Monday, February 3, 2020

Stronger than Words Street Team

I'm recruiting for a small street team for my latest release, STRONGER THAN WORDS, available now on Wattpad and the Swoon Reads platform. Teamers who complete all of the required activities will receive a $10 gift card plus the opportunity to use me as a reference for college, graduate school, internships, or relevant job applications! And if Stronger than Words is selected by the Swoon Reads team for publication, all teamers will receive $100 via PayPal or another gift card.



Here's more info about the book:
Formerly homeless Mackenzie Craig has worked her way up to the number two spot in her graduating class and secured a scholarship to a great college. But then she collapses at the state debate championships. She's rushed to the hospital where her prognosis is grave--she's having a stroke.

Mackenzie wakes up unable to walk or speak normally. She works hard to return to school in time to graduate, but when she overhears a classmate insulting her little sister, she doesn't have the words to tell him off, so she punches him.

When her college finds out about the assault, they threaten to revoke her scholarship. Mackenzie must meet with them to defend her actions before the fall semester starts. But August is only three months away. Can she re-learn to communicate in time for her hearing? Or will her stroke steal away her entire future?

Stronger than Words
is a story of perseverance, hope, and human connection.




Here are the street team details:

In order to apply, first read the entire story on Swoon Reads and leave a short review in the comments for the book. Then fill out this form to officially request to be part of the team. I will accept applications until February 26 and notify accepted teamers by Feb 29. Incentives will be mailed out at the end of June to teamers who complete all of the following activities.

In order to apply you must have (or be willing to create) the following:
  • a free Swoon Reads account
  • either a Twitter or Instagram account--ideally both
  • a Goodreads account
  • At least one additional way beyond the above to review the story--could be Facebook, Wattpad, a personal blog, membership to a YA review blog like YA Books Central, a YouTube channel, a Tumblr, etc. If you don't have any of these things and still really want to participate, you can agree to write a short review on your Instagram account.
  • There is no requirement as far as number of followers you have. If you're looking to get some book promotion experience, this is a great opportunity for people just starting out. International teamers welcome.

Here are the required activities:

February:

March-April:
  • Cross-post your review from Swoon Reads to Goodreads.
  • Add your quotes from STRONGER THAN WORDS to Goodreads, or vote for them if they've already been added.
  • Vote for STRONGER THAN WORDS on 3 Goodreads lists. You can also add the book to other existing lists.
  • Create four to eight quote/image graphics using your fave quotes from the story. You can make your own backgrounds if you own the rights to the images or you get them from a free image bank like on Canva. For an easier option, you can use templates I will provide formatted for both Twitter and IG and simply add text to them. If you've never done this before, canva.com is a great way to start. If you're unclear whether an image is copyrighted, for purposes of this team you must assume it is. I don't mean for these to be time-consuming unless you want to spend extra time making your own. If you use my templates, you should be able to cut/paste quotes from Goodreads and format everything in less than an hour.
  • Once a week, during March and April, for a total of eight times, post a quote/image graphic on Twitter or Instagram with a link to the book on Swoon Reads. You can use each quote up to two times if needed. If you forget one week, you can do two the next week, but no more than twice a week. Be sure to tag me (@pstokesbooks) so I can retweet if I happened to be on social media. 
You can make up your own captions, but if you want to use something ready made, here are a couple to make your life easier ;) 
Did you know you can read STRONGER THAN WORDS, an uplifting contemporary YA novel by @pstokesbooks for free on @SwoonReads? https://www.swoonreads.com/m/stronger-than-words/
Did you enjoy @pstokesbooks GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE? Check out her latest contemporary YA novel, STRONGER THAN WORDS, for free on @SwoonReads! https://www.swoonreads.com/m/stronger-than-words/

May-June:
  • Catch up time--if you missed one or two of the March-April activities, you can do them now for full credit. Life happens to all of us and this "professor" accepts late work ;)
  • Review the story one other way--this could be YouTube, Facebook, Wattpad, personal blog, YA review website, Instagram, etc. You can cross-post your earlier review or edit it longer or shorter for the medium you choose.
  • Complete one additional promo activity of your choosing. This could be making and sharing a mood board (again Canva is great for free images), creating fan art, making and sharing a five-question discussion guide, interviewing me on your blog or social, getting three of your friends to read the story, hosting a contest in support of the book, reviewing the book on an additional site, etc. I'm totally flexible here and if you think it counts then it counts. Pick something fun!
  • Read at least 20% of one additional book (written by anyone) on Swoon Reads and leave a comment at any point during the February through June period. I don't want people to join the site just to enter a contest of mine without giving anything back to the community. I have pledged to read a book a month this year and I'm going to work hard to keep that pledge :)
  • Fill out the Street Team form (I will send to all teamers) by the end of June with links/images/whatever to show that you completed all of the activities



Here's what you'll get for being a teamer:
  • Everyone selected who completes all of the above activities by June 30, 2020 will receive a $10 gift card or a $10 book from Book Depository or Wordery. Sorry, I know it's not much, but this girl is financially struggling at the moment ;)
  • If STRONGER THAN WORDS is selected for publication by Swoon Reads, everyone on the team who completes all of the activities will receive $100 via PayPal or a $100 gift card.
  • Everyone selected who completes all of the activities is free to contact me at any point in the future to request a reference for college, graduate school, an internship, or a job that is somehow related to books and/or book promotion.

Here's the link to apply for the team. Thanks for considering supporting my latest novel. It was not a hard choice to give the book away for free. I love it, I believe it's quality work, and I think it could empower readers. However, not having a traditional publisher means there's no one with industry backing to get the word out about the book. Even if the street team is not for you, I hope you will consider checking out Stronger than Words on Swoon Reads, especially if you'd like to read more contemporaries from me someday :)