Got Some Paper Handy?

Authors need to be creative, and when it comes to promoting our work we need to turn up our creativity in order to stand out among millions of other authors writing the same kinds of books. Joselyn Vaughn is an author who, like me, loves to sew. When we appeared at a book event a few years ago I noticed she had a pile of cute handmade notebooks. She let me copy her idea and I’ve made several to give away as thank yous to readers and winners of my contests. I asked her to share her instructions for making them, and she referred me to her blog post, which I’ve copied here:

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My swag pile was depleted so I needed to make some more notebooks to give away. I feared that this would require a trip to Wal-mart with all three kids on a snow day. (Our last trip to the store required everyone to sit in timeout when we got home. I probably needed it the most. yikes. So I was not looking forward to another trip.) So you can imagine my excitement and relief when I discovered the paper I thought I had used up was not gone. Whew!

I thought I’d share the instructions for making these little notebooks because they are fun, easy, and cute.

What you’ll need:
Fun paper
5 sheets of plain white paper
Cutting device (paper cutter, rotary cutter, or scissors, if you are awesome.)
Sewing machine with a leather or denim needle.


1. Cut the fun paper into a rectangle – 5 5/8″ x 8 5/8″. Fold in half.

2. Cut the white paper in half. 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Put half sheets in one pile. Fold in half.

3. Insert white paper inside fun paper.

4. Sew down the fold. Refold the notebook and Tada! a notebook.

For promotional purposes, I put a sticker on the front with my name, website, and tagline on it. I figure this is something that people will keep around for a little while.

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Aren't these clever? Joselyn's list of books can be found on her Amazon author page. You can also find Joselyn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. She's also getting ready to release her brand new novella, Seeing You Again! Here's the awesome cover, and we hear the book will be available for pre-order sometime this month!