Catchin' Up

For some reason I don't totally understand I have been asked several times lately about how my book, Texas In Her Own Words is doing. Well here's what I can tell you.   It's a good time to talk about where Texas In Her Own Words is today. This has proven to be the 'little book that could.' Who knew. We had a wonderful start selling 125 copies at the book release party at Hill's Cafe in Austin, TX. This book has proven to be special even from the git go. The Alamo called a month after it came out and wanted to sell it in the gift shop. They asked me how long it would take to get the books delivered to them. It is exactly 64 minutes from my house to the gift shop...but who's counting?
  After that, doors blew open everywhere. It was like instant validity and credibility for this book. I cannot thank them enough for being such great partners. The market continued to grow for my little labor of love and before long we found the book being sold in such wonderful places as The Bob Bullock State of Texas History Museum, both of the State Capitol building gift shops in Austin, the San Jacinto Monument and Battlefield, the Sam Houston Statue on I-45 in Huntsville just to name a few.
  This has been a remarkable journey for both me and the book. I knew before the book was ever printed how I was going to market this book. I would do the bulk of my marketing through speaking, giving presentations and speeches and then sell in he  back of the room. That has been the key to any success we've had. Understand I truly appreciate any sales from Amazon or Barnes & Nobles for that matter but my passion is speaking...speaking about Texas specifically.
   I started off by speaking to civic groups like Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs and selling the back of the room. Before long people started to come up and ask me how much I would charge to speak to another one of their groups. That completely changed my business model. Instantly I went from being a writer who speaks to a speaker who writes. There is a big difference. I tell people who want to write a book to remember that as an author you will spend 6% of your time writing your book. You'll spend 94% of your time marketing your book. I have been doing this for just over 3 years now and that statistic is dead on. That is the reality.
  Fortunately, I love what I do and plan on continuing with the journey. I am still actively opening new outlets for the book. When I wrote this little jewel, I wrote it for both Texans and non-Texas alike. I also wrote it to be an evergreen. There is no dated material in it. The concepts that went into the making of this book where  170 years in the making. 
  I'll close for now saying that we have been blessed by this book and all the friends and acquaintances we've made a long the way. I thank each of you who have bought Texas In Her Own Words or have invited me to speak for your group. Thank you for your many kindnesses. They have not gone unnoticed. Where do we go from here? Well who really knows. People ask me all the time, 'How are you doin'?" My answer is always the same. "I'm just living the dream." I have you to thank for that.
  I am a speaker and I would love to speak for your group or organization. Contact me through my website...http://www.TweedScott.com  Talk to you soon.