Tag Archives: Tess Gadwa

Posted on

I’m Bout It Bout It aka Marketing & Promotion Month 7 (And It.Don’t.Stop.)

Hello World,

Me and my lovely assistant at my first book signing at Lifeway Christian Store...

Wow. I got to thank God.

My book is out (as of Feb. 14), and it ranked as an Amazon Best Seller and was listed as an Amazon Hot New Release!!! My Facebook Fam (friends) are blowing up my page telling me they are buying my book! My folk at church who came to my release party are telling me how much they are enjoying the book! And I’m having book signings and what not!

I planted a lot of seeds (WORKED HARD), and God took care of the increase as only HE can do!!! Since I started writing these posts back in July when I started my marketing and promotion campaign (Check out the first one “I’m Bout It Bout It aka Marketing & Promotion Month 1…”), I had the goal of sharing what I have done to help authors behind me as they prepared to launch their babies aka books into the world, and I hope that some author who Googles marketing & promotion will read these posts and be encouraged…

Let me share some of God’s blessings as I’ve worked to get the word out about my book via my marketing & promotion campaign…(in no particular order as all were important accomplishments for me 🙂

  1. I’ve been featured on six radio programs! If you would like to hear me on “The Business of Wisdom” with Dr. Alvin Jones, please listen here! And I thank Shandra Hill Smith of Pullen Press for being an excellent publicist, and helping me with my radio exposure!!! At my first book signing at Lifeway Christian store, one of the ladies who came said she first heard about me on “Business in the Black” with Twanda Black on WALR KISS 104.1 FM. That was my second radio interview, and I think I sounded a bit rough – but thankfully, someone got the message I was trying to convey!
  2. I had over a 100 people at my book release celebration!!! To see the pics from that awesome night of support and love, please go here! Thanks Dwan Abrams for planning the party and spreading the word about it! And I am sooo very grateful for Sofn’free GroHealthy for sponsoring my book release celebration!!!
  3. Various author friends/bloggers featured my book on their blog!!! Thank you to Kathi Macias (kathimacias.com) who featured me on her blog on the day of my book release. To read the post, please go here. And Tayari Jones (yes, the one and only at tayarijones.com) featured me on her blog as well! To read the post, please go here. And other authors including Victoria Christopher Murray (my soror), Tiffany L. Warren (who is featured in my book), & Tia McCollors shouted me out on their Facebook pages! Tia & author Kendra Norman-Bellamy provided endorsement quotes for my book! Author love is a must!!! And I’m soo grateful 🙂 (I hope I’m not forgetting anyone…if so, charge it to my head and not my heart…)
  4. During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Blayne Alexander of 11 Alive for The Grio.com interviewed Lola Brown, who is featured in my book, about her two-time victory over breast cancer at 36 years old. To read the story or watch the interview, please go to thegrio.com.
  5. I was really encouraged when just as I started my marketing and promotion campaign, I was featured on SORMAG’s blog – sormag.blogspot.com, which is an important website for authors! To see that post, please go here. Thanks again LaShaunda Hoffman!!!
  6. I’ve also been featured in various print media outlets including UPSCALE magazine as well as local newspapers the Clayton News Daily and the Clayton Neighbor!!!
  7. And last but certainly not least, I want to thank Lifeway Christian Store for hosting my very first official book signing last Saturday! I hope, wish & PRAY it’s the beginning of more to come!

NOTE: This roundup mainly includes the media coverage piece of my marketing & promotion campaign….there were other things that I’ve done which are too numerous to name right now…but I will say this…I revamped my website (thanks Tess), passed out postcards just about everywhere I went, networked at various events in the city and throughout the nation, posted like a fiend on my Facebook page and on Twitter and more…trust me…been hustling…stay hustling…

Again, I gotta thank God…And I gotta thank R., who has listened to me talk about this EREday since July…He is the mostest!!!

Ain’ gon lie…I’m tired…but…it.don’t.stop…

Any thoughts?

