“When my teammate Guy and I started writing our book “A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team” some 5 years ago, we knew absolutely nothing about the publishing process. Getting an agent, a publisher and getting a final manuscript presented it’s own challenges but we got it done. The months and weeks prior to our publication date in October, 2022 were a whirlwind of activity!

What we’ve learned since then is that publication was not the end of our efforts – far from it. If you want your book to sell (and we do!) writing your book is only 50% of success – the remaining 50% is marketing! We learned that while some marketing is done by our publisher Lyons press, as authors we can play an important role in promoting our book to the world. This promotion is important to us, because we plan to donate part of our proceeds to the K9 search and rescue community.

We have used a multi-pronged approach to marketing so far. In the last four months we have continued to grow our social media platform by doing almost daily postings on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Titktok. This has included mastering short video “reels” which is currently the best way to expand your reach on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

And yes, the time and energy we are investing in marketing is making a difference in sales and reviews and, more importantly, we are having a blast engaging with our readers and sharing Keb’s daily shenanigans. We have achieved bestseller status in several categories and now have over 130 Amazon reviews with an impressive 4.6 average ranking – and the numbers keep growing daily.

We have participated in a half dozen book events at bookstores as far away as Canada and have done wildly popular presentations with the star of our book – K9 Keb- in nine different venues ranging from community organizations to senior centers. I have also had great fun participating in six podcast interviews with a wide variety of audiences. Most recently Keb enjoyed tasting yummy morsels including Swedish meatballs at a presentation for the Swedish Womens’ Education Association in Seattle (SWEA Seattle) and we will be featured on the SWEA international podcast later in March. Keb truly is the perfect dog for PR as she has calmed down in her olden age and the kids in particular love her.

And the fun keeps on coming. In the next couple of months, we have another handful of bookstore events, and a half dozen presentations including venues such as the Edmonds Waterfront Center, the Lions Regional Convention, and the Dog Owners Summit. Keb’s career as a search and rescue dog will also be featured in the Magazine Just Labs in May. Last but not least, Keb will be recognized at the Mariners Bark in the Park home game against the Los Angeles Angels on April 3 – she is practicing her pitch to be ready for her moment on the mound.

The list of fun keeps growing. We are so grateful to be able to make a meaningful difference in the world with Keb as our loyal partner.