By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com
Author Tony Horwitz is disgruntled with the world of ebook publishing and his prospects of earning a living wage as a full-time author. With a small advance, he relied on his ebook publisher's book promotion machine...and, when that book promotion machine stalled, Horwitz found himself in the unenviable position of having to make potential book buyers aware of his book himself.
Besides which, Horwitz's publisher dropped the ball (it's complicated), and then Amazon (it's even more complicated but, this time, Hatchette doesn't seem directly to be involved) dropped the ebook.
But there is good book publicity-related news for Tony Horwitz and his ebook. First, his ebook is back on Amazon again. Second, the op-ed that Hortitz wrote describing his book promotion woes was published in the New York Times. You can read it here.
Good for Tony Horwitz. The New York Times is a whole lot of lemonade to squeeze out of a lemon.
Tony, I love how you turned your foray into ebook publishing and ebook promotion from a tale of woe into a tale of wow. Keep up the great work! And enjoy the fact that the New York Times was nice enough to include the title of your ebook ("Boom") approximately -- by my conservative estimate -- about ten times. Way to go!!!
Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Friday, March 12, 2010
Authors on shaky ground should fear book promotion.
As I read between the lines of a March 8, 2010 New York Times article, "Pondering Good Faith in Publishing," something occurred to me: nonfiction authors who haven't been 100% concerned about the veracity of their words should fear book promotion opportunities. An appearance on Oprah's show isn't the Holy Grail if your work would not hold up under careful scrutiny.
Yes, most authors I run into as a book publicist dream of scoring national book promotion opportunities, and many of them do. I haven't run into a situation where that's been a problem for my authors or for me. Then again, the authors I've represented have all written with honesty and integrity.
So I issue this warning not to my book promotion clients, past, present, or future, but rather, to nonfiction authors whose research has been sloppy or who have embellished their stories: steer clear of book promotion for your sake, for the media's sake, for the public's sake ... and for book publicists' sake.
In other words: be honest. Or be invisible.
Yes, most authors I run into as a book publicist dream of scoring national book promotion opportunities, and many of them do. I haven't run into a situation where that's been a problem for my authors or for me. Then again, the authors I've represented have all written with honesty and integrity.
So I issue this warning not to my book promotion clients, past, present, or future, but rather, to nonfiction authors whose research has been sloppy or who have embellished their stories: steer clear of book promotion for your sake, for the media's sake, for the public's sake ... and for book publicists' sake.
In other words: be honest. Or be invisible.
Monday, May 18, 2009
So...Scribd has opened an online store.
Good for Scribd. Far more interesting to this book publicist, though, was the fact that I read about Scribd's new ecommerce venture in no fewer than three major media outlets today: Publishers Weekly , the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Jeez. I care only marginally about the fact that Scribd will now charge readers for digital content (books, magazines, newspapers, research reports, etc.), and 80% of the proceeds will go directly to the contents' publishers. (Scribd's service will only be as impressive as its content, and I haven't had a chance yet to check out the site -- I'll reserve judgment until I have).
But I am blown away by the amount, and the quality, of media exposure that Scribd's new ecommerce venture has received. Imagine if, in the midst of your book promotion campaign, your work was featured in PW, the Post, and the NY Times on the same day? My goodness! That would be an accomplishment, for certain!
Jeez. I care only marginally about the fact that Scribd will now charge readers for digital content (books, magazines, newspapers, research reports, etc.), and 80% of the proceeds will go directly to the contents' publishers. (Scribd's service will only be as impressive as its content, and I haven't had a chance yet to check out the site -- I'll reserve judgment until I have).
But I am blown away by the amount, and the quality, of media exposure that Scribd's new ecommerce venture has received. Imagine if, in the midst of your book promotion campaign, your work was featured in PW, the Post, and the NY Times on the same day? My goodness! That would be an accomplishment, for certain!
Friday, January 30, 2009
What to do when publishers (or self publishers) won't..
It was inevitable that the economic downturn would hit the publishing industry. Book sales had dropped off before the recession. Shrinking wallets and corporate panic (with good cause, unfortunately) was unlikely to help. So mainstream publishers (who already weren't publishing a terribly high percentage of all new books) are publishing fewer books and promoting and marketing fewer of the books they have published. That means book publicists' phones are ringing more often than before -- not necessarily with tons of viable book promotion projects, but still, most authors understand that, if they want their books promoted, they have to do it themselves or hire a book publicity firm to do it for them (or at least to partner with them to conduct a book promotion campaign).
