How You Can Help

If you are a regular follower of my blog, Facebook page, or Twitter, you're probably absolutely sick and tired of my pitches for Laughing with Sarah. Believe me, it gets old to me too. But the sad truth of writing a book is that the author is the primary spokesman for his book. If the author doesn't sell it, it won't get sold. That is, of course, unless your name happens to be John Grisham or Joel Osteen or someone else with a huge platform from which to sell books.

It is a well-known fact in the publishing business that authors must sell their books. It is also a fact that it is one thing to write a book and it is another thing to sell a book. This is why the average book sells only 500 copies. Most authors enjoy the task of writing, but they despise the task of selling. With that said, I wanted to post something that will help sell a few more copies of Laughing with Sarah.

But here's why:

My church, TrueNorth Church, has a contract on 16 acres of land. We've been meeting in a high school for five years and we are ready to venture out and get our own space. In order to possess the land, we have entered a month-long campaign to raise the money for not only a downpayment but a considerable chunk of money toward this project. The We Unite Land Offering will be received on Sunday, September 20.

Between now and then, we have asked our church members to not only sacrifice but to use creative means to generate more income for themselves that they can pass on to TrueNorth. We have folks who are having yard sales, making quilts, selling jewelry, working overtime, etc. We reminded them of Deuteronomy 8:18 which tells us that God gives us the ability to produce wealth. Steve, our Lead Pastor, has challenged our people to use their creative abilities to generate this offering.

One of the ways that I can contribute is through book sales. So, here is my challenge for you. If we can get a viral campaign going for Laughing with Sarah, who knows how much income it could bring? I have pledged to give all September profits from the sales of LWS to TrueNorth's WE UNITE Land Offering. Of course, even after that, I will give at least a tithe on the profits in the future. If LWS sales really go through the roof, I will fund the whole project!! (Do you believe in miracles?)

So what can you do to help? Here are some ideas:

• Buy my book. (Seems obvious, huh?)
• Tell your friends, family, colleagues, etc. about it. Bring it up at lunch, over coffee, or other gatherings. But don't give your copy away. Ask them to buy it or buy one for them.
  
• Have a copy of LWS on your desk or in a prominent place where others can see it.
• Blog about it. Facebook about it. Twitter about it.
• Add a link to LaughingWithSarah.com to your blog, website, or Facebook page. Let your friends know.
• Start an email campaign. Send everyone in your address book a personal note endorsing LWS with a link to www.LaughingWithSarah.com or the direct link to Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, et. al.
  
• Help me accomplish "250 squared." What is that, you ask? If 250 people tell 250 people about LWS, the result is that 62,500 people will hear about LWS. 250 X 250 = 62,500. If you ask your 250 friends to pass the word on to 250 of their friends, that number becomes over 15 MILLION people.
• Go to Amazon.com and write a review. 5 stars would be nice - if you think it's deserved, of course.
• Give the book as a gift. Buy them for upcoming Christmas or birthday presents. Let me know if you want it signed.
• Ask for it at bookstores and request it at your local library.
• Become a reseller if you have a platform from which to sell. For example, you own a store, you teach seminars, or you host training classes.

If this seems self-serving, I apologize. But this is my way of helping contribute to the future of TNC.

One more thing to note, just in case you're wondering. My profits from the sales of LWS vary depending on the distributor. The minimum profit is a little less than $4 per book. When Amazon sells it, for example, I make $3.71. The most is about $9. So you can do the math to see how many people need to buy LWS in order to make this thing go crazy!

I would appreciate your help in any way. Thanks for reading all of this!!