My Books are NOW in the Local LIBRARY and a Bookstore!

      24 Comments on My Books are NOW in the Local LIBRARY and a Bookstore!
This is a picture of me and my book at the Northern Women's Bookstore

NWB Katya + me

A couple of weeks ago, I got the shock of my life when I checked my phone messages.

There was one from a lady named Katja, whom I had never met, but who works at the Northern Woman’s Bookstore.

She wanted me to contact her because the bookstore was interested in carrying NOT JUST MY BOOK (Risky Issues) but also one of the anthologies that I contributed to (What’s Your Story? 2013 Memoir Anthology)!

(I am listed as one the authors on the latter book, after all.) 😉

Wow!

PARO logo

I thought that someone from the PARO Women’s Centre for Enterprise had mentioned my book to her (because I had left a copy of Risky Issues for the lady whose program I’m a part of to pass onto another lady who makes the decisions regarding book signing events at PARO)… but someone at the local library had contacted Katja.

To top it all off, Katja said that the library wanted me to contact them because THEY were also interested in carrying my books!

Double wow!

Sometimes dreams come true.

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TBPL logo

I obviously contacted both Katja and someone from the Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) — the acquisitions clerk, Joanne Agostino.

When I asked how the library had heard of my book, Joanne told me that a couple of requests for my book were made through the library’s website!

Triple wow!

I was shocked, flattered, and honoured when I heard this… especially because I have done NOTHING WHATSOEVER in my hometown to promote my book!

The only thing I have done in terms of promotion have been online things, like posting updates and sharing blog posts on my social media accounts.I wrote a few guest posts and have been interviewed by others, too. 😉

But… I’ve not told too many people about my book, nor have I done any advertising or promoting of it in the city where I live. (I know, I’m the worst marketer EVER!)

This lady didn’t market her #books. At all. BUT LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!

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Sure, I would like to do a book signing someday, but I wanted to wait until I have more than one book to sell. If truth be told, I actually want to wait until Letters to Julian is finished. It’s coming along more slowly than I anticipated due to the fact that I’ve been working on projects for my clients.

The Thunder Bay Public Library Bought My Book

Anyhow, moving on…

When I spoke to Joanne, she told me that the library does not buy books from Amazon, but that they’d buy them from me, so I ordered copies and invoiced the library, as per her request. Thankfully, I was able to do this via my business, Wording Well.

I asked her, too, if she wanted me to autograph them. She checked with her colleagues, as she was unsure, but eventually told me it was okay if I did. So I did, when I dropped them off to her.

I delivered them on Wednesday, April 8th, 2015, and before I went into the library, I asked a total stranger to take a picture of me standing outside the library. I was alone in my venture, but I wanted a memento for posterity. 😉

I wanted the artwork and name of the building to be in the picture, too.

Here is a picture of me standing outside the Waverly Street location of the Thunder Bay Public Library.

TBPL + ME

Maybe I should’ve called the newspaper, but I didn’t think of that until afterward! 😉 Oh, well.

The Northern Woman’s Bookstore Stocked My Book!

After I left the library, I went to the Northern Woman’s Bookstore, to meet Katja in person and to drop off some books for her to sell.

She and I ended up taking a couple of selfies for our Facebook pages and websites.

She also put my book on display near the front door!

Here is a picture of the door you need to enter once you enter the building:

NWB door sign

 

Here is a picture of the building, which looks like a huge brick house:

The NWB building

Taking Selfies

Naturally, I had to snap a pic of me with my book. 🙂 Wouldn’t you have done the same thing, if you were in my shoes?

This is a picture of me and my book at the Northern Women's Bookstore

I took a few pics of Katja, my book, and myself, too.

One can be seen at the beginning of this post; here are the others:

NWB + BOOK + ME + KATYA

 

Because half her head didn’t make it into the pic, I took another! This one is better:

 

NWB + BOOK

 

Then we started getting silly, and, as we were laughing, I ended up snapping this pic, which didn’t turn out very clear, but at least you can see our wide smiles!

