Monday, February 13, 2006
A Sunday Blizzard Paralyzed the Eastern Seaboard.
But today is Monday, and fortunately, New Yorkers (and others who live and work in the Northeast) are working again. The subway is running, planes are flying, roads are plowed, and producers, editors, hosts, and reporters are back at their desks. Publicists are, too. Book promotion campaigns: full steam ahead!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
The Truth About Book Clubs
Given the chance, would you make in-person visits to book clubs as part of your book promotion campaign? Before you decide, read Curtis Sittenfeld's essay in the New York Times called "You Hate Me, You Really Hate Me."
Curtis talks about visiting book clubs where the primary topic is, well, let's just say more physiological than literary. Yes, we'll all do a lot to promote books. But will we listen to discussions about how irritating a specific hero (or heroine) might be? Or will we be a fly on the wall while book club members discuss bodily functions, diet, and other issues that have nothing at all to do with books?
Probably not. Book clubs can be an integral part of book promotion campaigns -- but only for very brave, and very thick-skinned -- authors who can let criticism roll off of them.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity, book clubs
Curtis talks about visiting book clubs where the primary topic is, well, let's just say more physiological than literary. Yes, we'll all do a lot to promote books. But will we listen to discussions about how irritating a specific hero (or heroine) might be? Or will we be a fly on the wall while book club members discuss bodily functions, diet, and other issues that have nothing at all to do with books?
Probably not. Book clubs can be an integral part of book promotion campaigns -- but only for very brave, and very thick-skinned -- authors who can let criticism roll off of them.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity, book clubs
Book Promotion by Book Giveaways
Every time I read an article like this one about Bookcrossing.com, it strikes me that giving books away is a great book promotion idea. Why doesn't everyone get involved in Bookcrossing.com? Everyone wins: readers get free books, people get to pass along enjoyable books they've finished reading and don't know what else to do with, and bookstore owners get more foot traffic. What could be a more perfect way to create buzz about a book than to watch it travel all around the country, passing from hand to hand, creating small ripples of visibility and interest wherever it goes?
This isn't about Bookcrossing.com, though. Any time you give away a book, you're creating book promotion potential. A radio station that gives away three copies of your book will have to mention your book on the radio, and the winners will have to mention your book to friends, coworkers, and relatives. Even if you stand outside your local library and hand out copies of your book, you'll be promoting your book.
So why don't all authors get excited about book giveaways as part of their book promotion campaigns? Well, when one national radio interview can get thousands, or tens of thousands, of people talking about a book, perhaps it's less exciting to think about three or five or seven people at a time finding out about your book via giveaways.
Still, if each of those three or five or seven people tell their friends about your book, and they tell their friends, and so on . . . how many book sales might that generate? Book giveaways can be a smart (and inexpensive part) of an effective book promotion campaign. Why not give it a try?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
This isn't about Bookcrossing.com, though. Any time you give away a book, you're creating book promotion potential. A radio station that gives away three copies of your book will have to mention your book on the radio, and the winners will have to mention your book to friends, coworkers, and relatives. Even if you stand outside your local library and hand out copies of your book, you'll be promoting your book.
So why don't all authors get excited about book giveaways as part of their book promotion campaigns? Well, when one national radio interview can get thousands, or tens of thousands, of people talking about a book, perhaps it's less exciting to think about three or five or seven people at a time finding out about your book via giveaways.
Still, if each of those three or five or seven people tell their friends about your book, and they tell their friends, and so on . . . how many book sales might that generate? Book giveaways can be a smart (and inexpensive part) of an effective book promotion campaign. Why not give it a try?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Thursday, February 09, 2006
What Do Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern Have in Common?
Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern now both enjoy lucrative contracts with XM Satellite Radio, although Howard's deal is worth a lot more than Oprah's. Stern inked a $600 million five-year contract with XM Satellite Radio. Oprah will earn $55 million dollars for a three-year commitment to a new radio "channel" called Oprah & Friends.
