Book promotion opportunities courtesy of Whitey Bulger?

Thanks to the FBI for finally capturing Whitey Bulger (those who aren't sure who Whitey Bulger is can click on the USA Today link to find out). Let's overlook, for now, the fact that the FBI gave Bulger the warning that led to his running away with 16 years ago -- let's focus, instead, on the fact that justice is at hand, and Bulger will soon be back in Boston to face his criminal past and pay his debt to society.

And thanks to the FBI and to the accused murderer himself for opening up a whole world of book promotion opportunities for all authors who have penned books about Whitey Bulger. A quick Amazon search on "Whitey Bulger" turned up more than 10 books about the former fugitive, each of them a potential book publicity goldmine at the moment (that is, provided each of the authors is willing to commit some time and energy to granting interviews, writing articles and op-eds, disseminating news releases, contacting bloggers, and the like).

Book promotion always works best when you can attach your expertise to a breaking news story -- and, since the capture of Whitey Bulger is a huge news story, lucky are the authors who can take advantage of the news hook. I'm sure they'll want me to thank Whitey Bulger and the FBI on their behalf.

Go, Whitey Bulger experts and authors! Garner those book promotion opportunities! And, while you're doing that, please say a prayer for Bulger's victims (and their family members and friends). Good can sometimes be extracted from horror, even in cases where that horror has been unspeakable. So thank you, Bulger. And thank you, too, FBI.

A book promotion campaign...

A book promotion campaign is only as good as an author's willingness to say "yes" to interview (and book) requests. I'm working with an author who knows this, and yet is overwhelmed by other demands on his or her time. (Name and gender withheld to protect the guilty!) Thus, this book publicist is hearing "no" a lot more than she's accustomed to hearing it from authors.

And, wouldn't you know, this is a book that would publicize itself if the author would cooperate. Grrr. Soooo frustrating for this book publicist! But, perhaps, the author will decide that building brand by getting media visibility is worth the price of putting some time into this book promotion campaign. Could happen. Maybe.