Do you know what book reviewers at newspapers and magazines do with those fancy press kits you send them? They throw them away. Or, if it’s Bob Minzenheimer of the New York Times, he throws away the contents and takes the folders home to his kids. A panel of book reviewers told members of the… Read More
Authors & Publishers
From PMA University—4 principles for book publicity
Book publicist Alice Acheson gave 200 members of Publishers Marketing Association her four principles of publicity success this afternon at PMA University, the annual educational program for authors and publishers. Her principles are: 1. Start marketing the minute your book contract is signed. Write one paragraph about the book and one paragraph about the author,… Read More
From PMA University—Don’t let authors pitch book review editors
Kristen Matthews, book editor for the “Early Show” on CBS, says book publicists shouldn’t let their authors call book review editors like her and pitch a program segment. “Some of them can’t stand to hear the word no,” she told 200 members of the Publishers Marketing Association this afternoon. Others refuse to accept their publicist’s… Read More
Off to PMA, BEA
I’m off to PMA University, sponsored by the publishers marketing association, and BookExpoAmerica in New York City. If you’ll be at PMA, I’m on a panel from 10:15-11:45AM Wednesday on “How to launch a proftable 30-day Internet publicity campaign. On Thursday, I’m part of a morning panel from 10:45-1:15 on “How to slice and dice… Read More
Every author should hear this media panel
If you’re going to New York City next week for the BookExpo America convention, don’t miss Steve Harrison’s media panel on Saturday. I’ll be there. I attended this last year when it was part of the convention, and it was one of the highlights of my trip. A panel of top-tier print and broadcast journalists… Read More
How an author/therapist piggybacked onto runaway bride
As I was writing last week’s tip about how to piggyback off the runaway bride story, my friend Barbara Bartlein was doing just that. Barbara, a professional speaker and author of the book “Why Did I Marry You Anyway? –12.5 Strategies for a Happy Marriage,” saw all the attention the Runaway Bride was getting and… Read More
Publisher starts speakers bureau
Today’s Wall Street Journal (Page B8) says HarperCollins Publishers Inc. is starting a speakers bureau in the U.S. to arrange speaking engagements for its authors. Its best-known authors are Michal Crichton, business author Jim Collins and children’s book writer Daniel Handler. The publisher says the bureau is expected to generate a “substantial” revenue stream for… Read More
Do homework before hiring a publicist
One of the most frequent complaints I hear from Publicity Hounds is the one about what went wrong when they hired a big PR firm, or a lousy publicist. The nightmares sound like this. Whopping monthly retainers but few media placements. Fresh-out-of-college graduates with little PR experience assigned to major accounts. Sweet-talking publicists who promised… Read More
Author gets tips for promoting suspense thriller
Edward Motketsan of Winona, Minnesota gets some super ideas for promoting his suspense thriller titled Logo. It’s about a government conspiracy. Combating terrorism, the National Security Agency sets up a surveillance network using a privately owned company to manufacture and distribute their device all over the world. The hero, Edward Davis, is a research &… Read More
Don’t pitch your books as the story idea
If you’re an author and you want to get onto Fox & Friends (or any other show for that matter), avoid the Number One problem authors make when pitching. Don’t pitch your book as the story. In the April 11 issue of PR Week, Jess Todtfeld, an associate producer at Fox News, says authors sometimes… Read More