All I need is this thermos, this lamp, this ashtray, and some defective oil cans and I'll write you a story.

Hello, to all my friends, fans, and any random strangers who just happened to come across my blog. I’ve been doing a little thinking lately (those of you who know me are now scared) about different/better ways to promote my writing. If any of you are aspiring writers, or even successful ones, then you already know that everybody and their grandmother in the writing groups on-line has an opinion about the best way to get the word out. The irony to me is that they all immediately suggest what I think are three obvious things: 1.) Set up a Facebook page, 2.) Start a blog, and 3.) Get on twitter. There’s also the occasional person talking about sending out press releases, but beyond those four things there don’t seem to be a great many ideas kicking around. Now, I am not saying that those are bad ideas. You’ve got to get the word out somehow and in the age of social media you have a pre-made fan base readily at your disposal right there at the click of a mouse. Personally, I do have a Facebook page, this blog, a twitter account and I’ve done some press releases in the past. I’ve also given books away through a site called Freado and have taken advantage of the kindle free days that Amazon allows me to offer.

So, I’ve been pondering the whole self-promotion thing quite a bit lately. In fact the main questions that have been burning holes in my brain are, “How do you draw people to your sites?” (without paying for advertising) and once you’ve got them there, “How do you keep them coming back?” It seems simple enough really, you’ve got to be interesting and engaging. And it is in that spirit that I have come up with my latest idea, getting the readers involved in the blog. “How are you going to do that?” you might be asking yourself. Well, here’s how.

One of you is going to have a hand in writing my blog post and here’s how it’s going to work. Anyone interested can pick any three different things plus a genre and send me their ideas. I will then pick someone’s submission at random, write a story using the information she/he provided, and post it on my blog. At this time, the three things can be anything such as: 1.) a spoon, 2.) a house, and 3.) a person, or possibly: 1.) a location, 2.) a time period, and 3.) A character. It’s whatever you would like to list. If you have additional ideas you would like to throw in, I will consider them, but I need at least three different things and a genre. The list selected will not be announced ahead of time, in order to add to the mystery, and will only become known once I post the story to the blog. I will accept entries from now until Wednesday at midnight through my author page on Facebook or through the comments section of this blog. That should allow me sufficient time to get the story written before the following Monday (that’s the idea anyway). If this works well then it will become a regular thing.

In short: 1.) Come up with a list of any three different things and a genre. 2.) Send me your ideas through this blog or Facebook, and 3.) Read the blog next Monday to find out whose entry was selected at random and read what I created with it. I look forward to seeing what kind of craziness everyone comes up with and if anyone has any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.