For authors, one of the challenges is how to get your web site up and running. I just got a great tip from Rodney Buhrsmith of Claritess – about a good resource for authors in terms of web site creation. The site is American Author and you might want to check it out.
I know it’s hard to keep up with all the small things you can do yourself PR-wise to keep your book out there, but I really recommend that when you send emails out you put a link to your book in your sig file that links directly to the book review option. At least use this when you’re thanking someone for commenting on your book on a blog etc., and hopefully that will nudge them along to do a review on Amazon for you.
It’s important to try to consistently get folks to do reviews on your book on Amazon because it helps with keeping the book up in the stats and it also helps prospective buyers of the book.
Go on – be proud of your book and put a link to Amazon in your sig files!
* Note you might have to register with NYTimes Online to read this post I’m talking about.
THis is a great post about how you have to be vigilant as an author and make certain that these “interviewing” opportunities that come your way are indeed good ones. You need to read the post to understand the rest of this blog. (drats – “blogwork” assigned by Nettie!)
I’ve had two authors by the way, Lloyd Dangle and Bob Prosen who both received this same letter that Levitt highlights.
On the upside it’s good news in that they are considered in the same arena as other upper tier authors, on the downside, both declined for the very same reasons that Levitt outlines here.
I espescially like this part at the end, “But the only way you are going to hear my voice on an American Airlines flight in December 2007 is if you and I happen to be on the same flight, and you are sitting in the row in front of me, and I apologize for the fact that my kids have been kicking the back of your seat for the last three hours straight.”
Go and read the article – it’s great insight into all that is PR, exposure and how media really works.
A new business book contest has been announced and I recommend that you go and see if your book is eligible for entry. Here’s a link to the contest and it’s sponsored by a stellar group of folks.
This is a great interview a client of mine, Bob Prosen did recently with Peter Clayton of TotalPicture Radio.com. I like it because it’s my client. :>) But also because it’s a very good example of how you can speak conversationally in interviews and still get your message across. Bob is also very good at responding directly to the question at hand.
Excellent!
I recently presented at a Berrett-Koehler publishers conference which in itself was quite an amazing and humbling experience, but the panels and the audience also brought up some very insightful challenges in terms of how authors must do the majority of their PR and marketing outreach.
The good news is that if you’re willing – you can really make a difference in terms of getting your book to the right readers and ensuring that it has a longer shelf life than other books in your market.
Here are some tips to start with:
1. Find and reach out to some top reviewers at Amazon and see if they will possibly review your work.
2. Watch your Amazon Sales Rank and encourage people to actively review your book. (family and friends count too!)
3. Build a readily accessible reading guide for your book that will be a great fit for book clubs and associated businesses.
4. Put your book on Microsoft Windows Live Book Search – http://www.publisher.live.com
5. Write book reviews of other books on Amazon that are similar to your book.
1. Think collaborate, not compete.
2. Create content that can be shared.
3. Ask not what your blog can do for you…ask what it can do for your readers.
4. Be compelling, concise and conciliatory.
5. Evoke, don’t provoke
6. Grow your link-mindedness and expand your network
7. Don’t stick with the blogging pack – race ahead and find new things to talk about.
8. Comment and link to other blogs that serve the greater good
9. Let your Mom comment freely on your posts (there you go Mom)
10. Blog the change you want to see in the world.
Here’s an interview I did recently with David M. Scott on his latest book.
While I don’t subscribe to bashing folks in regard to outreach or posting voluminous bad PR queries on my blog, this one was too “bad” or “good” to pass up.
Today I got a real press query that had the subject line of “My vacuum cleaner needs a software upgrade”.
Seriously.
I was pretty sure it was spam, but I opened the email and it was from a PR person and the content of the email was about one company’s acquisition of another company in the content management space. (I used to write for Publish.com and this was one of my main topics of coverage so thus the query.)
Vacuum cleaners and content management systems are a bit of a stretch, there are better ways to tell the story that fit within the terminology of the company’s products and the journalists covering the beat.
So here’s the takeaway – don’t write pithy subject lines that have no real relevance to what you’re trying to get news covered about. Espescially, if honestly they have nothing in common with the possible story’s topic focus.
Pitching to people is a really important skill to know if you’re going to keep engaging PR, bloggers and journalists about your product, book or service.
So if you’re a book author and you’re trying to reach out to a potential journalist to review your book, here are five subject lines you never want to use:
Top 5 Subject Lines…Not To Use:
1. Read This Book
2. My book is not unlike Faulkner, Chaucer, Chekov or Drucker
3. THis book is all you’ll ever need to know the real scoop on “”"”"”"
4. My kids need a college fund and here’s the book to get it.
5. This book is groundbreaking and you’ll be left out if you don’t read it
Good Ones to Use:
1. Review Copy Available – Book Title
2. Lloyd Dangle – Liberal Cartoonist Releases New Collection of Cartoons and Still Evades Gitmo
3. Blog Schmog – (title of Bob Bly’s book – had I been his publicist I would have only used those two words all the time in the subject line when trying to garner reviews or comment.)
4. Reviewers Copy – Book Title – Jack Welch called this book, “The greatest book ever written.” (Only if he really did, but you get the example.)
5. Possible book for your Review – Title of Book -
And while we’re at it, and I know I’ve posted this before, but go and read “The Care and Feeding of the Press” by Esther Schindler at Netpress.org.
Interview with Bob Bly here.
I wanted to put a link here to a YouTube video of Nan Talese who was the publisher of James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” – talking about Oprah and her experience with Oprah and Frey’s book. The debate on what is or is not “creative non-fiction” continues but this clip shows an interesting perspective on how the Oprah team championed the book, elevated it and then dashed it based on Oprah’s fan base responses.
The reason this is good to keep in mind is that pretty much every author that comes to me asks how I’m going to get them on Oprah. The conference I was just at for Berrett-Koehler, a very adept publicist named Peg Booth – who I had the great pleasure to be on a panel with talked about everyone wanting to be on Oprah as well.
Peg told a great story about hearing Arielle Ford (another amazing publicist) say to an audience, “If you want to be on Oprah, take down this number” and she gave a 1800 number out to all the participants. Later she came back to the number and revealed it to be a prayer line much to the humor and dismay of the participants.
Here’s the thing – if your book is not on Oprah it doesn’t mean your book is not good, won’t make it and won’t at some point be a bestseller.
So take heart and don’t just focus on Oprah. It’s great if a book is on there, but always keep in mind “does my book fit for her audience?” – if it doesn’t then you probably won’t be on there.
The other angle your publicist or yourself should always be thinking on is pitching yourself as an expert for her show topics. If she’s doing a show around how to inspire employees for instance and your book covers this, then that’s a win-win and you might be considered for a slot on the show.
One way to keep up with what Oprah is doing in the future on shows is to hit her web site and look at upcoming show topics.
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