This song is apropos today….dreams.come.true…

Posted on

Saying Good-bye to 2011…

 

Hello World,

As of today, we have just over three weeks left in 2011….I’m pausing…for.dramatic.effect…Since I’m a person that makes goals each year, I periodically check-in with myself to determine if I’m actually making progress with my goals….I’m proud to say that I’m still budgeting and saving as I was taught by my financial coach a couple of years ago. (Read my post “Use What You Got To Get What You Want…aka Side Hustlers Unite!!! for more info on my financial journey…) And I’m well on my way to reaching my financial goals….

Another one of my goals was to eat more veggies…I know this doesn’t seem like too much of a big deal…but after meeting with a nutritionist earlier in the year, I realize that many of us, including me, have neglected all of the many healing nutrients that God provides for us in our vegetables…When was the last time you ate beets, parsnips or even broccoli (that is not covered in cheese..)? As is stated in the Bible, we are perishing for our lack of knowledge…(Hosea 4:6) I’m proud to say I have changed my diet a lot…It’s not perfect every day, but I’m making progress and have eliminated many toxins from my diet…By the way, I was not changing my diet to lose weight…You can be skinny and eating processed foods all of the time…I’m aiming for health and wellness…

Another one of my goals was to have my blog redesigned…And as you can see, Tess Gadwa of Yes Exactly hooked.me.up. I LOVE IT…and I hope you do too…

Of course, I have other goals that I have reached for this year…but I cannot share here…have you reached your goals for 2011…what are you thinking of as this year is coming to a close?…My final thought is God is good all the time…All the time God is good…

 Any thoughts?

P.S. And if your year has been difficult for whatever reason, I hope this song will lift your spirit…”Brighter Day” (“this for them rough days when you feel like giving up days”) by Kirk Franklin…


 

 

Posted on

A Saint & A Sinner…

Hello World,

If you haven’t noticed, I’m movin’ on up (Shout out to Weezie & George Jefferson)…Welcome to my brand new website! Since I will be a published book author soon, I thought I should get a bigger website with more features…take a look around my new space, and let me know what you think…just like when you move into a new place, there are a few “kinks” I need to work out, but basically this is my new home on the Internet. And love it 🙂 Thanks Tess Gadwa of Yes Exactly: Websites That Fit!

Cec Murphey

Anywho, since I came back from the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference at Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, Pa. earlier this month, I’ve been pondering a message given by New York Times best-selling author Cec Murphey. His advice to an audience of published and aspiring writers:

“If you want to be used by God, be as honest, open and transparent as you can.”

Cec Murphey has an impressive résumé: He is the author or co-author of more than 100 books, including the New Times best-seller 90 Minutes in Heaven (with Don Piper) and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (with Dr. Ben Carson). He is also the author of When Someone You Love Has Cancer, When God Turned Off the Lights, and Christmas Miracles, all 2009 releases. Prior to launching his career as a full-time writer and speaker, Murphey served as pastor of Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Metro Atlanta, as a volunteer hospital chaplain for ten years, and was a missionary in Kenya for six. Many of his books have been inspired by his personal experiences…

Recently, Murphey also revealed that he was sexually abused as a child and is now using his platform to help other men who were also sexually abused. For more information, please go to menshatteringthesilence.blogspot.com.

His words got me thinking about these verses from Romans 7 (The Message version):

…I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time…(17-20)

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (25)

So in the interest of being as transparent as I can, I will divulge that I’m a saint since I’m a Christian, but I’m also a sinner since I’m still on the earthly side of heaven (in other words, I’m a believer and a make-believer)…For all of my praying, going to church, reading the Word and talking about Jesus, I’m still prone to sin…now what all those sins are…hmmm…not ready to be that transparent yet….but trust me, I’ve got some…

But before I go in too much on myself, Murphey also pointed out that in spite of all of David’s (from the Bible) sins, he was still the apple of God’s eye…And Murphey advised that we pray these two prayers:

“God help me to like who I am, who I used to be and who I am becoming.”

AND

God, show me the truth about myself, no matter how wonderful it may be.”

AMEN…

Any thoughts?

P.S. On my Gospel playlist right now…”Over & Over ” by Trin-i-tee 5:7 featuring PJ Morton…Saints & Sinners, He blesses us over and over again even though we are not deserving…