Please visit my new blog, where you can see my book trailer, an excerpt of the curriculum guide for teachers, and information about the 1920s!

http://livinghistory.librifiles.com/

I recently had another article published in Foothills Spotlight Magazine!

Amazon rank lets buyers know ahead of time how well a particular product is selling. This can be indicative of how popular or well-made a product is. The closer the rank is to #1, the better.

In the Kindle Store, Amazon has a “Movers and Shakers” category, listing ebooks based on the biggest increase in rank for the previous 24 hours. Out of over 750,000 ebooks on Amazon, Radium Halos jumped last night from a rank of over 13,000 to (drum roll, please), #341!! It was listed as the #1 book in Movers and Shakers!

How did this happen? Sometimes, we all need a little help. A website called Pixel of Ink, run by Sharon Rosen, promoted the ebook yesterday on their website, their Facebook page, and their Twitter feed. Word began to spread.

Back on March 20, a similar jump occurred in the rank for Celebrities for Breakfast. This was also due to the listing on Pixel of Ink, although I didn’t know it at the time.

Sharon– Thank you so much for the boost I needed!

A couple of days ago, I listened to a segment on NPR about book promotion. The journalist described the importance of an author’s ability to speak to groups. As an experienced public speaker, I thoroughly agree.

Writing is a solitary endeavor. A writer places the words end-to-end, allowing them to stew for a while, massages, replaces, and rearranges them until their meaning is clear, concise, and meaningful.

Once you are a published author, the solitude fades and the expectations change: you must now promote your book. In person. In front of people.

How scary.

Will you faint? Will you stammer and forget what you wanted to say? Whose idea was this, anyway?

About 15 years ago, I joined a group called Toastmasters. (Find them at Toastmasters.org, although I was a member long before the Internet). Soon after joining, I learned Toastmasters is an international organization, dedicated to helping people become more comfortable in front of an audience. Since that time, I have presented workshops, lectures, and speeches to small and large groups. Butterflies still visit me, but from years of standing before a group and speaking, I have learned to control them. It’s all about rounding them up and containing them, so you can proceed with the program.

At one of my recent book signings, I discovered the bookstore manager had placed rows of chairs in front of my table. Several people were sitting in the chairs before I arrived. I had no idea I would be speaking to a group, and had prepared nothing in advance. In the ten minutes before I began, I was able to create a brief discourse for the audience—just something to get the ball rolling. Thankfully, my public speaking experience had saved me from embarrassment.

Of course, it’s all about the writing, too. Someday, I hope to be a bestselling author. When and if that happens, and I am invited to speak on Larry King Live or Good Morning America, at least I’ll be able to round up all those butterflies ahead of time.