Will Oprah be hungry for guests to fill that radio time? Is this a book promotion opportunity made in heaven (or, at least, on the XM Satellite airwaves)? Not so much. The MSNBC news story implies that she'll be recycling personalities who have already appeared on her TV show and in her magazine.
At least, that's what the MSNBC news story says. But who knows? Oprah & Friends. Okay. It's on my A-list now. Everyone who's currently promoting a book ought to take heart that now, finally, it may be possible to appear on Oprah's show.
Technorati Tags: book promotion book promotion, book publicity book publicity, Oprah Winfrey oprah winfrey, Howard Stern howard stern, XM Satellite Radio xm satellite radio
Will Oprah be hungry for guests to fill that radio time? Is this a book promotion opportunity made in heaven (or, at least, on the XM Satellite airwaves)? Not so much. The MSNBC news story implies that she'll be recycling personalities who have already appeared on her TV show and in her magazine.
At least, that's what the MSNBC news story says. But who knows? Oprah & Friends. Okay. It's on my A-list now. Everyone who's currently promoting a book ought to take heart that now, finally, it may be possible to appear on Oprah's show.
Technorati Tags: book promotion book promotion, book publicity book publicity, Oprah Winfrey oprah winfrey, Howard Stern howard stern, XM Satellite Radio xm satellite radio
For the Love of Books?
Is a library patron who "borrows" 402 volumes and never returns them (and scores a three-year prison sentence) a book lover? Here's the story. It's not as though this type of thing has never happened before, but it does leave me wondering what kind of thief steals books instead of, say, jewelry or laptop computers. Is this a book-loving thief? Or is the inverse true -- do you have to really hate books to drain them from a library? One way or another, I'm glad the Baltimore County Library is prosecuting this book thief. Maybe three years of jail time will deter another "book lover" from ripping off all of us.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Where Has Publishing Gone? To France.
Maybe now is a good time to brush up on my fourth-grade French. Lagardere SCA of France is acquiring Time Warner Book Group to create the third largest book publishing company in the world. Here's the story.
Who would have thought that the France, the country that has not been the biggest fan of the United States of late, would resort to this type of behavior to make its point. Okay, we get it, France. You're not happy with us. We understand that.
But did you have to go and steal our publishing company?
Who would have thought that the France, the country that has not been the biggest fan of the United States of late, would resort to this type of behavior to make its point. Okay, we get it, France. You're not happy with us. We understand that.
But did you have to go and steal our publishing company?
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Who's Blogging Now?
Who's blogging now? Just about any author who's interested in book promotion -- or that soon will be the case. Amazon has implemented a new feature called Author Connect (read about it here) to host authors' blogs. Amazon has found that proving content (such as readers' reviews and previews of books) encourages people to buy.
Good for Amazon. Good for book buyers. Good for us all.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Good for Amazon. Good for book buyers. Good for us all.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Friday, February 03, 2006
Book Promotion Campaigns Only Work If. . .
Book promotion campaigns only work if . . . you have a book. If you're still in the process of writing your book, then pay special attention to today's news about the latest computer virus. The virus, say all the news reports (including this cnn.com story), will activate itself on the third of every month, if your computer becomes infected. This virus is bad in that it can destroy all the data on your computer.
That means: practice safe computing. Click on only such email attachments as you are expecting -- otherwise, use the telephone to find out from the sender what the files are before you open them. Also, zealously back up the manuscript you're working on. The back up the back up, and back up the back up of the backup up. Make sure you store your (minumum of) three back ups of your manuscript in different places -- and, preferably, on three different media. Who among us hasn't had the experience of discovering that a CD or floppy disk no longer works, or that you used the wrong settings for your offline backup system, or that (and this is the ugliest of all) you only thought you were backing up your data when, in fact, something went wrong during the process so you have no backed-up data to restore when you need it. Once you've backed up the files, be sure they are what they are supposed to be, and be sure you know where they'll be if and when you need to restore them.
