Distributing Flyers

     Tried an approach yesterday I haven't seen written up any where else.  I took a couple of hundred yellow fliers with a description of the novel, that would be Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition), boarded the 1 train and rode it down to Battery Park in lower Manhattan.  I proceeded to a strategically chosen spot on a plaza with a full view of the Statue of Liberty, a suitable emblem for the book, which is in part about freedom, and prepared to go to work.  I was standing with my back against a low wall right next to the line that leads into the loading area for the ferry ride over to Lady Liberty.  Every one pretty much had to walk by me, if they wanted to get on the boat.  A surprisingly high percentage took the flyer.
     There were advantages to this position.  For one thing the tourists would be standing still at least for a couple of minutes after they picked up the publicity, with nothing else to do.  For another thing these individuals were out of their normal routine.  They had already decided to go some place different and to see something new, so they might be open to new ideas as well.  The disadvantage was that some of them may not read English in the first place.  There was one other advantage, I got to look out at the water in the harbor as I was handing out the fliers.  I didn't try and make a big impression.  I just stood there and kind of nonchalantly handed out the pieces of paper, with an occasional,
     "Thank you," or "Have a good day."
The flyer itself said the rest, a quote from my one real review, a picture of the cover and a few paragraphs of description. At the bottom of the page it said the novel was for sale on Amazon.com. I could see the tourists reading it in line.  None of them wound up on the ground.
     I guess I can see why this approach isn't written up in the literature.  It did feel a bit arbitrary, handing out a couple of hundred of fliers to this seemingly arbitrarily chosen group of prospects, but when you consider that at the moment I'm dead in the water, I feel good about it.  I have to start somewhere.  Sure on line reviews might be better, but at this point even a couple of new sales would be satisfying, because a couple can lead to a couple more.  I think I feel good about it for another reason. The flyer speaks about laughing at mental illness, about looking at it head on. Putting that message in two hundred people's hands, however arbitrarily chosen, felt to me like a good deed.  Later yesterday afternoon I went into my local Staples and ordered a two foot by three foot backed laminated sign, so that next time I can do it better.