On October 23rd from 6-8pm at Salon 2b, my photography from Six Train was on exhibit and available for purchase!
I sold 8 of the 9 framed photographs and sold 2 of the 4 sets of 4x6s. It was an incredibly successful first showing!
We also sold 17 books! Which meant we were able to make a nice donation to the Dynamite Youth Center and October was a very profitable month for me. So double Yay!
But most importantly, I got to see all my favorite NY people again. Former bosses, co-workers, and friends came out to support me. I also made new friends with Salon 2b’s delightful guests.
It was a most magical night and the perfect ending to my book tour.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
My amazing Andersen/Protiviti mentor Micah, boss Carol, and colleague John. I’ve known them all since 2000.
And to have them show up for my event–it made my night. 🙂
They are the reason I had such a successful career in the city. They taught me everything I know about time management and project management.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
We had about 30 people there. Which allowed me a few minutes to chat with each guest. Perfect gathering.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
It was so so good to see my last boss Stephen and my coworker Zach. We had some great times together. Having them show up to support me was beyond awesome.
The other gentleman, Tim, became a friend by the end of the night and purchased one of my photos for him and his lovely significant other, Elizabeth.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
Me doing my author talk and reading. I kept it to 10 minutes. Which seemed the perfect length for a party setting.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
That’s my oldest friend Ant, my agent Lyndsay, and my MWA Symposium buddy Jackie. What amazed me was how everyone flowed through the party and no one was left out. What a terrific group of people!
Sade, my cousin’s coworker came down to join us.
The gentleman in the suit is my old RBC coworker Nouhoum who drove in from Stamford to the Bronx and then took a train into Manhattan. Just to be there for me.
Wow. And after a full day’s work too. That’s above and beyond.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
My cousin Amanda, Aunt Cindi, cousin Gene, and second cousin Vicki all came out too.
My cousins both live in the city and despite their crazy schedules made sure they were there.
Gene took an earlier flight in from Chicago to be there.
Amanda tracked down the Butternut wine and made sure it was delivered for the event. It was a delicious Chardonnay and made the night!
My aunt and second cousin took time off from work and came in from CT. My aunt also framed each photo for me!
That’s mad family love.
Mom and Dad were there too. They arranged our caravan from CT. But Mom was the official photographer so you won’t see her in a photo.
Photo by Sandra Tansley
Carina and my dad catching up. We’ve been trying to get her out to CT to visit. Hope Dad talked her into it!
Photo by Sandra Tansley
These are two of my college friends! Carina and I studied abroad in Beijing and have been friends since 1998!
She put me up in her family’s apartment when I first moved to the city in 2000. She bought one of my photographs too!
Brett and I were classmates at Georgetown and sat beside each other at graduation. He helped me get my first job in the city and we’ve had some crazy adventures in the city.
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Many thank yous to Zhauna, Daniel, Jenna of Salon 2b for making this evening possible!
Zhauna handled all the transactions so I could talk and sign books. She made my night ten times easier. She opened her home to everyone for the event!
Daniel hung each photo perfectly so they were all even and at the perfect level for the eye. He made sure the night ran smoothly and everyone was enjoying themselves.
Jenna prepped the glasses and the food and helped make the night a huge success!
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I owe a 1000 thank yous to each and every person who showed up to share in Six Train’s and my night! You made it unforgettable. Thank you!
Kongratulations Kourtney it sounds like an unqualified success. You now have some more wonderful memory photos of the night to remind you.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
It was going out with a bang! One of the best nights of my life. 🙂 Hugs,
K
Looks like a great evening and profitable! Congratulations, Kourtney!
Unbelievably good night. Can’t believe how many books and photos we sold. Thanks! Still grinning about it.
Thank you, Kourtney, for sharing your party with all of us. Love the red dress; you look fantastic! just gave one of the books I bought as a gift. Take a abraeataher and then begin the sequel!
Aw, I wish you could have been there! Thank you! Aw I hope they enjoy it. Yes, trying to catch up on blog stuff and wrap up marketing stuff this week. I did take the weekend off for my bday so now I feel ready to dig in again and get things done. Definitely want to work more on outlining the sequel in November. 🙂
Sounds as if you have had a wonderful time with much success.. I am pleased all went well and you got to meet and greet your old friends
Sue oxox
You never know how a night will go. So when it goes well it’s always a delightful surprise. 🙂 Me too. It was a great great evening.
So I have to know, after all these public appearances and marketing events, has it gotten easier to promote your book? For my own sake, I certainly hope the answer is yes! 🙂
Yes. 🙂 Practice definitely helps. I still get nervous before a talk and I practice more than the average person, but that’s how I feel more confident. You have to not make it about you. It’s about making sure the audience has a good time and gets what they want out of it. You don’t matter. Sounds weird, but if I take the focus off myself it’s a lot easier to perform. 🙂
Good advice.
I had to find a way to do all these appearances despite how much I hate being the center of attention. 😉 This was my secret.