If you take the proper precauthions, then you'll know that, when it comes time to launch your book publicity campaign, you'll have a book to promote.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
That means: practice safe computing. Click on only such email attachments as you are expecting -- otherwise, use the telephone to find out from the sender what the files are before you open them. Also, zealously back up the manuscript you're working on. The back up the back up, and back up the back up of the backup up. Make sure you store your (minumum of) three back ups of your manuscript in different places -- and, preferably, on three different media. Who among us hasn't had the experience of discovering that a CD or floppy disk no longer works, or that you used the wrong settings for your offline backup system, or that (and this is the ugliest of all) you only thought you were backing up your data when, in fact, something went wrong during the process so you have no backed-up data to restore when you need it. Once you've backed up the files, be sure they are what they are supposed to be, and be sure you know where they'll be if and when you need to restore them.
If you take the proper precauthions, then you'll know that, when it comes time to launch your book publicity campaign, you'll have a book to promote.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Punxsutawney Phil Is in the News This Morning
Why aren't you? Well, for one thing, you're not a groundhog, and he is. Secondly, you can't predict the weather, and he can. (Well, okay, he can't predict the weather, either, but he's conned a lot of otherwise clever humans into believing he can.)
Also, another reason that Punxsutawney Phil in the news this morning is because his schtick ties directly into a holiday: Groundhog Day. Now, if you'd written a book about Groundhog Day, or if you could find a Groundhog Day angle to your book, then you'd undoubtedly be in the news this morning, too.
Groundhog Day books are scarce, and tie-ins to Groundhog Day are tough to conjure up. So perhaps you'd best look ahead to Valentine's Day. (It isn't too late to pitch producers and editors on your Valentine's Day angle.)
And next year, who knows? Perhaps you'll figure out how to turn Groundhog Day into a boon for your book promotion campaign.
Happy Groundhog Day, and don't blame Punxsutawney Phil too much if we have to endure another six weeks of winter weather. He knows not what he does when he sees his shadow and burrows back into his hole to hide.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Also, another reason that Punxsutawney Phil in the news this morning is because his schtick ties directly into a holiday: Groundhog Day. Now, if you'd written a book about Groundhog Day, or if you could find a Groundhog Day angle to your book, then you'd undoubtedly be in the news this morning, too.
Groundhog Day books are scarce, and tie-ins to Groundhog Day are tough to conjure up. So perhaps you'd best look ahead to Valentine's Day. (It isn't too late to pitch producers and editors on your Valentine's Day angle.)
And next year, who knows? Perhaps you'll figure out how to turn Groundhog Day into a boon for your book promotion campaign.
Happy Groundhog Day, and don't blame Punxsutawney Phil too much if we have to endure another six weeks of winter weather. He knows not what he does when he sees his shadow and burrows back into his hole to hide.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Book Promotion Opportunities Are Handed to Some Journalists -- But So What?
The Book Standard has published an article about another new trend: journalists who write books and then have book promotion opportunities handed to them on a silver platter via "serious" news venues that may well ignore other authors who are not as well connected. The article cites, as an example, Fox News Channel's John Gibson who wrote The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought and then received automatic invitations to promote his book from his colleagues, FNC hosts Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.
Well, yes. Isn't that the way it's always been? If a celebrity has a book or movie or television show to plug, doesn't he or she score any and all opportunities to promote that project just for the asking? I remember looking at my local newspaper's TV listings one recent morning to find that John Travolta would appear on no fewer than three television shows that day. Three! And who knows how many newspapers and radio shows would also have the pleasure of promoting whichever movie Travolta was promoting at the time.
I'm not sure why a journalist is any less entitled than a movie star, sports personality, or musical legend to embark upon a serious book promotion campaign. If it's an issue of credibility, then that begs the question: Is someone less credible if the name of his or her book is on everyone's lips? I doubt it. Of course, I'm biased, but I just don't see how a book promotion campaign can hurt the reputation of a trusted and skilled journalist -- or anybody else, for that matter. I just don't see it.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Well, yes. Isn't that the way it's always been? If a celebrity has a book or movie or television show to plug, doesn't he or she score any and all opportunities to promote that project just for the asking? I remember looking at my local newspaper's TV listings one recent morning to find that John Travolta would appear on no fewer than three television shows that day. Three! And who knows how many newspapers and radio shows would also have the pleasure of promoting whichever movie Travolta was promoting at the time.
