Book Promotion Blog

Jane Fonda’s appearance on the QVC television network, during which she could have sold copies of her new book (a memoir called Prime Time) was cancelled because QVC executives feared Jane Fonda’s presence on its network would inflame some of its viewers. Fair enough.

But, from a book promotion standpoint, I’d say that Jane Fonda walked away a winner here.

I mean, how many of us watch the QVC television network? A lot of us…but, perhaps, not enough to compare with the number of people who saw the flare-up between Jane Fonda and QVC in dozens, if not hundreds, of media outlets recently.

Were it not for the many stories I read about how Jane Fonda was prevented from http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifselling Prime Time on QVC, I would never have known that Jane Fonda had published an autobiography — and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have much cared. Jane, to me, means good acting (although I haven’t seen any new work she’s done in years) and those exercise videos from many years ago (which, back then, didn’t interest me). Now? I wouldn’t mind giving Prime Time a look to see what Jane Fonda’s selling. I don’t know whether or not I’d actually be willing to buy the book, but I’ll certainly bop by her book’s web site, now that I’ve heard about her book.

Perhaps I’ll be sold. And perhaps I won’t.

But that’s what book promotion is all about: making potential buyers aware that you’ve published a new book, and that you’re an author now (or an author again), and you’d like them to think about whether your work might benefit them in some way. In other words, “My book exists. Please consider buying it. Thank you very much.” If your book publicity efforts (or your book promotion accidents, such as Jane Fonda’s mess with QVC) can drive traffic to your book’s web site, so much the better.

So Jane Fonda is the clear winner here. QVC doesn’t have to sell Jane’s book. All of the book promotion Jane Fonda has received, and will continue to receive, will sell Jane’s book.

And if book promotion doesn’t sell very many books for Jane Fonda, then I doubt very much that cancelled appearance on the QVC television network would have, either.

Now that Casey Anthony has gone into hiding, perhaps there is room in the news — both the traditional media and online media outlets — for author interviews that do not bear on the subject of Casey Anthony once again. Those who are promoting books, including authors, publishers, and book publicists: stand back. Casey Anthony has left the building, and the media has moved on. Opportunities for book promotion (for books that don’t touch on the theme of murdering family members, anyway) have returned!

David Chura, author of I Don’t Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup, has published a wonderful piece in the Huffington Post called “Book Peddlers: Why One Author Hits the Promotion Road.” Chura talks about trudging from one book event to another in countless cities, hoping that he isn’t left standing at the podium talking to himself.

Chura’s story is familiar to me, and I especially appreciate Chura’s feeling that, as long as he connects with his audience, his time is well spent. (It sure beats the unanswerable question I’m hearing too frequently these days from authors: “If I hire a book publicist and invest X number of dollars in book promotion, then how many dollars can I expect to earn in book sales?”)

It’s good to see that Chura is an example of an author who has embarked on a book promotion tour for the right reasons…gaining something besides, exclusively, book sales.  But it’s even better to see that, along with hitting the road to do book publicity events, Chura is also smart enough to engage in less taxing, perhaps more highly targeted book promotion efforts such as pitching a well-written, interesting article to the “Huffington Post” that gets out the word about the authorship of his book to far more people at once, far more painlessly, than a series of book events would!

Thanks to the FBI for finally capturing Whitey Bulger (those who aren’t sure who Whitey Bulger is can click on the USA Today link to find out). Let’s overlook, for now, the fact that the FBI gave Bulger the warning that led to his running away with 16 years ago — let’s focus, instead, on the fact that justice is at hand, and Bulger will soon be back in Boston to face his criminal past and pay his debt to society.

And thanks to the FBI and to the accused murderer himself for opening up a whole world of book promotion opportunities for all authors who have penned books about Whitey Bulger. A quick Amazon search on “Whitey Bulger” turned up more than 10 books about the former fugitive, each of them a potential book publicity goldmine at the moment (that is, provided each of the authors is willing to commit some time and energy to granting interviews, writing articles and op-eds, disseminating news releases, contacting bloggers, and the like).

Book promotion always works best when you can attach your expertise to a breaking news story — and, since the capture of Whitey Bulger is a huge news story, lucky are the authors who can take advantage of the news hook. I’m sure they’ll want me to thank Whitey Bulger and the FBI on their behalf.

Go, Whitey Bulger experts and authors! Garner those book promotion opportunities! And, while you’re doing that, please say a prayer for Bulger’s victims (and their family members and friends). Good can sometimes be extracted from horror, even in cases where that horror has been unspeakable. So thank you, Bulger. And thank you, too, FBI.

I’m so proud of two friends and clients. They both scored an amazing book promotion opportunity!

Debra Fine, author of “The Fine Art of Small Talk,” wrote an article called “Six Wedding Reception Rules (Royal or Otherwise)” that was just published on FoxBusiness’s web site. Good for you, Debra! I love the way she tied her expertise into a news story and turned it into a book publicity opportunity that FoxBusiness couldn’t resist!

And Caroline Dowd-Higgins, author of “This Is Not the Career I Ordered,” was quoted in a “U.S. News and World Report” article — and her book was mentioned, too!

Congratulations to Debra and Caroline, and I hope your articles bring a lot of book buyers and other potential clients your way!

Remember Ricki Lake’s old television talk show? Like most talk shows, it provided opportunities for various authors to provide their expertise to television and, of course, to publicize books they wrote. Book publicists, and everyone who promotes books, love to hear about upcoming book promotion opportunities, and here’s one that this book publicist just came across: Ricki Lake’s new television talk show is in the works. Here’s the story.

