people to one’s booth.

If used correctly, freebies can help generate sales. They need not be expensive, and they MUST NOT take the place of your pitch. The best sales tool that you have is your pitch, but if you open with a “Hi would you like a bookmark?” It’s a nice way to segue into the pitch if the person accepts one. (However, it should be noted that if the person says no, then we just say “Okay” or “No problem” and leave it at that.)

Generally, we hand out bookmarks for each of our graphic novel titles. To the right is the Carp’s Eye Bookmark. The original is 2 inches by 6 inches and printed on heavy 14pt card stock. The front is glossy and in full color while the back is in b/w with text about the book.

For Out for Souls&Cookies, we have used stickers. In many ways stickers are easier because more people say yes to them, but they can be harder, because people hand them to their kids–even when the book is not for kids. Now Out For Souls&Cookies is technically all ages, however more than once people have pulled their kids away from the “demon dog book.”

The other thing we did for Faminelands: The Carp’s Eye (as it was our first title) we not only had the book mark, but I also created a short mini comic to get people interested. It was not an excerpt from the book, but a short backstory about the main character, Lark.

For Other Systems we are using a similar strategy: we have a 12-page excerpt of Chapter 4 to get people (hopefully!) excited for the novel. While I originally thought I was going to get 1500–a special on booklets at the printer made 2500 the better deal. The same excerpt is available on http://www.other-systems.com.

We also have bookcards to hand out. These are the size of business cards and  these are specifically are for the people who say, “I don’t read e-books.”

After five years I can say without a doubt, we get both sides at the conventions–people who only want digital and people who love print. Other Systems is coming out in e-book on April 1st, so the book card has a link to 48Fourteen’s comment page, I am going to tell them to let 48Fourteen know that they want to read it in print, because if there is a demand for Other Systems to go to print–it will go to print.

On a final note: Business Cards. While people won’t and shouldn’t really consider your business card a “freebie,” as an artist or writer your business cards should make people interested in your work. My business cards are full color had the cover artwork from Lure on the front and a list of all four of my titles on the back. Maria has Lord Fluff cakes from Out for Souls&Cookies on hers. Remember your business cards should not be kept. Give them out! I probably give out 1000 a year. Maria has 500 a year to give out.