Why should you care about search engine placement?

You've written a book, and you're launching a book promotion campaign. You want to be on "Oprah," in Family Circle, and you want the Associated Press wire to run a story on your book. Plus, you want to do twenty or so major market radio shows in your spare time. That would make for the perfect book promotion campaign.

Sure, you have a Web site, but you don't really see that as an integral part of your book promotion campaign. So why should you care about its placement in search engines?

An WashingtonPost.com article, reprinted by MSNBC.com, called Calling in pros to refine your Google image: Search engine has given rise to the online identity management industry offers a persuasive argument that, if you don't control what search engines "see," then others will control it. The Web sites and blogs of your competitors and, if you have them, your detractors will show up in the search engines, and they'll never go away unless positive news about your book and you -- the news you generate yourself -- push them out of the top of the search engines' rankings.

Spin control, these days, means making sure Web surfers see what you want them to see. It means getting visibility for your Web site, and making sure that your visibility stays optimized for the Web. You may not be able to get others to delete their mean-spirited contributions to the Internet, but you can make sure that you balance their views with a positive portrayal of who you are, how you treat others, and what you have to offer.

By all means, focus on your book promotion campaign. Just make sure that part of your book promotion campaign is focusing on your Web site -- creating it, maintaining it, promoting it, and optimizing it for search engine placement.

A Saturday Treat

This afternoon, when I heard the mail truck roll by, I happened to be gardening. (I call it gardening. Some might call it the legalized torture of hapless flowering plants, but that's another story.) Anyway, I chased the truck like a puppy to retrieve my mail a few moments before the delivery guy would have put it into my mailbox. (Saturdays in the New England summertime can be laid-back and lazy.)

What did the delivery guy hand me? Among other non-bills (somehow, bills never get delivered on Saturdays in the summertime), he gave me a promising manila envelope addressed to -- one of my clients. Hmmm. Well, it's the book publicist's perogative to open such envelopes(particularly, when the return address lets her know that the envelope is from Going Bonkers magazine).

A package addressed to Deborah Collins Stephens from Going Bonkers magazine? That's fun! I thumbed through the magazine and, indeed, found her bylined article, "Dealing with Life's Unexpected Turns: 7 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water During Difficult Times," on page 43. Great article, and a great placement for it (her byline mentions her book, This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down and her Website, www.ThisIsNotTheLifeIOrdered.com"

But here was my real Saturday treat. I continued to thumb through the magazine, and on page 58, I found another client's bylined article. It's called "Bing Eating Disorder: Are You at Risk," and, again, the byline references Trisha Gura's book, Lying in Weight: the Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women. Lucky Dr. Gura: the byline also cites her publisher, Harper Collins, the book's publication date, and her Web site, www.trishagura.com.

Two clients, two bylned articles, great book promotion opportunities, and nice, breezy July hours to spend outside messing around with a spade and pulling weeds. That's what I call a Saturday treat. Of course, the biggest treat is yet to come: emailing Deborah and Trisha, and letting them know their bylined articles have been published!

Are you using video for book promotion?

Are you using videos, such as multimedia book presenters, as part of your book promotion campaign? One of my favorite vendors for multimedia book presenters, by the way, is AuthorBytes, which designs sites for many of my clients and a whole host of bestselling authors, fiction and nonfiction, whose names you'll recognize.

Anyway, if you are using multimedia book presenters or video of any kind as part of your book promotion campaign, you'll want your book publicist to send the links to media contacts. In addition, you've already thought of using YouTube (along with your own Web site) to house your video. But you may be wondering: where else should I upload my video?

The answer, according to a WebProNews article, is that, once you've uploaded your site to YouTube, you can consider your task done. At least for now, YouTube has crushed the competition. Its videos show up ahead of every other site's videos in the search engines, so if you want to upload your video to the place that most people will go to by default, that place is YouTube.

At least until the next big video site comes along.

Book promotion or overexposure?

Do book excerpts in newspapers and magazines whet the public's appetite for a book, or does it discourage people from buying the book because they've already heard its message?

That's the question posed by the United Kingdom's Press Gazette. In a recent article called "U.S. newspapers thinking twice about book extracts," the columnist postulates: "There is a growing fear that some readers might feel they have had their fill and never bother to buy the book." Perhaps publishers should turn their attention away from excerpts and toward broadcast media interviews, the article goes on to suggest.

Well, I would agree and disagree with that strategy. I agree that book excerpts might deter people from actually buying the book, but I worry that advance broadcast publicity can do the same.

While it's true that book excerpts (which are amazingly hard to score, by the way, unless you're a known author or writing about a newsworthy topic) may "spill all the secrets" and leave readers with no reason to buy a copy of the book, broadcast media interviews have the same potential drawback. If potential book buyers already know what the author has to say -- and if potential book buyers have already read it or, have heard the author say it -- then perhaps those potential book buyers are going to be investing their book buying dollars elsewhere. Why not buy a book that you haven't already dipped into, rather than get a longer, more drawn-out version of the book you've already had a chance to get a snapshot of? Attention spans being what they are, maybe too many book buyers only skim the book, anyway, or flip through the book to get the gist of it. Why offer readers a snapshot of the book via an excerpt, or a television or radio interview, if a snapshot of the book is likely to satisfy the readers' underwhelming appetite for that topic?

There's also the problem of book buyers' short memories and desire to hold onto hard-earned cash. We all have a lot on our minds. What are the odds that someone who's really, really interested in buying a book in June will remember to buy that book when it's published in September? Slim. What are the chances that someone will preorder a book in June, and pay for it in June, knowing that the book won't ship until September? Slimmer.

So, as a book publicist, I prefer to have my clients hold onto their book's main messages until the book is available. That means holding off on interviews related to the book's core messages until the book is available, and the book promotion campaign can begin in earnest.

However, there are some things an author can do ahead of time that don't present a risk of overexposing a book before it's available. They include creating a Web site for the book, and focusing on creating online buzz for that Web site; building an online community so that people visit that Web site again and again (and stick around on that Web site for a long period of time during each visit); and using promotional techniques such as bylined article placement campaigns that will bring visitors to that Web site. All of that can be done before the book's publication date without taking a chance that you'll "shoot your wad" too soon or turn off potential buyers for your book by giving them all the information they want without asking them to pay for it.

So, if you're on a limited book promotion budget and can't afford to approach the major publications about excerpting your book, don't feel guilty. The book promotion strategy you can't afford may be counterproductive, anyway. Focus on doing what you can to bring visitors -- and potential future book buyers -- to your Web site for now, and begin the book promotion campaign when your book is available and can benefit from media attention.

Breaking news from nowhere.

Imagine this. You're in the middle of a book promotion campaign. You've been lucky enough to score a live national radio interview. You're about to go n the air. And then -- out of nowhere -- there's a breaking news story, and your interview has been bumped to make way for the story that every media outlet needs to cover.

Yes. Paris Hilton has been released from jail -- during your big moment.

Anyone who's in the middle of a book promotion campaign today and has been forced to reschedule an interview has my sympathy. It's one thing to have a disappointment or two along the way when promoting a book. It's another thing to have a celebrity story involving Paris Hilton come out of nowhere and squash your big book promotion moment.

Drunk driving? Yes, that's a good reason to be outraged at Paris Hilton. Getting special treatment? That's still another. And messing up book promotion campaigns? You've got it. That's the perfect cap on the reasons why all of us can be steaming mad about Paris Hilton's early release from prison today.

Does this make you appreciate books?

In 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts found that fewer than half of adults surveyed read for pleasure (presumably, some of those adults still read because they must), and that number had declined since 1987. Quick math check: that was about five years ago. Right?

Okay. So now the owner of a Missouri-based independent bookstore has pondered the problem and come up with a solution. He'll burn his books. That'll teach 'em to love books!

I'm serious. Here's the Associated Press article about Tom Wayne, owner of Prospero's Books who'd rather see books destroyed than wait for a good home.

Here's the thing. I'm a book publicist who conducts book promotion campaigns to encourage people to read books. I love books. I love words. I love the people who write them. I love the companies that publish them. I love the people who read them. I love everything there is to love about books.

But this book publicist's quirk is: I don't love books enough to burn them. And I don't love books enough to understand, or to try to defend, anyone who thinks burning books is a way to pay homage to books.

Forgive me, Tom Wayne, but what you're doing strikes me as destructive. I hope you don't get a permit that would allow you to burn tens of thousands of additional books.

As a matter of fact, I fervently hope that you lose the privilege of being able to legally light a match.

The book promotion dream -- and the book promotion nightmare.

Here's the book promotion dream.

You'll schedule an interview for yourself (or your book publicist will schedule an interview) on a national radio show that reaches tens of thousands -- or maybe even millions -- of people, and many of them will rush out, or click online, to buy your book.

That's the book promotion dream.

Now here's the book promotion nightmare.

That interview will be scheduled on a show that airs exclusively via the XM Satellite Radio network during the time period when, due to a technical glitch of some sort, the network is partially down, and you don't know exactly how many subscribers will still be able to listen to the show, but you know it isn't the number that you were expecting. And there goes that opportunity to sell books -- up in high-tech smoke.

