Grass Roots Marketing

In case you hadn't heard, I wrote a book. It's been out just over a month now. It has so far garnered rave reviews. It's not just your average "blue collar dude writes a mish-mash collection of odd tales." But, people aren't getting the word. Yet.

Local media is slow to review the book, but they get scores of new titles every week to pore through. Mine is just one, and it's taking time to get the word out. Slowly, however, they're starting to take notice. The Portland Tribune just reviewed the book, and Al Margulies (transit blogger) interviewed me. My publicist tells me now that another media source is interested in an interview. It's going to take a lot more than this.

That's were you come in, my dear readers. You folks have combined to visit this blog nearly 190,000 times in just over four years. From my finger being turned into hamburger to the dude who menacingly stalked me downtown, you've been there. Because of your interest in my writing, I put together this tome, "JUST DRIVE." Now I need your help.

You see, if I constantly pester people via FaceBook to buy it, they quickly tire of my pleas. It's becoming another annoying ad you have to close-click when your favorite YouTube music video comes up. Therefore, I've pretty much used up any goodwill I may have accumulated via my writing. If I keep doing this, people will stop reading my blog posts for fear I'll just be plugging my book. (Just like I'm doing here.)

Although my Friends List has multiplied to a healthy amount, it's nothing compared to the thousands of people YOU know, and those THEY know. If you spread the word around and a few people buy the book as a result, then review and share, it can quickly mushroom and become "viral," as they say these days. When that happens, big name people start to take notice. Once they jump on the wagon, the sky reaches into the Milky Way.

From my stats, I can see this blog is read far and wide. From Nova Scotia to Broward County, Florida and Richmond VA to Denver, CO, I know you're out there. I just had a reader from Australia buy the new e-book a few days ago. Scotland and England have bought a few as well. Ireland, Spain, Russia, India... where are you? Canadians have been buying, but how about France? India? The book is available there too. It tells a story bus operators (and passengers) can relate to no matter where you live.

So please, dear readers, help me get the word out. Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook, email the word to your mates. Ask them to do the same, whether they read the book or not. I'm asking for your help, and hopefully I'll see a lot of comments on this blog post volunteering your assistance. Hey, I'm never going to put together a big enough retirement fund with a 401k plan. We've seen who makes the money on that which we contribute, and they don't wear uniforms like we do.

My next book yearns to be finished. It's a tall tale I came up with while driving my bus one day. A Young Adult/Adult story involving a mythical creature, a bus operator, and a redheaded kid. It includes playful verse, a fun plot, and Deke's sardonic wit. I want to get back to writing it, but this book marketing stuff gets in the way. In order for me to produce my next book I need to at least break even on the first one, but I'm only one-third of the way there.

Please, help?

Thanks,
Deke