The hitch? So many authors come to the question of book promotion when it's almost too late. They email or call a book publicist and say, "My book was published by [fill in the name of a major publishing house] in 2008, and that publisher failed to promote my book. What can you do for me?" Well, immediately, I can tell them that they should have contacted me several months before the book was published so we'd have the greatest window of opportunity for book promotion ... and then I can tell them that there are still some highly effective book promotion strategies that we can try.
Mainstream books have a fairly long window for promotional opportunities because they are mainstream published books. But what about self-published books?
In case you missed the New York Times article of January 27, 2008, "Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab," here's the link. It offers a headache-inducing quantity of information about various ways in which authors might self publish their books, but it doesn't offer a primer on how to figure out which self publish route is best. It's almost impossible for a publishing industry outsider to chance upon the best self publishing solution; it takes time, research and, unfortunately -- for many authors -- making some mistakes and learning from them.
So authors contact me and say "I'm curious about what it would take to launch a book promotion campaign for my self-published book" too late for me to steer them toward the most information they could find: they haven't really self-published at all. My definition of self publishing is having your own ISBN number and bar code on your book, and having your own imprint on it, too. The minute any company sells you those things, or insists that you use them, then -- for book promotion purposes -- you haven't self published. You've saddled yourself with someone else's baggage, and when you go to promote your book -- or you try to engage a book publicity firm to help -- you're necessarily dragging around the weight of thousands of subpar, unpalatable titles. The media is aware of the dismal track record of so many of the turnkey print-on-demand publishers. Therefore, many of them steer clear of those imprints. However, if your book is truly self published -- if you bring your own imprint to it, and your own clean slate -- then you are on an equal playing field when you launch your book promotion campaign.
I wish the New York Times article had urged would-be authors to do their homework before they committed to publishing their books through any of the companies they mentioned. All of those companies have their place, and I would personally go with any of them -- under the right set of circumstances, and for the right reasons. But I'd do so because I've done my homework. I know the differences between the companies, and I know their limitations, and I know which are likely to help -- or hinder -- book promotion and book marketing efforts.
At this time, there are no resources I would recommend as a shortcut to finding out which method of self publishing would be best under various sets of conditions. There's a book called The Fine Print of Self Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 45 Self-Publishing Companies Analyzed Ranked & Exposed by Mark Levine that's helpful in a lot of ways and that you should buy if you're comparing various companies' contracts -- but the book doesn't go far enough in discussion the book marketing implications of each publishing choice. To really understand how to self publish, you have to ask the right questions of each company you're considering. These questions include (but aren't limited to):
* May I use my own book cover? (So many print-on-demand companies' book covers are unappealing enough to cause negative feedback from important media outlets.)
* May I use my own imprint instead of yours? (As I've said, it's much easier to drum up book promotion opportunities for books that don't suffer the stigma of an imprint responsible for printing thousands and thousands of "duds.")
* Will my book be carried by Ingram Book Group? (If you don't know who they are, you really have to do your homework. Distribution through Ingram is critical to a book's mainstream success, and the only time distribution through Ingram wouldn't matter would be if your niche were so small that you were selling directly to your target audience rather than conducting a book promotion campaign to drive potential buyers to bookstores.)
* May I use my own ISBN number? (That's actually the same as asking "May I use my own imprint instead of yours," since book buyers and the media can easily recognize the ISBN numbers that belong to huge companies. You're far better off, from a book marketing perspective, if you can use your own ISBN number -- and, please, buy the whole block of ten numbers rather than a single number so you won't end up spending more money than you have to as you decide to publish an ebook, an audio book, or your next title.)
* What can you do to help me get book sales if I score some major book promotion opportunities? (In a traditional publishing house, the marketing department communicates your book promotion hits to its sales force on a regular basis so that stores will have an incentive to buy more copies of your book. What can the self publishing company you're considering do to help make your book promotion efforts worthwhile?)