Of course, glitches happen in media outlets that don't rely on satellite technology. So, if your national radio interview is scheduled on a more traditional show, keep up your guard. Anyything can happen and, in the world of book promotion, it often does. Breaking news blows your topic off the host's top shelf and forces the producer to reschedule (or not to reschedule, as the case may be). And, as we approach yet another holiday weekend, remember that, even if the interview proceeds as scheduled, timing matters, too. There are fewer people listening to the radio during long holiday weekends, so bear that in mind as you're scheduling interviews. There's nothing like scheduling that national radio interview and then looking at your calendar and noticing that you've locked yourself in for a time when there just won't be the usual number of listeners.

There you have it. The book promotion dream (scheduling a national radio show) and the book promotion nightmare (having the timing of that national radio show, because of a high-tech failure or just bad timing) dash your hopes of selling thousands of books.

To authors whose interviews have aired on the XM Satellite Radio network in the past couple of days, or will air before the technical issue is resolved, my sympathies. Know that you're not alone. This time, you've lived the book promotion nightmare. Next time, you're entitled to enjoy the book promotion dream.

Dr. Phil for Promotion?

I'll be brutally honest with you. I'm a rabid "Brady Bunch" fan. It's not an intellectual choice. It's a primal problem -- a gene with which I was born that somehow predisposed me to love, love, love anything to do with that show. I've suffered through reruns since the show ended, I've watched all the movies, and -- I swear to you -- I even suffered through that darned variety show of theirs. And, yes, I own a copy of Barry Williams' book, Growing Up Brady, and have read it several times.

Look, we all have our issues.

All of this is to explain why, when I watched a promo for tomorrow's episode of "Dr. Phil" that featured a sobbing Maureen McCormick, I sat up and paid close attention. Three o'clock tomorrow, Eastern Time. Dr. Phil. Maureen McCormick. I'm there (or my DVD recorder is, anyway). I will watch anything that has to do with The Brady Bunch. I won't even try to defend myself. I know. I know! But I can't help it.

To put this into a more professional context, I'm wondering what's going on here. (Yes, I want to know -- I desperately want to know -- what's upsetting Marcia Brady so, but that's a whole other issue.) The little cynical other that resides in me (and who, evidently, didn't watch enough "Brady Bunch" episodes) wonders: what's in this for Maureen? Surely, the woman isn't in such dire financial straits that she can't afford to see a therapist if she needs one. I mean, surely, she could borrow the money from one of her siblings ... but there I go again. Never mind. What I'm trying to say is, what's Maureen McCormick doing on tmorrow's "Dr. Phil?" Is she looking to the big doctor for help the way an actual, you know, person would? Or is she promotin' a project, and perhaps she saw (or her publicist saw) the "Dr. Phil" show as a way to get some quick national media attention for it?

See? This is why all of us, and not just refugees from the planet Seventies, should wish every day of our lives that Mr. Brady were still among us. He, and he alone, could resolve all of our problems in 30 minutes (less, if you subtract the time that the commercials took). Mrs. Brady? Alice? Not even close. Sam the Butcher? Forget about it. Mr. Brady was the original Dr. Phil, and doggone it, his methodology worked. His kids turned out fine. His dog and cat probably turned out fine, too, although we can't be sure since Fluff wasn't seen after the pilot episode and we lost track of Tiger sometimes after Jan realized she wasn't allergic to him but, rather, to the dog shampoo he was using, but...now where was I? Oh, yes.

Robert Reed, we miss you. We really, really miss you. Especially when we consider the fact that, if you were here now, we probably wouldn't have to watch "Dr. Phil" tomorrow. Which we will, for strictly professional reasons. We have to know: are celebrities (and former celebrities) using the "Dr. Phil" show to plug their projects? Is "Dr. Phil" becoming another way to enhance celebrity, and sell more movie tickets? Is it more than just a way for unknown nonfiction authors to get some book promotion? Is "Dr. Phil" becoming...a platform for B-celebrities? Stay tuned....

A few minutes with...book lovers at the New York book fair

If you watched "60 Minutes" last night, then you were treated to an Andy Rooney segment that was unusually poignant -- for those of us who love books, anyway. Rooney's segment was about the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Where was Rooney's cynicism? He left it at home, for this segment. Instead, he seemed genuinely humbled to be in the presence of books and book-loving people, and he capped with a comment about how -- I'm paraphrasing -- the Book Fair made him believe there's still hope for our civilazation, after all.

Sure, there was a little bit of promotion in the segment -- promotion for an amazing annual event -- but, more importantly, it was a lovefest. Rooney, the crotchedy journalist, has loved books along. And we, who write, publish, and promote books, have loved them all along, too. What's not to love about this "60 Minutes" segment? You can watch it yourself by clicking here.

Does book promotion make a bestselling book?

Does a successful book promotion campaign lead to a bestseller? Sometimes...but, more typically, a book becomes a bestseller by accident. So says a recent New York Times article, "The Greatest Mystery: Making a Best Seller."

We all know that booksellers become bestsellers for a combination of reasons: great distribution, awesome writing, super cover, and terrific word-of-mouth. To this list, the New York Times adds another component: the stars' alignment.

The frustration is that, you can do everything right, and still not earn enough money to pay your expenses/meet your advance -- even with the best book promotion campaign in the world. The flip side of that is, if creating a bestseller is at least partly a matter of luck, then that stroke of luck can happen to anyone.

Yes. It can happen to you.

Blame the publicist, part II.

Paris Hilton doesn't blame her publicist anymore, you'll be glad to know. Okay, I was being polite. You probably don't care. But I offer this article as comic relief and because I brought up the subject of Paris Hilton's woes yesterday. I guess that will teach me, huh?

By the way, I do have some advice for Paris Hilton's publicist: quit. Why would you want to promote this woman when there are so many worthier candidates for media attention -- and yours?

A tough and ugly way to get publicity.

You can get publicity the easy way -- by writing a newsworthy book, for example. Or you can promote yourself the tough way -- by doing something horrible, showing no remorse, and scoring 45 days in prison. I particularly love the way she blames her publicist for "getting her into this mess." And her publicist did that...how? I read Hilton's whining accusation, and I still can't make any sense of her theory about why this whole mess has anything at all to do with her now-former publicist. Maybe you can make sense out of it -- click here if you'd like to try.

I guess, if you're interested in book promotion, either technique would work. But I don't recommend the route that Paris Hilton took. I just don't. (And I wish she could be sentenced to an additional 45 days just on the basis of her reaction -- or the lack thereof -- to the sentence.)

Imagine if there were no book reviewers....

If you're conducting a book promotion campaign, you'll want to read a press release that I received last night and that I reprint here, with the author's permission.

For immediate release

Last week, the Los Angeles Times folded its book review section into an opinion section, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution eliminated its book review position. Not a good week for book criticism, but not a surprising one, either: in the past few years, newspapers from the Chicago Tribune to the Dallas Morning News to the Village Voice have seen book coverage shrink.

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is not taking these developments lying down. This week, in an effort to support book reviews, book editors, book pages, and book culture, the NBCC is launching a Campaign to Save Book Reviews. During the last week in April and throughout the month of May, the NBCC is asking authors and editors, journalists and publishers—and in fact anyone interested in literary culture—to speak out on the value of books and book reviewing.

The campaign’s launch pad is an effort to save the book review position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, held until last week by Teresa Weaver. Explains NBCC president John Freeman, “Teresa has the opportunity to apply for a job within the company, but it's not clear what the fate of the book page will be—whether it'll be reassigned to an existing editor, whether it will go entirely to wire copy, or whether it will be removed altogether.” A petition to save Weaver’s job has already secured nearly a thousand signatures, including those from luminaries as varied as Michael Connelly, Richard Powers, and Ian Rankin. Those interested in signing should go to http://www.petitiononline.com/atl2007/petition.html.

Throughout the campaign, Critical Mass, the NBCC’s blog, will feature Q&As, posts by concerned writers, and advice on petitioning the media to assure continued book coverage. Current posts include a lengthy Q&A with David L. Ulin, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review. Check out http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/ to join in our efforts and to track developments in this ongoing and important campaign.

The National Book Critics Circle, founded in 1974, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization consisting of nearly 700 active book reviewers nationwide who are interested in honoring quality writing and communicating with one another about common concerns. It is managed by a 24-member all-volunteer board of directors. For more information, please go to www.bookcritics.org.

For questions, contact Barbara Hoffert, hoffer@reedbusiness.com or 646-746-6806.

Competition for your book promotion efforts.

A mass murderer with a gun in each hand, aiming at the camera lens. A latter-day Marilyn Monroe, striking a variety of provocative poses, sometimes with her handsome young son by her side. Flooded roads, washed-away vehicles, and submerged houses.

These are the images the media is bombarding us with, and this is what the media considers newsworthy.

Well, okay.

But, to authors and publishers, Virginia Tech, Anna Nicole, and catastrophic weather events aren't only something to think about. They're also competition for the media's attention.

Can book promotion go on, as usual, when there's a mass murder at a college, and everyone in the country is seeking answers? Is book publicity to be thought of -- unless you're the half-sister of Anna Nicole with a book of your own -- when it takes an endless number of weeks to work out the parentage and custody arrangements of a deceased pseudo-celebrity's baby? Is your book publicist even supposed to be calling newsrooms around the country when people in multiple, far-flung states have been seeking shelter from devastating floods and are trying to figure out where they'll be living once the water recedes?

