Aug 15

They say that no good deed goes unpunished. I am here to say that what I thought was a nice thing turned out to be confusing and apparently misleading. Funny how writers and professional communicators can still send the wrong message.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about my Goodreads giveaway. When it was over and Goodreads picked the two winners, Lauren and Emma. I immediately announced it here, and on Facebook and on Twitter and everywhere where I had talked about the contest. Then I saw that Goodreads allows me to see the first name and Goodreads link to all who entered. So I thought I would send each of the 1559 people a personal thank you note for taking the time to enter. I got to about 25 when I got an e-mail back that went something like this: So did I win? Then I thought about the others I had connected with who said they were looking forward to reading The Counterfeit Bride and now I'm concerned all 25 thought they were winners because I sent them a thank you. Yes, I now know that I should have said the winners were announced and congrats to Emma and Lauren and then said Thank you for your entry. Lesson learned.

Here is my apology to everyone I contacted who may feel misled. It was not my intention. I'm terribly sorry.

Has this ever happened to you?