That's a starter list of questions that will help you choose the "right" way to self publish a book that you intend to promote and market. But the best advice this book publicist could provide to most authors who want to self publish their books would be this: to maximize your chances of selling the greatest number of books as a reward for your book promotion efforts, work with LightningSource. I have no financial relationship with LightningSource, and I have never been a client of theirs (although several of my clients have worked with them), but I do appreciate the fact that the company distributes through Ingram; insists that you use your own imprint and ISBN number (they don't offer you any other option); doesn't require exclusivity; and -- last time I checked -- charges only about $75 to set up an account. But working with LightningSource isn't as easy as working with one of the turnkey solution print-on-demand companies. LightningSource insists that you be your own publisher, and while the account representatives will offer guidance, they won't do the work of a publisher for you.
I love the fact that I'm hearing from more authors than ever before, and I'm flattered that so many of them have looked at my web site, like what they see, and have inquired about my book promotion services. But I'd so much like to catch authors before it's too late to get a book publicist really excited about a project: before a major book publishing house has given up on promoting the book (or lost interest in selling the book) or before an author has committed to working with a print-on-demand company whose imprint would make a book about 95% more difficult to properly promote than it has to be.
The hitch? So many authors come to the question of book promotion when it's almost too late. They email or call a book publicist and say, "My book was published by [fill in the name of a major publishing house] in 2008, and that publisher failed to promote my book. What can you do for me?" Well, immediately, I can tell them that they should have contacted me several months before the book was published so we'd have the greatest window of opportunity for book promotion ... and then I can tell them that there are still some highly effective book promotion strategies that we can try.
Mainstream books have a fairly long window for promotional opportunities because they are mainstream published books. But what about self-published books?
In case you missed the New York Times article of January 27, 2008, "Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab," here's the link. It offers a headache-inducing quantity of information about various ways in which authors might self publish their books, but it doesn't offer a primer on how to figure out which self publish route is best. It's almost impossible for a publishing industry outsider to chance upon the best self publishing solution; it takes time, research and, unfortunately -- for many authors -- making some mistakes and learning from them.
So authors contact me and say "I'm curious about what it would take to launch a book promotion campaign for my self-published book" too late for me to steer them toward the most information they could find: they haven't really self-published at all. My definition of self publishing is having your own ISBN number and bar code on your book, and having your own imprint on it, too. The minute any company sells you those things, or insists that you use them, then -- for book promotion purposes -- you haven't self published. You've saddled yourself with someone else's baggage, and when you go to promote your book -- or you try to engage a book publicity firm to help -- you're necessarily dragging around the weight of thousands of subpar, unpalatable titles. The media is aware of the dismal track record of so many of the turnkey print-on-demand publishers. Therefore, many of them steer clear of those imprints. However, if your book is truly self published -- if you bring your own imprint to it, and your own clean slate -- then you are on an equal playing field when you launch your book promotion campaign.
I wish the New York Times article had urged would-be authors to do their homework before they committed to publishing their books through any of the companies they mentioned. All of those companies have their place, and I would personally go with any of them -- under the right set of circumstances, and for the right reasons. But I'd do so because I've done my homework. I know the differences between the companies, and I know their limitations, and I know which are likely to help -- or hinder -- book promotion and book marketing efforts.
At this time, there are no resources I would recommend as a shortcut to finding out which method of self publishing would be best under various sets of conditions. There's a book called The Fine Print of Self Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 45 Self-Publishing Companies Analyzed Ranked & Exposed by Mark Levine that's helpful in a lot of ways and that you should buy if you're comparing various companies' contracts -- but the book doesn't go far enough in discussion the book marketing implications of each publishing choice. To really understand how to self publish, you have to ask the right questions of each company you're considering. These questions include (but aren't limited to):
* May I use my own book cover? (So many print-on-demand companies' book covers are unappealing enough to cause negative feedback from important media outlets.)
* May I use my own imprint instead of yours? (As I've said, it's much easier to drum up book promotion opportunities for books that don't suffer the stigma of an imprint responsible for printing thousands and thousands of "duds.")
* Will my book be carried by Ingram Book Group? (If you don't know who they are, you really have to do your homework. Distribution through Ingram is critical to a book's mainstream success, and the only time distribution through Ingram wouldn't matter would be if your niche were so small that you were selling directly to your target audience rather than conducting a book promotion campaign to drive potential buyers to bookstores.)