Bad news events aren't only riveting. They're also all-consuming happenings that can derail our plans for book promotion.

But you know something? If our book promotion plans have to put on hold, we can still consider ourselves fortunate if our loved ones were not involved in trauma or tabloid stories, and if our family and friends' psyches and homes are intact on this April day.

Book promotion is important. But it ain't everything, says the realistic book publicist.

The Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Massacre

Yesterday, I was in the middle of sending emailing a client's article to weekly newspapers when the first reports of the Virginia Tech Massacre came across the wire. It didn't immediately hit me, but within a few minutes, I realized that book promotion efforts put forth that day would be a waste of time and energy.

My mind wasn't on book promotion. My mind was on what was going on in a school community, and what it meant. My mind was on the students and teachers who were involved, and on their family members, and on their friends. My mind was all over the place, but it wasn't on book promotion.

The media's attention, I knew, wouldn't be on book promotion, either.

In times of national angst, we do a lot of things. We cry, we struggle to understand, and we beg whatever higher powers to whom we subscribe to take it all back. We bargain, we become furious, we argue, and finally -- I hope -- we come to some sort of resolution. We do a lot of things in times like these, but book promotion isn't one of those things. Nor should it be.

There's One Less Book Promotion Venue.

As you've heard by now, Don Imus's radio show is no more. Wow.

Shows come and shows go, and part of a book publicist's job is keeping up with those changes. But this book publicist wishes that radio shows wouldn't leave the airwaves for reasons like this.

There's no excuse for the words Don Imus uttered, and there's no excuse for his failure to convince us that he was seriously sorry.

Well, guess what? He's sorry now.

But, then again, every author who's in the middle of a book promotion campaign should also be sorry that we've lost one more book publicity venue.

Ouch.

Racism: The Newest Self-Promotion Techique?

By now, you've undoubtedly heard that Don Imus has apologized for a racist remark he uttered on the national radio airwaves. It strikes me that this is the first time I've heard people discussing Don Imus in a long, long time.

How many people were talking about Mel Gibson's movie before his drunk driving arrest -- an incident that didn't kill anyone, fortunately, but that revealed (in case we needed further confirmation) Gibson's uncharitable feelings toward Jews? And how many people even remembered Michael Richards except when they were watching "Seinfeld" reruns until his crazy, racist rant in a nightclub?

As a book publicist, I wonder whether these (and other) celebrities are somehow being incented to make hateful, social unacceptable remarks in public. Don Imus, Mel Gibson, and even Michael Richards stand to make a whole lot more money when people are talking about them.

Would the same tactic work for an author who's embarking on a book promotion campaign? Could saying things you know others don't want to hear be your ticket to having the book promotion ride of a lifetime?

Maybe, but I'd say this to any author who's even thinking of traversing that path: count me out. I won't participate in that brand of promotion, and I won't be a part of spreading bad karma. And, thankfully, I don't know of any book publicists who would.

Plagiarism in Book Promotion?

In the old days -- well, up until this morning -- the big question about book promotion was: is it better to receive a mediocre (or even a hostile) reception from media outlets than to receive no book promotion opportunities at all. I could argue both sides of that question, and I often have entered into such a debate. (Although, admittedly, as a book publicist I am biased in favor of the "any book publicity is good publicity" side of the argument.)

But this morning I read a strange story in The Book Standard titled: 'NY Times' Regrets Publishing Book Essay that made me realize there's a new issue. Is it better to have a self-promotional essay published with your byline in one of the nation's top daily newspapers and be accused of plagiarism, or is it better to refrain from having that self-promotional essay not published at all?

The book promotion world is full of oddities, but this story is one of the strange tales I've read about lately. So, if your self-promotional article or essay has failed to capture the attention of a major media outlet such as the New York Times, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. Who knows?

And the winner is...

On tomorrow's show, Oprah will reveal the newest book she's chosen for her book club and the recipient of all those automatic Oprah's book club sales. And the winner is....

I have no idea, but I hope it's an author who's talented and hungry and worthy of the book promotion opportunity that making Oprah's book club always confers.

If you need any additional incentive to tape Oprah tomorrow, note that Sidney Poitier -- author of Oprah's last book club pick, The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography will be a guest on her show. Of course, Mr. Poitier doesn't need the book promotion opportunity, but I'll never turn down the chance to see him perform -- even if it's only as a guest on a talk show.

Will the new book club pick be a classic? A hidden gem?

What will it be?

This is better than the Osars, the Emmys, the Tonys, and the Grammys, combined.

And the envelope please....

Book Marketing Article

This article isn't necessarily about book promotion, but it is about marketing. It's by Dan Tudor who has learned how to market and sell ebooks, and who shares his wisdom here.

There's no marketer like the type of marketer who plants marketing seeds in a project as it's being developed. And there is no self-promoting, PR savvy author like an author who plants news hooks into manuscripts as they're being drafted -- and sets the stage for a successful book promotion campaign even before the manuscript goes to the printer.

Kudos to Dan Tudor for a thought-provoking article. There's information we can use for book promotion or for selling our books...even before we finish writing them!

King of book promotion

He breathes. Therefore, he enjoys publicity for his latest book.

If everyone in the world were Stephen King, then launching a book promotion campaign would be a question of announcing a new project, and the media would flock to cover the story. If you've been hiding out in a cave, you may have missed the fact that Stephen King -- in conjunction with Marvel Entertainment -- has turned is Dark Tower work into a comic book.

Book promotion opportunity? Well, this is Stephen King we're talking about. I'm not into comic books in general, and I'm not a Dark Tower fan specifically, but even I've stumbled upon the news of King's foray into the comic book world about 4,698 times since yesterday morning. Here's just one the articles about it that you'll find online.

Apart from the Dark Tower series, and one or two or three or four of King's more recent work, I am a huge fan of Stephen King. And I certainly don't begrudge him the media's adulation or the book promotion opportunities that come his way. He deserves those book opportunities. He's always trying new artforms, and that's cool. I respected him when he brought back serial book reading with "The Green Mile," and when he stuck a toe into ebook publishing with -- was that project called "The Plant?" Something like that.

King takes risks, and that's always worth the media's time and attention. I only wish that, when struggling authors took similar risks, they were granted the same visibility and accolades for trying out new artforms and interesting business models.

Way to go, King, for celebrating the release of your comic book with all the book promotion that talent and fame and hard work can buy. For the rest of us ... well, back to pitching the media, one day at a time.

Shortsighted governor slashes books budget

Book promotion presumes that all readers -- sighted and vision-impaired -- will have access to books. But if the governor of Massachusetts has his way, several "talking books" programs in the state will be downsized as a way of economizing. As Boston Herald columnist Peter Gelzinis points out in his column today, it can cost twenty-five dollars to buy a book on CD. Therefore, many vision-impaired people depend on free audio books, newspapers, and magazines.

With an overall budget of $26.7 billion budget, does Massachusetts really want to lessen its citizens' access to reading materials just to save a couple hundred thousand dollars?

From his office, Massachusetts' governor Deval Patrick practically can walk to Harvard University, MIT, Tufts, and so many other institutions of higher learning. You can't walk down a Cambridge, Massaschusetts street on any average afternoon without bumping into at least a few authors. Sure, all those authors dream about fabulous distribution and wonderful book promotion campaigns, and publishers, distributors, and book publicists can help them with all of that.

But will their books be available for everybody? If Governor Patrick has his way, perhaps not for much longer.

Book promotion opportunities are enhanced by death.

Book promotion opportunities are enhanced by death. Sounds grim, doesn't it? I guess that's the reason why I don't promote comic books.

Apparently, Captain America is dead. Woe is he. But happy is Marvel, the publisher of the Captain America comic books. Apparently, fans are flocking to the stands to buy volume #25, which is the issue in which the superhero -- or the almost-superhero, if I'm reading the news reports correctly -- meets his maker.

Can anyone doubt that Captain America will be back in some form or another, and that rumors of his death were greatly exploited in the middle to promote the comic book? Well, don't ask this book publicist. She hasn't been a fan of comics since Richie Rich in the seventies, but that may be a bit too much information for you. :)

Just know that, if you do something truly shocking -- such as kill off a main character who is beloved by legions of readers -- then book promotion opportunities will surely come. It's book publicity through murder, which can be seen as a guerilla marketing tactic. Get it? Guerilla warfare? Never mind.

Okay, it's Friday, and I'm punchy. Time to get to work on my latest book promotion campaigns, and then call it a weekend.

What's tougher than book promotion?

What's tougher than book promotion? In my humble opinion, it's working on the production side of things. I just read in this MSNBC article that Katie Couric's evening news producer was fired because of low ratings.

Yes, I know everyone wants to grow up to be a TV producer. (I did, and so did about 75% of my classmates in Emerson College's mass communication department, back in the 1980's.) But imagine the stress of knowing that your job is in jeopardy every second of every day because of low ratings, changes in format, morphing management, and show cancellations?

And think about this: every time there's a change in personnel at a TV station or a radio station, book publicists must know about it. Book publicists can't only buy media lists and then happily embark upon yet another book promotion campaign. Book publicists have to keep up with changes -- not only at television and radio stations, but at newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, too -- as they happen.

I find it amusing that many authors believe that good publicists have good friends in the media. Well, that would be key if good friends in the media had good jobs in the media from week to week, and from month to month.