Sounds and looks like a lot of fun!:D
it really was! Wish you could have been there! If only I could have teleported you across the ocean. 🙂
awww thanks Kourt’ <3 <3 I would have LOOOVED to be there!!
It would have added some french flare to the evening. 😉 And I’d have loved sharing wine with you. 🙂
Un jour, un jour, Kourtney!! Avec du bon fromage français….. Hmmm
That’s a plan. Oh yes, I love the french cheeses. And a baguette. A picnic maybe?
This looks like it an awesome success Kourtney! Good for you! So happy that you were able to sell more books and the framed photography. Thanks for taking us on your whirlwind book tour. I know I learned a lot from hearing about your experiences. 🙂
Thanks Arlene! Me too. The photography was a nice profit bump over typical months too. Much needed for the holidays. Aw, thanks for coming along. It had many ups and downs. I’m just glad to be settling back at home and winding down so I can get back to writing. 🙂
Congratulations on surviving the book tour! That’s a great idea to offer framed photographs that have to do with your book and butternut wine sounds interesting. 🙂
Thanks Sheila! The photography actually appears in the paperback version. They are all places important to the story. The Butternut wine was quite delicious. We went through 7 bottles in 2 hours. And half the people were drinking the red wine.
Congratulations Kourtney, glad you finished with such a success and hope you can get a little rest now and reflect on everything you’ve achieved.
Thanks Andrea. Getting to be home for two months is such a nice treat after traveling from July-October. 🙂 Definitely plan to bask a bit and tie up more loose ends. Then I want to write soon.
Looks like great stuff, Kourtney — it looks like this is giving you a vehicle to showcase more than one of your artistic abilities — or, rather, that you’ve designed that vehicle and successfully enrolled a lot of people in it, which is a wonderful thing to me.
I’ve always loved photography. Capturing a moment. To do it with a camera or pen and paper just feels exquisite. I included my original photography in the paperback. Salon 2b usually does art exhibits so it felt natural to combine a photography exhibit with book sales since I crafted the book exactly as I wanted it down to the font and the fleurons. Both are my vision of the story. It was great that people responded so well to it all!
What a great night. Congratulations on another fab event!
Thanks Mae! So much time and prep went into those 2 hours. But with everyone’s help it all came together perfectly. 🙂
A grand finale to your book tour and much more. So important to finish on a high note with people who have are there for you before during and after 🙂
It was the perfect end of the tour night. Got to reconnect with so many important people from my NY years. And share this new phase of my career with all of them! 🙂
What a fantastic network of family and friends. And you used the word “profitable” — isn’t that what every writer dreams of? I’ll triple that yay! I loved your photography in Six Train, I think it made your book unique. This post reminds me I need to write a review…perhaps that will be next Monday’s post. Congratulations on an amazing, successful book tour. I think you’ve demonstrated for those of us not there yet what needs to be done in order to get your book out there.
It was really awesome that they all came out for me! Yes, I had no idea people would like my photography and actual pay for it. 🙂 I was trying to make the book a piece of art with the photos, the fleurons, and the font choices. I wanted it to be a unique experience so glad it hit the mark for you. 🙂 Oh thank you so much! That would be really helpful. Aw, thank you. It was a very tiring summer and fall but 100% worth it. I’m going to do a post about what it took to promote Six Train later this month.
Wow, how exciting. This is great, Kourtney. Congratulations! BTW, I’ve recommended your book to everyone in my writer’s group.
Thanks Lori! I really really appreciate it. 🙂 Thank you!
Funnnnnnnnnnn or what 🙂
FUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Congrats on the book being 6MONTHS old
A beautiful baby xo
Love xo C
Definitely fun. 🙂 Thanks. Can’t believe the book turned 6 months on my bday. Kinda neat how that worked out. 🙂
Hugs,
K
<3 XO
XOX
What a fantastic way to wrap up the book tour! I’m really glad I got to share in a part of it. 🙂 Take a little time to recharge, but then you’ve got more writing to do for those of us wanting to read more!
Thanks. 🙂 Aw I’m glad you were a part of it too! As both a Cheesehead and an attendee of an event. 😉 I’m working on some promo stuff I can do at my desk this week. Want to keep the momentum going even when I’m not on the road anymore. Hoping to start back to outlining in November.
Mazel! What an incredible journey it’s been, and such an exciting “finish.”
Thanks! It’s been an amazing time. And a tired out of my mind time. 🙂 But a strong finish made it all feel worth it!
Everything goes better with wine… 😉
You look lovely, Kourtney! And what a way to close your book tour. Congratulations again!
And that Butternut wine was delicious. After my reading, I got to sample a couple glasses. So yummie! Aw thank you. It was one of the best nights of this year. 🙂
Butternut wine sounds scrumptious! Especially at this time of year. What a great idea to have an art sale. You really are so creative at marketing.
It was very tasty. I recommend it if you are a Chardonnay drinker. 🙂 It came together so perfectly since my photographs were in the book and he tended to host art exhibits. Everything tied into the book that night. 🙂 Aw thank you. 🙂