Spread the word!

Our family has found a new favorite restaurant! Someone heard from someone else. . .who learned from another friend. . .that a Korean restaurant had opened within three miles of our home.

As you may or may not know, my husband and I served as missionaries to S. Korea for a five-year term in the early '90s. We adopted our two daughters from the Land of the Morning Calm in the mid-80s. So, whenever we have a chance to experience a little bit of our beloved Korea, we jump on it.

The restaurant is situated in a storefront off the beaten path in an area of town we never go to without a reason for the trip. After we introduced ourselves to the proprietor (and polished our rusty Korean language skills) we learned the business had opened back in the fall. If only we had known, we could have been enjoying their delectable cuisine long before now. (We've made up for lost time, though. Since our discovery of Lee's Sushi and Korean Cuisine, we've patronized the restaurant at least half a dozen times in the past couple of weeks! Kimchee--yum!)

In the publishing business, we all know that marketing is crucial for a book to be a success. Whether by word-of-mouth or a print-media blitz, we need to let the public know before we can expect to see sales. We may have the greatest story ever written, but if it doesn't make it into the hands of readers, the effort and expense poured into the project may not translate into a successful publishing venture. Marketing requires a team approach by both author and publisher. Scheduling book signings are one way we can get the word out about our books and provide opportunities for readers to "put skin" on the typically invisible author.

We've recently received some questions from authors about how they should set up book signings. We thought it would be helpful for everyone if we had a standard way of handling this. So from now on, Barbour authors should contact their book's managing editor about setting up a signing and let them know where and when you would like to sign. Your editor will then send this info to the retail sales manager and she will make sure that the proper Barbour rep contacts the store to set everything up. This process should make things much easier for our authors because they'll only have to contact one person, their editor, to set up signings. Also, by having Barbour call the stores instead of our authors, we can make sure that the store receives all of the books and other materials they'll need.

Tashi-manapshida! (Until we meet again!)

Susan