Date: May 15th 2008

I promise not to email you every other day, but, if ever there was a time to be a bit liberal with the send button, it is now. I�m writing for a few reasons:

1. THANK YOU THANK YOU! In the past couple days I have been inundated with emails from you folks, sending congratulations and good wishes. I normally like to respond to every email I receive, but in this case, that would take me all week. Please accept instead my heartfelt-if-admittedly-tacky group thank you.

2. USA TODAY. I�m in it. Today�s (Thursday�s) paper. There is a short profile of me as part of the paper�s New Voices feature. The URL is: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-05-14-voices_N.htm

3. GUERILLA TACTICS. Different people have had different degrees of success in locating my book in stores. Some stores have it prominently displayed, some have it hidden away, and a few still do not carry it (I describe my own humbling experience in my latest blog post). Good press notwithstanding, a book by a first-time novelist will not sell if it is hidden away in the stacks. Word of mouth and good location are what sells books. This is why I need your help. Yes, you! For those who are up to the task, here are some ways you can help me make sure this book actually finds an audience.

- Go to bookstores. If you walk past one, take five minutes and go in. Ask a salesperson if they carry the book. And TALK IT UP. �Oh yeah, I�m in the middle of this now, and I just can�t put it down. This book is so much fun. If you�re looking for a great summer read �� Tell them you know the author. Or don�t tell them. Whatever seems natural. If you feel comfortable, you can even ask them to move the book to a more visible location. But work the charm. And, most importantly, spread awareness. If everyone on my mailing list actually did this, it could really make a difference.

- Barnes & Noble. We�re supposed to be on the Fathers� Day Fiction table, but in some stores, we are not. I need to know which stores those are so I can have my editor try to rectify this situation with his B&N representative. If you walk into a B&N and talk up the book, please take note of where the book is located and how many copies the store has, and please let me know asap. Thanks!

- Amazon.com. 5 star reviews that don�t look like they are written by someone I know are greatly appreciated. Same thing with any other book rating sites.

- Facebook. If you are reading the book and enjoying it, let your status reflect that.

- While reading in public... Use the jacket for my book. Even over the cover of another book. This way people can see the juicy jacket and be intrigued by it. Maybe they�ll even ask you about it.

You get the idea. Anything you can possibly do to spread the word and talk up my book would be greatly appreciated. Once again, I�m counting on your support.

Thank you all a million times. And to those of you who are about to start reading or are mid-read, I bid you once again to enjoy!

Your humble writer, Bill

p.s. if you received Monday�s email at the same time you received this one, I apologize. I am using a new mailing list service, and I�m still working out the kinks.

www.billfolman.com

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