Thank You! And a teary goodbye...

Hi Everyone,

It's been a bit crazy around the grill lately. People walking off with the ketchup packets. Soda spills and mustard stains on just about every patron. Even weiners under the table! (Who does that?) It hasn't been easy raising everyone's cholesterol levels and weight.

So it is with heavy and clogged-artery hearts that we must bid goodbye.

We want to thank each and every person who has dropped by the Book Roast. I can't emphasize enough how enjoyable it has been getting to know authors and writers from around the world. Look at our sidebar! We've been able to meet and hob-nob with truly wonderful people! And everyone who has participated in the roasts and has kept the energy level positive and upbeat--many special thanks to all of you! Without you, an interactive blog such as this would have fizzled out quickly.

The reasons for our having to say goodbye are primarily economic ones. We're all working longer and harder hours at real-life jobs than we did when we opened the blog. Plus, did I mention the table manners? :-)

But there are a couple of marketing reasons as well. The traffic on this blog fluctuates month by month. It has been a valuable learning experience seeing which months are better for marketing via blogs (February and March), and which months are the worst (July, August, November, December). Of course this is highly unscientific, but interesting to take note nonetheless.

We'd like to leave the comments open for discussion about online marketing for books. If you have an experience or information you'd like to share, please leave a comment! I think with all of our combined knowledge, we could help each other in this facet of the publishing industry.

Before we leave you, we'd like to give you two parting gifts!

The first one is a behind-the-scenes video (we've posted before) about the Grill. Enjoy.

The second is an invitation to go visit Ms. Spitfire at Nathan's blog! We were so lucky and happy to pull her into our venture, and we'd like to give her a very special thank you for all of her letters. It wasn't easy for her to do this on a weekly basis given everything that has been happening in the publishing industry, so we'd really like to acknowledge her and her efforts (Though she's still anonymous. Only we know who she is... Let's say she got out just in time. I saw her drinking ketchup from the bottle last week.)

Go visit Nathan and Ms. Spitfire today!!!! Her post will be up sometime mid-morning, New York time. (Or early morning, California time.)

And be sure to leave your thoughts about online marketing in the comments section.

THANK YOU!!!

This Week's Thank You's and a Free Appetizer in August!

Thank You!

First, we want to recognize this week's authors, who each came
to the table with something unique:

• Elizabeth, who brought Moon Pies
• Xujun, who cooked sweet rice
• Jeff, who poured us all ryes
• Sandra, who kicked in the ice
• And Nicola, who added the spice

Thanks, guys, for keeping us so well fed!

Free Appetizer

We'll be starting next month's Roast a little early so we can serve up a very special appetizer.

If you love books or children, char-broiled or not, then come by
Book Roast August 24 - 25 as we kick off the school year with "Reach Out and Read." This weekend event will spotlight the Reach Out and Read charity dedicated to giving books to children. Join the festivities we have planned around this worthy cause and find out what children responded when asked, "If you could write a book, what would it be about?"

Afraid you'll miss the event or the next Book Roast week? Scroll down the left-hand side of the page and sign up for our email list and/or RSS feed!

We'll be posting more about the event a little later, but here's what Reach Out and Read is all about:

Reach Out and Read is a national non-profit organization that makes
literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric care so that children grow up
with books and a love of reading.

Reach Out and Read trains doctors and nurses to advise parents about the
importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at pediatric check-ups
from six months to five years of age. A special focus is placed on children
growing up in poverty. By building on the unique relationship between parents
and medical providers, Reach Out and Read helps families and communities
cultivate early literacy skills so that children enter school prepared to
succeed at reading.

To date, ROR doctors and nurses have distributed 5.4 million books to more
than 3.3 million children and their families annually at more than 3,795
pediatric practices, hospitals, clinics and health centers throughout the
country. To learn more, visit www.reachoutandread.org.

Thank You!

All of us here at the Book Roast would like to thank everybody who stopped by, lurked, chatted, played with the ketchup, and otherwise participated in our first grill!

Thank you, Bernita. The first roastee. The brave one. Even though you have an extensive knowledge base of multi-syllabic words and fine art, you are still able to talk about rears. That's versatility.

Thank you, Therese. A familiar face in the blogosphere, you're always willing to support other writers. Plus you're pretty fast at tucking in children, which makes you an idol.

Thank you, Dennis. Someone addicted to multi-media, you took time away from filming to play with us at the roast. Even though you didn't show us a picture of your brain, we all know that you have one. And now you have a whole-face avatar. Very nice. A complete package.

Thank you, Erica. You're graceful and funny and brought Rod the Roofer back to us. I hope we see a sequel to Roofer. The list is endless (plumber, electrician, mechanic....) And make them all hot.

Thank you, Doreen. I think next time you should drive the bus, and make your husband drive the U-Haul with your shoe supply. You sacrificed much for the writing of your book, and it is duly noted.

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Please join us every month for a week of roasting the best books and the best authors. Check the sidebar for July's menu selection. We've provided a variety delectable enough to please every palate.

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If you'd like to see what it's like behind-the-scenes at the Book Roast, click here.