* May I use my own ISBN number? (That's actually the same as asking "May I use my own imprint instead of yours," since book buyers and the media can easily recognize the ISBN numbers that belong to huge companies. You're far better off, from a book marketing perspective, if you can use your own ISBN number -- and, please, buy the whole block of ten numbers rather than a single number so you won't end up spending more money than you have to as you decide to publish an ebook, an audio book, or your next title.)
* What can you do to help me get book sales if I score some major book promotion opportunities? (In a traditional publishing house, the marketing department communicates your book promotion hits to its sales force on a regular basis so that stores will have an incentive to buy more copies of your book. What can the self publishing company you're considering do to help make your book promotion efforts worthwhile?)
That's a starter list of questions that will help you choose the "right" way to self publish a book that you intend to promote and market. But the best advice this book publicist could provide to most authors who want to self publish their books would be this: to maximize your chances of selling the greatest number of books as a reward for your book promotion efforts, work with LightningSource. I have no financial relationship with LightningSource, and I have never been a client of theirs (although several of my clients have worked with them), but I do appreciate the fact that the company distributes through Ingram; insists that you use your own imprint and ISBN number (they don't offer you any other option); doesn't require exclusivity; and -- last time I checked -- charges only about $75 to set up an account. But working with LightningSource isn't as easy as working with one of the turnkey solution print-on-demand companies. LightningSource insists that you be your own publisher, and while the account representatives will offer guidance, they won't do the work of a publisher for you.
I love the fact that I'm hearing from more authors than ever before, and I'm flattered that so many of them have looked at my web site, like what they see, and have inquired about my book promotion services. But I'd so much like to catch authors before it's too late to get a book publicist really excited about a project: before a major book publishing house has given up on promoting the book (or lost interest in selling the book) or before an author has committed to working with a print-on-demand company whose imprint would make a book about 95% more difficult to properly promote than it has to be.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Web sites rather than book tours for book promotion's sake?
Would “The Da Vinci Code" have become a blockbuster hit if it hadn't received help from a promotional Web site designed by Jefferson Rabb? Maybe not, according to a New York Times article called "See the Web Site, Buy the Book" that appeared on January 23, 2009. Although the article grants that no one knows for sure whether a Web site enhances book sales, it postulates that a Web site is as important part of a book promotion campaign as anything else and has, in fact, replaced the book tour has the core of a book promotion campaign.
Agreed. I've seen clients with substantive Web sites receive interest from national television shows, radio, newspapers, and wire services as a direct result of their online visibility. That doesn't mean, if Google singles you out as the de facto expert on your topic, that you can fire your book publicist and cease all other book promotion efforts. But, as an adjunct to a proactive book promotion campaign, a book's Web site is unmatched for its potential to raise the media's, and potential book buyers', awareness of you.
The Times article also talks about several firms that create book trailers: Circle of Seven Productions, Expanded Books, and AuthorBytes (the latter of which, I'm proud to say, designed my Web site.
I'd recommend checking out one of the companies in that Times article, or finding out which Web design firm produced the book sites to which you're most attracted, if you're in the market for a book Web site, or a book trailer, of your own. What the Times article doesn't say is that, if you have an amateur design your book Web site, or produce your book trailer, you can -- and, I believe, will -- hurt your credibility. With so many firms specializing in book Web sites, it makes sense to work with a company that knows how to create what the media, and book buyers, expect. That's not to say that you want to use a template to create your book Web site or you want an exact recreation of another author's Web site. But you do want to work with a Web design firm whose sole focus is on authors and books rather than a corporate Web designer. And, however much you may care for your young relative who's majoring in graphic design, this isn't the time to engage him or her professionally. Times may be tough, but an investment in a wonderful book Web site may be a wise idea. Doing business with an inexperienced firm, or a teenager, is not.
Agreed. I've seen clients with substantive Web sites receive interest from national television shows, radio, newspapers, and wire services as a direct result of their online visibility. That doesn't mean, if Google singles you out as the de facto expert on your topic, that you can fire your book publicist and cease all other book promotion efforts. But, as an adjunct to a proactive book promotion campaign, a book's Web site is unmatched for its potential to raise the media's, and potential book buyers', awareness of you.
The Times article also talks about several firms that create book trailers: Circle of Seven Productions, Expanded Books, and AuthorBytes (the latter of which, I'm proud to say, designed my Web site.