The truth is that good publicists are those who know how to make friends with new producers and editors and writers and hosts who are hired to replace departing producers and editors and writers and hosts -- every minute of every day, every week of the year, every year of every book promotion campaign that you launch.

Welcome to my world.

When book publicists can't win.

I've always taken the position that book publicists can have private opinions, but not public ones. (Which makes it sort of strange that I blog, but I digress.) I tell anyone who will listen that the authors I represent do not necessarily share my opinions, nor do I share theirs. Even so, journalists and producers sometimes reacts negatively to a particular pitch. For example, I recently promoted a book that was endorsed by Rudy Giuliani, and a reporter who was categorically not a Rudy Giuliani fan sent me a furious, "never contact me again under any circumnstances, you horrible Rudy Giuliani supporter!" email.

Well, okay.

So now I'm beginning a book promotion camaign for a book which has a claim to controversy that is a lot stronger than who endorses it. This book is about one of those big topics that people have fought and died for, and even committed homicide over. That's the type of book that will cause tempers to flare, and could be at the center of a very rocky book promotion campaign.

I, therefore, sent out a mass email with the disclaimer that the author's opinion did not necessarily reflect my own. And wouldn't you know it: an editor at one of the top daily mewspapers in the country fired me back an email accusing me of -- well, in short, of being a weenie.

Well, okay.

This is not the start I was hoping for to this book promotion campaign. But I still have hopes that the book promotion campaign will go well, and that the author's voice will be heard, and that he or she sells some books as a result of the book promotion campaign.

Are we having fun yet?

The type of book promotion story that isn't.

When I discuss book promotion, I'm talking about working with authors, and sometimes publishers, to disseminate messages to the media. I'm talking about the reward for writing, and publishing, a book. Book promotion is supposed to be fun and creative, and it's supposed to be the payoff you receive for all your hard work. It's supposed to be a time when you're treated as the expert you are, and afforded the respect you deserve.

So I don't want to hear about book promotion ripoffs. I don't want to hear about book promotion campaigns that aren't. I don't want to hear about book promotion coaches who don't. I don't want to hear about authors who experience a nightmare with someone who calls him- or herself a book publicist.

I don't want that.

But I sometimes do hear book promotion nightmares, like this one. I don't know anymore about the situation than what the author tells us, and I don't know what the other party's position is. Perhaps there are two sides to this story, as there are to most.

But I do know that I have a hard-and-fast rule: I will consider representing only authors whose work I feel connected to, and whose books will help my credibility. That means that all prospective clients must have a completed manuscript that I can see, and must have publication plans in place. I will never agree to represent a manuscript that's in process, or a manuscript that's making the rounds of publishers.

Book promotion campaigns work only when book publicists can get behind the book. That doesn't mean that book publicists agree with the messages in every book we promote. Sometimes, we strongly disagree with them. But book publicists agree to make the authors' case during book promoton campaigns, and we agree to help find venues for the authors to give voice to their visions. Book promotion campaigns obviously cannot work when a book publicist has agreed to promote a book, sight unseen. And, even more obviously, a book promotion campaign cannot succeed when there is no published book to promote.

It's not tough these days to publish a book. It requires doing your homework to find the best publication method, and then moving forward with the information you've gleaned from books on publishing and self publishing.

And it's also not tough these days to have a successful book promotion campaign. Again, it requires doing your homework to find a book promotion specialist who is excited about representing your book and you. It means checking references. It means choosing a book publicist based on the rapport you develop with that individual.

Book promotion campaigns require an investment, and I urge potential clients to stay within their comfort zones financially whether they hire my book promotion firm or another. Book publicity is a crapshoot. You never know what book promotion opportunities you'll garner when you embark on a book promotion campaign and, presuming you garner a great number of media opportunities, you never know how well those media opportunities will translate into book sales.

Yes, book promotion is expensive, and yes, book promotion is a risk. But book promotion is supposed to be a fun gamble and an informed risk, and it's supposed to be your reward for all the hard work you've done as an author and, perhaps, as a publisher.

It is not supposed to be a nightmare, and it pains me to think that, in some cases, it can be.

Book publishing exchange, including book promotion tips

I've just found a great place online for authors to exchange ideas, learn about book publicity, and discuss their questions with colleagues from around the world. It's an email group called TWLAuthorTalks (to subscribe, email: TWLAuthorTalks-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and the moderator is Dorothy Thompson, author of the wonderful ebook on how to promote ebooks (I'm a proud owner of a copy), A Complete Guide to Promoting and Selling Your Self-Published eBook. You can find the book online at http://www.dorothythompson.homestead.com/books.html. Dorothy knows her stuff about all of the latest methods of book promotion. Don't believe me? Google her. You'll see her name everywhere, not because she's lucky, but because she puts a lot of time and energy into book publicity and self promotion -- and it's paying off for her.

I'm delighted to be a guest speaker on book promotion and book publicity this week at TWLAuthorTalks. Imagine being in such refined company...Dorothy's light is sure to shine on me, and I'm sure I'll learn at least as much as I share with her subscribers.

Every book publicity campaign begins with...

It's Sunday, and what does this book publicist find herself doing? Reading two books. Are they two books that this book publicist bought "for the beach" or because they were on her reading list or because they're in the news or to "improve her mind?"

Nope. They're books she's going to promote.

Which brings me back to my point. Every book publicity campaign begins with reading the book. To create a media kit that will get a book promotion campaign off to a healthy start, you have to know the big messages in the book and be able to turn them into media hooks now, or when breaking news invites a tie into the big messages.

For example, let's say your book is a novel whose main character with a quirk that's mentioned a few times in the book -- she eats bananas day and night. The bananas-eating represents .00009 of the plot, but still, it's in the book. Then there's a real-life news story about how eating 12 servings of bananas a day can extend your lifespan by 5 years. What a great media hook, and what a great way to make your book publicity campaign soar! But you'll only be able to make the connection if you've read the book from cover to cover -- if, in effect, you know your bananas.

So, with two book publicity campaigns starting, I am reading both books now. I'm eager to be impressed, educated, and inspired to launch two successful book promotion campaigns.

And, even if you're not a book promotion specialist -- even if you're an author or a publisher who's conducting a do-it-yourself book publicity campaign -- I'd urge you to spend some time today reading the book that you're promoting. Look for media hooks that you can immediately tie into breaking news stories. Find some gems that people will want to know about, now, and you'll give new life to your book publicity campaign tomorrow.

Book promotion or pizza plugging?

As a book publicist who loves homemade pizza -- don't even get me started on how much I love to bake sourdough, whole wheat, flaxseed-encrusted pizza crusts with all-vegetable toppings, because it would truly scare you -- I am mulling over Pizza Hut’s Book It program. Pizza Hut is giving kids who read books free pizzas to promote ... well, either to promote pizza, or to promote books.

The cynic in me says that Pizza Hut is more interested in Pizza Hut promotion than in book promotion, but that's just the cynic in me.

The pizza lover in me has this to say.

Pizza Hut, I'm sure your corporate heart is in the right place. But do me a favor, please. Let kids discover books. They will. Trust me.

Let them fall in love with reading. Then, once we have them reading ... you can sell them all the pizza you want. Deal?

Let's get our priorities in order. And let's try to let food be food ... and let kids just be kids.

Book Promotion: A Second Opinion

One of the great things about book promotion is there's no single "right" way to do it. Different book publicists have different strategies that have worked for them, and that wouldn't be of any value to me -- and vice versa. So I like to read interviews with other book publicists, or with authors and publishers who are conducting book promotion campaigns, to compare styles and successes.

I just came across an interview at Authorlink with Alan Gratz, author of a children's book called Samurai Shortstop (Dial, 2006). Please read the interview for yourself. The author is promoting his children's book, and -- because he's promoting a children's book -- his experiences are different from mine would be. (I've promoted several children's book, but my focus is on books for adults.)

Perhaps because his genre is different from the ones with which I'm most familiar as a book publicist, Gratz's strategies involve spending far more money on a print media kit than I would. For ecample, Gratz uses folders for his media kits. I would never do that because it's far more labor-intensive, and expensive, to include folders with media kits in all media mailings. Also, for me, it would be far too limiting. I'd be far more interested in sending out more media kits, and spending far less money on each of them, than in sending out fewer media kits that cost too much to be "wasted" on secondary media outlets. Also, I use ekits quite a bit. Gratz says this strategy hasn't worked for him. Again, I suspect he knows what he's talking about. Since he's promoting a children's book, his press releases may read like advertising copy for the book -- and, yes, that would be considered spam by many media outlets.

One-size-fits-all book promotion tactics do not exist. Book promotion strategies do need to be adjusted to suit the project, the stage of the project, and the preferences/proclivities/talents/schedules/budgets of those conducting the book promotion campaign.

Next time I promote a children's book, I will go back to this Authorlink interview and see how many of the tips in it might apply to the project. In the meantime...the world of adult book promotion awaits.

When Book Promotion Takes Guts

All authors want media attention, and a successful book promotion campaign is the way to get media attention. But few authors want all that media attention to cause them problems.

For Elie Wiesel, there are three pieces of good news: one, he's alive and well; two, his book, Night, was an Oprah's Book Club Selection; and three, his message of "never again" is being heard loudly and clearly by his target audience -- all of us.

Wiesel nearly didn't survive World War II because of his religion.

