The Great Adventure

It’s hard work promoting your book. And most authors would just as soon either let someone else do it, or have it go undone.

But the reality is, as my friend and fellow author Jerry Thomas said, “These days, marketing is more than 50 percent of an author’s job.”

With that in mind, I am looking for ways to make it more fun. Enter my Media Law and Ethics class. These days they are looking for any way to get into the good graces of their teacher–me. So when I suggested they do a little video to promote my Escape Clause Contest, they didn’t fight me too much.

Trouble is, there was a tendency to get the phrasing a bit wrong. To give you an idea of what my Media Law class is like, “I’m Sorry, Glen” has become our motto.

In any case, here are the rules once again for the Escape Clause Contest, your chance to win a free copy of Infinity’s Reach when it comes out April 11:

1. You have to make a sign. The sign should read: “I CAN HELP YOU ESCAPE.”

2. You have to take a photo or video of you holding up said sign in a public place. An example of that is below, which is from the cover of my short story collection, available free on Smashwords.

3. Post the image of you holding the sign on your Facebook page. Send me a link to that page. If you can’t get that to work, then just send me the image in jpg form. In the case of a video, post it on YouTube or a comparable site and send me the link. Send it to this blog or to my direct email address: robinson@swau.edu.

4. I will be announcing it for the next two weeks, showing examples and will be accepting submissions, but the actual contest starts Monday, March 18. I will pick a winner each day thereafter (Monday through Friday) until April 1. Winners will need to provide mailing addresses where I can send the book. If you would rather receive an e-book version (Kindle or otherwise), I can do that too. But all prizes will be sent after April 1.

5. You can enter as many times as you want, but only one prize per person. Images with more than one person will still receive only one prize.

6. Winners will be announced here daily as well as on the Facebook Infinity’s Reach fan page. I will also post the winning photos in both places.

More than anything, this is supposed to be a fun contest, so lighten up. Be creative. I plan on awarding creativity and boldness.