Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Guest Post: Stay Tuned

As part of this special
promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Stay
Tuned
eBook edition has dropped to just 99 cents this week.

What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter
to win many awesome prizes, including lots of Amazon gift cards (up to $100 in amount)
and 5 autographed copies of the book. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday,
December 2nd, so you don’t miss out.

 

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Stay Tuned for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
(You’ll need it for the big contest on Friday)

2. Fill-out the form on Novel
Publicity
to enter for the prizes

3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift
card!

 

...And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for
us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100
gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form,
don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.

 

The Featured Events include:

Monday, Radio Interview with Novel Publicity! We’re kicking-off on the
Novel Publicity Free Advice blog
. We interviewed Lauren on our radio show Sunday
night and have embedded the full podcast and blogged about its highlights. Give it a
listen and then leave a comment on the blog post. This is a great chance to get to know
more about this fun and bubbly author. One commenter will win an autographed copy of

Stay Tuned. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over
there!

Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny,
only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across
the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. An autographed copy of
Stay Tuned is also up for grabs. The winners will be announced Wednesday
morning. Here’s the tweet: Take a break from the holiday
frenzy, and read Stay Tuned. It's fast, fun, and reduced to just 99 cents! http://ow.ly/7zA1e
#whirlwind

Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another
awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single
click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the Stay Tuned
book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An
autographed copy of Stay Tuned is also up for grabs. Two chances to win with
just one click! How about that?

Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share
their latest post (you’ll see the Stay Tuned book cover included with it).
It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An
autographed copy of Stay Tuned is also up for grabs.

Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Are you ready for some
more fun? Take a picture of yourself with your copy of Stay Tuned either in paperback
or on an eReading device, tag Lauren Clark’s Facebook page, and you can enter to win one
of three Amazon gift cards! A $100 prize will go to the most creative photo, $50 to the
best BFF photo, and $50 to the photo with the most people in it. An autographed copy of
Stay Tuned is also up for grabs. If you need help learning how to tag a photo,
you can visit Lauren’s Facebook page for detailed instructions.

 

Remember, it’s all about the books!

About Stay Tuned: What
happens when a #1 news team becomes the top story instead of reporting it? For TV
producer Melissa Moore, crisis management comes with the job. From employee disputes
to her high-maintenance boss, there’s not much she hasn’t seen or can’t handle. But no
one—including Melissa—expects a fistfight during the ten o’clock news. When sexy-but-

crazy Alyssa Andrews lands a punch on her co-anchor’s face, Melissa jumps on set to help.
She’s determined that WSGA’s reputation won’t be destroyed on her watch. Both anchors
are fired and Melissa agrees to fill in—but not before polishing her look from haircut to
heels. While the new Melissa wows WSGA viewers, her personal life starts fraying at the
edges. Melissa’s husband is away more than he’s home, leaving cryptic Post-it notes in his
wake. Her mother’s antics spiral out of control at the nursing home and a stalker decides
Melissa is her next target. What happens next? Stay Tuned to find out… Get it
on Amazon or
Barnes & Noble.

About the Author: Lauren Clark has been a voracious reader since
the age of four and would rather be stranded at the library than on a desert island. In
her former life, she worked as an anchor and producer for CBS affiliates in Upstate New
York and Alabama. Lauren adores her family, yoga, her new Electra bike, and flavored
coffee. She lives near the Florida Gulf Coast. Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

 

Now please enjoy this guest post from the author....

 

Nine Myths and a Truth: The Real Story Behind the Scenes at a Local
Television Station**


10. Reporters are paid tons of money! FALSE—Reporters at small television stations are
paid a little more than minimum wage. They are required to have a college degree and
many just-out-of-school jobs are classified as a “One Man Band, ” which means that the
reporter carries the camera, shoots the footage, does the interviews, then writes and edits
the story.

9. Reporters get to meet famous people! SOMETIMES—I was fortunate enough to meet Vice
Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro and many local senators and congress members.
However, I did interview Eliott Spitzer while he was New York State’s attorney general.
Now that’s just creepy!

8. Reporters and anchors get lots of perks! SOMETIMES—Reporters do often get sideline
tickets and backstage passes to events. However, it’s often a reporter attends only AFTER
her or she covers the actual event, which means working for at least the first part of the
concert, fundraiser, or dinner.

7. It’s always glamorous! NOT REALLY—Often, reporting took me to crime scenes, car
crashes, bad neighborhoods, dairy farms, voting polls, and raging fires. My most unique
assignments included reporting on a lost Emu and covering cattle judging at a local fair. In
Alabama—try to stay cool and look pretty in 105-degree heat! In Upstate New York, this
meant trudging through the deep snow to get a story.

6. If you’re an anchor, people do your makeup and choose your clothes! FALSE—In
smaller markets, you do your own makeup (MAC is the best!) and bring your own clothes.
Sometimes, the television station might give you a small clothing allowance, but a few
hundred dollars doesn’t go far when you work 5 days a week.

5. Viewers call in and tell anchors how wonderful they are! SOMETIMES—I admit, I did
get some fan mail and it was pretty fabulous. However, most often, people called in to
complain about (1) an outfit someone was wearing (which a viewer didn’t like it), (2) a
story reported on (which a viewer didn’t like it), or (3) a story that didn’t get coverage.
There was one particular viewer who didn’t like the way I said “Iraq.” (It’s not Eye-rack.
It’s Ir-aq)

4. The hardest part of the job is interviewing people! FALSE—I loved that part! I thought it
was so amazing to talk to people from all walks of life and find out why they were a farmer,
a policeman, or a teacher. I liked asking questions that made people think. Some of the most
rewarding stories were health-related (recovery from an illness) or the features about
children. The hardest part for me was the shift I worked: 2 am – 10 am. (This meant getting
up at 1:15 am every morning!!)

3. You always have to dress up! FALSE—On the weekends, in smaller markets,
it’s pretty common for anchors and reporters to wear a formal suit or top, but have jeans
underneath and casual shoes (hidden under the desk). I’ve known some sports guys to
wear tennis shoes or flip-flops on set!

2. The camera adds ten pounds! FALSE—It’s actually more like fifteen or twenty! People
often commented on how short I was or how much thinner I was in person. (Sigh!)

1. I’ve heard that anchors use Preparation H under their eyes to reduce puffiness!? TRUE—
I’ve done it, anyway. When you’re working 2 am – 10 am, there’s only so much coffee and
sugar can do!

Overall, it was an amazing opportunity to work as an anchor, producer, and reporter at

two CBS affiliates. I made some wonderful friends, worked with many talented people, and
really enjoyed the experience.

**These comments are solely the views of the author and do not represent the actual
experiences of every anchor or reporter who currently works in or has previously worked
in television news.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for participating in the STAY TUNED WW tour! I hope that you have time over the busy holiday season to enjoy the novel ~ I love hearing feedback on the book, so feel free to shoot me an email at laurenclarkbooks@gmail.com.

    Be sure to enter the contests all week: Google+ sharing today! On Friday, there's a photo contest on my FACEBOOK page worth $100! (other cash prizes, too)

    All the best, Lauren

    ReplyDelete