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Marketing and Publicity Experts Answer Your Questions
QUESTION: What should a Media Kit have for the following types of books? It seems to me that a children's novel would have different things from an adult nonfiction book, and that a children's picture book might have slightly different content from both. Answered by Stacey J. Miller, S. J. Miller Communications, Total Book Promotion http://www.bookpr.com When I promote nonfiction, the media kits usually contain: a media release, an author bio, suggested interview questions, and story ideas. When I promote fiction of any kind, I must be able to promote the author as an expert. Therefore, the media kits would have the same components as the media kits that I use to promote nonfiction. There's only one key difference in the promotional materials that I recommend for nonfiction authors and for novelists. For nonfiction authors, your Web site should be packed with information. For novelists, the book Web site can ease up on the information but should include a sample chapter and perhaps a multimedia presentation.
QUESTION: My question is: What other things can I do to promote my my nonfiction book, LIVING WELL WITH ANXIETY: WHAT YOUR DOCTOR DOESN"T TELL YOU THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (HarperCollins, April, 2006)? Here's what I've done: What else can I do?
Answered by Lissa Warren VP, Senior Director of Publicity, Da Capo Press Author of The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity. Good for you for being so proactive. The radio tour was a particularly great idea. A few suggestions: 1. Consider changing the name of your website to something that has the word "anxiety" in it. It'll pop up easier in searches that way. You could even use www.livingwithanxiety.com if it's not taken. That would help you in your effort to spread the word about the book. 2. If your book has received reviews, and if they're quotable, post the quotes on your website. You could also solicit blurbs from VIPs in your field, and post those. The review quotes and the blurbs will lend additional credibility to you and your book. 3. Try to get your book reviewed on Metapsychology (http://www.mentalhelp.net/books), PsycCritiques (http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/publishers/books.html) and similar sites. To find them, go to Google and type in the name of a book that's similar to yours--and see where it got covered. 4. Since I see that you're an RN, try to get your book reviewed in Nurseweek and other nursing publications. Your publisher should be willing to send a copy of the book to these places (if they haven't already). But you may have to do the legwork (meaning, get the address, get the name of the book review editor, etc.). Good luck!
Answered by Paul J. Krupin Custom Targeted PR Helping People Reach the Right Markets & the Right Media, with The Right Message www.DirectContactPR.com There's people who need your help everywhere every day. Do your life's work and get out there and help them. Problem solving tips articles in lots of other mags and newspapers, especially where you column style it with individualized help to locals with problems. Talk show interviews Focus on People, Not on Numbers. If you help people, then people will talk. You need to do at least one article a month and make three to five phone calls to media every day. Otherwise the publicity effort loses momentum. If you do it, you'll be in the media every day 365 days a year. Then focus more on quantity sales and speaking to groups of people with stress problems who need your help. Focus on selling books by the box load. Fifty percent off, and no returns. Take the articles you've got and market with them. The credible media endorsement will then be a straw that breaks the camel's back again and again.
QUESTION: I've just signed a four-book contract with Kensington after signing a 3-book contract about six months ago. Essentially, starting last July, I have a new book on the shelf every four months for the next two years. This is thrilling, but I'd like to do what I can to get my name out there. Needless to say, I'm not making much money yet. (Kensington is famous for having stingy advances!) What are three top three things you recommend I do on the cheap to promote my books? Answered by Stacey J. Miller, S. J. Miller Communications, Total Book Promotion http://www.bookpr.com Congratulations on your book contract! Here are the top three things I'd recommend: 1. Hire a designer to create a professional, information-packed book Web site, including an active blog. You want Google and other search engines to list you as soon as possible, and you want yours to be a destination site for anyone who is seeking the type of information you can provide. 2. Begin writing articles and submitting them to publications immediately. In your byline, include your Web site's URL and the title of your first book. 3. Create a media kit. Have it on hand for pitching the media.
Answered by Lissa Warren VP, Senior Director of Publicity, Da Capo Press Author of The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity. Congratulations on your book deals. It's a little hard to answer your question without knowing what your books are about. But, in general terms, I'd say: 1. Create a website for yourself if you don't already have one. If you can't afford a website, at least start a blog. 2. Consider trying to get a lecture agent. Sounds like you can talk about a lot of different topics, so perhaps they could get you some nice speaking gigs. You can use the honorariums (speakers fees) to promote the books, and you'll probably be able to sell the books in the back of the room after each event. 3. See if there are any professional conferences you should be attending. If yours is a romance novel, go to the convention of the Romance Writers Association of America. There's one for mystery writers, too (I think). And probably also sci-fi. If you're a journalist, go to the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) conference. These get-togethers are a great place to network, and there will be lots of brains for you to pick when it comes to affordable publicity ideas that really work for your kind of book.
Hi, I am Rose, author of 3 books, POD presses all, but find that that they don't always live up to the promotions they advertise. How can I get more coverage w/o spending an arm and a leg? Answered by: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Author, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T Rose, just to make it perfectly clear. No matter who publishes your book--even the biggies--the promotion efforts will not be what you hoped for. Even the stars like Anne Rice complain about their publicity. Even when you have a great publicist assigned from a major publisher, you would be better equipped to partner with her if you're knowledgeable about book promotion, specifically your book's promotional possibilities. To give you specifics, I would have to know more about your book for each book has its own angles, its own ties to current events. Example: My first novel This Is the Place is enjoying a revival because Warren Jeffs, one of the FBI's Most Wanted, was just arrested. He's the polygamist cult leader. TITP is set in Utah and one of the major characters in it is the wife of a polygamist! Ta Da! Built-in current interest. Generally, though, one of the best ways to promote your book to targeted readers is on Amazon. They have tons of freebie perks, most covered in The Frugal Book Promoter. I like that this is both targeted and free. And that, once you've done enough of it, it begins to work noticeably! (-:
QUESTION: If an author is talks to the bookstore owner and the owner's employees about her book, gives them little presents, etc., will this help the owner and employees to talk up the book when customers are either wondering what to buy or looking for something similar to what they normally buy? Answered by Lissa Warren VP, Senior Director of Publicity, Da Capo Press Author of The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity. There's a term for what you're talking about: "handselling." It's when a bookstore employee recommends a book to a customer. Sometimes it's when a customer is just looking for "a good read." Other times, it's when a customer has a specific need (e.g. wants to find an up-to-date book on breast cancer, or a cookbook that's easy to use). Either way, you want your book to be on the tip of their tongue. One great way for you to accomplish this is to meet the booksellers. So, yes, do stop by as many stores as you can. I'm not sure you need to shower them with gifts, but something little and cute that will help them remember your book wouldn't hurt. One of my authors, David Wolman, wrote a book called A Left-Hand Turn Around the World. It's all about being left handed. He convinced a pen company to donate a thousand pens to him--pens that are made specifically for lefties. He had the name of his book printed on the pens, and he passed them out to every bookseller with whom he came in contact. Of course, he also used the pen to sign stock--which is something you should also do while you're there.
More Questions and Answers from our experts. Over Time $19.95, ISBN 0974075416. A story of lost loves, found glory, and business treachery. Time is running out for Dan to save the business that took his family sixty years to build. Kelly’s lifework crumbles around her. Mike thinks he’ll always be the guy watching the world from the sidelines. Mark dies just when his dream of playing football for the Green Bay Packers seemed within reach. Then a letter lost for twenty years arrives and sends the game of life into overtime. It all comes down to a desperate financial gamble, a football game for the ages, and the emotional reunion of four friends who could not be separated by time, distance or even death. All this “team” needed was a little more time than reality normally grants us. More about Over Time
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