You've heard about the candybar company that's suing Simon & Schuster, publisher of Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire and Utopian Dreams. Stories like this make me wonder whether publishers, authors, and even publicists ought to consider their potential legal liability before they commit to book projects. Perhaps they should.
I'll admit that part of me is relieved that I wasn't hired to promote the Hershey book (here I feel compelled to repeat the disclaimer you'll find on the Amazon.com site: "Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams is not authorized by the Hershey Company.") But that's only one small part of me.
The rest of me -- the part of me that gets blissed-out by seeing her clients' books in the national news -- would have found it deeply rewarding to be a part of this particular book project. Imagine: a book that automatically makes headlines courtesy of a high-profile lawsuit. The only thing that even comes close to that type of "free" (well, unless you count the legal fees the publisher will accrue in defending itself) publicity it is when the pope recently asked his faithful followers to avoid buying a bestselling novel (does Dan Brown owe the Vatican a percentage of the royalties on The Da Vinci Code, or doesn't he?).
Of course, those of us who work in and around the publishing industry could refuse to take on any projects, ever, just to keep ourselves safe from lawsuits. But even that would only offer us limited protection from litigious entities who are committed to creating difficulties where there should be none. For example, just imagine what a company like Hershey could do to a publicist who admits in public that she's just not a big fan of chocolate bars? I don't even want to go there.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Book Publicity vs. Book Marketing
People who work in, and around, the publishing industry -- along with professionals of all stripes -- love to make up their own vocabulary and word usages. That's resulted in some confusion about terms related to book promotion.
One of the best pieces I've read recently about the distinction between book publicity and book marketing comes from the Publishing Basics blog by Penny Sanseveiri. All in all, Penny, great job and great information. Penny pointed out the need to use all tools at your disposal to promote books, and she's right about that. What garners publicity for one book may not work for another, and it's important to stay flexible enough to expand the aspects of the campaign that seem to be working best.
I'd clarify one point that Penny made about book reviews. Obviously, reviews can be important for some books, but here's the hitch. Most book review editors require between two and six months' lead time before the publication date to review a book. That effectively means once a book is published, it's too late to approach most book review editors. Some authors/publishers budget to print a small number of books ahead of the publication date and label them "galleys," and then send these galleys out to the most important advance review media. However, many publishers and authors miss that window of opportunity, and that's okay. When it's too late to send a book to the reviewer at, say, Cosmopolitan magazine, there's still plenty of time to send a relevant story pitch to, for example, Cosmopolitan's career editor (or whichever editor covers the beat most related to your story).
Thanks for an excellent article, Penny!
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
One of the best pieces I've read recently about the distinction between book publicity and book marketing comes from the Publishing Basics blog by Penny Sanseveiri. All in all, Penny, great job and great information. Penny pointed out the need to use all tools at your disposal to promote books, and she's right about that. What garners publicity for one book may not work for another, and it's important to stay flexible enough to expand the aspects of the campaign that seem to be working best.
I'd clarify one point that Penny made about book reviews. Obviously, reviews can be important for some books, but here's the hitch. Most book review editors require between two and six months' lead time before the publication date to review a book. That effectively means once a book is published, it's too late to approach most book review editors. Some authors/publishers budget to print a small number of books ahead of the publication date and label them "galleys," and then send these galleys out to the most important advance review media. However, many publishers and authors miss that window of opportunity, and that's okay. When it's too late to send a book to the reviewer at, say, Cosmopolitan magazine, there's still plenty of time to send a relevant story pitch to, for example, Cosmopolitan's career editor (or whichever editor covers the beat most related to your story).
Thanks for an excellent article, Penny!
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Can Opt-In Email Programs Sell Books?
I doubt it. There's a new online book marketing company I've just read about that, for $99, will create an email pitch for your book and mail it out to an opt-in email list.
