Free Personalized Keepsakes from Celebrities

“Yet they, believe me, who await
No gifts from Chance, have conquered Fate.”

-- Matthew Arnold
Resignation

Some kinds of “fame” last a lot longer than others. It depends if you have something others want . . . and how badly they want what you have.

Until I started writing books, it never occurred to me that book reviewing was important to anyone. My son, Mark, told me in 1998 that book buyers were paying a lot of attention to what ordinary readers posted on Amazon.com about the books they had read. When I first became an author, he encouraged me to try writing a few such reviews. I did and began receiving e-mails and letters from authors asking me to review their books. Well, a free book is a free book so I agreed as long as the subject appealed to me. My number of reviews grew. Amazon.com also began to rank its reviewers in 2000, and I soon found myself well up in the top ten (I’m number three at this writing).

Since I list my e-mail address there online, I began to get even more requests for reviews. And those sending requests began to include many people whom I admire very much. You probably admire some of these same people. For a fellow who grew up in a small town in southern California, it’s pretty thrilling to receive a personally inscribed book from a movie star, a brilliant scientist or a world-renowned leader. The thrill never wears off from enjoying these kind and thoughtful gifts.

You can copy what I did pretty directly. My sense is that many hundreds of the most popular Amazon.com reviewers receive free books, CDs and DVDs from celebrities. Take all the books you’ve read, the movies you’ve seen, the television shows you’ve watched and any music you’ve loved . . . and write online reviews. Within months, you will start hearing from people you want to meet. If you are ambitious about this, you can go to other sites addition to Amazon.

You can also write to publishers asking to be placed on their mailing lists for review copies. Many will come with autographs attached. In addition, write to your favorite celebrities if you want to review something they wrote or performed . . . and you may be surprised at what you receive by return mail!

My daughter has also taught me that you can go to free publicity events for various television stars and you will receive autographed photographs and other memorabilia. She has often received autographed scripts after attending free tapings of television shows, for example.

On Broadway, all but the biggest stars will patiently sign autographs on theater programs and anything else you care to bring after a performance for those who wait for them to take their make- up off.

Many sports stars will do the same thing during publicity events.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell