|
14 February 2005
To Tour or Not To Tour; That IS the Question
Elaine "Nell" Stundell worked in TV as a production assistant, location scout, assistant producer on productions for ABC, NBC, CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Black Journal, political campaigns. She segued into the lecture circuit, then a long career freelancing in the film industry as a reader, researcher, production coordinator and producer of the Oscar entry live-action short, "Black Box." Stundell then worked as director of foreign distribution at Dino De Laurentiis Corp. In 1994, after finishing the feature film Bullet with rap icon Tupak Shaukur, Nell stumbled into the book industry by working for Barnes & Noble in Forest Hills, New York, thus giving her a perspective on book tour etiquette. As a journalist, she covered stories on sports, entertainment, and community issues for Newsday and other Tribune publications. After a recent two and a half year stint at NBC, she continues to work as a freelance writer.
It's About Persistance Having crossed paths with hundreds of authors during my tenure as a Barnes & Noble community-relations manager from 1996 to 2001, I found the one constant successful authors shared, other than savvy marketing, was persistence. First-time authors who stopped by without an appointment, book in tow, hoping to schedule a book signing made a favorable impression. That kind of guile and persistence usually worked. A very persistent Rhonda Findling, a psychotherapist and first-time author of the self-help guide Don't Call That Man, called me numerous times to discuss why her book signing was a perfect fit for our store. Her creative marketing—ads in local papers, press releases on her web site, distribution of flyers to libraries, agencies, colleagues—landed her a standing-room-only book signing with higher than expected sales. New authors think that once their book is published, poof, it will fly off the shelves, make oodles of money, and Larry King will devote an entire show to it. Wishful thinking. A book does not sell itself, even best-selling authors need to be persistent to create public interest. A book tour is a great way to generate a buzz for a book. How to Book a Tour Whereas big-time publishers fund a famous author's tour, small-market publishers cannot afford to do so. Whether your book is self-published or issued by a small publishing house, the success of a tour depends on:
Look in phone directories and on the Internet for the address and phone numbers of bookstores, libraries, schools, colleges, local Y's, department stores, comic book stores. Don't be afraid to call. Start by contacting Barnes & Noble and Borders. Don't forget to contact science fiction and fantasy specialty bookstores, but you can't count on them because they are few and far between in parts of the country. Send a letter with a copy of your book (don't expect to see it again) and any publicity materials to the store's community-relations manager explaining why your book event might be right for their store. One tack you could take is to point out that the store has a large section of books in your genre. You might be a local author. If not, do you know a local writer who would recommend you? Promoting Yourself To promote an author, most large bookstores place a blurb in the monthly events calendar and two or three in-store signs designed by the store's graphics department. The store may also send out flyers and press releases to newspapers and the broadcast media. Bookstores are sticklers about only using their own signs for display prior to the event. However, the author is allowed to bring materials to the signing. The promotional opportunities, however, don't stop there. Dorothy Swygert, a former school principal and author of The March for Justice: Martin Luther King's Rise to Fame knows how important it is to self promote. Even though B&N promoted the event, Swygert went the extra mile, sending out her own press releases. To celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday, Swygert brought along six actors to perform a short play from her book. The event attracted 90 people, 40 of whom bought her book. "You want to get the message out, you want to educate and enlighten people," she said, "when you generate a real interest, the sales will come." Since the success of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, science fiction and fantasy books are all the rage. Now is an ideal time for sff authors to be as imaginative and creative in promoting their work as they are in their prose. Dorothy used her imagination to launch a successful book event and tour. So can you. Integrate a theme into your event (Halloween and even cosmic events such as full moons, eclipses and meteor showers offer great opportunities for sff authors to promote their books). Though it sounds silly, gimmicks work. Nan Clark, a college professor and the author of Star Trek Trivia , did a scant amount of promotion prior to her signing. To make her event stand out, we organized a Star Trek Night with games, contests, and costumes. One guy dressed in a Spock outfit—ears and all— was so thrilled he won the trivia contest that he bought four books. Clark signed the books raised her hand and said, "Live Long and Prosper." Chef Tizita Ayele prepared three ethnic dishes for a tasting when she discussed the recipes from her cookbook, Ethiopian Cooking in the American Kitchen. Ten out of 40 customers who savored her fare bought the book. Who Will Show Up? It's hard to speculate just how many people will show up for an unknown author's event. The numbers may vary; it's so unpredictable. Much depends upon the community, the genre, whether you have a following, how much exposure you receive prior to the event. Call your friends and family, send and hand out flyers (bookstores sometimes supply them) and try some of the other promotional ideas in this article. Undoubtedly, your primary goal is to reap financial rewards, but keep in mind that the publicity a first-time author receives gets her foot in the door for future endeavors. A large crowd does not guarantee book sales. Customers remember authors with captivating personalities. If what worked in one store, does not in another, the community-relations manager can often suggest other stores better suited for the book's genre. Radio and Television Radio is another means to flaunt your wares. There are over 9,000 radio stations, many of which have wide regional coverage. For a reasonable fee, you can get lists of over 10,000 shows and talk radio hosts from radiotalk.org. Thousands of insomniacs listen to late-night talk shows—another platform for authors. If you book a radio interview to be conducted over the phone, STAND while you speak even if you're in your bedroom wearing fuzzy slippers. Your voice will sound clearer, and be more convincing. The other rule for interviews is to BE PREPARED. Before the scheduled interview, practice on tape, give concise answers; airtime is limited. When your air date is set, tell your friends to call in and ask questions you've rehearsed. Television: CSPAN's BookTV is literary programming at its best. Booklovers can attend a reading without leaving home. To recommend coverage of a book, e-mail Connie Doebele, executive producer at booktv@cspan.org or call (202) 737-3220. Newspapers Newspapers are another great way to get noticed. Weekly publications love to print appealing stories about local authors. Call and get the name of the book or managing editor, send a press release (ask if email or fax is preferred). Make certain you spell the editor's name correctly. You might also want to place an inexpensive ad in a weekly to publicize your event. Seminar Circuit Another possibility is joining the seminar circuit. The Learning Annex, for example, pays authors to discuss how to write a particular kind of book and they have offices across the country. You can contact The Learning Annex at (212) 371-0280 or www.learningannex.com. Press Kits & Publicists If you're PowerPoint savvy, you can create a terrific press kit. Include your bio, short summary of the book, any literary (Publisher's Weekly , Literary Market , etc.) or media reviews. It might be worth your while to hire an affordable publicist. Ask friends, colleagues, members of writers groups online to recommend someone who has a good track record. [For more information on press kits and publicity see "Taming the Sharks: A Baffled Author's Guide To Getting Publicity" and "Tools of the Trade: Creating a Marketing CD" in the Broadsheet Archives.] A Book's Shelf Life Authors have a short window of opportunity to market their work. Depending upon its appeal, a first-time author's book may be prominently displayed for about two weeks—one week prior to the event and one week after, or possibly longer. Authors are often disappointed when weeks after the event, the book was nowhere to be found. Whether or not a book sells does not determine its shelf life. Books are returned to the distributor, publisher or author because of the limited amount of space for the many tens of thousands of books released each year. An Old and New Perspective Thanks to the advent of retail book giants B&N and Borders, literary activities soared during the period of 1996 to 2001. Store monthly calendars listed a wide variety of stimulating events—book signings, writing workshops, craft events—anything that pertained to the potential sale of books. As the B&N Forest Hills, New York community-relations manager, I was often called upon to work at Manhattan venues during signings by well-known authors, annual fund-raising and literary events. The experience provided me with an opportunity to observe corporate book marketing strategies. To stay competitive, I saw that we needed to navigate a new course for unknown and local authors, add some pizzazz to sell books. Technology has changed the literary market over the past few years. On a positive note, going digital has provided authors with more ways to hawk their books. Retail book giants have jumped into the digital game market helping to increase sales that declined after 9/11. DVD's now outsell books, videos and movie tickets, yet there is no need to worry. Books are alive and well. Talented authors still write with verve and conviction, hoping to make their mark, to make a difference to the millions of avid readers who await the release of yet another book. The key to success is not talent alone, but how much fortitude and persistence you possess. Promotional Resources The Internet is a valuable tool for writer's resources. For details on the next annual Book Expo, the largest book-publishing event in the United States, click on www.bookexpoamerica.com or call (800) 840-5614 for details. At www.booknotes.org, you can find information on hundreds of book festivals across the country to sell your book. To find sff conventions, check out Locus' online conventions listing at www.locusmag.com/Conventions.html. Bradley Communications Radio-TV (800) 553-8002 and Bacon's media manuals are indispensable. They provide listings of stations from across the country and are usually found in libraries. |
||
|
|
||