I'd recommend checking out one of the companies in that Times article, or finding out which Web design firm produced the book sites to which you're most attracted, if you're in the market for a book Web site, or a book trailer, of your own. What the Times article doesn't say is that, if you have an amateur design your book Web site, or produce your book trailer, you can -- and, I believe, will -- hurt your credibility. With so many firms specializing in book Web sites, it makes sense to work with a company that knows how to create what the media, and book buyers, expect. That's not to say that you want to use a template to create your book Web site or you want an exact recreation of another author's Web site. But you do want to work with a Web design firm whose sole focus is on authors and books rather than a corporate Web designer. And, however much you may care for your young relative who's majoring in graphic design, this isn't the time to engage him or her professionally. Times may be tough, but an investment in a wonderful book Web site may be a wise idea. Doing business with an inexperienced firm, or a teenager, is not.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Book promotion...for altruistic reasons.
Here's the scenario: Professor R. Preston McAfee of Cal Tech is lucky enough to be featured as the author of Introduction to Economic Analysis in the New York Times -- and he doesn't stand to make a whole lot of money on the media hit. He could have. Dr. McAfee's textbook is used at enough prestigious colleges around the country that he could have received a $100,000 advance on the book from a major publisher. But he chose instead to offer his book available online, for free, to students who needed it in order to protest the skyrocketing costs of textbooks. For students who want printed versions of the textbook, they can buy one online from Lulu or Flat World for between $11 and $59.95 (I'm going to take a quick guess here that most of the revenue would accrue to the publisher as printing costs rather than provide a profit to the professor).
It turns out that Professor McAfee isn't alone in enjoying the book promotion opportunity that the Times article, "Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free," provided on Sunday. Engineering professor Richard G. Baraniuk of Rice University founded a company called Connexions to allow instructors to make their textbooks and information available for free online, too. Connexions uses Creative Commons license to allow students and their instructors to interact so that students can ask questions about the information in their textbooks -- and they can receive answers.
Ordinarily, an article in the New York Times reflects one of the best imaginable book promotion opportunities for authors. In this case, the Times' article provides an opportunity for giving instructors -- and their grateful students, as well. Spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks? Why not save your money instead...and, hopefully, use it to do something good for the next person in need.
It turns out that Professor McAfee isn't alone in enjoying the book promotion opportunity that the Times article, "Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free," provided on Sunday. Engineering professor Richard G. Baraniuk of Rice University founded a company called Connexions to allow instructors to make their textbooks and information available for free online, too. Connexions uses Creative Commons license to allow students and their instructors to interact so that students can ask questions about the information in their textbooks -- and they can receive answers.
Ordinarily, an article in the New York Times reflects one of the best imaginable book promotion opportunities for authors. In this case, the Times' article provides an opportunity for giving instructors -- and their grateful students, as well. Spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks? Why not save your money instead...and, hopefully, use it to do something good for the next person in need.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Thinking Outside the Blog
Why blog? It's a lot of work, and it's time-consuming, even for professional writers and those who just love to write. So why do it?
Because one blog entry -- if you think outside the blog -- can get your message all over cyberspace (and, by extension, all over the globe) just about instantly. Could that benefit your book promotion campaign?
Are you serious?
Here's an example of how it can work.
A client, Gary David Goldberg, recently wrote a blog entry called "WWAKD (What Would Alex Keaton Do)" He posted it on his personal blog on his Web site. His site, which is new, is already building a very respectable following and helping to promote his new book, Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair .
The article is about how the fictional character, Alex P. Keaton of "Family Ties," might vote in the upcoming presidential election, and I think it's insightful and witty and compassionate and touching (and I'd expect no less from its author).
Because I believe in the power of "thinking outside the blog," I pitched the article as an op-ed piece to various media contacts at the same time as Goldberg uploaded it to his Web site.
The New York Times asked for (and received) permission to publish the article in their own political blog called Campaign Stops. The Times posted the article on the evening of March 3, and the next morning, there was a hyperlink to the story on the NYT.com home page (with a vintage file photograph of Michael J. Fox dressed to play the role of Alex P. Keaton). As of this writing, the story has elicted 196 readers' comments on the New York Times' blog (which run the gamut, by the way, from "Who is Alex Keaton? I’ve never heard of him before" to "To see a picture of Alex P. Keaton on the New York Times is worth this article alone").