I'm not sure why a journalist is any less entitled than a movie star, sports personality, or musical legend to embark upon a serious book promotion campaign. If it's an issue of credibility, then that begs the question: Is someone less credible if the name of his or her book is on everyone's lips? I doubt it. Of course, I'm biased, but I just don't see how a book promotion campaign can hurt the reputation of a trusted and skilled journalist -- or anybody else, for that matter. I just don't see it.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Race, Creed, and Interviews
Yesterday, I conducted a mass email campaign for one of my clients. She's a novelist, and we had written a Valentine's Day pitch. We scored several interviews, and received even more interest from producers who wanted to receive the book and media kit. But one response just made me cringe.
"Is your author a [fill in the religion]," asked this particular producer. "I'd love to schedule an interview with her if she is, but I'll have to pass on the opportunity if she isn't." The producer went on to explain that her show incorporated a particular system of beliefs into all interviews, and if the author did not live according to that belief set, he or she wouldn't fit into the program.
This type of response from producers and editors is not unusual, but I'll never get used to it. Participating in a dialogue with a media decisionmaker who wants to know what religion my client subscribes to (or how tall she is, or what her skintone is, and so forth) is one of the ugliest parts of my job, and it's taken me years to know how to respond.
I think, yesterday, I hit on the solution. First, I checked in with my client and asked whether she might want me to respond in the affirmative ("Yes, my client is a fill-in-the-blank"). The client wisely (I think) wanted no part of it. Therefore, I emailed the producer and told her that, while I appreciated her interest, few of my clients fit her requirements, and it would therefore probably be best for all concerned if I removed her from my mailing list. I carbon copied my client on that email, and then I removed the producer from my media database. In doing so, I ensured that no future clients will ever be in the position of being screened by this producer on the basis of their religions. Ideally, I'll be able to use this technique in the future to create a media database free of those who would discriminate on the basis of someone's race, creed, and the like.
Don't get me wrong. I understand why there has to be a match between the media outlet and an author. I'm probably not going to book a client who wants to talk about a potential bird flu epidemic on an entertainment program. And I don't blame producers for wanting to know something about an author's background before they offer to schedule an interview. And, hey, I don't even mind when a woman's radio program insists on receiving only pitches about women authors.
But that's different from declining an interview with an author on the basis of race, creed, height, weight, hair length, eye color, or shoe size. My thinking is this: Any media decisionmaker who screens experts for reasons such as these is the gatekeeper for a media outlet I wouldn't want to deal with. Would you?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
"Is your author a [fill in the religion]," asked this particular producer. "I'd love to schedule an interview with her if she is, but I'll have to pass on the opportunity if she isn't." The producer went on to explain that her show incorporated a particular system of beliefs into all interviews, and if the author did not live according to that belief set, he or she wouldn't fit into the program.
This type of response from producers and editors is not unusual, but I'll never get used to it. Participating in a dialogue with a media decisionmaker who wants to know what religion my client subscribes to (or how tall she is, or what her skintone is, and so forth) is one of the ugliest parts of my job, and it's taken me years to know how to respond.
I think, yesterday, I hit on the solution. First, I checked in with my client and asked whether she might want me to respond in the affirmative ("Yes, my client is a fill-in-the-blank"). The client wisely (I think) wanted no part of it. Therefore, I emailed the producer and told her that, while I appreciated her interest, few of my clients fit her requirements, and it would therefore probably be best for all concerned if I removed her from my mailing list. I carbon copied my client on that email, and then I removed the producer from my media database. In doing so, I ensured that no future clients will ever be in the position of being screened by this producer on the basis of their religions. Ideally, I'll be able to use this technique in the future to create a media database free of those who would discriminate on the basis of someone's race, creed, and the like.
