Thursday, December 6, 2007

Free Book Offer

Hi Folks, thank you for the enthusiastic response to the book offer! If you're just getting here, I regret to have to tell you that the 50 books have all been spoken for; I'm sorry!

I do hope that you return back to visit my blog in the future. I will try to post things that are worth the time to read, and I also plan to give away 1 book every week (as soon as I figure out the best way to do that). Details to come!

For those of you who made the first 50, you should receive your book in the mail within the next 2 weeks (depending on the backlog in the Postal Service as we approach Christmas).

Thank you again to everyone!

* * *

Everybody knows the old saying: Don’t talk about your problems; half of the people don’t care about them, and the other half are glad that you have ‘em.

Well, I have a problem, and I’m hoping to appeal to the half of you out there who are glad that I have it. The whole essence of the problem is that I’m a writer, but nobody knows who I am, or what I write, or how good I may be. That causes problems when you’re trying to sell books, because there are so many good established writers around already that there really isn’t any need for someone to take a chance and buy a book from an author that they’ve never heard of.

Advertising is a waste of time (and I’ve come to loathe the whole concept of it anyway), book critics & reviewers receive so many books already that they throw the vast majority straight in the trash, and all of the “big name” people that might provide a “plug” for a book simply don’t have time to read one from an unknown. On top of that, I have a marketing budget of about $2.

But here’s the way I see it; book critics and advertising companies and “big name” people aren’t the ones who buy books. Regular people – like you and me – buy books, so why shouldn’t "regular" people also be the ones to evaluate them and determine whether or not they have merit?

I could send out 50 copies of a book (or more) to newspaper critics and reviewers all over the country and, if I am lucky, maybe 1 or 2 of them will actually read the book. I’d like to get a little better return rate than that, and since I would be sending out all of those books to them at no charge anyway, I’d like to try something a little different that might work out for both of us.

Here’s what I propose: I will send a copy of “Finding Liberty” at no charge to the first 50 people that contact me. No tricks, no gimmicks. All that I ask in return – all that I ask – is that after you read it, you post a review of it – good or bad - on amazon.com at Finding Liberty. If you also have a blog, it would be great if you could talk about it there too, but that would be your option.

That’s it. Please note that I do have to limit this to US residents only; I apologize for that, but it costs $10 a copy to mail overseas (did I mention my marketing budget?)

“Finding Liberty” is a collection of stories & articles about God, marriage, fatherhood, and life in general, all written from the Christian point of view of a regular, ordinary man, so if that doesn’t sound like something that would appeal to you, I’d simply ask that you please pass this up as a courtesy for someone who might actually enjoy the book (several of the stories in the book can be found here on my blog if you’d like a preview).

So if that sounds like a fair deal to you, just let me know. The first 50 people who contact me with their name and mailing address at blaine.staat@linearwavepublishing.com will get a free book.

Thanks & Blessings,
Blaine

12 comments:

Teacherperson said...

Thank you for the offer!

PennyAnnPoundwise said...

Blaine,
I'd be happy to review your book for Amazon.

Terri Cheney

Mrs.Garcia said...

Thank you for this offer.
God Bless you and your family,
Mrs.Garcia

Beverly said...

Email on the way!

Anonymous said...

I would love to read this book and review it!Got the link from Mrs. Cat :)

Renee from Pa
Mama to four

rbrown7997@yahoo.com

Homeschooling Momma said...

What an amazing offer! Sending you an email. Tonya

D said...

So now that all the free copies are gone, how do we buy the book (Amazon.com?) and how much does it cost?
DM

Blaine Staat said...

Hi Diana, yeah,I guess if I really want people to consider purchasing a book I could make it a little easier for them, couldn't I? I apologize; I'm still "building" this weblog. You can get it at amazon.com (just type "Finding Liberty" in the seach box) or direct from linearwavepublishing.com. The price is $14.95 (though amazon will sometimes discount from that price.) Thanks for letting me know that I need to get a link posted on the blog!
- Blaine

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Staat,

I have read a couple of your articles on your wife's site and think they are wonderful.

I wouldn't buy one of your books for my husband, however, because we are not American and they give the impression of only being intended for Americans (think titles, cover imagery). Perhaps you might think about providing a different cover for the international market, with a selection of articles that have a wider appeal.

Kate in Australia.

Blaine Staat said...

Thanks Kate, you make a good point; I didn't even think of that when designing the cover for "Finding Liberty". Regarding "What So Proudly We Hailed", it's a novel specifically about America 20 years into the future, so however limiting the cover may be, it's appropriate to the subject matter.

Maybe I can get you with my next novel . . . :-)
- Blaine

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the copy of Finding Liberty. I will post a comment as soon as I am done reading it. I started reading it today. I have read almost ½ way through it! It is so good. I love every chapter. It is such a great book to challenge me to think deeper about so many important subjects -from raising children to submission to the economy to God . It is honestly one of the best books I have read in a while. Deep and entertaining at the same time. LOVE it! Everyone needs to read this. Melody

D said...

Took me this long to get back to your blog, what with the holidays and all... Haven't ordered the book yet, but it was great to go to Amazon through the link and see that they only have four copies left, and that two people have reviewed the book and given it the highest rating!

Diana