We were excited beyond words when our book All Ways a Woman debuted on January 31, 2017. To see it come to fruition after all the writing, painting, compiling, designing, and editing was truly an adrenaline rush for my fellow creative Lynn Centeno and me. But then the big question emerged, “Now what?” Well, that’s when the marketing and promotion began, big time. We had done some promotion, pre-publication, but now that we had the actual book, we went into high gear.

What were some of the things we did and are doing?

1. The book was live on Amazon on January 31, 2017.
2. We did a mail chimp eblast to announce the launch.
3. We had a poster, bookmarks, and business cards printed.
4. We launched an All Ways a Woman Facebook page.
5. We set up an All Ways a Woman Goodreads page.
6. We hit the streets, so to speak, to line up venues.
7. We visited local brick and mortar stores, boutiques, and spas to see about placing our book on their shelves.
8. We sought reviews.
9. We asked readers to tell us their thoughts, favorite poems, and watercolors.
10. We each have an online presence where the book is publicized.

And now we are working on our venues. Below are events that have occurred and are upcoming.

1. January 19 through April 30, 2017 – Public
   TELL ME A STORY: WOMEN IN THE ARTS, an exhibit at the La Quinta Museum. Included in the exhibit are “The Gift of the Gathering,” a watercolor by artist Lynn Centeno, and an excerpt from the poem of the same name by author Carol Mann. Both pieces can be found in the book All Ways a Woman.

2.  January 25, 2017 – Private
Outdoor Resorts English Tea in Indio.

3.  February 14, 2017 – Private
Valentine’s Day All Ways a Woman “Coffee with Girlfriends” in La Quinta.

Preparing the signing table for the “Coffee with Girlfriends” event.

4.  February 25, 2017 – Private
All Ways a Woman Champagne Reception in Palm Desert.

5. March 1, 2017 – Private
All Ways a Woman Book Group Coffee

6.  March 8, 2017 – Public
All Ways a Woman reading and presentation at 2 pm at the La Quinta Museum located at 77885 Avenida Montezuma in La Quinta.

The event will be in the Mural Room.

7.  March 12, 2017 – Public
All Ways a Woman reading at KOFFI in Rancho Mirage from 2 to 4 pm. Koffi is located at 71-380, Highway 111.

8.  March 30, 2017 – Public
Desert Book Expo at Rancho Mirage Library from 3 to 6 pm. The event is sponsored by the Palm Springs Writers Guild and the Rancho Mirage Library.

9.  April 7, 2017 – Public
El Paseo Art Walk – First Friday of the month. We will be at Cambria Gallery (next to Il Corso Restaurant) from 4 to 7 pm. Book/Artwork/Jewelry on display.

10. April 20, 2017 – Public
Presentation and Reading at Cambria Gallery (next to Il Corso Restaurant) from 6 to 8 pm.

And the poster seems to fit anywhere.

We still have much to do and more venues to tap, ideas to be brought to reality. We also like to hear from readers. A reader in Minnesota chose as her favorite poems “A Woman’s Hands,” “Sunlit Tulips,” and “The Moment.” She went on to give reasons for her choices. Based on that input, I incorporated “Sunlit Tulips” and “The Moment” into a recent reading.

Happy Collaborators

One of the biggest joys of this book is the people we meet along the way. Book lovers, art lovers, readers, women from all walks of life. We feel their life experiences, sense their life songs as we share a reading, have a conversation. It is a pleasure to be all ways a woman, always.