Don't get me wrong. I understand why there has to be a match between the media outlet and an author. I'm probably not going to book a client who wants to talk about a potential bird flu epidemic on an entertainment program. And I don't blame producers for wanting to know something about an author's background before they offer to schedule an interview. And, hey, I don't even mind when a woman's radio program insists on receiving only pitches about women authors.
But that's different from declining an interview with an author on the basis of race, creed, height, weight, hair length, eye color, or shoe size. My thinking is this: Any media decisionmaker who screens experts for reasons such as these is the gatekeeper for a media outlet I wouldn't want to deal with. Would you?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Monday, January 30, 2006
Memoir, Fiction, Confusion . . . Pat Conroy
His name isn't James Frey. It's Pat Conroy, and he's a novelist, but what's going on with "The Water Is Wide?" I missed that particular novel, or memoir, or whatever it might be, but I didn't miss Hallmark's rendition of "The Water Is Wide" last night. As always, I was transfixed by Hallmark's production, but my, was I confused. The main character's name was "Pat Conroy," and I recognized the military father from several Pat Conroy novels I'd read, so I made the connection. All right, then, the movie (and book, I presumed) must have been autobiographical -- a memoir, if you will.
Fine, but then, what was up with the final disclaimer at the end of the movie that said (I'm paraphrasing): "The preceding was a work of fiction, and any resemblance to people living or dead is a mere coincidence."
Did I miss something here? Back in the days B.F. (Before Frey), I probably wouldn't have given it a thought. But now I'm wondering why we're all so squirrelish about using the phrase "semi-autobiographical" to describe a based-on-fact story about our lives. Is it because of the legal implications? Or is it because we're no longer sure what's true and what isn't, so we want to keep our options open just in case we're ever asked to prove that personal histories are what we say they are.
All I can say is, thanks for the movie, Hallmark. I love your work. But, Pat, could you please clarify for me what we just saw? Was it real, or was it Memorex? Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this matter.
Fine, but then, what was up with the final disclaimer at the end of the movie that said (I'm paraphrasing): "The preceding was a work of fiction, and any resemblance to people living or dead is a mere coincidence."
Did I miss something here? Back in the days B.F. (Before Frey), I probably wouldn't have given it a thought. But now I'm wondering why we're all so squirrelish about using the phrase "semi-autobiographical" to describe a based-on-fact story about our lives. Is it because of the legal implications? Or is it because we're no longer sure what's true and what isn't, so we want to keep our options open just in case we're ever asked to prove that personal histories are what we say they are.
All I can say is, thanks for the movie, Hallmark. I love your work. But, Pat, could you please clarify for me what we just saw? Was it real, or was it Memorex? Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this matter.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Book Promotion: Because You're Entitled.
It always amazes me to hear popular misconceptions about book promotion. One of the most frequent statements is that everyone who writes a book is entitled to media exposure. Here's a quote I found in The Miami Herald from author/wrestler Shawn Michaels: "...it was sort of ironic that every other book gets a ton of publicity when it comes out, and this one didn't, but I really didn't have the time to publicize it."
Shawn, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but maybe you need a reality check about book promotion. Some books enjoy visibility in the media because their authors (and/or their book publicists) work their socks off letting book reviewers, beat editors, assignment editors, and producers know about a story opportunity. They give the media something of value -- a news hook -- and keep on plugging away at it until they find what works. Then, having launched their book in the media, they build on what works until, finally, they've created a successful book promotion campaign.
They don't have publicity handed to them because they wrote a book. They're not entitled to the media's attention. They earn it the old-fashioned way: through creativity and hard work.
So, Shawn, I'm glad to see your book was mentioned in at least one major media outlet. That's a good beginning. Now keep going and see whether you can interest other feature editors in your story. And then move on to radio show producers. And so on. Your book deserves the effort. But it's not entitled to the results. You have to earn that yourself.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity
Shawn, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but maybe you need a reality check about book promotion. Some books enjoy visibility in the media because their authors (and/or their book publicists) work their socks off letting book reviewers, beat editors, assignment editors, and producers know about a story opportunity. They give the media something of value -- a news hook -- and keep on plugging away at it until they find what works. Then, having launched their book in the media, they build on what works until, finally, they've created a successful book promotion campaign.
