Bang For Your Book...with Sue Fliess

Sue Fliess came up with a win-win PR idea when her Children's Picture book

Shoes for Me made it's debut last March (2011).  She described her "Run to Read: Putting Shoes on Feet and Books in Hands" in the SCBWI Bulletin Mar/Apr this way:

"I knew if I really wanted to stand out, especially as a first-time author, I had to go beyond the normal channels.  I started thinking like a shoe."

This is what I call thinking outside the (shoe) box.

She chose two worthy charities, one passing along gently used shoes to those in need, and one doing the same thing with books.    Her goal was to collect one hundred pairs of shoes and one hundred books.  She set up collection spots, spread the word via mom's groups, church groups, Facebook, Twitter and her own website.  Then the shoes and books began to pour in.  Friends and strangers alike offered to collect for her.  A friend hosted a book party in her honor...admission price?  a pair of gently used shoes.  The press heard about her unusual book launch and covered her party.

At the end of 6 weeks, she had collected 647 books and 651 pairs of shoes. 

Sue says she couldn't  measure how the drive affected her book sales, but she was humbled by her community's support.

Win-Win.

(Sue Fliess has a new book -  A Dress for Me - illustrated by Mike Laughead. )