As CNN’s Marquee Blog says, the Oprah Show is leaving the airwaves, but Ricki Lake’s new show may be launching. And with the unfortunate cancellation of two of ABC television’s long-running soap operas, there will be even more open time on the television schedule. That means there will be additional air time, potentially, for talk shows that, of course, provide book promotion opportunities for authors. So, although I mourn the passing of the soap opera genre (face it: I’ve been hooked on soaps since before I started school, and I’d still watch them, if I had the time), I do appreciate that advent of new television talk shows and new book publicity opportunities for authors.

Time’s change, but the benefits of television (and radio, too) shows for authors who want media attention are unchanged. A new television talk show means new book promotion opportunities. So I’ll welcome Ricki Lake back with open arms…and I’m look forward to seeing other new television talk shows hitting the airwaves in the months ahead.

Most authors who engage in book promotion campaigns try to expand their online footprints. So isn’t it ironic that one of the most over-exposed personalities today has inspired a software product that claims it can wipe his presence from the Web?

Tinted Sheen‘s advertising copy claims that it can remove Charlie Sheen from your Internet browser. I’m not so sure I’d want to wipe Charlie Sheen from my Internet browser…as a book publicist, I’m finding it fascinating to watch all of the media interview opportunities and press that the troubled Sheen is receiving…but I’m intrigued by Tinted Sheen nonetheless.

A book publicist typically guides authors through the process of “growing” their online presence through the publication of press releases and articles, creating links back to interviews they’ve granted, blogging, and the like.

But there’s a case to be made for the fact that Tinted Sheen, which deals with the overexposure of Charlie Sheen — and which received attention from no less a media outlet than CNN.com — has raised the online visibility of Charlie Sheen more than ever.

All of which makes me wonder: would Tinted Sheen block online references to itself? Hmmm….

Here’s some good news for book promotion, and particularly, it is good news for self-published authors who are embarking upon book publicity campaigns.

Barnes & Noble is now taking  self-published authors who participate in the PubIt! program more seriously. According to a MediaBistro article, Barnes and Noble is launching three initiatives for self-published authors. They are:

First, PubIt! will have its own bestseller list. Every bestseller list is, inherently, a book publicity opportunity. Books that make bestseller lists can promote that fact, and book publicists can create the momentum they need to build new book promotion opportunities.

Second, PubIt! books will be eligible  selected for Barnes & Noble’s “Read In Store” program that allows in-store shoppers to read books for free, on their Nooks, as long as they are inside the Barnes & Noble bookstore.

Third, even though PubIt! is pretty intuitive and simple to use, Barnes & Noble will host in-store events to teach self-published authors to use PubIt! so they can upload their own books. That’s a potential book promotion opportunity, too, by the way. Authors who need some hand-holding with PubIt! can stop by the store and schmooze with other self-published authors — some of whom might want to buy a copy of their book. And, as long as they’re in the store, they might also talk with the Barnes & Noble staff about their book … the more buzz you create for your book, the more robust your book promotion campaign.

Book distribution has always been an integral component of book promotion efforts. The more widely your book is distributed, the more it can benefit from your book publicity campaign.

So anything Barnes & Noble can do to turn PubIt! into a serious attempt to help self-published authors with book distribution is a step they’re taking toward helping self-published authors with book promotion. Way to go, Barnes & Noble!

Scott Brown, the Republican senator from Massachusetts (did I really just say that — it still sounds amazing to this life-long Bostonian?), just scored the biggest possible book promotion win. Everyone is talking about his about-to-be-published book, Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks, and Second Chances — an autobiography that, among other things, details sexual abuse that the senator suffered when he was ten years old. If a book could receive more publicity than this one has, this book publicist can’t imagine it.

Sixty Minutes taped an interview with Senator Brown. The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, ABCNews, Yahoo News, and just about every other news organization in the country has discussed Senator Brown in the context of his upcoming autobiography.

Virtually every political figure publishes an autobiography and, while most of them turn into book promotion — and, with that, persona promotion — opportunities for their authors, the media attention Scott Brown’s book is receiving is off the chart. You can’t click on a web site, or turn on the TV or the radio, or open up a newspaper, without hearing about the senator’s new book. Why are all of the producers and editors going out of their way to help promote Senator Brown’s new book?

My take on it is that, for whatever reason, some people feel that Scott Brown has provided too much information. The sexual abuse in his childhood, they hold, was his personal business, and he should just do the manly thing, keep it to himself, and move on. In other words, incredibly enough — and unintentionally, I’m sure — this book contained enough controversy to keep producers and editors excited about the story and to get their readers, viewers, and listeners interacting with the story. Any time readers, viewers, and listeners participate in a story, the story grows.

Thus, Senator Scott Brown and his publisher are sitting on a goldmine: a book that everyone is talking about. That’s what book promotion does best: it finds a charismatic author (that would be Senator Brown, in this case), a worthwhile message or three (the book’s title, <span style=”font-style:italic;”>Against All Odds</span>, says it all), and adds a dash of controversy (intentional or not) . . . and creates a bestselling book.

That’s what I think Senator Brown has here: a bestseller. Kudos to him and to his publisher, and I hope the book continues to receive publicity and positive attention from the media. This is book promotion at its best, and it’s exciting — particularly, for this Boston-area book publicist — to see another great Boston book promotion story!