Pauline G. Dembicki's Blog

In 2009 I published my first book. Wills, and Powers, and Trusts, Oh My!
My marketing plan was to carry a copy at all times and to show it to everyone I met.
I had a stack of copies on my desk at work and a copy lived inside my briefcase.
I was at the Niles Public Library for a lecture and had a chance to talk to a librarian and show him my book.
He asked how the library could get a copy. I gave him a copy and he promised to get a check out.
A week later. I received a letter and his check. He didn't want me to wait for the money.
His kindness brings a smile to my face.

In 2009 I released my first book, Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney, Oh My!
It was printed. I was the sole distributor.
My marketing plan was to take the book with me everywhere and show and tell everyone I met. I had a box of books in the car and a stack of them on my desk at the office.
While at a lecture at the Niles Public Library, I showed a copy to a librarian named Frank. He looked at it for a while and asked how the library could get a copy.
I explained that in exchange for $20, I would go out to the car and get him a fresh copy. He said the library would pay.
A week later I had a letter from him saying the library turnaround time was six weeks. He enclosed his check so I wouldn't have to wait.
I remember this kindness.

Kindness matters.
Best, Pauline

Authors are amazing folk, each with their unique style, talent and marketing approach. For several years, I've joined together with other authors to do a free download day, interview, sale or something in between. The results are always spectacular.
This December, a new group of Chicago Authors (on Goodreads) will band together to do a holiday eBook giveaway. We have romance, spiritual, thriller, non-fiction and noir books.
The promotion will include twitter, face book and LinkedIn.
It's a terrific way of marketing.
If you're a Chicago Author, you can join our group here on Goodreads. If you are a reader, I invite you to enter the contest. If you want to spread the word about authors banding together, you can do that too.
I thank Lisa M. Lilly, Sheila M. Cronin, Matt Bieniek and Ruth Kaufman for participating.
You guys rock.



Pauline G. Dembicki is an attorney in Chicago who writes books about the law for consumers.
amazon.com/author/pauline

Tweet Like Big Bird
by Pauline G. Dembicki
Twitter is an engaging media with a challenge to put our thoughts into 140 spaces. Here are my top twelve observations.
1. Enormous accounts don't necessarily have focused followers;
2. If engaging with others is one of the purposes, automatic messages are counter- productive;
3. When you don't tweet for more than a week, your followers fall off;
4. Use #HASHTAGS;
5. Looking at some accounts, some do not retweet, you need to determine if they otherwise have value to decide whether to follow them;
6. If I follow you, and you do not reciprocate but send me a DM asking that I follow you on a dozen other media, I'm reaching for the block button;
7. It's not all about self-promotion, it's about engaging and exchanging information, awesome pictures, quotes, other authors information, news and opinions; you need to retweet;
8. Once in a while you need to clear out people who are not following you or who have stopped tweeting;
9. Pin a tweet to your page and retweet pinned tweets of your followers;
10. Blocking offensive content will impact your brand;
Top two:
11. Look at followers and following of people with common interest to follow, and
12. Tweeting at different times of the day and days of the week can help you see when your followers are around. Watch for your twitter analytics.
Pauline is an attorney in the Chicago area who focuses on wills, trusts, probate and trust administration. She has over thirty years of experience and encourages people to plan, plan, plan. She has several books about wills and trusts available in kindle and createspace.
@paulineatty is her twitter address. You can also follow her here on goodreads.

Lucy goes to Law School
by Pauline G. Dembicki
On an old 'I Love Lucy' episode, Lucy wants to be in the show while Ricky wants her to wash, cook and clean. Ricky tries to trick her. In the end, well I won't spoil it for you.
Here are the legal issues spewed out in the episode. Ricky receives a package from their lawyer. He explains that he had a will prepared and Lucy immediately panics, thinking he is dying. Ricky explains that he had a will prepared and that the lawyer said Lucy should have one too. The lawyer prepared a will for Lucy without talking to her. Ricky asked Lucy to sign her will and return both wills to the lawyer, in person.
Here are the problems:
1. A lawyer cannot prepare a will on the directions of a third party. Lucy has the right to say who will receive her estate and who will be in charge.
2. A lawyer who prepares a will for your spouse cannot prepare a will for you if you don't hire them to do so and tell them what you want.
3. Wills require formality in execution. That means when you sign your will, one or two witnesses need to sign and state that they believed you were of sound mind and memory.
4. The best time to make a will is not when you get bad news from the doctor.
The lesson from this episode is that law is used for entertainment everywhere. We can't help but to absorb a little of it unconsciously. You shouldn't wait to make a will. Your legal advice should come from an attorney. Lucy never graduated from law school.

This article is not legal advice.

Without a doubt the best thing you can do for an author, after buying (and reading) the book, is to write a book review.
Don't spend time regurgitating contents of a book. Instead consider the following points:

1. Did you learn something?

2. Was the writing clear?

3. Would you recommend the book to others?

4. Would you read other books by this author?

5. Was there another particular reason why you liked the book?

A book review should not be a place where you spew venom. Remember even if you didn't care for the book, someone else might be looking for the very information it contains.

Your reviews don't need to be more than two sentences long, or one.

Questions?
I am delighted to talk to you about this topic.

Best,

Pauline