On an inspired hunch, I Googled the phrase "What Would Alex Keaton Do" this morning and found that the following Web sites -- many of which you'll recognize -- have linked to the NYT blog:
Atlantic.com
Politico.com
NowPublic.com
Topix.com
KWOFF.com.au
Wilshire and Washington
NewsVine.com
North American Patriot
Suburban Correspondent
Yedda.com
Memeorandum.com
Electionbid2008
Twitter.com
Intermedia Outdoors Forums
BlogoWogo.com
Abram’s Nickels
Democratic Underground
Red Blue America blog
And I've begun the process of submitting a press release I drafted about how Alex Keaton might vote, and the fact that the New York Times cares about the topic, all over the Web. The release has already appeared in Google News along with a photo of the Sit, Ubu, Sit book cover.
Also, about a dozen newspapers (including one of the major dailies) from coast to coast have asked for an author's photo in anticipation of publishing the article -- both on their Web sites and in their real-world newspapers.
All that media coverage has come from one really great, well-conceived, and well-written blog entry. Granted, the blog entry was written by Gary David Goldberg, who has been a household name in many TV-watching households for more than two decades, so you might ask what Gary's success in promoting his article has to do with the exposure your blog entry is likely to receive.
Well, okay. You can say, "Forget it. No one cares about my blog entry. I'll upload it to my Web site and move on. Let's think of some more realistic book promotion strategies, please."
Or you can think outside the blog.
And who knows what might happen?
It's your choice.
Because one blog entry -- if you think outside the blog -- can get your message all over cyberspace (and, by extension, all over the globe) just about instantly. Could that benefit your book promotion campaign?
Are you serious?
Here's an example of how it can work.
A client, Gary David Goldberg, recently wrote a blog entry called "WWAKD (What Would Alex Keaton Do)" He posted it on his personal blog on his Web site. His site, which is new, is already building a very respectable following and helping to promote his new book, Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair .
The article is about how the fictional character, Alex P. Keaton of "Family Ties," might vote in the upcoming presidential election, and I think it's insightful and witty and compassionate and touching (and I'd expect no less from its author).
Because I believe in the power of "thinking outside the blog," I pitched the article as an op-ed piece to various media contacts at the same time as Goldberg uploaded it to his Web site.
The New York Times asked for (and received) permission to publish the article in their own political blog called Campaign Stops. The Times posted the article on the evening of March 3, and the next morning, there was a hyperlink to the story on the NYT.com home page (with a vintage file photograph of Michael J. Fox dressed to play the role of Alex P. Keaton). As of this writing, the story has elicted 196 readers' comments on the New York Times' blog (which run the gamut, by the way, from "Who is Alex Keaton? I’ve never heard of him before" to "To see a picture of Alex P. Keaton on the New York Times is worth this article alone").
On an inspired hunch, I Googled the phrase "What Would Alex Keaton Do" this morning and found that the following Web sites -- many of which you'll recognize -- have linked to the NYT blog:
Atlantic.com
Politico.com
NowPublic.com
Topix.com
KWOFF.com.au
Wilshire and Washington
NewsVine.com
North American Patriot
Suburban Correspondent
Yedda.com
Memeorandum.com
Electionbid2008
Twitter.com
Intermedia Outdoors Forums
BlogoWogo.com
Abram’s Nickels
Democratic Underground
Red Blue America blog
And I've begun the process of submitting a press release I drafted about how Alex Keaton might vote, and the fact that the New York Times cares about the topic, all over the Web. The release has already appeared in Google News along with a photo of the Sit, Ubu, Sit book cover.
Also, about a dozen newspapers (including one of the major dailies) from coast to coast have asked for an author's photo in anticipation of publishing the article -- both on their Web sites and in their real-world newspapers.
All that media coverage has come from one really great, well-conceived, and well-written blog entry. Granted, the blog entry was written by Gary David Goldberg, who has been a household name in many TV-watching households for more than two decades, so you might ask what Gary's success in promoting his article has to do with the exposure your blog entry is likely to receive.
Well, okay. You can say, "Forget it. No one cares about my blog entry. I'll upload it to my Web site and move on. Let's think of some more realistic book promotion strategies, please."
Or you can think outside the blog.
And who knows what might happen?
It's your choice.
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