Joseph O'Steen has written a fast paced, exciting novel......Michael Lempe, No Quarter Given Pirate Magazine. ........Joseph O'Steen is a born storyteller whose writing style reminds me strongly of C.S. Forester.....Nina Osiner, Author/Reviewer

Articles by

Nautical Adventure Author

St. Augustine, Florida 

Dress for Success

          I’m having a great time with my costumes. I really enjoy it when I see people start smiling as soon as they see me. Most have to come right over to see what I am about with many buying my book.  That is when I know I made the right choice even if I did not start wearing a costume for fun. 

You see, I write sea novels about a British naval officer in the Napoleonic Wars. My novels Falcon's Revenge and Pursuit of Honor are doing well else where but not at home here in St. Augustine and Northeast Florida . My attempts to get the local media's attention had been zero so I decided to try something new.  I call it “getting outside the box". We all know that box we tend to stay in while promoting our books the normal ways.

I commissioned a Civil War seamstress to make an 1803 British Naval Captain's uniform. I then wrote WJXT TV4 and told the producer about my book and that I do book signings in the British naval uniform. That worked and Sunday March 21st, I was scheduled for a 3 1/2 minute interview. The interview went very well. The hostess, Nancy Rubin was very excited, held the book up several times, kept referring to the uniform as she questioned me about the book and the series I am writing and placed my web site and the Tall Ships Books (a big seller of my book) urls on the screen with plenty of time for everyone to write down the information. Another sign that it went well was that the scheduled 3 1/2 minute interview stretched into 4 1/2 minutes. It was a fun experience for me.

Since then Robert Fulton jr. PH.D has asked permission to use me and my uniform marketing idea in his marketing seminars and an online magazine as well as a marketing newsletter have asked for permission to run articles about my new marketing tool and me.  I have appeared on the Jacksonville TV 12 Saturday Morning Show. The hits are up on my web site, I’m having a great time playing in my costume and smiling people are buying my book.  Because the Florida heat was a bit much in my wool naval officer's uniform I have gathered up a few pirate costumes to wear. All in all life is good.

I’m sitting here now trying to figure how to use it to garner some regional and national attention.  You see, once you step “Outside the Box” you will see that there is no end to the marketing ideas that come to you.

Joseph O'Steen

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