Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Friday, July 23, 2010

Winners of LETTUCE SHARE (and upcoming website for authors)

Out of 10 in the Diamond Tribe, and 15 in the Farm Tribe,                                congratulations to the two winners!






Leah and Jemi, email me your address at karenjonesgowen@gmail.com, and I'll ship out your autographed copies. Everyone was so enthusiastic and supportive that I wish I could send all of you the books requested!

For those who seriously want Uncut Diamonds, there are a few used copies available here for $4.00 which includes shipping. And next week it will be available on Kindle for $2.99.

Farm Girl won't be sold as an ebook because of the photography not translating well, and there are no real deals listed on Amazon. However, anyone who would like a copy shipped direct from me, I can do that for $15, which includes shipping. Or $20 for outside the U.S. I don't know how that price compares to Amazon for outside the U.S., but it is somewhat of a savings if you live here plus I can autograph it. Email if interested.

Okay, enough about me and my books. As I've said before, I am not a salesman and don't want to be

Which is why I've been working all summer with a team of web developers to put together a website for authors that will make it easier for us to sell our books-- a combination Goodreads slash Amazon and even-something-more-no-one-has-done-before site. That's all the hint I can give right now, until it gets closer to launch. The people I'm working with are paranoid computer geeks. (Who don't read blogs lol).

So I've been networking like crazy, getting completely out of my reclusive comfort zone, starting twitter and facebook accounts to connect with more authors who have books to sell. I'm not sure how effective the networking is. I'll know more when the time comes to launch and put out the call for applicants.

Any of you with published books to sell-- who are interested in more information, or who want to be considered for the initial launch-- please email me. Also, whether you have a book to sell or not, you can help support those who do by spreading the word. Just blog, tweet or fb about this, (such as it is-- I know I've not given you much yet), link to my blog and encourage authors with books to sell to follow me here or on twitter.

That way when the time comes, as many as possible can hear the announcement.

That's all I can say about it for now. More to come later.

32 comments:

  1. You may not think you're a salesman, but you're doing a lot of the same things. A company I used to work at called that "going to the dark side"(and I'm SURE that's a Star Wars inspired thing).

    I think I know what you mean though. I am NOT a salesman either. To me sales means talking people into buying something they didn't want/need. But that's what the bad guys do. The good guys just make lots of friends and let some of them know about this really cool book/gadget/store they might like. We can ALL do that.

    Intrigued about your new venture. How soon will we know more?

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  2. Oo! I'm excited to know! Can't wait to have my book available via this format. :)

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  3. Sounds very intriguing. Best of luck!

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  4. Congratulations to the winners!!!!

    And my goodness you've been busy!! Wow!

    Can't wait for the launch of this new venture - it's very exciting!!!

    And Uncut Diamonds on kindle is amazing!!! I think I'll get mine as paper edition tho from ye olde Amazon!!

    Take care
    x

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  5. Looking forward to learning more about this new venture. Congratulations to the winners.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  6. Can't wait until your book goes on Kindle, and about the other thing--the author website--I am so there when it goes live. :-)

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  7. This sounds great Karen, and I can't believe I missed your contest to get a signed copy of your books! That'll teach me. *Mental note to self - wake up, yawn, stretch, check KarenG's blog*

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  8. I'm still getting caught up from being away on vacation, but WOW, you've got big things going on! I'm excited to check the new site out, when it's ready. :)

    And, sorry I missed the contest, but...CONGRATS to Jemi and Leah!!

    Happy Friday! (!)
    Love,
    Lola

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  9. Congrats to the winners! Sounds like you've got exciting things in the works too.

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  10. Yipee!!! Thanks for the chance to win- I can't wait to check it out!

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  11. Congratulations tot he wonderful winners!!!! I'm talking the hubs tonight and will most likely email you soon for that wonderful copy (signed of course!)

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  12. Wow, Karen, that sounds really great! Can't wait to hear more!

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  13. Congrats to the winners!

    And good luck with this new venture - sounds like it will be a very good thing. Can't wait to hear more about it :)

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  14. That website sounds fabulous! Kudos to you for doing this!

    (and congrats to the winners!)

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  15. Congrats to the winners! Karen, please let me know when your book is out as an e-book because I'd love to read it!

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  16. Blythe, when I read your comment I had to call my coworker and read it to her. Because it's exactly what we have in mind with this new project-- a rescue effort for writers. My passion is to empower authors and promote literacy, and now while so much is changing in the publishing industry is a perfect time for someone to lay out a safety net for the authors, the ones who spend hours and hours laboring to perfect their work with very little financial reward in return.

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  17. Please read my piece about SlushPile Hell here:
    http://marjorie-digest.blogspot.com

    or here:
    http://marjorie-digest.blogspot.com/2010/07/slushpile-hell-pathetic-madness.html

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  18. I'm so excited!! Thanks so much Karen - I'll pop you an email as soon as I'm done here :)

    That's quite the teaser - sounds like a great site to come!

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  19. Congrats to the winners! And it does sound like you've been doing some serious networking - can't wait to hear about the new site.

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  20. Karen, I love your fresh ideas. Good job! And congrats to your winners! Jen

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  21. The new website sounds awesome!!

    (I'm commenting because I wanted to comment - lol.) ;)

    - Corra

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  22. I'll follow this for sure and contact you. But first, another cup of coffee.

    Stephen Tremp

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  23. Congratulations to the winners. I missed this contest because I was in Maine, and couldn't get on the Internet much.

    Can't wait to hear more about your plans.

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  24. Ooooh, intrigueing! It sounds like, more and more, the power is being taken from the publishers. They may still be the best bet for distribution and promotion, but it's great to see everyone else getting a kick at the can who isn't as "Marketable".

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  25. Congratulations to the winners. And your new venture sounds very exciting.

    X

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  26. Exciting news. You're keeping the best for last :)

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  27. It sounds very interesting. I will keep my eyes and ears peeled for further news. :)

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  28. It's so great that you support other writers who also have books for sale. I'm tweeting this right now!

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  29. Congratulations to both the lovely winners!

    My but you have been busy this summer. What an exciting project. I look forward to the launch.

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