Thanks to an extremely talented woman, Dr. Cheri Moore, I will be giving presentations on publicity to groups nationwide. The first presentations will be the end of January in San Bernandino, CA. What I'm really excited for is Dr. Moore has developed a unique way to look at publicity. Watch closely for the buzz to start!
While I'm in San Bernandino, do you want me to stop by your group or meet for a quick bite to eat? Send me an email at sabrina (at) premierauthorcoaching (dot) com and we'll set something up!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Author Coaching
I have been pondering my career and the parts I love and the parts I could live without. As I have pondered these past years I have come to realize that I truly enjoy calling the author at the beginning of a campaign and discussing their book and their own life with them. I love figuring out what is unique about each person and what topics might catch the attention of media and reviewers. I love planning out when each media group should be called and exactly who in each media group should be called. I love developing the hooks and topics of discussion. I love educating authors on the literary industry. I love teaching them how to talk to media and the basics of an interview like -don't chew gum, relax, smile when you are talking if you want to sound charming etc.
I'm just not so crazy about actually making the calls to set everything up.
I know there are people who absolutely love the telephone time. I know there are people who excel at that task. I'm not saying I can't get the job done. I'm just saying that it's not my favorite part. So after years of doing it all, I have decided to make a bold step. I am now offering author coaching services.
I will continue to send the authors who want someone to do everything for them to a full time publicity company (and I have a favorite of course). But those authors who want a more hands on approach or who can't afford $5,000/month for a regular publicist will now have a resource for education and inspiration about the crazy literary world they are involved in.
To see the details, go to www.premierauthorcoaching.com. I can't wait to talk to you about how you can promote your book!
I'm just not so crazy about actually making the calls to set everything up.
I know there are people who absolutely love the telephone time. I know there are people who excel at that task. I'm not saying I can't get the job done. I'm just saying that it's not my favorite part. So after years of doing it all, I have decided to make a bold step. I am now offering author coaching services.
I will continue to send the authors who want someone to do everything for them to a full time publicity company (and I have a favorite of course). But those authors who want a more hands on approach or who can't afford $5,000/month for a regular publicist will now have a resource for education and inspiration about the crazy literary world they are involved in.
To see the details, go to www.premierauthorcoaching.com. I can't wait to talk to you about how you can promote your book!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
How Much is Too Much?
As I ruminate on my career as a publicist, I think about the broad variety of clients I have worked with over the years. The one topic that is standing out in my mind is the authors who would send 10-20 emails each day as well as faxes and telephone calls dispersed among those emails. At some point, there has to be a line drawn and things have to stop!
I can appreciate the thought of an author wanting to stay in touch and be in the loop for their campaign. I can appreciate wanting to make sure every detail is taken care of. I can appreciate the need to be reassured. There does come a point however that the media just isn't being contacted because the publicist is too busy answering emails!
Because of the problem email can be, I actually had to count email time as campaign time and reiterate over and over again to the client that their constant contacts and insistence that I respond immediately were preventing me from doing my job. I also instituted a division of day to protect the best interests of all of my authors. In other words, I would work on one client in a time frame and not answer emails or do any tasks not related to that particular client. Yes, it sent some authors into a frenzy but I couldn't be productive otherwise.
On the other hand, I have heard of publicists having zero contact with their clients and that is never acceptable. A good medium in my mind is a weekly report summarizing all the activities of the week on Friday. There are details to be cleared up during the week but if a detail will not directly impact an event or action within the next 7 days, it is not urgent and a response can wait.
I can appreciate the thought of an author wanting to stay in touch and be in the loop for their campaign. I can appreciate wanting to make sure every detail is taken care of. I can appreciate the need to be reassured. There does come a point however that the media just isn't being contacted because the publicist is too busy answering emails!
Because of the problem email can be, I actually had to count email time as campaign time and reiterate over and over again to the client that their constant contacts and insistence that I respond immediately were preventing me from doing my job. I also instituted a division of day to protect the best interests of all of my authors. In other words, I would work on one client in a time frame and not answer emails or do any tasks not related to that particular client. Yes, it sent some authors into a frenzy but I couldn't be productive otherwise.
