Don’t you love it when you receive outside validation on the advice you offer people?

That’s what happened to me when I read my daily newspaper this past Sunday morning.

One of my buzz-building tips for authors has been to host a contest to name a character in your next book, as recommended in a post on this site, “How to host a book contest” (see second bullet point), and in my e-course materials.

Best-selling author and former NFL player Tim Green did that on his Facebook page on February 21 when he casually announced that he was accepting nominations for the name of a character in his next children’s book, Home Run.

Fans made the nominations, Green narrowed down the list, and fans voted from the list of finalists. Support for two candidates was so overwhelming that Green decided to use the first place winner’s name in Home Run and the second place winner in a future book, Full Ride.

As reported in the newspaper article, the first place winner, Ty Rylander, will be the name of the Nike representative in Green’s next book. Rylander is a young man from Pittsfield, Ill., who died last year. The second place winner, Tyler Hutt, was a young football player in my area who also died unexpectedly last year. “Tyler Hutt” will be the name of a character who’s a high school football coach in the future book.

Let the news media publicity and fan buzz that Green generated with his contest inspire you to not only host a newsworthy contest, but to reach out to the press when you do.

What’s the best book-related contest you’ve seen recently?