And he nearly didn't survive an encounter several weeks ago with one of those lunatics who claim the Holocaust never happened, and that Wiesel (and other survivors) are lying.

Wiesel's always out there in the media, and he's always pursuing book publicity as part of his mission to educate people. In fact, what made me think of it is that I just stumbled on an article that talks about another stop Wiesel is making on his never-ending book promotion tour.

At this point in his life, I'd guess that Wiesel's book promotion campaign isn't about selling books, nor is it about making money. I'd say that Wiesel's book promotion efforts are about disseminating his messages with audiences, and that he uses his books as reasons to be part of author events and author interviews.

Mr. Wiesel is my hero, because he's a reminder that book promotion sometimes isn't about "wanting to be on the Oprah show." Sometimes, book promotion is about survival, courage, and humanity.

Book promotion for academic and professional titles

Most authors believe in the value of book promotion. Not all authors can invest their time and resources in robust book promotion campaigns, but nearly every author I've run into over the years wishes he or she could do some book promotion. It's simply very unsual for an author to care enough to write a book, and publish a book, but to not care enough to back it with a book promotion campaign.

The only exception to the rule would seem to be professional book authors and academic book authors. Their target audiences can be so specific that it would be difficult to reach them through the usual channels. Book promotion campaigns that revolve around the mass media just don't always work for these very specifically aimed books.

But even authors of professional books and academic books need to do more than publish their work and hope their intended readers find it. They need to proactively make sure their intended readers find it.

Some sort of book promotion campaign is in order. Even if those book promotion efforts don't include pitching national television shows, book review editors, and so forth, those book promotion strategies might well include writing articles for niche publications, maintaining a blog, and -- of course -- creating a book Web site that's rich with information and resources.

Book promotion campaigns do make sense for professional and academic books. Those book promotion campaigns might take a different form than book promotion campaigns for trade books, but make no mistake about it. If you want to get the word out about your book, you have to actively take all the right steps to make it happen. That's what book promotion is all about.

"The Secret" to Book Promotion

One of the secrets to book promotion is to, well, write the book, "The Secret." That's what Rhonda Byrne did, and look at the result. According to a Newsweek article titled "Decoding 'The Secret,'" Byrne's book's will have an estimated 1.75 million copies projected to be in print by March 2, which will be slightly more than three months after its publicaton. Plus, Oprah Winfrey is all over it; she's already devoted two of her shows to the author and her book.

That's some secret.

What delighted me about the Newsweek article was that I saw many familiar names in it -- among them, Joe Vitale, who is a long-time client of this book publicist (and I'll be promoting his upcoming book, Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace and More (Wiley and Sons).

So perhaps Byrne's secret to book promotion is that she shares the media spotlight with other authors -- and, perhaps, competing authors whom she doesn't see as competition at all but rather as others who can reinforce her perspective and help spread it to others. However Byrne is doing it, her book seems to be this decade's shining example of book promotion at its best. You go, Rhonda!

Book Promotion Arena Gets More Crowded

Your book promotion campaign just got tougher. Acording to an article in the New York Times, "Time to Throw Their Books Into the Ring," every presidential candidate has written a book and is using his or her book promotion tour to test the political waters. A presidential candidate whose book scores a lot of media attention, the reasoning goes, will get a lot of support for his or her presidential campaign. Conversely, a presidential candidate who can't kick-start a book publicity campaign might as well through in the towel politically, too.

A book promotion campaign really is rough. Authors and book publicists are not only competing with peers for interviews, book reviews, and attention from the Web. But we're also competing with Senator Barack Obama (his book is called "The Audacity of Hope," and his book "Dreams of My Father" has just been reissued), Governor Bill Richardson (author of "Between Worlds,"), Senator Hillary Rodham (her book, "It Takes a Village," is ten years old now, but still, it's getting media attention), and others.

So if you're goal isn't as lofty as, say, becoming president of the United States, and you're willing to settle for an appearance or two on a major television show, you might just succeed. But realize that you just might be competing for those coveted media interview slots against the next U.S. president. May the best candidate win.

Book Promotion Gets Complicated

When this book publicist reads a news story that relates to book publicity twice, and feels the beginnings of a headache during her second pass through the article, one of two things is happening. Either the book publicist had too much coffee this morning, or book promotion has become more complicated.

I think it's the latter. And I hope it's the latter, because I really don't want to give up my one daily cup of coffee -- particularly, during wintertime in New England.

Here's the article that caused my head to spin. Read it along with me, and see what you make of it. Here's what I'm seeing:

One of National Public Radio's programs, "Tech Nation," will be broadcast with podcasts airing before the actual program. Each podcast will feature an interview with someone who has used a service called Blurb (Blurb.com) to publish his or her book.

But here's the thing. People who use Blurb.com to publish their books -- if I'm reading the story correctly -- aren't full-time authors or even aspiring full-time authors. They're people who might want to turn their poetry or cookbook into a handsome bound manuscript, or who might want to turn the story of their success into bound manuscripts that look good enough to present to clients and prospects.

By the way, this sent me flying to the Blurb.com site. What is it? Why haven't I heard about it? Perhaps the answer can be found in the fact that -- again, if I'm getting an accurate reading of the pricing at a quick glance -- a 201-page trade paperback would cost $44.95, before shipping. Okay, I haven't comparison shopped. Perhaps iUniverse's prices are similarly difficult to swallow, so I'm not in a position to judge Blurb.com. But I would need to see whether Blurb's books come equipped with an ISBN number, and can be posted on Amazon.com and BN.com and listed with Ingram, before I got excited enough about the service to recommend it.

Anyway, back to book publicity. NPR's "Tech Nation" seems to be saying, yes, we endorse Blurb. And we'll be glad to interview Blurb's customers. But we'll be glad to interview only Blurb's customers.

In other words, NPR is offering a new book promotion opportunity (Author interviews via podcasts aired nationally! How cool!). But NPR is offering that book publicity opportunity only to a small segment of authors. (And, unless I get an epiphany of some sort during a complete reading of the Blurb Website when I have some downtime, I'm not so sure that I would go so far as to call Blurb's customer base "authors.")

Hmm. Is this what book promotion will be, in the future? Will "Oprah" interview only Random House authors? Will "Today" offer a forum only to Penguin's writers? Will Larry King only talk with McGraw Hill people?

I guess it's possible that, one day, book publicity will become the process of matching authors who publish in specific ways with media outlets that promote only works by those particular authors. But for now, this book publicist needs a second cup of coffee. It's okay, just this once.

The Easy Path to Promoting a Children's Book

Book promotion requires creativity, enthusiasm, persistance, and elbow grease -- ordinarily. For authors who are interested in book publicity but don't feel like rolling up their sleeves and getting to work on a book promotion campaign, there's an alternative -- particularly, if you are a children's book author.

Plant the "s-word" in your children's book, and book promotion will follow.

That's not the course I'd recommend, because I happen to think children should be sheltered from clinical terms that refer to body parts during reading time. (Don't get me wrong. I'm not against sharing clinical terms that refer to body parts during other times of the day. Just, please, let's apare small children who are settling down for their naps.)

To see all the fuss that the "s-word" can create in a children's book, and all the book promotion potential of using such a word, click here.

Sort of makes you want to kick yourself, doesn't it? Here you are, actually working for your book publicity opportunities. And along comes a children's book author, Susan Patron, who happens onto the idea of using the word "scrotum" in her children's book, and -- wham! -- she creates instead book promotion and buzz for her title.

I'll bet you wish you had thought of it.

Domains: the Latest Book Promotion Problem.

As you may know, I'm always preaching the value of book Web sites. My mantra is: grab the URL as soon as you come up with your book title. In fact, grab the .net while you're at it (you won't need it, but it would be a lousy feeling to watch someone else grabbed "your" .net while you weren't looking).

That said, I own a lot of domain names. I probably own too many domain names, most of which I'll never use and many of which I don't even recall buying. I have a few URLS that I use, and they mean something to my business, and I need them. And I need for there to be no confusion about them.

But here's a new problem. Did you know that it's possible for someone to buy a URL, own it for a few days, and then just drop that URL and evaporate into thin air? I've just read an article about the possibilities for abuse at MSNBC ("Entrepreneurs profit from free Web names: Five-day grace period allows for ‘tasting’ before buying URLs").

The legitimate reason for the service was this. Let's say you meant to buy "bookpr.com," but a typo caused you to buy "bookspr.com" instead. With the five-day grace period, you can undo your purchase of "bookspr.com" and buy "bookpr.com" instead, as you had intended.

As with most things related to the Net, every offering seems to bring ill-intentioned people out of the woodwork. The five-day grace period for URLs seems to have inspired a whole crop of cybersquatters who buy as many misspellings as they can think of, put up a site that damages the original site, and then vanishes into thin air before anyone can be sued for damages. The example the article sites is "NeimuMarcus.com," which someone bought and used to advertise Neiman Marcus's competitors (Target, Nordstrom, and so forth). Neiman Marcus could have chosen to place an ad on that site back to its own Web site, but the company didn't think it should have to ... and I agree.

If you have a book that's selling very well, and your book promotion campaign is in full swing -- and you're lucky enough to have secured the book's title as your URL -- why should you let a URL speculator grab a misspelling of that domain and, perhaps, profit by it?