On the other hand, I have heard of publicists having zero contact with their clients and that is never acceptable. A good medium in my mind is a weekly report summarizing all the activities of the week on Friday. There are details to be cleared up during the week but if a detail will not directly impact an event or action within the next 7 days, it is not urgent and a response can wait.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Bad News for Book Signings
I have been noticing a bad trend lately and I want to make you aware of it. There have always been Barnes and Noble bookstore locations that did not host author events. It's sad but the stores can't host them for one reason or another. Now I've been hearing a different trend for those locations who DO host author events.
Today I spoke to a CRM (Community Relations Manager) who told me their location only holds events for authors approved through the National Office. Then 2 calls later, another location said the same thing. If you have submitted your book to the small press department of Barnes and Noble asking to be stocked and you were turned down, expect to hear a lot of nos for any book events.
Before you go to your local Barnes and Noble bearing torches, in their defense, the whole goal of booksignings is to sell books. Most first time authors don't sell many books to people outside of family and friends. Barnes and Noble locations spend money on posters and advertising for events. If the authors don't do their part to get people there, the store loses money.
What does that mean for authors? You will be more hard pressed to prove to stores that you will sell books. You can hire a publicist to make some noise in the area but don't expect more than a couple people you don't know to show up unless you are a celebrity. Make sure every event is advertised widely among your friends and family. If the attendance for signings improves, stores might reconsider their position.
Today I spoke to a CRM (Community Relations Manager) who told me their location only holds events for authors approved through the National Office. Then 2 calls later, another location said the same thing. If you have submitted your book to the small press department of Barnes and Noble asking to be stocked and you were turned down, expect to hear a lot of nos for any book events.
Before you go to your local Barnes and Noble bearing torches, in their defense, the whole goal of booksignings is to sell books. Most first time authors don't sell many books to people outside of family and friends. Barnes and Noble locations spend money on posters and advertising for events. If the authors don't do their part to get people there, the store loses money.
What does that mean for authors? You will be more hard pressed to prove to stores that you will sell books. You can hire a publicist to make some noise in the area but don't expect more than a couple people you don't know to show up unless you are a celebrity. Make sure every event is advertised widely among your friends and family. If the attendance for signings improves, stores might reconsider their position.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Rich Authors Don't Get Ahead
There is a wonderfully rich author that decided to self-publish his life's work. He paid 4 different editors to look over his work and paid all of the printing costs incurred by Book Surge. He paid for ads in top newspapers and threw a big book party and invited "people of consequence" to attend.
He has had reviews in his local papers. He has had a radio interview or two. He even hired a publicist. He can't figure out why he's not selling thousands of books.
He's made a few big mistakes that have crippled his chances for success. Please learn from him!
1. He published through Book Surge
Many publishers that take a book electronically and throw it into a machine to duplicate. In and of itself, this is not a problem. The problem occurs when the publisher doesn't care about he manuscript because they already have their money and don't check the copy. This man's book has sentences cut off in the middle and continued in a new paragraph. After 4 editors, typos like that shouldn't exist. The man has a PhD. I just can't imagine that he could get a PhD if he doesn't know basic formatting.
The problem is that printers take the formatting out of many manuscripts. If the printer/publisher cares about the book, they check the manuscript again once it is in the system. The mass producers like Book Surge don't care so the end product is hard to read and frustrating.
2. He's not available from Barnes and Noble or any other book store.
This author thinks he understands the system better than every book publishing company in the world. He doesn't like the price reduction bookstores demand so they make a profit. Because of that, he is not listed with any distributors in the world besides Amazon.com. This means he cannot have any author events at any bookstores of consequence because they cannot order the book in. Most bookstores do not want to host an author who's books aren't available from a distributor. People still like to browse books and he has limited himself simply to internet sales.
3. He hired the wrong editors.
Editors worth their weight would never have let so many typos slip through. Also, the characters were unrealistic while the conversations induced cringes. I know that this particular author rushed the editing and publishing stages because he is getting up there in years. Unfortunately, his eagerness created a flop out of a story that could have been riveting.
All in all, choose your publisher wisely. If they don't have a vested interest in you selling many copies (ie they don't get paid if you dont), you will typically end up with a sub par product. Make sure you are available to bookstores. You may not get stocked right away but you need to be able to have an event so people start learning your name. Also, make sure your product is the best you can possibly make it. Hire good editors that will make you perfect your manuscript!
