The Hump Day Camel

Sometimes I'm impressed with the advertising industry. Granted, that annoying camel is becoming, well, annoying after a period of time, but I still think he's fun. "What day is it??" (and yes, I was employing that phrase all day on Monday, Release Day).

Speaking of which, I assume everyone knows by now that the new novel was released on Monday? Have you purchased your copy yet?

Okay, back on topic. Along with the wealth of "good" commercials, there are also many memorable "bad" commercials. Does anyone really like the Burger King king with the plastic head? Isn't he kind of creepy? If I was to look into an advertising company to promote my business, that would probably not even make the list. But the Geico guys, they got it right. Some of those commercials are better than others (and again, this is my humble opinion), but some of them are pretty funny. One more I'll add to my list of favorite adverts, the State Farm guys, in particular (and this is probably because I'm a cat lover), the "helpful hints" one where the last vignette is kitty litter on a snowy road for traction -- and along come dozens of kitties.

This is all mindless wandering, mind you. Ads are generally more annoying than anything else, which is why when they find a way to entertain you in the process, I find them noteworthy. And my poor, overused Hump Day Camel is probably annoying more people than it's entertaining now.

For authors, advertising is most effective via word of mouth. So for right now, I'm standing over here, jumping up and down, waving my arms hawking my books, and hoping that those of you who have enjoyed them will tell all your friends. Yes, I do more formal advertising as well, and the community of writers bands together to help one another.

So "Release Day" is past (and I'll put that camel to bed for now), but it is still Release Week! Long and Short Reviews is running a contest for one free (ebook) copy of my book at their site, and Goodreads is running a contest to win one of five free copies to celebrate (see the link to the right). Enter to win, tell your friends. Buy a copy. Support independent authors! And after you've read Heart For Rent, I hope you'll leave a review on your favorite book site.