Here ya go!
Writing Community Unites to Write “Stories of Strength” for Disaster Relief
As they watched the coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, writers who had gathered on the AbsoluteWrite.com message boards decided not to sit by helplessly any longer. Instead, they set their pens and keyboards to work-- writing uplifting essays, short fiction, and poetry on the theme of “strength.” The result is the 316-page anthology Stories of Strength, with 100 percent of the proceeds to go to disaster relief charities, including the Red Cross, Americares, and the Salvation Army.
Headed by Jenna Glatzer, author of acclaimed Celine Dion biography For Keeps, this project attracted contributions from many well-known writers, including a story and an original hymn by award-winning science fiction novelist Orson Scott Card, an essay by famed actor Wil Wheaton (Star Trek, Stand By Me), and a short story from Christian romance author Robin Lee Hatcher.
With more than 100 pieces from writers all over the world, and the gracious efforts of prominent editors and graphic designers, Stories of Strength is a tribute to the human spirit: celebrating true stories of courage and endurance in challenging situations that range from the death of a child to living through natural disasters, to smaller-scale trials, like dealing with returning an overdue book to the local Library Troll.
[Local writer XYZ’s story “yyy” is among the works chosen for Stories of Strength. XYZ says, “yyy.”]
Alternating between tear-jerking and humorous, Stories of Strength is guaranteed to inspire and remind readers that the human spirit knows no boundaries.
“Many people have said they plan to order copies for everyone on their holiday list,” says Jenna Glatzer. “What a fantastic way to give a present that also helps people rebuild their lives.”
The writers hope to turn their words into sizeable long-term contributions to disaster relief charities. In addition to the writers’ donations, publishing company Lulu (www.lulu.com) is generously donating its profits from the project. Lulu will also donate several media review copies.
Most writers are available for interviews, readings, and book signings.
Ordering details are at www.storiesofstrength.com.
The book will be available direct from Lulu on November 1, 2005, and available to order from bookstores worldwide soon thereafter.
Book details:
Stories of Strength
Editor/Publisher: Jenna Glatzer
Publishing services provided by Lulu
ISBN: 1-4116-5503-6
Release date: November 1, 2005
316 pages
Price: $15.95
6.0 x 9.0 in., Perfect-bound, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# white exterior paper, full-color (CMYK) exterior
###
Contact:
(Name, phone, e-mail)
---
Instructions:
Okay, folks, here we go!
WAHOOO!
This is the press release, which you can feel free to tweak for your own purposes.
In the bracketed part (local writer says, "Blah blah"), here's what's important:
Name your town or county. "Local writer" isn't strong enough on its own-- the local papers will want to know that you're from their circulation area. So the bracketed part could read something like this:
Jane Smith from Tookalooka County is one of the writers whose work was chosen for the anthology. Her essay, "XYZ," is about the strength she needed to overcome her mother's death from heart disease. "I'm proud to have my story included," says Jane. "It feels great to be able to use my love of writing to help people in need. I hope this project will make Tookalooka County proud!"
If you want us to check over your additions to the press release, please post them here! I'm happy to copyedit. We want to make sure there are no grammatical errors or typos in anything that goes out; it's important to make sure the media takes this seriously.
The next variable is review copies:
If you're enclosing a review copy with the press release, you can just indicate that at the bottom of the press release (Enclosed: Review copy), or write a separate cover letter that says you're including a review copy and hope they will choose to feature the book in their paper/magazine.
If you are NOT including a review copy, you may wish to state "Review copy available: Please contact me at xyz." (I'll start another thread to explain this.)
The last variable is contact info.
You have two options:
1. Include your own contact info at the bottom of the release-- your name, phone, and e-mail.
or
2. Include my contact info. You can use the e-mail storiesofstrength @ jennaglatzer.com (remove spaces-- I'm just putting them in to avoid spambots). I don't want to give out my phone number openly, nor do I want it posted anywhere on the web, but I don't mind giving it to you privately so you can include it in releases you're sending directly to newspapers/magazines.
It's better to include your own contact info for any local media. For national media, it's OK to include mine.
I'll send out many releases to national media, and I'll post in the "media that's been contacted" thread as I do so. I'll also post the PR on PRWeb.com and other free press release sites. Alibris has also offered to feature the book (thanks, Alibris!).
I'll post another thread in a minute to discuss review copies...
