THE MARIA PARADOX Contest Winners!

A few weeks ago, we ran this contest, and a whole bunch of you entered, helping my clients (THANK YOU!) and, well, yourselves!

Our Winners Are:

Liz Parker:
Liz took social media active by doing research into some of the most prominent Latina influencers are...and getting their help! She was retweeted, mentioned, and even contacted directly by these targeted mavens, resulting in a new PR lead for me! This, my friends, is how you "do" social media. It takes some thought, but the results are just more than worth it. Want to see Liz in action? Check her out on Twitter, @LizParkerWrites.

KT Hanna:
KT impressed me by bringing her own large platform to bear--which means she's been doing her homework way before this contest came along building a following for herself and, most importantly, by keeping that audience engaged. Her tweets and posts were shared and retweeted more than any other entrant's and she also branched out into non-Twitter, non-Facebook media. Follow her on Twitter: @KTHanna.

Charlee Vale:
Charlee took "casting a wide net" to another level. She posted everywhere from the go to's (Twitter and Facebook) to Tumblr and Nathan Bransford's Forums. The creativity was so exciting to me! Sure, there's no telling how many people from Nathan's huge forums actually clicked through, but the best thing about online publicity like this is that it's there forever. And those forums are a priceless place to be forever. Not to mention she went the extra mile and liked/followed the clients' Facebook and Twitter feeds. Which I'm not sure anyone else did, but is one of the best ways to help! Find Charlee on Twitter here: @CharleeVale.

All of these participants brings a very good illustration of how to really succeed using social media. Following their examples and strategies is a sure-fire way to grow your own following and become a superpower of publicity for your and your friends' books.

Winners! Let's set up calls and deadlines for the critiques! Email me at proseblog [@] gmail [dot] com.

Of course, I'm not paid to wear my agent hat anymore, but it's still bright and shiny and has lots of friends. :)