David Brock's Book Promotion Opportunity

Although this book publicist hasn't yet read David Brock's new book, Killing the Messenger: The Right-Wing Plot to Derail Hillary Clinton and hijack Your Government, she does know an amazingly fortunate book promotion opportunity when she sees it. Wow! Brock's book was featured today on CNN.com in an article called David Brock's new book takes on GOP, New York Times.

Even someone who's jaw isn't on the floor when she sees book reviews unexpectedly achieve the prominence in important venues such as CNN.com, and who doesn't think of "book promotion opportunities" before all else when she's reading the news , would be impressed with David Brock's good luck.

Then again, it took more than good luck for David Brock to score this book promotion opportunity. It took a combination of factors. It took a strong, opinionated, and credible voice tackling a timely and controversial topic (that made the book newsworthy), and it took reaching out to the right reporter at the right media outlet at the right time.

Good work, David Brock, and congratulations. I hope the numbers on Amazon reflect this book promotion coup, and I hope your book sales continue to benefit from it for a long time to come. Also, I hope this book promotion opportunity is just the beginning of many book publicity opportunities for you. And I predict that it will be.

Can a Name Help Your Book Promotion Efforts? Yes!

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist

S. J. Miller Communications

bookpromotion@gmail.com

I'm a long-time advocate for self-published authors and independent publishers, because I appreciate the autonomy and empowerment that comes with self-publishing books. But even I have to admit that there are times  when a book publisher’s imprint can vastly increase a book’s promotion potential. 

I just found an example of a name that's really going to create a book promotion sensation. 

Rob Gronkowski, of the New England Patriots, has written a book that will be published by Jeter Publishing. That is about as perfect as book promotion potential can get!

For those who are wondering what’s so special about Jeter Publishing, does the name Derek Jeter ring a bell? Yes. Derek Jeter. He has his own publishing imprint, Jeter Publishing, and it’s owned by Simon and Schuster.

So, yes, as biased as this book publicist is in favor of independent book publishing, I must admit — how could I not? — that, at times, book promotion success can be greatly enhanced by having the right mainstream publishing company (and the perfect imprint of that mainstream publisher) behind the book.

Rob Gronkowski, I think you've written more than a book here. I think you've written yourself a bestselling book (It’s Good to Be the Gronk), and I wish you all the luck in the world with reaching sports fans in Boston and all of New England -- and, surely, far beyond. Derek, I might have a couple of sports-related questions for you (well, hey, I am from Boston!), but I'm so proud that you know how to use your name and your brand. Derek Jeter and Rob Gronkowski. You can find It's Good to Be the Gronk at Amazon, of course!

The Trajectory of Book Promotion

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com


What does book discovery mean to authors and publishers? Everything, obviously. Book discovery is the whole purpose of book publicity and brand building: when authors and their books receive media attention, build their brand, and expand their online footprints, then they can differentiate themselves from competing authors and books (and videos, blogs, and the like), and they can persuade potential readers to purchase their books. Book discovery, then, is tied into book promotion and brand building which, in turn, directly affects book sales.

So what does Trajectory, a Boston-based firm, have to do with book discovery? According to an article in ThoughtCatalog, Trajectory will change everything about book discovery. Through Trajectory, authors and publishers will be able to match their books' content, setting, mood, and more to books that readers have already bought and enjoyed. Think of Trajectory as -- potentially -- the Pandora of books. "If you love Neil Diamond, you might want to listen to Barry Manilow" (which is Pandora's territory) becomes, "If you loved The Giver, you'd probably enjoy The Hunger Games" -- which Trajectory would base on algorithms about all of the elements that make up a book's content rather than on strictly sales information.

Just as authors and publishers currently consider it critical to get their books into the search engines, and to allow their book discovery to happen both organically and through concerted book promotion efforts, they may -- according to ThoughtCatalog -- soon be focusing on book discovery through Trajectory. Trajectory, it seems, is already forming partnerships with the major players in the world of book publishing.

So what will the trajectory of book publicity look like once the DNA of books can be scanned to see whether or not they're a match for books readers have already bought and loved? Authors and publishers: stay tuned to find out!

A Year of Books and Mark Zuckerberg, Part 2

Yes, Mark Zuckerberg, famed founder of Facebook, has launched an online book club. Now, what does that mean for book sales? Take a guess. Go ahead.

Sales of the first Mark Zuckerberg selection, The End of Power, have soared. The Telegraph's Rhiannon Williams provides these details:

* Since Mark Zuckerberg chose The End of Power, its sales have increased 775 per cent.
* The paperback version of The End of Power was, as of the Telegraph's writing, the 8th bestselling book on Amazon (and it was a number one category bestseller in several categories). At the time of this writing, however, it's number 49 (it's ranking as a number one category bestseller, however, is undiminished).
* Again, as of the Telegraph's writing, Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook book club had 189,000 members. That's up to 215,884 members as of now (and this book publicist is one of them).

So, if you guessed that Mark Zuckerberg's endorsement of a book would boost its visibility and increase its sales, then you're right on the money. Come to think of it, I always thought Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey had a lot in common. Both of them have global influence and the respect of millions of people...and both Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey are incredible people to have behind your book promotion campaign!

A Year of Books, Says Mark Zuckerberg

Could Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, be the biggest thing to happen to book publicity since Oprah?

According to CNN.com, Mark Zuckerberg has committed to starting a book club in 2015. He will read a book every two weeks, and he has invited his Facebook followers (and, presumably, the media) to join him.

Which books will Mark Zuckerberg read? How will that affect the books' discovery potential? Could books ever receive a bigger book promotion boost than they'd get from Mark Zuckerberg's endorsement?

The lucky book that will launch Mark Zuckerberg's book club is The End of Power by Moisés Naím. As a book publicist, I expect to see Mark Zuckerberg's book choices carrying as much weight as any television show could, and certainly, Zuckerberg's support of a book will mean as much as any media personality's in the world. Personally, I have some interest in what books the U.S. president is reading. But I really want to know the books that Mark Zuckerberg (and his followers) are reading, and what they have to say about those books.

This book publicist will also be curious to see whether Mark's book club choices will include ebooks as well as traditional books, and self-published books (independent books, that is) as well as mainstream books.

However it plays out, I offer kudos to Mark Zuckerberg for using his influence as a thought leader for good...to get people reading books, and for giving the authors he chooses to support the best book publicity opportunity they could ever dream about. Go, Mark! And, of course, go readers! Log onto Facebook, and join Mark Zuckerberg's book club today! Happy new year, book lovers!