Writing Community Unites to Write “Stories of Strength” for Disaster Relief
As they watched the coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, writers who had gathered on the AbsoluteWrite.com message boards decided not to sit by helplessly any longer. Instead, they set their pens and keyboards to work-- writing uplifting essays, short fiction, and poetry on the theme of “strength.” The result is the 316-page anthology Stories of Strength, with 100 percent of the proceeds to go to disaster relief charities, including the Red Cross, Americares, and the Salvation Army.
Headed by Jenna Glatzer, author of acclaimed Celine Dion biography For Keeps, this project attracted contributions from many well-known writers, including a story and an original hymn by award-winning science fiction novelist Orson Scott Card, an essay by famed actor Wil Wheaton (Star Trek, Stand By Me), and a short story from Christian romance author Robin Lee Hatcher.
With more than 100 pieces from writers all over the world, and the gracious efforts of prominent editors and graphic designers, Stories of Strength is a tribute to the human spirit: celebrating true stories of courage and endurance in challenging situations that range from the death of a child to living through natural disasters, to smaller-scale trials, like dealing with returning an overdue book to the local Library Troll.
[Local writer XYZ’s story “yyy” is among the works chosen for Stories of Strength. XYZ says, “yyy.”]
Alternating between tear-jerking and humorous, Stories of Strength is guaranteed to inspire and remind readers that the human spirit knows no boundaries.
“Many people have said they plan to order copies for everyone on their holiday list,” says Jenna Glatzer. “What a fantastic way to give a present that also helps people rebuild their lives.”
The writers hope to turn their words into sizeable long-term contributions to disaster relief charities. In addition to the writers’ donations, publishing company Lulu (www.lulu.com) is generously donating its profits from the project. Lulu will also donate several media review copies.
Most writers are available for interviews, readings, and book signings.
Ordering details are at www.storiesofstrength.com.
The book will be available direct from Lulu on November 1, 2005, and available to order from bookstores worldwide soon thereafter.
Book details:
Stories of Strength
Editor/Publisher: Jenna Glatzer
Publishing services provided by Lulu
ISBN: 1-4116-5503-6
Release date: November 1, 2005
316 pages
Price: $15.95
6.0 x 9.0 in., Perfect-bound, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# white exterior paper, full-color (CMYK) exterior
###
Contact:
(Name, phone, e-mail)
---
Instructions:
Okay, folks, here we go!
WAHOOO!
This is the press release, which you can feel free to tweak for your own purposes.
In the bracketed part (local writer says, "Blah blah"), here's what's important:
Name your town or county. "Local writer" isn't strong enough on its own-- the local papers will want to know that you're from their circulation area. So the bracketed part could read something like this:
Jane Smith from Tookalooka County is one of the writers whose work was chosen for the anthology. Her essay, "XYZ," is about the strength she needed to overcome her mother's death from heart disease. "I'm proud to have my story included," says Jane. "It feels great to be able to use my love of writing to help people in need. I hope this project will make Tookalooka County proud!"
If you want us to check over your additions to the press release, please post them here! I'm happy to copyedit. We want to make sure there are no grammatical errors or typos in anything that goes out; it's important to make sure the media takes this seriously.
The next variable is review copies:
If you're enclosing a review copy with the press release, you can just indicate that at the bottom of the press release (Enclosed: Review copy), or write a separate cover letter that says you're including a review copy and hope they will choose to feature the book in their paper/magazine.
If you are NOT including a review copy, you may wish to state "Review copy available: Please contact me at xyz." (I'll start another thread to explain this.)
The last variable is contact info.
You have two options:
1. Include your own contact info at the bottom of the release-- your name, phone, and e-mail.
or
2. Include my contact info. You can use the e-mail storiesofstrength @ jennaglatzer.com (remove spaces-- I'm just putting them in to avoid spambots). I don't want to give out my phone number openly, nor do I want it posted anywhere on the web, but I don't mind giving it to you privately so you can include it in releases you're sending directly to newspapers/magazines.
It's better to include your own contact info for any local media. For national media, it's OK to include mine.
I'll send out many releases to national media, and I'll post in the "media that's been contacted" thread as I do so. I'll also post the PR on PRWeb.com and other free press release sites. Alibris has also offered to feature the book (thanks, Alibris!).
I'll post another thread in a minute to discuss review copies...
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm just not sure how long it'll take. Unfortunately, that's not in Lulu's control-- Amazon and BN.com add listings in batches, and the timetable varies a lot.
