I’d like to pick up where I left off in my February 14 post, as my client, Bradley V. DeHaven has been able to use his print-on-demand book, Defining Moments. A Suburban Father’s Journey Into His Son’s Oxycontin Addiction, to work towards his goal in amazing ways.

His efforts at marketing are not only right on target to sell books, but right on target to meet his primary goal of raising awareness of, and helping people who are struggling with, prescription drug addiction.

He has clearly defined his goals, and he is going for it.  This is exactly the type of writer who should go the route of a Create Space or Kindle platform.

Right up front, he created a website to help sell his book. It has. But, already, it has done so much more than that.  He is affecting people; they are touched by the story of his youth as well as his son’s. They are making comments like, “Couldn’t put this down. I cried through half of it.” Or, my favorite:

“Alternating story lines merge this father’s past with his family’s heartbreaking present. A detailed and page-turning experience of a father’s determination to save his son. Incredible writing and inspirational conclusion.”  🙂

He reached out to charitable organizations that assist people who deal with drug addiction and offered them a portion of his proceeds, something he can do with a lot less red tape than if he had been given an advance by a major traditional publisher.  He has five programs on his drop down menu now.

He contacted local media outlets. After the Sacramento News and Review piece, he was included in a much smaller Granite Bay newspaper, and then appeared, with his son, on Insight, a Capital Public Radio program that is heard in quite a few markets around the US.

He contacted the people on his Christmas card list.  He sent many of them a copy. In return, he received an outpouring of similar stories and support for his decision to publish the book.   He also received more free marketing advice. Which, as you might imagine, might be worth every penny. But, some of it might be worth a lot more.

The moral of this story is this: If you have a good story to tell, and hire a good editor to help you tell it; if you have clear goals, and get good advice regarding your publishing options, you can dive in and go for it.

Brad went for it face first.

So far, no lost teeth.