Monthly Archives: November 2012

Planting the Seed

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We often equate book publicity with planting a seed. You have a written a novel (or self-help manual or cookbook or memoir). You have published it (either through a major publishing house, a small press, self-publishing, or e-book). It is ready to go out into the work or it’s already out there on shelves or online.

Now you’re ready for people to start talking about it!

So where are all the reviews, interviews and coverage?

According to Bowker, 3 million books were published in 2011. Consider the staggering fact that 248,000 books were published in 2003 and the figures continued to double every year after that. Bowker estimates, as reported by Seth Godin, that the figure will grow to 15 million in 2012! That’s a lot of competition.

So how do you get your book noticed?

Slowly and with great determination, patience and effort. There is no other way around it. If you want your book to be read and reviewed, you have to reach far and wide in the media landscape. You have to be prepared to send out many review copies, and you have to wait. Following-up with the media outlets is essential, but you can’t force people to read and react to your work. You have to change your approach, think of different angles and find ways to make your story newsworthy. You have to think like a journalist and constantly scan the news for appropriate angles or areas where you can offer expertise.

The more coverage you can accumulate, the more news-worthy you will be to other media outlets. You are building “buzz.” You are building a brand. But it does take time. There is an old joke said by actors that it takes decades of hard work and dedication to become an overnight success. The same can be said for authors. The most successful publicity campaigns last for years, not months. Don’t expect to get readers and fans right out of the gate. Many times we read about instant successes and yes, they do happen. But people also win the lottery. If you want to be realistic about the process, you have to be prepared to do the work. You are building an audience slowly. Most “break out” authors have been working at this tirelessly for a very long time.

Publicity is like planting a seed. You have to nurture it, give it plenty of time and attention and it will grow. It just takes time and a lot of effort.

Vote

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What have we learned during this presidential election? That negative commercials don’t really work? That automated phone calls are really more of an annoyance than anything beneficial for a campaign? That voters don’t want to be spammed with emails forcing issues and ideas down their throat?

Authors seeking publicity can learn from the tactics used in a presidential election. What really matters are the issues at hand and how they affect your life. This is what voters and readers relate to and seek out. As an author, what is your purpose? What are you hoping to teach, show, or do? The reading (and voting) public is much more interested in being enlightened than choosing something because it has been forced upon them. They don’t pick a book (or a candidate) because they see it everywhere. Intelligent readers, and voters, make a choice because it opens their eyes to something that personally affects them. It draws them in, inspires them, teaches them, excites them. But the only way people will know if your book is going to do all of these things is if you get your voice out there. You need to let people know what they will find in your work. You need to let them hear your voice. Just seeing your face everywhere is not going to make a lasting impression. You don’t want to be a flash in the pan, you want to build a lifelong audience. That takes time and patience and dedication to your readers and your voice.

Don’t forget to vote today! 

Capitalizing on Disaster

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We are often advising clients to find news hooks in order to help promote their work and spread the word about their particular areas of expertise. We suggest they offer themselves and their work for platform building and name recognition. This is very important when it comes to book publicity. Finding a way to stand out from the thousands of books published every month. However, there is a line. When you are trying to profit from a disaster, things can turn ugly. The old adage is “any publicity is good publicity” but does this stand true?

Superstorm Sandy left millions without power and created massive destruction and fatalities. It was a tragic event with catastrophic results. Some companies, however, used the storm as a “hot story” to garner sales. Gap, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel offered online “Sandy Sales.” American Apparel released an ad targeting the states that got hit the hardest by Sandy with a 20% off for 36 hours, “in case you’re bored during the storm.” The problem with a PR stunt like this is that you are going to offend people. Yes, some sales might be incurred, but the end result is going to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths and might result in a backlash. The public doesn’t like to be taken advantage of or used. They want to be educated, informed and enlightened. We advise our authors to use their expertise, their experience and the work they created to open people’s eyes to things they may not have been aware of before, not to take advantage.

What are your thoughts on the Sandy PR?