NWB Katya + me 2

My PARO Presentation was given earlier that day…

What made this day extra-special is that, just prior to distributing my books all over town, I gave a presentation to about a dozen women at PARO. The topic was Business Branding and Setting Up an Online Presence.

Here is a screenshot of the date and time of the presentation, taken from their website:

PARO presentation info

I was paid for giving this presentation, too! 🙂

I even made a video of it… but it didn’t turn out well. The lighting was poor, there was a glare on the screen, and there was a glare from the laptop I used… but the sound was good!

However, I was able to create a SlideShare presentation, for all the world to see.

Do you know how to do #business #branding? See Slideshare in this post. for help.

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How I Celebrated

My parents took me out to dinner. We feasted on Chinese food, which I love. 🙂 My son was unable to attend, as he was exhausted from working and had to put in a few hours of studying for the AZ trucking course he is taking. Dinner was fantastic, and we ended up playing cards afterward. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my folks. 🙂

When I spoke to my son, he expressed his happiness and pride, too.

All in all, that day was a very great day. 🙂

Wouldn’t you agree? 😉

P.S. Don’t forget to buy a copy of Risky Issues for yourself or someone in your life. 🙂

Last Updated : Thursday, April 8, 2021

24 thoughts on “My Books are NOW in the Local LIBRARY and a Bookstore!”

  1. Rohan Chaubey

    Hi Lorraine ma’am,

    So happy to read about all the surprises you have been receiving. Congratulations for all the success you have been getting because of your book. You must have done a fabulous job!

    I viewed and left my views on your Slideshare Presentation too which you shared with us on Facebook. You nailed it!

    Congrats once again. More power to you! 🙂

    – Rohan Chaubey.

    Reply ↓
  2. Jo Ann Plante

    I am so happy for you. It is every author’s dream to see his/her book on display in a store or library. You have worked very hard for this and I am so happy for you!

    Reply ↓
    1. Lorraine Post author

      Thanks, Jo Anne! 😀

      Yes, you’re right — I DID work hard on figuring things out for myself, so I could become an independently published author. I am so happy I learned, though! 😉 I can’t wait to publish another book!

      Reply ↓
  5. Beth Niebuhr

    Wow, Lorraine! Lots of nice things happening to you. I love your pictures. You look so happy and confident. Way to go!

    Reply ↓
    1. Lorraine Post author

      Beth, that was one of the best days of my life! 😀

      Thanks for dropping by to share my happiness!

      I’m glad you like the pics, too. 🙂

      Reply ↓
  7. andleeb

    Hello Lorraine

    I am so happy for you on this success. I think, it is dream of all the writers to have their books in the Library.
    I am so happy for you, Congratulations.
    All the best for future projects.

    Reply ↓
  11. maxwell ivey

    Hi Lorraine; What an amazing accomplishment and made all the sweeter by your not having to promote the book. People found it and loved it and told other people about it. That’s awesome. One of the reasons why I recently reordered copies of my own book was because even though my doctors know about and appreciate my work they have never read my book. I am planning on taking them signed copies. Don’t know if anything will come from it, but its something I should have done a long time ago. I now have a messenger bag so I can carry things like my laptop and copies of my books with me when I leave the house. And who knows, I might be just as blessed as you have been. I did post a tweet earlier tonight mentioning that the audio of my book would be out soon and I want my blind friends to help get it added to the National Library Services for the Blind collection. Well, enjoy the moment. You earned it. Take care my friend. xoxo Max

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    1. Lorraine Post author

      Thanks, Max. It sure was nice to be asked by my local library if they could carry my book!

      I love that you are going to give your doctors signed copies of yours. They will appreciate that gesture, for sure. 🙂

      I hope your friends help you achieve your goals! I think they will, if they are your true friends.

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  12. Imran Soudagar

    Hello Lorraine,

    Congratulations! And I hope you will write more such books and probably one of your books will become a New York Times bestseller some day. 🙂

    Regards,
    Imran Soudagar.

    Reply ↓

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