A Letter to Writer Unboxed
February 2nd, 2008 by Therese Walsh
I want to share this letter with everyone, since I know some of you–including Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life–took the step to blog about Patry after reading about the blogging efforts and some of you chose to support Patry by buying her book. This thanks should definitely be shared.
Here ’tis:
Hi, Therese and Kathleen -I want to thank you for the support you gave in helping to spread the word about Patry Francis’s novel as part of THE LIAR’S DIARY Blog Day. Patry is completely overwhelmed, and deeply grateful. Her agent said Tuesday “was one of the most rewarding days –if not the most rewarding day– I’ve had in publishing…” Patry’s own thank you is posted on her blog.
In the end, very nearly 400 bloggers helped move her novel from a ranking of 55,000 on amazon at the start of the day, to #1 in Mystery, 275 overall by evening. Those statistics prove the day was a success, but we knew it would be even before the day began because we could see the groundswell of support, feel the sense of community.
Canada’s National Post did a story about our effort on the 29th, and the next day, told us it was their third most-read online article EVER. [Note: You can read that article HERE.] We’re hoping that others in the print media will now come on board. What took place was a remarkable demonstration of the power of the Internet community, and deserves to be told. And of course, we hope Patry’s sales continue to soar, and more important, that her recovery goes smoothly.
Thanks again so much for your help!
All best,
Karen Dionne, Administrator, Backspace LLC
Thank YOU, guys, for supporting the efforts as well. Write on!
ETA by Kath: Personally, the experience ranked right up there with us going live two years ago. One of the best things about being a part of an online community is the moments when you realize your voice isn’t just a cry in the wilderness, that we CAN make a difference. It was fun to watch Patry’s sales climb as the day unfolded. Bonus: it was wonderful to know we lightened the burden of someone who needed our help.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s .Bradi.
