Scott Burtness's Blog: Scott's Thoughts - Posts Tagged "vampire-books"

OK. I feel really weird doing this, but I'm so freakin' excited about October that I can't not do this.

I'm writing a blog post that is helpful for authors.

I've declared October "Vampire Books for Blood" month.

I was looking for ways to promote my book and had just been tagged for the ALS Ice Bucket challenge (thanks, Greg at 2bookloversreviews.com...) I really liked the idea of using my royalties to support a charitable cause, so I put my thinking cap on.

"Vampires. Hmmm. What charities pair well with a vampire book? River dolphin rescues? No... Um, the Naked Clowns? (A completely real charity, BTW)... No."

Well, you get the point. And then I happened to see a banner ad for the American Red Cross. They were in the final "100 Days of Summer, 100 Days of Hope" promotion. Lightning struck (figuratively, thank goodness... If it had been literal, I wouldn't be typing this blog post), I realized that the Red Cross wasn't just the organization I'd like to help, it's the one my main character Herb Knudsen would want to help.

That crystallized it. If Herb wanted to help (despite being a completely fictitious character), so would I. I contacted my local Red Cross Blood Services Center and pledged to donate 100% of my net royalties from October sales of "Wisconsin Vamp."

The result is "Vampire Books for Blood."

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vampir...


Rather than being all by my lonesome, I figured it would be a lot more fun if other authors jumped on board, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS-rD...

October is going to be awesome. Authors from across the country are coming together to support the Red Cross. How cool is that? The Facebook page for the event makes it easy for participating authors to post their book(s) and readers to find books from authors that have pledged to help.

I'm very excited about this event, and hope that more authors take part, that lots of readers find us, and that we can all give a lot of support to the American Red Cross at the end of the month!

#VampBooks4Blood

Ok, Ok. I know. This blog isn't supposed to be even remotely helpful for authors. Sometimes, though, I just can't help myself.

Last year, I started an event called Vampire Books for Blood. The idea was simple: I pledged to donate a portion of my October royalties to the American Red Cross, and encouraged other authors to do the same.

I set up an event Facebook page, four brave souls joined me, we had a great time and raised a few hundred bucks for the American Red Cross.

Now it's time for the 2nd Annual Vampire Books for Blood event. I've built an event website (www.vampirebooksforblood.org) and hope to engage a ton of authors. I'll be sending out press releases to about 1500 media outlets around the country at the end of September. The more authors that are on-board, the more likely we'll get some serious media attention.

So here's the challenge: Between now and mid-Sept, please let your vampire book author friends know about the event and encourage them to participate. Once Oct. 1st rolls around, please promote the event (#VampBooks4Blood) so we can raise a lot of money for the American Red Cross.

Thanks all! Now carry on.

-Scott