They don't have publicity handed to them because they wrote a book. They're not entitled to the media's attention. They earn it the old-fashioned way: through creativity and hard work.
So, Shawn, I'm glad to see your book was mentioned in at least one major media outlet. That's a good beginning. Now keep going and see whether you can interest other feature editors in your story. And then move on to radio show producers. And so on. Your book deserves the effort. But it's not entitled to the results. You have to earn that yourself.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity
Friday, January 27, 2006
How Sex Can Help You Promote Books
How can you prepare for interviews related to book promotion? Try deep breathing and stretches, indulge in some exercise, do a vocal warmup -- and have sex. A story on Reuters wire service suggests that pre-interview sex can have a calming effect on you. The more relaxed you are, in theory, the more credibility you'll convey on the air and the better you'll be able to articulate your messages during the interview.
What if the timing of your interview is less than perfect with relation to your partner's availability? Not to worry. Stuart Brody, the clever psychologist who thought up this study (thank you, Stu!), said -- and I'm paraphrasing -- that the benefits of intercourse should last at least a week. So if you have a phone interview at five o'clock in the morning, there's no need to wake up your partner in the middle of the night. Just tune into the memory of what you shared, and know that you're in fine form for your performance.
Sex and book promotion. They go together like, well, Amazon and dotcom.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity, media training
What if the timing of your interview is less than perfect with relation to your partner's availability? Not to worry. Stuart Brody, the clever psychologist who thought up this study (thank you, Stu!), said -- and I'm paraphrasing -- that the benefits of intercourse should last at least a week. So if you have a phone interview at five o'clock in the morning, there's no need to wake up your partner in the middle of the night. Just tune into the memory of what you shared, and know that you're in fine form for your performance.
Sex and book promotion. They go together like, well, Amazon and dotcom.
Technorati tags: book promotion, book publicity, media training
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Will Your Book Be a New York Times Bestseller?
That may depend on its title.
So, if you want to predict whether or not your book will make it to the New York Times bestseller list, use the Titlescorer tool on Lulu.com to check on how likely it is that your book will make the New York Times bestseller list.
The people who developed the Titlescorer relied on 50 years worth of statistics to do so. Worth a click? Maybe. Check out the Star Tribune story to find out more.
Technorati tags: new york times bestseller, book title, bestseller
So, if you want to predict whether or not your book will make it to the New York Times bestseller list, use the Titlescorer tool on Lulu.com to check on how likely it is that your book will make the New York Times bestseller list.
The people who developed the Titlescorer relied on 50 years worth of statistics to do so. Worth a click? Maybe. Check out the Star Tribune story to find out more.
Technorati tags: new york times bestseller, book title, bestseller
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Beyond Castle Rock
Well, what do we have here? The first two chapters of Stephen King's latest novel, "Cell," available online here.
I couldn't wait to dive in, but I wish someone had forewarned me. Stephen King seems to be done blowing up his fictional locale of Castle Rock, Maine, and now he's moved onto my neck of the woods: the Back Bay of Boston. By the end of chapter two, there's already been at least one murder on Boylston Street, a blood-curdling scream in the Boston Common, and a crash of one kind or another on Newbury Street.
Hey, Stephen, this time you're hitting a little bit too close to home. Okay, I'm still planning to buy your book and indulge in reading it from cover to cover at my earliest opportunity. But please, promise me you've left the Boston Public Library alone. Stephen, the BPL is just about a mile away from where the "incident" that launches the action in the rest of your novel takes place. Tell me that the BPL remains intact in your new novel. Please! Tell me. Some things are supposed to be sacred.
