Guest Post: Deb Gonzales On Book Promo Class

Posted & filed under Interviews & Guest Posts, Marketing and Publicity.

I’ve known Debbie Gonzales since we overlapped – ten years ago – at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a talented lady. She built each of my curriculum guides, which are stellar. Now she’s launching a new venture designed to help you with your book publicity.

I’m happy to have Deb on the blog this week to tell you about her class, Path to Promotion. Here’s Deb:

You may know that I’m, at long last, going to be a debut author! My book comes out in the spring of 2019. Hip, hip hooray! Like a good little soldier, I’ve been working on a publicity platform, discovering lots of neat ways to let folks know about the book and myself. However, I discovered that, though I’ve been very active in the Kid Lit industry for a long time, I feel somewhat ill-prepared to promote my book. And then, it occurred to me that, if I feel this way, then others might, too. So, I contacted a few author and publicist friends and have put together an on-line publicity course suitable for published and pre-published authors and illustrators.  Together, we will navigate our way down the Path to Promotion.

I have a vision of what I’d like my publicity campaign to look like. I know I’ll need to utilize social media in creative and authentic ways to make that happen. I’m very interested in developing a sense of community with readers, as well as the folks I’ve been honored to create teacher guides for. I want to know how to make a solid connection with the school/library market. And, while I’m blessed to have tremendous support from my publisher, I’m fully aware that they have other authors that deserve their attention, too. I desire all these things, and yet I have limited funds and time to devote to developing this campaign. Where should I start? I need a plan. Set some practical, affordable, and achievable goals. Devise a strategy by asking guidance from professionals who know what to do. Take some action! That’s what Path to Promotion: A Six-Week Online Book Publicity Course is all about.

Path to Promotion is an online collaborative program designed to share promotional information and techniques, to guide in the publicity preparation process, and to clarify steps required to create an affordable marketing platform that is personal, authentic, and professionally sound. In this session, we’ll explore topics such as podcasting, the school/library market, creating a digital footprint, and others.  At the end of the course, participants will receive a Path to Promotion Publicity Planner packed with graphics and guides to assist in the quest to make a splash in the world.

Here’s how the Path to Promotion 6-week course works:

  • On Monday of each week participants will access an audio interview featuring one of the Path to Promotion faculty members focusing on their area of expertise. In addition, they’ll access a handout and (look out, now) a homework assignment due on Wednesday of that week.
  • On Wednesday, participants will access a live webinar (affectionately known as The Debinar) during which they can connect with the featured faculty member by asking questions via live chat. The Debinar will be recorded for later viewing. Questions may be submitted in advance.
  • At the end of the course participants receive a Path to Promotion Publicity Planner packed with graphics and guides to assist in the development of a practical, affordable, and effective promotional plan!

Some important registration and fee information:

  • Session run from Monday, May 14 until Wednesday, June 18
  • Early Bird Registration – $175 (opens March 1 – closes April 8)
  • Full Registration Rate – $200 (opens April 9 – closes May 7)
  • Spaces are limited

The Faculty list and their topics include:

  • Deb Gonzales on IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
  • Carmen Oliver on MAKING A SPLASH IN THE SCHOOL/LIBRARY MARKET
  • Carrie Pearson on PREPAREDNESS: THE KEY TI MAKING CONNECTIONS
  • Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy of Blue Slip Media present EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT PUBLICITY, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
  • Jo Whittemore on the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY OF PODCASTING

I’m over-the-top excited about producing this course. The faculty is incredible. The topics are timely. I love the fact that the Path to Promotion coursework is interactional, flexible, and versatile – perfect for authors and illustrators, at what ever stage they may be in the quest for publication.

Join us, won’t you?

For more information, contact Deb Gonzales at debbadee5@gmail.com

Debbie Gonzales is a career educator, curriculum consultant, former school administrator and adjunct professor, and once served as a SCBWI RA for the Austin Chapter. Deb currently devotes her time to writing middle grade novels, crafting teacher guides and various other freelance projects. She’s the author of six “transitional” readers for New Zealand publisher, Giltedge, and the forthcoming non-fiction picture book Play Like a Girl: The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing Records (Charlesbridge, 2019). A transplanted Texan, Debbie now calls beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan home where she lives with her husband John and spunky pup, Missy. Deb earned her MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.