So here's my new recommendation. When you're buying your domain, be sure to grab any misspellings you can think of at the same time. It's not a huge monetary investment, and what you're buying is peace of mind. At least you'll know that your book's Web site won't fall prey to this new breed of cybersquatters -- or, at least, they'll have to work a whole lot harder at tricking your readers to go to their sites instead.

Book Promotion Can Be Fun--Even for the Reluctant

Would anyone like to switch places with "Pip," whose February 18, 2007 Type M for Murder blog entry cites this response to the publisher's book promotion efforts: "...varying degrees of terror/success – but mostly terror...."

Book promotion doesn't have to incite terror. Book publicity can, in fact, be the reward for having written and published your book.

Well, I can understand that not everyone enjoys the "media frenzy" that comes along with a successful book promotion campaign. The limelight is not necessarily what writers have in mind when they spend 50 weeks a year writing, alone, and enjoying the solitude as much as the creative process.

I know that everyone says "I want to jump-start my book promotion campaign. Tell me how I can do that." But, when it comes down to it, some authors find book promotion to be rather terrifying. Pip is just one example of an author who's honest about it.

Pip writes, "Any suggestions about how to deal with all this with grace, charm and the minimum of terror would be gratefully accepted." Okay, Pip. Here are a couple of suggestions to get you started.

First, tell your book publicist that your telephone is in perfect working order, and that you're interested in using it. You do not need to be "wheeled out" to appear on radio shows. Your book publicist can arrange telephone interviews instead that you can do from your home or office (just be sure to have a land line and a quiet place for your interview, and use a telephone line that does not have call waiting on it). Think of how much more relaxed you'll be when you're in a "safe space" wearing comfortable clothes, and all you have to focus on is the voice on the other end of the telephone.

Second, expect the worst from interviewers (although you're free to hope for the best). Expect them to be too tired to be lucid. (Or expect them to be too revved up on, um, coffee, to hold a decent conversation.) Expect them to be incapable of listening to you. Expect them to know nothing about your background or your book or your Web site. Shoot -- expect them to know nothing about any author, or any book, or any Web site. And expect them to think that the confrontational interview is hugely entertaining, whether your book is about politics, abortion, gun control, or how bake fat-free cookies.

Seriously, don't expect your interviews to go well because the interviewers know what they're doing. Expect your interviews to go well because you know what you're doing. Prepare questions ahead of time, and ask your book publicist to add them to the media kit. These suggested interview questions will serve as guidelines for well-meaning interviewers. And even when interviewers aren't well-intentioned, your suggested interview questions will at least help you remember what it is that you want to talk about. Then, when the interview's questions or comments start to get silly, you can respond to the silly question or comments by bridging back to one of the questions on your list. "Indeed, there are a lot of tractors on the road around here. And, just as importantly, why do you suppose this candidate has the upper hand right now? I'll tell you, it's because...."

In other words, be prepared to guide all of your interviews into the areas that matter to you. If the interviewer helps you do that, great. If not, then take control of the interview without being obnoxious or belligerent, and take the conversation where you need for it to go.

And about that feeling of terror...see whether you can turn that rush of adrenaline into something positive. It's always a good thing to be pumped up for interviews, and to be humble enough to prepare for every interview. Remember that book promotion has a purpose. Every interview provides you with an opportunity to showcase your expertise, disseminate your messages, and win new friends and admirers.

Your book publicist wants to hear some excitement from you when he or she schedules interviews, so see whether you can feel some of that. Try it. Book Promotion can be fun, if you'll let it.

Book Reviews Are Only One Book Promotion Possibility.

Book reviews are only one book promotion possibility, and they're the book promotion strategy least likely to be successful.

It always confuses authors when I tell them that, to get their book into the print media, they must think beyond book reviews. For so many people, book reviews are the only worthwhile reason to approach the print media. Sometimes, authors feel that book reviews are the only reason to even approach the media. No book reviews, no happiness. It's even tougher when authors have their hearts set on a particular publication's book review editor and, even after garnering other book reviews, come back and say, "I simply don't understand why publication A didn't review my book. Did you remember to contact the book editor there, or did you drop the ball? Would it be worthwhile if I contact the book editor myself?"

And it's hard to convince these authors that book reviewers usually say "no" to books. They have to. They have a lot of books on their desks, and it's their job to select a handful of books to review or to assign for review. It is not their job to review every book that is sent to them.

There are tricks to finding book promotion opportunities in the print media beyond trying to garner book reviews. You can pitch yourself as an expert to beat editors. You can write an article and pitch it to the editor, and ask that the attribution include your book title. You can also write an op-ed piece and submit it with the same request.

And, certainly, do approach book review editors while bearing in mind that many of them cannot review books that have already been published. If you have the lead time that the larger publications require, and perhaps if you have available advance reader copies or galleys, then sure -- send them off to book review editors, and hope for the best.

But expect to continue your book promotion efforts long after the window of opportunity to get book reviews has closed. There are so many ways to go after book promotion in newspapers and magazines ... keep an open mind to all of them, and don't focus all of your energies on book reviewers who might just be the most overwhelmed employees at the publications that matter most to you.

A book publicist's perspective on getting published.

Sometimes, during a book promotion campaign, I run across an editor with a couple of manuscripts in the closet who takes a deep breath for courage and then asks, "are you by any chance a literary agent as well as a book publicist?"

I always take the time to offer my thoughts to anyone who wants advice on how to get published. In a nutshell, my advice is: don't.

Maybe my point of view will be clearer if I offer part of the emailed response I sent to an editor this morning:

Although I'm not a literary agent, I can refer you to the Association of Authors' Representatives. You can find them online at http://www.aar-online.org/. An agent would certainly be interested in working with your titles, particularly, if you emphasize your credentials (someone with a 35-year background in journalism would have to taken seriously by an agent).

However, my particular bias is against waiting to "be published" and to self publish. I encounter a stigma from the media not toward self-published books in general but specifically toward books that are published by a print-on-demand press (that is, iUniverse, xlibris, PublishAmerica, and so on). When authors set up their own imprint, and create their own track records in terms of quality and content -- and if they get distribution, which is easy to do when they sign up with online bookstores in addition to using a printer that is part of Ingram and which is called Lightning Source (they're based in Tennessee, and you can find them online at http://www.lightningsource.com) -- then their works are on a level playing field with those published by major houses. In fact, their books are perhaps in an even better position because self-published authors don't get tired of their books in a month or two, and they stick with them, and promote them, and that effort can pay off over the long term. There are gazillions of self-published books out there, and it's a competitive arena -- but, from where I'm sitting, it surely beats passively waiting for a literary agent to sell the book to a publishing company. Self-publishing sounds difficult and overwhelming, and it brings to mind the world of vanity publishing, but that is not what it is at all, and that's not how it's perceived. The new technologies that are available to us all have changed the landscape of publishing, for the better, I believe.

Anyway, I hope this information helps a bit. Do check out the resources I've mentioned, and let me know what you decide to do...

Agree or disagree, that's my position on "waiting to get published." As you can tell, this book publicist doesn't appreciate having to "wait" for anything. She's committed to being proactive, whenever possible, and to getting results!

Confessions of a book publicist.

When you're conducting a book promotion campaign, be professional at all times. I forgot that today with an editor, and I regret it.

The editor emailed me to let me know he'd be using one of my clients' bylined articles in his publication and to request a copy of the book cover. That was good news for my client. Every published article by my clients leads back to my clients' book websites and, potentially, brings them more readers.

What was my complaint? Unfortunately, he addressed the email to "Dear sir," and I got huffy. So I hit the reply button, and I attached the book cover .jpg to an email in which I brusquely pointed out that I wasn't a "sir," and never had been a "sir," and never expected to be a "sir," and that I prefer to be addressed as "Stacey."

There's no excuse for that. Book promotion comes first, and the fact that it was a Friday afternoon and that I'd had a long week shouldn't matter. You know the old expression, "the customer is always right?" Well, a book publicity specialist's mantra should be "the media is always right." Period.

I was wrong, and I'm confessing only so that you handle your interactions with the media -- whether they address you as "he," "she," or "it," with professionalism and a smile at all times. Even if it is the beginning of a weekend.

(My interaction with the editor was salvaged by an apology from me, by the way. He took it with good humor, and I think we'll be friends from now on. And this serves as a reminder, I hope, to be nice to everyone -- but especially to members of the media when you're in the middle of a book promotion campaign.)

I'm a proud book promotion specialist.

I'm proud to be a book publicist. I flatter myself that I come up with creative, attention-getting book publicity campaigns. I'm eager to execute my ideas and watch book promotion campaigns take off.

Promotion is whatI do for a living, and I've always been very pleased about that.

Yesterday, some jerks spoiled it for me. Here's the story, in case you missed it. In planting devices that looked a lot like bombs throughout Boston, Massachusetts, these marketers terrorized everyone in, and around, the Boston area (and beyond); caused a highway to be shut down and a hospital to be partially evacuated; cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars; and created panic in the streets, in office buildings, and in the subway system.

The judgment of these marketing gurus was in the toilet. As far as I'm concerned, the only message they've spread clear and strong is that they belong in jail, and if they ever get out, all the rest of their lives should be devoted to making up for the harm they caused.