I couldn't wait to dive in, but I wish someone had forewarned me. Stephen King seems to be done blowing up his fictional locale of Castle Rock, Maine, and now he's moved onto my neck of the woods: the Back Bay of Boston. By the end of chapter two, there's already been at least one murder on Boylston Street, a blood-curdling scream in the Boston Common, and a crash of one kind or another on Newbury Street.
Hey, Stephen, this time you're hitting a little bit too close to home. Okay, I'm still planning to buy your book and indulge in reading it from cover to cover at my earliest opportunity. But please, promise me you've left the Boston Public Library alone. Stephen, the BPL is just about a mile away from where the "incident" that launches the action in the rest of your novel takes place. Tell me that the BPL remains intact in your new novel. Please! Tell me. Some things are supposed to be sacred.
When a Library Rebuffs the FBI
Which is greater: the privacy that we enjoy at public libraries or the might of the Federal Bureau of Investigation? The former, if the latter fails to get a search warrant.
Here's the story, which you can read in full at the Boston Herald's Website. A "terrorist" threat was emailed to Brandeis University (in Waltham, Massachusetts) from a computer at the Newton Free Library (Newton, too, is a suburb of Boston).
So the FBI burst into the Newton Free Library and demanded access to the computers, and wanted to lock down the library. The library's director sent them packing until the FBI had obtained a search warrant. By that time, the library was closed for the day and, presumably, all the terrorists had long since gone home.
I'm not sure the library I frequented in my childhood would have dared to turn away a member of the local police department, let alone a Federal agent, for any reason. Then again, when I was a kid, most of the library's patrons were there to read books or periodicals. Computers, as far as I knew, hadn't been invented then, and neither had terrorists.
At least, that's the way it seemed to me.
Here's the story, which you can read in full at the Boston Herald's Website. A "terrorist" threat was emailed to Brandeis University (in Waltham, Massachusetts) from a computer at the Newton Free Library (Newton, too, is a suburb of Boston).
So the FBI burst into the Newton Free Library and demanded access to the computers, and wanted to lock down the library. The library's director sent them packing until the FBI had obtained a search warrant. By that time, the library was closed for the day and, presumably, all the terrorists had long since gone home.
I'm not sure the library I frequented in my childhood would have dared to turn away a member of the local police department, let alone a Federal agent, for any reason. Then again, when I was a kid, most of the library's patrons were there to read books or periodicals. Computers, as far as I knew, hadn't been invented then, and neither had terrorists.
At least, that's the way it seemed to me.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
A Bad Book Idea
Are you an author or a publisher who's in need of a book idea? Here's a topic to not choose: Donald Trump.
Businesswire is running tells the tale of a lawsuit that Donald Trump just filed against the author and publisher of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.
And lest you think Mr. Trump is picking on some poor clueless slobs, here's a bit more information you might want. The author is New York Times reporter Timothy L. O'Brien, and the publisher is Warner Books, Inc.
File under: Defamation lawsuits can happen to anyone -- anyone who's misguided enough to mess with The Donald, that is. Name recognition of your own and credibility up the kazoo may not help you when it comes time to face Mr. Trump's wrath in that boardroom more commonly known as civil court.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Businesswire is running tells the tale of a lawsuit that Donald Trump just filed against the author and publisher of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.
And lest you think Mr. Trump is picking on some poor clueless slobs, here's a bit more information you might want. The author is New York Times reporter Timothy L. O'Brien, and the publisher is Warner Books, Inc.
File under: Defamation lawsuits can happen to anyone -- anyone who's misguided enough to mess with The Donald, that is. Name recognition of your own and credibility up the kazoo may not help you when it comes time to face Mr. Trump's wrath in that boardroom more commonly known as civil court.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Monday, January 23, 2006
Here's Another Way to Get the Media's Attention.
A 19-year-old youg man, formerly called Chris Garnett, had his name legally changed to KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom. As a member of PETA, he wanted to get some attention for what he believes to be the plight of chickens who encounter the Colonel's organization and wind up on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes, gravy, and probably some cole slaw. You can read about it here.
