Dear Matthew
I happened to notice that serendipity has put us next to each other in the Goodreads giveaway queue. We both have contest expiring on the 8th.
I'm assuming you probably checked out my giveaway and that when you did you probably figured I was the kind of guy who loved Silver Linings Playbook. Let me tell you, you are right. Like you, I went to college in Philly. Started at La Salle and would have stayed there if Speedy Morris hadn't cut me from the basketball team pre-season because, in his words, I was "too slow, can't jump, and don't have what it takes to compete at the Division I level."
I don't fully disagree with his analysis, but I still like to think it was more about bad timing to try and walk on while La Salle was dominating hoops with three players who went to the NBA (Lionel Simmons, Doug Overton, and Randy Woods) not to mention other players like Jack Hurd, Milko Lievert and Mike Stock.
I knew I would never make La Salle so I transferred to Penn where I'm proud to say I became a member of the Quakers' legendary 1989-1990 JV basketball team. And even though I never got to start a game for the Quakers, (political reason--another column) and even though we were forced to wear "hand me down" uniforms from the Varsity team, I did go 8 for 8 in one Friday night contest in front of almost 6 dozen fans. As I explained to my kids, that means their Dad shares the Palestra record for single game shooting percentage. I'm not even sure if Lionel Simmons, John Pinone, or Barry Pierce even shot 100 percent in a game. Not a bad little note to add to the obit one day.
But I digress. I'm reaching out because I think we can generate some synergy here with this contest. Basically my idea (which I think you're going to like) is that if you use your platform to bring attention to our books that are part of Goodreads' giveaway and I will also use my platform to do the same thing and we'll end up with more views. Cross-promotion in action. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned. I don't see any downside, do you?
And think about it Q, say, hypothetically, the people who tell me they love my book are really being honest. What if it does go big? Ends up being a movie like your books. Think about the awesomeness we'll be able to share in saying that we originally met via a Goodreads giveaway.
You already have one of the most inspiring stories of all time. You are the book world's Rocky. You wrote in your in-laws basement in anonymity just like Rocky ran in anonymity and now---ba-bam! You got Rocky III kind of success. Now you pass it on and give another unknown contender a shot to compete for the title. That's the kind of karma Phil Jackson spends half of 11 Rings talking about. That's like a Zen Master getting his Ph.D.
I'll tell you what Q, the more I think about this scenario the more I like it. I'm going to start off my telling my 11 twitter followers and blog followers about The Good Luck of Right Now and that it's available for a Goodreads Giveaway. And while I do that, maybe you can ask your people to put out the word about my novel Hallways in the Night. It's got a good hook, probably make a good movie, and I gotta believe the book Gods knew what they were doing when they put us next to each other.
I'm already excited about promoting your book. Think about the stories we will one day be able to tell about how we teamed up to help each other with their book release. I'm already excited about your success. I sincerely hope you feel the same way about mine.
All my best,
R.C. O'Leary
I don't fully disagree with his analysis, but I still like to think it was more about bad timing to try and walk on while La Salle was dominating hoops with three players who went to the NBA (Lionel Simmons, Doug Overton, and Randy Woods) not to mention other players like Jack Hurd, Milko Lievert and Mike Stock.
I knew I would never make La Salle so I transferred to Penn where I'm proud to say I became a member of the Quakers' legendary 1989-1990 JV basketball team. And even though I never got to start a game for the Quakers, (political reason--another column) and even though we were forced to wear "hand me down" uniforms from the Varsity team, I did go 8 for 8 in one Friday night contest in front of almost 6 dozen fans. As I explained to my kids, that means their Dad shares the Palestra record for single game shooting percentage. I'm not even sure if Lionel Simmons, John Pinone, or Barry Pierce even shot 100 percent in a game. Not a bad little note to add to the obit one day.
But I digress. I'm reaching out because I think we can generate some synergy here with this contest. Basically my idea (which I think you're going to like) is that if you use your platform to bring attention to our books that are part of Goodreads' giveaway and I will also use my platform to do the same thing and we'll end up with more views. Cross-promotion in action. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned. I don't see any downside, do you?
And think about it Q, say, hypothetically, the people who tell me they love my book are really being honest. What if it does go big? Ends up being a movie like your books. Think about the awesomeness we'll be able to share in saying that we originally met via a Goodreads giveaway.
You already have one of the most inspiring stories of all time. You are the book world's Rocky. You wrote in your in-laws basement in anonymity just like Rocky ran in anonymity and now---ba-bam! You got Rocky III kind of success. Now you pass it on and give another unknown contender a shot to compete for the title. That's the kind of karma Phil Jackson spends half of 11 Rings talking about. That's like a Zen Master getting his Ph.D.
I'll tell you what Q, the more I think about this scenario the more I like it. I'm going to start off my telling my 11 twitter followers and blog followers about The Good Luck of Right Now and that it's available for a Goodreads Giveaway. And while I do that, maybe you can ask your people to put out the word about my novel Hallways in the Night. It's got a good hook, probably make a good movie, and I gotta believe the book Gods knew what they were doing when they put us next to each other.
I'm already excited about promoting your book. Think about the stories we will one day be able to tell about how we teamed up to help each other with their book release. I'm already excited about your success. I sincerely hope you feel the same way about mine.
All my best,
R.C. O'Leary
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