Today, I am ashamed to belong to the same profession that these marketers belong to. But something good may come from this experience. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder to all promoters as a reminder that, no matter what you're publicizing, the key to success is to always put integrity, common decency, and empathy first. Treat the Golden Rule as though your business -- and your freedom -- depend on it.

As we'll see (I fervently hope and expect), those promoters who lose sight of what's important lose their businesses and their freedom faster than you can say, "I'm not watching that cartoon -- ever."

Answers to Your Questions About Book Marketing, Book Selling, Book Distribution, and Book Promotion

I've always said that every book worth writing and publishing is worth promoting. I know other book publicists feel that way, too. We'd love to be able to help every author and publisher who comes our way, and many of us, on the sly, spend hours we don't have fielding phone calls from authors and publishers who have just finished publishing a book and don't have a clue what to do next.

I'll admit it. Sometimes, I hear the frustration in the voice of a caller whom I've never met, and who doesn't have the budget to hire me or any other publicist. These callers need information, but they don't know where to begin. They don't even know the questions to ask. They just sound helpless and hopeful, and at times like that -- if I haven't taken my lunch break yet -- I often sigh deeply and start talking.

During what should be my lunch hour, I start explaining the business of book selling, book distribution, and book promotion. Usually, I begin by saying: "Please be online, because I'm about to give you all of the critical links for publishers. I'll explain what they are, but you need to bookmark them." The interesting thing is that, through the years, I've found myself giving callers the same links over and over again. Sure, the URLs change, but I've kept up how to find those URLs.

And I've finally put the information together in one place, and I've turned it into an affordable e-book. It's called: How to Market, Sell, Distribute, and Promote Your Book: Critical, Hard-to-Find Information for Authors and Publishers, and the introductory price is only $24.99. It contains all the information I've passed on during those borrowed lunch hours, and then some. The e-book contains information that I don't always think of on the fly, and it's relayed in a logical sequence -- which is a progression that I'll admit I can't promise to provide by phone with my stomach growling and my phone lines ringing off the hook.

It's a win/win situation. I save my time for clients, and I still get to help other authors and publishers with their marketing, selling, distribution, and distribution questions.

If you're interested in getting answers to such questions as:

* How can you let Oprah Winfrey's producers know about your book?

* How can you pitch your book to the buyers at major chain bookstores?

* How can you establish a business relationship with Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com so you can sell your book online?

* How can you find a book distributor to get your work into other book-selling channels?

* How can you create media lists, and how can you contact book review editors?

* And more.

Visit my Web page for How to Market, Sell, Distribute, and Promote Your Book: Critical, Hard-to-Find Information for Authors and Publishers, and discover all of the information you've been looking for -- finally!

What we mean by book promotion opportunities for novels.

When novelists seek book publicity opportunities for their books, they run up against a reality: unless they are already a household name, or unless their work has a nonfiction news hook, it's probably going to be tough to find media outlets that are interested in book reviews or author interviews.

What's a nonfiction news hook for a novel? I know. It does sound like a contradiction in terms. But if your novel can make news (look at Frey's novel which grabbed the headlines, although for the wrong reasons), or if your novel is news, then the book promotion opportunities will be there.

Here's an example of how it works. Massachusetts-based author Michael Lowenthal wrote a based-on-fact novel titled Charity Girl (it's just been published by Houghton Mifflin and, no, I'm not Michael's book publicist). The novel reveals something that I didn't know about, and I'll bet most of us had never heard before: during World War I, many American women were locked up for the sin of having then-unmentionable diseases on the theory that they might jeopardize the health of military men.

Let that story out to the media, and you've got something: a novel with a strong news angle that's worthy of all the book publicity it gets because the story behind it is so important. Michael Lowenthal may not be a household name (yet), but that didn't stop the Boston Globe from reviewing his book. Click here to read the Globe's story.

I'm not suggesting that every novelist has to spend time in the library trying to uncover opportunities to shock people. But I am saying that, when you're pitching your novel to the media, you have to find a news hook somewhere in your material or background or experience. Perhaps you are a doctor by day who has written a medical thriller, or you were a witness to a real-life crime.

It's not enough to say to the media, "I'm a nice person. Please review my book." Or, "I've watched your show for years, and I know I'd be a wonderful and exciting guest." Or: "Here's some news for you. I've done something few people have ever done. I've self-published a novel. And, my, was it ever challenging! I'm sure your readers/listeners/viewers will want to learn all about it."

Those non-news pitches are likely to stall your book promotion campaign before it even gets off the ground. But if you find a news hook for your novel -- or, better still, if you build a media hook into your novel, the way that Michael Lowenthal did -- you have a novel that really is worthy of a no-holds-barred book publicity campaign.

You still have to do the work to let the media know about your novel, even if it does have a strong news hook. Book promotion opportunities seldom come to the author unless he or she seeks them. But, once your novel is newsworthy, and once you know how to let the media know that your novel is newsworthy, you have the makings of a successful book publicity campaign.

You Have to Love Oprah

You have to love Oprah Winfrey and her book club picks. You have to. Either that, or -- if you are promoting a book and interested in book publicity opportunities of your own -- you will drive yourself crazy at the injustice of it all.

John Steinbeck. Pearl S. Buck. Leo Tolstoy. All of these authors, wonderful and worthy (and yet deceased and beyond reaping the benefits of book promotion opportunities), have had their books selected by the most famous book club of them all.

And who is the latest author to join the ranks of the Chosen Ones? You guessed it: Sidney Poitier. According to CNN.com, Oprah has just selected Poitier's autobiography, "The Measure of a Man, for her book club.

Look: a bigger Poitier fan than this book publicist you will not find. I love Sidney Poitier. Always have. Always will. I will certainly buy a copy of his book.

But is Sidney Poitier a poor, struggling writer in need of the career boost that admittance to the Book Club would provide? Hardly. Sidney Poitier needs more prestige and adulation the way Jay Leno needs another automobile.

Does Oprah have a right to choose the books for her club? Sure.

I just wish she'd get back to choosing authors whose lives would change because of Oprah's Book Club ... and who could be given the opportunity to change others' lives because of it, as well.

Blogger Claims There's No Book Promotion. Hmmm.

A Simply Audiobooks Blog entry by Sanjay took me by surprise. Sanjay asks why book publishers "don't really promote anything at all." Sanjay cites the lack of advertising as proof that book promotion doesn't happen.

Apparently, Sanjay is confusing ads for books with other types of book promotion.

Apart from the fact that you do see ads for books (in book review sections of newspapers, in trade magazines, on banner ads, all over search engines, and so forth), you certainly see authors interviewed as experts in all the media. And each of those interviews is a book promotion opportunity for the author.

Try watching television, or listening to the radio, for an hour without hearing an author mention his or her book. And try reading anything without seeing the phrase "...is the author of..." or "...his/her book is called..."

Doesn't happen. The media is hungry for experts, and experts answer the calls for interviews because they have something to sell: their services, their goods, or their books.

Sanjay is right about one thing. You don't hear a whole lot of radio or television commercials for books. Then again, you don't have to. Authors -- because they are authors -- have opportunities to promote their books on radio and television for free all the time. Why, then, would they pay for book promotion opportunities that they can get for free (or for the price of hiring a book publicist)?

Book Promotion Reminder: Controversy Sells

Yes, he's an ex-president. But I probably wouldn't have heard a word about Jimmy Carter's new book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, if Carter hadn't refused to debate an ever-controversial (and headlines-grabbing) figure: Alan Dershowitz.

As I understand it, Brandeis University invited Carter to speak about his book.
Dershowitz found out about the invitation and insisted the speaking engagement be changed to a debate. He, helpfully, offered to serve as Carter's sparring partner. Ultimately, Brandeis University declined Dershowitz's generous offer. Carter then faced the stage by himself -- and enjoyed more media coverage (including this Boston Globe article) than he ever could have imagined.

So here's a book promotion reminder for today: if you want people to find out about your book, find a controversial news hook, and hang your book publicity campaign on that peg. Or, if you don't have time for all that, then just find a way to get Alan Dershowitz's dander up. Or find another opponent whose wrath can buy you instant access to the limelight.

If you can manage that, then the media will follow you everywhere. Then your book publicity campaign will take care of itself.

Book Promotion Advice from Another Pro

In her blog, Fern Reiss offers book promotion tips that are worth checking out. I have a comment to offer about one of her book promotion tips, though. While Fern suggests that you include other sources in your story pitch to the media, I have experienced some unexpected consequences with taking that approach. I've even taken heat when I've implied that more than one expert is part of the "package" I'm pitching.

Here's a very recent example. Last week, I mentioned in a media pitch that a client's book had been endorsed by Rudy Giuliani. A producer sent me an email requesting an interview with -- not my author, but Giuliani. That wasn't unreasonable, since I had established a connection between my client and Giuliani, but still ... I had my client to offer, and that was all. When I told the producer that in my emailed response, I didn't hear back from him.

Many of my clients hire a publicist because they aren't yet famous. Therefore, I try to position them as the sole experts in my pitches. If I were to tie their names into other, more famous personalities ... it would be easy for the media to make a decision about which person is more newsworthy and deserving of an interview.

So, while I agree with Fern -- it's great to offer journalists a package when pitching story ideas -- I take a slightly different approach in creating that package. I always bear in mind that the goal is book promotion, and the strategy is to feature my client as the expert. Instead of offering other experts to the media, I suggest non-experts to round out a panel. These are lay people who might potentially be on "Oprah's" panel, and who can benefit from the advice of an expert -- and, hopefully, my client will be that expert.