So how does Ken's bid (yes, some people really do call him Ken) for media attention relate to your book promotion campaign? Granted, Ken isn't promoting a book, but he does know an awful lot about promotion, and the strategies he's used to get the media's attention are certainly worthy of your consideration:
* Get passionate about something.
* Act on your conviction -- in other words, "walk the walk" -- in an unconventional way.
* Let the media know.
* Be prepared to defend your position intelligently when the media calls.
You don't have to be a PETA member, or a KFC detractor, to appreciate the fact that KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom is smart about self-promotion. His PR campaign probably hasn't cost him more than the price of legally changing his name and a few postage stamps (unless he's conducting strictly an email media campaign). But look at the results of his promotion campaign, and think about why he's achieving those results. If you were the producer of a national TV show, would you be able to resist the story of 19-year-old Chris Garnett who changed his name to KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
So how does Ken's bid (yes, some people really do call him Ken) for media attention relate to your book promotion campaign? Granted, Ken isn't promoting a book, but he does know an awful lot about promotion, and the strategies he's used to get the media's attention are certainly worthy of your consideration:
* Get passionate about something.
* Act on your conviction -- in other words, "walk the walk" -- in an unconventional way.
* Let the media know.
* Be prepared to defend your position intelligently when the media calls.
You don't have to be a PETA member, or a KFC detractor, to appreciate the fact that KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom is smart about self-promotion. His PR campaign probably hasn't cost him more than the price of legally changing his name and a few postage stamps (unless he's conducting strictly an email media campaign). But look at the results of his promotion campaign, and think about why he's achieving those results. If you were the producer of a national TV show, would you be able to resist the story of 19-year-old Chris Garnett who changed his name to KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom?
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Off-the-Wall, Fun Books Promote Themselves
If your book is silly, off-beat, or just plain goofy, it may very well attract all the media coverage you can handle. In my experience, media hooks that can serve as foils for tragic, fightening news stories always seem to have a place in newspapers and magazines, and on radio and TV, and online.
For example, check out this Mississippi Press article about a neat book called "How to Meditate with your Dog" by James Jacobson.
I don't live with a dog, and I'm not sure I'd invite one to meditate with me if I did, but still -- I wouldn't mind reading a copy of that book. (And, no, I'm not in the market to meditate with my cats, either.) The book looks clever, and it looks light-hearted, and that's often enough for me, as a book buyer. Apparently, editors and producers feel the same attraction to "cute" topics as the rest of us do enough of the time so that you'll nearly always spot a "fluffy" (no pun intended) news feature or two somewhere on a broadcast or in a publication.
With that in mind, I often try to find an offbeat news angle for a serious (and sometimes even an academic) book that seems to be underwhelming media decisionmakers. If you can figure out how to pitch your book in a just-for-fun or even outrageous way, you might find some media takers who resisted your more straight-on story ideas.
It's worth a try, anyway, if you have a sense of humor and are willing to laugh at yourself. You might find media decisionmakers -- and book buyers -- are willing to laugh with you, too.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
For example, check out this Mississippi Press article about a neat book called "How to Meditate with your Dog" by James Jacobson.
I don't live with a dog, and I'm not sure I'd invite one to meditate with me if I did, but still -- I wouldn't mind reading a copy of that book. (And, no, I'm not in the market to meditate with my cats, either.) The book looks clever, and it looks light-hearted, and that's often enough for me, as a book buyer. Apparently, editors and producers feel the same attraction to "cute" topics as the rest of us do enough of the time so that you'll nearly always spot a "fluffy" (no pun intended) news feature or two somewhere on a broadcast or in a publication.
With that in mind, I often try to find an offbeat news angle for a serious (and sometimes even an academic) book that seems to be underwhelming media decisionmakers. If you can figure out how to pitch your book in a just-for-fun or even outrageous way, you might find some media takers who resisted your more straight-on story ideas.
It's worth a try, anyway, if you have a sense of humor and are willing to laugh at yourself. You might find media decisionmakers -- and book buyers -- are willing to laugh with you, too.
Technorati Tags: book promotion, book publicity
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