Ok, so I have the book that I’ve always wanted to promote ready for the streets. The promotion begins. To prepare, I always start with a “curriculum” of what it is I want to discuss during readings, presentations, and workshop associated with whatever book I’m promoting. Once I have the curriculum done, I contact various bookstores and agencies that I think would benefit from hosting me and my work. After the first wave of appearances is booked, I then start the publicity to lure people to the events. From there, I roll around in the piles of money book sales create.
Not really. The truth is that selling books is hard work and convincing people to buy a book requires Jedi-mind trick powers that I just don’t really have. But, for 49 Tips and Insights for Understanding Addiction, I think the book really will sell itself. This morning, I was putting the finishing touches on two (2) types of events for the book. The first type of event is a 1.5 hour reading that will cover the 3 C’s of Addiction (Tip #1) and the Stages of Addiction Recovery (Tip #7) and how they differ from the Stages of Changes Model (Tip #29). This first event type will be free and 1.5 Continuing Education Units will be available to all New Mexico counselors, therapists, and social workers. The second type of event will be a 3-hour workshop that, while open to the public, will be a 3 CEU offering that will delve deeper into the topics covered within the book. The cost will be $30 for those who need the CEUs and includes the cost of the book (for non-clinicians, the cost will be $20 and will include the book). Now, if anyone buys the book independently of the workshop, the cost will be $15 for clinicians requiring CEUs and $5 for the public.
What was cool, though, was that while I was building these two (2) types of events, I realized just how good 49 Tips & Insights for Understanding Addiction really is. There was so much material to present that I had to really make some hard decisions about what to include in these initial events. For a small book, it is quite rich in useful material that I think is not only educational, but poignant as well. For example, as far as I’m aware, I’m the first to publish Stages of Addiction Recovery that are different than Stages of Change. There are differences in the way people recover from Addiction and the Stages of Change are too broad. I came up with the Stages of Addiction Recovery from years of watching healthy recoveries and I came to see how recovery developed. But there is a lot more in this book and I have to say, I’m quite impressed with the work.
So, now that I have the “curriculum” for at least two (2) types of events, I can now book them. I’ll continue to share my progress, as I think fighting Addiction is something we all can learn to do better. By the way, if you can think of any New Mexico agencies that may benefit from this book and the events I described herein, please let me know at jblea1016@hotmail.com. Also, please either email me for your copy (books purchased through me are $10, which is almost $5 off the cover price) or visit the book page at Amazon.com or head over to your local bookstore. I have no preference how you buy it, just as long you do…