And, hopefully, the media outlet in question will give the expert more than 10 seconds at the end of the last segment to speak as the credits are rolling.

Is TV really dead?

We're hearing so much about the "sexy" media these days: YouTube, iPods, MySpace ... and the question here is: is book promotion about focusing exclusively on the latest, emerging media venues, or is it still about scoring traditional media hits?

In other words, is TV dead? Or does book promotion mean proceeding as though nothing has changed, and pitching your story idea to book review editors, and television and radio producers, and seeing what book publicity opportunities you can shake loose?

So many authors are coming to me these days with great trepidation about the death of TV, and they're nervous because, no, they're not watching YouTube and they're not glued to their iPods -- but they're convinced their potential readers are. I can hear the panic in their voices as they postulate that the media outlets they know and understand are dead or dying, and they must find another book promotion avenue instead.

Well, I'm not buying it, and neither is Geoff Colvin, editor-at-large of Fortune Magazine. In his article, "TV Is Dying? Long Live TV!," Colvin explains that the Web is actually increasing television's audience. "Despite (or because of) the Web, we watch more television than ever," he puts forth. Although we have a staggering number of alternatives to television, most potential book buyers -- and most media consumers in general -- are still watching more television than ever before.

That means, while a smart book promotion campaign (and an effective book publicist) will include online tactics, the traditional approaches to the tried-and-true media outlets must be part of the equation. You can publish your press release online, but you still have to pitch the producers of "Oprah" and "Good Morning America." You can upload your book trailer to YouTube, but you still have to let the editors at USA Today and The Wall Street Journal see the value in your story. You can join the social networking sites, but you still have to tell National Public Radio and Westwood One Broadcasting that they'd be remiss if they didn't invite you on to share your perspective, and your expertise, with their listeners.

New book promotion opportunities arise every day, and it's critical that we follow the changes and eagerly approach the next "big thing" in the media as it reveals itself. But a book publicity campaign that assumes television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are irrelevant isn't a book publicity campaign at all -- at least, in 2007, and for the forseeable future.

Here's how to get some decent book promotion opportunities.

Here's how to get some decent book promotion opportunities: be six years old, be altruistic, be smart, and be articulate. And have an authentic fondness for teddy bears and the infirm.

You will find the media beating a path to your door.

Yes, Caitlin Ede Holmes of Ashburn, Georgia is an amazing little girl. And, yes, she does make for an interesting feature story (read about Caitlin here).

I'm just wondering. What can we learn from the media attention Caitlin has been scoring? Be kind. Be caring. Be cute.

And be six years old.

Ah, if only you could bottle it and sell it as a book promotion toolkit.

Book Promotion via Social Networking Sites

Are social networking sites part of a 2007 book promotion campaign? Sounds reasonable. Everyone who's anyone has a MySpace account.

I say that with the confidence and glee of someone who has just set up a MySpace account. Visit it at by clicking here.

Granted, I'm not so hot at HTML manipulation, but I figure that I'm educable. More importantly, I do understand the concept of real-world networking and am starting to see how it might carry over into the avenue of real-world book publicity.

Okay, so everyone who's launching a book promotion campaign still wants to be a guest on "Oprah." But isn't it reasonable for every author to want to find readers online? And if joining social networks such as MySpace are going to make the book promotion task easier, than isn't it reasonable to start making social networking part of every book publicity campaign?

I think so. But, then again, I'm still learning.

A Book Promotion Tip

Here's my book promotion tip of the day (with apologies to Robert Herrick): Gather ye interviews while ye may.

If a producer or a reporter wants to set up an interview, be there and be quick to close the deal. Any hesitation on your part ("My calendar isn't in front of me; I'll have to call you back when I get to my office" or "I promised to pick my daughter and her friends up from the movie at that time; can we schedule an interview for another time?"), and the opportunity could go south.

Sure, you can try to get in touch with producers and reporters afterwards. They have email accounts and phone numbers. The problem is that, when you don't catch them at the right moment -- when their interest is the hottest -- then you may not be able to rekindle that interest later on. They may have moved onto the next appealing guest suggestion, or they may have categorized you as someone who would be too time-consuming to work with to make it worth their while.

Persistence may help you score an interview opportunity even if you've hesitated. However, far better than participating in games of phone tag is the ability to provide an instant "yes" when the phone rings, or when an email arrives, with an interview invitation for you. To the extent that book promotion can be your priority -- at least, for a particular block of time -- your campaign will be more successful than if you're spreading yourself thinly and moving in various directions at the same time.

Say yes, and you'll score the interview. Say maybe, and you probably won't. More and more, I'm finding that it's just that simple.

Book Promotion for P.O.D. Titles

As a book publicist, I would say that nearly every book -- whether it's published through a mainstream publisher, self-published, or via a print-on-demand company -- has media potential. But if you've used a P.O.D. company to publish your book, you're probably on a tighter budget than if you chose to self-publish your book instead. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the free, or nearly free, book promotion ideas that Yvonne Perry cites in her Writers in the Sky blog.

Is it possible to interest a book promotion specialist in representing, say, an iUniverse book? Certainly. We have lower-cost book promotion campaigns that are tailored to authors who are on a tighter budget. But book promotion specialists can't work for free. If you're looking for a low-cost alternative to hiring a book publicist, you might want to check out my affiliate site, Book Promotion Tools, for a product that will let you pitch your books to the media without using a book promotion specialist as a go-between.

I would join Yvonne Perry in suggesting that, however you pitch your story idea to the media, you pitch it as often as you can afford. Book promotion is a numbers game. The greater number of pitches you throw out there, the greater the number of positive responses you will receive.

Your P.O.D. title might never make the New York Times bestseller list because, for it to do that, it would have to be available on the shelves of bookstores that report to the list. But that's not to say that your book can't sell a respectable number of copies. Adjust your goals to fit the style of publishing you've chosen, and adapt your book promotion plans to fit your budget, and your project can be a success.

Book Promotion Question and Answer

Here's a request that I frequently hear, and -- in the interest of saving time (mine and, potentially, yours) -- I'll share it here, along with my response.

Q. I'm in the process of writing a book. Someone suggested that I look into hiring a book publicist before I bring my manuscript to publishers. Having a publicist lined up and ready to go will make my book more appealing to publishers, or at least that's what I've been told. So ... okay. I'm not sure what book promotion is, but if your proposal might help me sell my book, then please send it to me as soon as possible. I'll need for you to explain what book promotion is and what book publicists charge. Thank you.

A. I do appreciate your interest in my services, and I wish you well with your project. Unfortunately, I can't provide you with a proposal for book promotion until you're a lot closer to needing a book publicist. I simply can't commit to promoting a book that I haven't seen, and you wouldn't want to work with any book publicist who would. Also, since neither you nor I know when your book will be published, I have no way to know whether or not I'll have a slot in my schedule to take on another client when the time comes.

Second of all, my proposals do not serve as primers for those who don't know anything about book promotion but rather to help you compare how my approach, and my fees, compare with those of other book publicists. In order for my book promotion proposal to have any value to you, you'll need a solid understanding of what book promotion is and, of course, what it isn't (book promotion is very specific and does not include book sales, book marketing, or book distribution). You'll have to glean that knowledge the old-fashioned way -- through research.

Finally, I think you've been getting bad advice about the timing of approaching book publicists. It would be a very bad idea to hire a book publicist at this stage of your book project. Let's say that I did create a book promotion plan for you, and that you integrated my plan into your book proposal -- and your book were accepted by a publishing house. That could be an expensive mistake. I understand that you're tempted to think that commiting to a book publicist now might entice a publisher to buy your book. However, that approach could backfire. Few publishers would turn down the opportunity to have their authors pay for their own book promotion -- but book promotion is something that many publishers ordinarily do pay for, to a greater or lesser extent. Some publishers have been known to provide their authors with very generous and effective book promotion campaigns. Other publishers at least contribute something to the cost of promoting the books they publish -- but only if you haven't already promised to pay instead.

In short, I'd truly like to be considered as your book publicist once you have a manuscript, and once you have a publisher (or have a self-publishing plan in place). I'd be happy to hear from you at that time and to provide you with a book promotion plan. Thank you, and again, best of luck.

Book Promotion Focus at Libraries?

Maybe your book publicity efforts should focus on libraries. If your instinct is that your book belongs on library shelves, you could be right. Lisa Rein, who writes for the Washington Post, points out in a recent article called "Hello, Grisham -- So Long, Hemingway?" that libraries are casting aside classic books to make room for more popular, and more modern, titles. With limited shelf space (yes, libraries apparently do have the same shelf-space issues as bookstores) and tight budgets, it's only fair to focus on what taxpayers and readers want.

That could be your book.

Therefore, that could be good news.

And, besides, this book publicist was never a huge Hemingway fan, anyway. Well, okay, maybe I enjoyed two or three of his novels, but ....

Okay, I would rather see snow in New England this weekend than see my local library -- or any library -- toss out the classics. Still, from a book publicity standpoint, the trend toward buying and retaining what sells does raise some interesting possibilities. If Hemingway's books go in the landfill, there will be some extra space on the shelf. And, hey, some books will have to fill in the gap. Maybe those books will be yours.