It's "only" $99, so you might be tempted to give it a try. But I'd suggest that you ask yourself this question before you invest: How often have you bought a book, or any other product, on the basis of an unsolicited email? If the answer is "zero," then you have your answer. Why waste your money and demean yourself, and your work, by putting it into the same category as one of those "enhancement" drugs or "free" (read: illegal) software offerings? Not you, I hope.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
It's "only" $99, so you might be tempted to give it a try. But I'd suggest that you ask yourself this question before you invest: How often have you bought a book, or any other product, on the basis of an unsolicited email? If the answer is "zero," then you have your answer. Why waste your money and demean yourself, and your work, by putting it into the same category as one of those "enhancement" drugs or "free" (read: illegal) software offerings? Not you, I hope.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Literary Nonfiction
We learn something new every day (even on Sundays), and "literary nonfiction" is my newly acquired phrase for the day. I was zooming around the blogosphere, and I stumbled upon Robin Rowland's blog entry of Saturday, December 03, 2005 in which he uses the word. For fun, I Googled the phrase and found that Robin hadn't invented it -- he was just tuned in enough to find it. In fact, ads from Amazon.com and ABE.com appeared as part of my search, so that means both of those companies were aware of literary nonfiction as a genre.
Where has literary nonfiction been all my life?
I've been promoting nonfiction books for 15 years. How many of them were "literary nonfiction" titles? How many of them were just plain "nonfiction," and what's the difference, and who decides, and how, and is it possible to disagree? Hmm. If anyone knows what the rules are, give me a holler at bookpromotion@gmail.com.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Where has literary nonfiction been all my life?
I've been promoting nonfiction books for 15 years. How many of them were "literary nonfiction" titles? How many of them were just plain "nonfiction," and what's the difference, and who decides, and how, and is it possible to disagree? Hmm. If anyone knows what the rules are, give me a holler at bookpromotion@gmail.com.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Friday, December 02, 2005
Where Does Fame Come From? Larry Star Is a Case Study.
Where does fame come from? Creativity, hard work, perseverance, and . . . in at least one case, eBay.
"Did you hear about the guy who's selling his ex-wife's wedding dress on eBay?" About fifty people asked me that during a 48-hour period a year or so ago. Most of them emailed me a link to the eBay auction, and when I finally clicked on the link to see what everyone was talking about, I lost it. I just lost it. Whoever this strange person was, the image of him wearing that wedding dress was about the goofiest thing I'd ever seen, and the coffee I was politely sipping ended up abruptly leaving me through a couple of orifices that I'd rather not discuss in this space. The ad copy struck me as raw, witty, real, and funny beyond belief. Anyway, the image of that eBay character stayed with me.
So, yes, I grinned from ear to ear when I received an email a few months ago from "The Wedding Dress Guy," and I was on the phone with him in about 12 seconds introducing myself to him. It turned out that his name was Larry Star, and he'd written a book -- a very funny one that some lucky book publicist would get to promote.
I turned out to be the lucky book publicist. I also made a new friend, so please indulge me if I insert a commercial for him into this case study of where fame comes from.
Larry Star was recently featured on KING-TV's "Evening Magazine," and you can enjoy the video online, if you're interested. Click here to see "The Wedding Dress Guy" in action. If you enjoy Larry's humor and style as much as I do, please also check out his Web site. It's WeddingDressGuy.com. And feel free to buy the book. (I think that wedding dress is still for sale, too, if the price is right.)
And, next time you ponder the question of where fame comes from, you might come to the same conclusion Larry Star arrived at. Fame can come from just about anywhere if you take risks, do something different with humor and integrity, strike a responsive chord in enough people, expect nothing and hope for everything, and somehow figure out that elusive game they call "viral marketing" . . . and if you happen to be doing all of those things in exactly the right place, at the right time.
Go, Larry! I'm watching you and learning.
book promotion
book publicity
"Did you hear about the guy who's selling his ex-wife's wedding dress on eBay?" About fifty people asked me that during a 48-hour period a year or so ago. Most of them emailed me a link to the eBay auction, and when I finally clicked on the link to see what everyone was talking about, I lost it. I just lost it. Whoever this strange person was, the image of him wearing that wedding dress was about the goofiest thing I'd ever seen, and the coffee I was politely sipping ended up abruptly leaving me through a couple of orifices that I'd rather not discuss in this space. The ad copy struck me as raw, witty, real, and funny beyond belief. Anyway, the image of that eBay character stayed with me.
So, yes, I grinned from ear to ear when I received an email a few months ago from "The Wedding Dress Guy," and I was on the phone with him in about 12 seconds introducing myself to him. It turned out that his name was Larry Star, and he'd written a book -- a very funny one that some lucky book publicist would get to promote.
