Last week was SUCH an exciting week for me. There was so much anticipation and excitement that had built up for that moment. Not only was I launching a website AND blog! I was also gearing up for the launch of Roma Downey’s book: Box of Butterflies: Discovering the Unexpected Blessings All Around Us.
For those of you who don’t know, I had the opportunity to be a member of the launch team for this book. If you’re not aware of what that means, stick around, because I’m about to lay the entire process out for you and what my experience was while I helped promote this wonderful book!
Ok, so this story begins in mid-January. I follow Roma Downey on Instagram, so I was one of the first people to see her post about joining her launch team. The #linkinbio led me to an experience that I will NEVER forget.
The instructions in her post led me to a website with a simple application and questionnaire. Being an English/Writing major and a theology minor, I thought it might be a great opportunity to experience an aspect of my field, share a part of my faith, and celebrate Roma Downey. I’m a long time fan of Downey, and all of her productions including The Bible, Son of God, and Touched by an Angel.
In the application I wrote about my experience blogging about books via Instagram, my love for reading, my passion for my faith, and about my personal experience having met Roma Downey in 2011 (In keeping with the Irish theme, I was a wee lass back then!), growing up watching her on television, and how her work impacted me henceforth.
I hit submit, not expecting much. I figured it was an internet thing, probably chosen completely at random. Still, better to have tried than not to have tried at all.
You can imagine my surprise when an e-mail landed in my inbox, alerting me that I had been selected! I was so happy and excited! I’d never been “selected” for anything like this before so the whole process was new and wonderful!
At that point, all of the group members were given the link to a private Facebook group where we would interact, get to know each other, and discuss the book. This was one of my favorite parts! I “met” or rather, got in touch with so many different people from all over the world. What was especially nice about this forum was that because it was for the launch of a faith-centered book, many of the members were also faith-focused! It became more than a group, it also became a prayer chain and a place of encouragement. Quotes from Roma Downey’s book were posted side by side with Bible verses and lovely pictures of butterflies, which are a central theme for the book.
It took a while for the book to get out to us, but in the meantime we were all sent a handful of promotional images to share across all of our social media platforms, whether it was a blog, a FB page, an Instagram account, your Snapchat story, or Twitter. We were told to build the hype and share our excitement, which is exactly what we did.
When we did get our copies of the book, it came in the form of a digital file sent to our e-mail accounts. Our only instructions were to read the book as soon as possible and to post an honest review on any and/or all of our social media accounts, as well as sites like Amazon and Goodreads if possible (BTW, you can add me on Goodreads HERE).
I don’t know about everyone else, but I flew through the book. It was such a quick read for me, and it had so much inspiring faith content. Trust me, by the time you close the back cover, you’ll have wisdom in your head and Jesus on your heart for DAYS “when you walk down the road!” 😀
You can click around my blog to read my full review of Box of Butterflies: Discovering the Unexpected Blessings All Around Us by Roma Downey.
After that, we continued to receive updates from the Team Manager. We were continually sent posts and links to content they wanted us to share and promote, but besides that, we were free to work and review at our own pace. When we did review the book, we always shared the link to our review on the Facebook group’s page.
I was so surprised at how many creative people were apart of the team. Some people wrote or shared poems that made them think of the message written in Downey’s book, others made videos about the book, and some people (like me) took or shared stylized pictures! Everyone was working in their own way to create something that would make our collective effort worthwhile. TEAMWORK IS SO MUCH FUN!
And finally, the launch day! The day that we’d all been waiting for.
It was honestly my honor and privilege to be a member of the team, and it was an experience I enjoyed immensely. I hope to be a part of many more teams in the future, and maybe coordinate some of my own 😉 You never know folks!
You can watch my spoken review of Box of Butterflies here:
And my NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO about this same topic here:
If you liked this post, I would love it if you would subscribe today so we can always stay in touch and continue to discuss all things reading, writing, and living. Also, if you haven’t already, please order a copy of Box of Butterflies: Discovering the Unexpected Blessings All Around Us. This book is so lovely, and I know you won’t regret the purchase! Thanks for stopping by today!