I turned out to be the lucky book publicist. I also made a new friend, so please indulge me if I insert a commercial for him into this case study of where fame comes from.
Larry Star was recently featured on KING-TV's "Evening Magazine," and you can enjoy the video online, if you're interested. Click here to see "The Wedding Dress Guy" in action. If you enjoy Larry's humor and style as much as I do, please also check out his Web site. It's WeddingDressGuy.com. And feel free to buy the book. (I think that wedding dress is still for sale, too, if the price is right.)
And, next time you ponder the question of where fame comes from, you might come to the same conclusion Larry Star arrived at. Fame can come from just about anywhere if you take risks, do something different with humor and integrity, strike a responsive chord in enough people, expect nothing and hope for everything, and somehow figure out that elusive game they call "viral marketing" . . . and if you happen to be doing all of those things in exactly the right place, at the right time.
Go, Larry! I'm watching you and learning.
book promotion
book publicity
Thursday, December 01, 2005
It's Now or Never -- NOT!
This has been a good morning for my clients, past and present. I just received a friendly email from an editor to let me know that an article I'd submitted to him a year ago was running in today's paper. I forwarded that email along to the person who'd written the article; that will be a nice surprise for a past client who undoubtedly didn't expect additional placements from the article submission campaign we conducted 12 months ago.
Similarly, I just scheduled a satellite radio network interview for another author. We'd pitched the story to this producer two months ago, and she just decided that this author would be a great addition to a particular show she's putting together.
The lesson is: never discount the staying-power of pitches (particularly, those that are emailed to editors and producers). Journalists really do file away story ideas in their "future" folders, and authors really do see the rewards of today's pitches . . . if not immediately, then perhaps up to a year later.
book promotion
book publicity
Similarly, I just scheduled a satellite radio network interview for another author. We'd pitched the story to this producer two months ago, and she just decided that this author would be a great addition to a particular show she's putting together.
The lesson is: never discount the staying-power of pitches (particularly, those that are emailed to editors and producers). Journalists really do file away story ideas in their "future" folders, and authors really do see the rewards of today's pitches . . . if not immediately, then perhaps up to a year later.
book promotion
book publicity
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Should Oprah Win the Nobel Peace Prize?
I think Oprah Winfrey should win the Nobel Peace Prize because of her humanitarian efforts. But then again, I'm a book publicist, and I'm supposed to support Oprah Winfrey's endeavors. Whether you're an Oprah fan or an author who hopes to appear on her show one day, please express your support for Oprah Winfrey's Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Click here to do so.
book promotion
book publicity
book promotion
book publicity
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Are Student Newspapers Worth Pitching?
The readership of a student-run newspaper may be small compared to the potential circulation of a major-market daily newspaper. But advertisers are finding college newspapers, according to this Newsweek article. So if students are potential buyers for your book, and they may be interested in your media messages, why not pitch the appropriate beat editor (or editors) at student newspapers in the same markets as the dailies you're targeting?
You can compile a pretty good starter list of college newspapers by using Yahoo. Begin at Yahoo, then drill down to News and Media, and then to College and University, and then to Newspapers. Or just click here. You'll then be asked to click on "region" (under Top Categories), and then click on "country" and, assuming you've selected the U.S., you'll then be asked to select a "state." You can then click on "Complete List" to find hyperlinks for the college newspapers in that state. You'll then have to go to the college newspapers' Web sites, one at a time, to harvest the contact information. Send off your pitch just the same as you would if you were contacting any other editor, and conduct the same thorough follow-up.
Is it worth the time and energy? It can be, if you have the right information to share with 17- to 21-year-old college students. They're taking their newspapers seriously these days. If you're taking your book seriously, too, then perhaps there's a good match -- and it may be one publicity opportunity that other authors and publishers are overlooking.
book promotion
book publicity
You can compile a pretty good starter list of college newspapers by using Yahoo. Begin at Yahoo, then drill down to News and Media, and then to College and University, and then to Newspapers. Or just click here. You'll then be asked to click on "region" (under Top Categories), and then click on "country" and, assuming you've selected the U.S., you'll then be asked to select a "state." You can then click on "Complete List" to find hyperlinks for the college newspapers in that state. You'll then have to go to the college newspapers' Web sites, one at a time, to harvest the contact information. Send off your pitch just the same as you would if you were contacting any other editor, and conduct the same thorough follow-up.
Is it worth the time and energy? It can be, if you have the right information to share with 17- to 21-year-old college students. They're taking their newspapers seriously these days. If you're taking your book seriously, too, then perhaps there's a good match -- and it may be one publicity opportunity that other authors and publishers are overlooking.
book promotion
book publicity
Friday, November 25, 2005
Book Publicity During the Holidays
Everyone in the media is on vacation, so why bother to pitch story ideas during November and December. The day after Thanksgiving is particularly a bad day for making phone calls to producers and editors since they'll all be at the mall scoring those "Black Friday" bargains.
Right?
Well, no. "Everyone" in the media isn't away for the holidays or out shopping. A lot of producers and editors aren't working, but newsrooms don't shut down completely. Those journalists who are working today and during the holiday season actually might have more time to hear your pitch since they're receiving fewer pitches. Publicists and authors, too, are taking vacation days, and that can provide an opportunity for you to have a real conversation with media decision-makers when they're under less pressure than usual. It will take more phone calls to reach someone, but keep trying until you do, if you have some free time around the holidays.
You can, of course, take time off from your publicity efforts and enjoy yourself during the holidays, if you so choose. But don't use the "I won't be able to reach anyone" or "No one else is working today" excuse. That just won't cut it . . . as you'll find out for yourself if you pick up the phone now and start to call the media.
book promotion
book publicity
Right?
Well, no. "Everyone" in the media isn't away for the holidays or out shopping. A lot of producers and editors aren't working, but newsrooms don't shut down completely. Those journalists who are working today and during the holiday season actually might have more time to hear your pitch since they're receiving fewer pitches. Publicists and authors, too, are taking vacation days, and that can provide an opportunity for you to have a real conversation with media decision-makers when they're under less pressure than usual. It will take more phone calls to reach someone, but keep trying until you do, if you have some free time around the holidays.
You can, of course, take time off from your publicity efforts and enjoy yourself during the holidays, if you so choose. But don't use the "I won't be able to reach anyone" or "No one else is working today" excuse. That just won't cut it . . . as you'll find out for yourself if you pick up the phone now and start to call the media.
book promotion
book publicity
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Book Promotion: Who Needs It?
Who needs book promotion?
Whether you're a first-time author or have published dozens of books, you can probably arrange (or have your book publicist arrange) radio and television appearances, placements of feature stories in magazines and newspapers, and book reviews.
Book promotion may or may not result in book sales. And it takes time, money, and energy to promote books. So who needs it -- especially if book publicists can't guarantee you'll make your money back in book sales?
The benefits of promoting your book go far beyond book sales. In fact, book promotion allows you to disseminate your messages to the widest possible audience (including book buyers and non book buyers). It also helps you establish your credibility as an expert and, in the long term, it helps you build your client base.
A sustained book promotion effort may lead to book sales, but most authors and publishers who hire book publicists are not trying to create bestsellers. They're trying to reach the right people at the right time with the right message. In other words, they're trying to promote themselves, and they're using their books as calling cards.
If you are the author or publisher of a book, and you're considering a book promotion campaign, visit http://www.bookpr.com to find out how S. J. Miller Communications can help.
book promotion
book publicity
Whether you're a first-time author or have published dozens of books, you can probably arrange (or have your book publicist arrange) radio and television appearances, placements of feature stories in magazines and newspapers, and book reviews.
Book promotion may or may not result in book sales. And it takes time, money, and energy to promote books. So who needs it -- especially if book publicists can't guarantee you'll make your money back in book sales?
The benefits of promoting your book go far beyond book sales. In fact, book promotion allows you to disseminate your messages to the widest possible audience (including book buyers and non book buyers). It also helps you establish your credibility as an expert and, in the long term, it helps you build your client base.
A sustained book promotion effort may lead to book sales, but most authors and publishers who hire book publicists are not trying to create bestsellers. They're trying to reach the right people at the right time with the right message. In other words, they're trying to promote themselves, and they're using their books as calling cards.
If you are the author or publisher of a book, and you're considering a book promotion campaign, visit http://www.bookpr.com to find out how S. J. Miller Communications can help.
book promotion
book publicity
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)