He has had reviews in his local papers. He has had a radio interview or two. He even hired a publicist. He can't figure out why he's not selling thousands of books.
He's made a few big mistakes that have crippled his chances for success. Please learn from him!
1. He published through Book Surge
Many publishers that take a book electronically and throw it into a machine to duplicate. In and of itself, this is not a problem. The problem occurs when the publisher doesn't care about he manuscript because they already have their money and don't check the copy. This man's book has sentences cut off in the middle and continued in a new paragraph. After 4 editors, typos like that shouldn't exist. The man has a PhD. I just can't imagine that he could get a PhD if he doesn't know basic formatting.
The problem is that printers take the formatting out of many manuscripts. If the printer/publisher cares about the book, they check the manuscript again once it is in the system. The mass producers like Book Surge don't care so the end product is hard to read and frustrating.
2. He's not available from Barnes and Noble or any other book store.
This author thinks he understands the system better than every book publishing company in the world. He doesn't like the price reduction bookstores demand so they make a profit. Because of that, he is not listed with any distributors in the world besides Amazon.com. This means he cannot have any author events at any bookstores of consequence because they cannot order the book in. Most bookstores do not want to host an author who's books aren't available from a distributor. People still like to browse books and he has limited himself simply to internet sales.
3. He hired the wrong editors.
Editors worth their weight would never have let so many typos slip through. Also, the characters were unrealistic while the conversations induced cringes. I know that this particular author rushed the editing and publishing stages because he is getting up there in years. Unfortunately, his eagerness created a flop out of a story that could have been riveting.
All in all, choose your publisher wisely. If they don't have a vested interest in you selling many copies (ie they don't get paid if you dont), you will typically end up with a sub par product. Make sure you are available to bookstores. You may not get stocked right away but you need to be able to have an event so people start learning your name. Also, make sure your product is the best you can possibly make it. Hire good editors that will make you perfect your manuscript!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
BookSurge (Amazon company)
This might become the blog of horrors because it seems like every day I come across another story of an author given disservice by their publisher. I recognize that publishers who are paying the upfront costs can only budget in so much for each author but those who are paid handsomely for printing should be more on the ball.
I finished reading a book recently for my reviews blog and it had an interesting plot line and even though the conversations seemed forced and slightly unrealistic, still flowed well. The problem was the formatting ended up atrocious! While every mistake may not have been the printer's I doubt very much a man with a PhD would insert a new paragraph in the middle of a sentence every 10 pages. When will these printing companies (they aren't really publishers in my mind) get on the ball and at least LOOK at the manuscript before printing and wasting people's money? I'm half tempted to contact the author and recommend he demand a reprint of all his book if not sue for wasted time and resources for such a mess!
I wish there was some way to get the point across to publishers that just because the author is self-published doesn't mean that they can slack and turn out inferior work then blame it on a computer glitch or something.
Obviously, I suggest staying away from Booksurge unless you get some sort of clause guaranteeing a reprint if the formatting is deviated from the manuscript sent to them. Let's hold these printers liable!
I finished reading a book recently for my reviews blog and it had an interesting plot line and even though the conversations seemed forced and slightly unrealistic, still flowed well. The problem was the formatting ended up atrocious! While every mistake may not have been the printer's I doubt very much a man with a PhD would insert a new paragraph in the middle of a sentence every 10 pages. When will these printing companies (they aren't really publishers in my mind) get on the ball and at least LOOK at the manuscript before printing and wasting people's money? I'm half tempted to contact the author and recommend he demand a reprint of all his book if not sue for wasted time and resources for such a mess!
I wish there was some way to get the point across to publishers that just because the author is self-published doesn't mean that they can slack and turn out inferior work then blame it on a computer glitch or something.
Obviously, I suggest staying away from Booksurge unless you get some sort of clause guaranteeing a reprint if the formatting is deviated from the manuscript sent to them. Let's hold these printers liable!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Book signings from thousands of miles away?
I like that I get announcements about new an innovative ideas and one just popped up in my inbox today. Margaret Atwood is a well known author who developed a revolutionary idea and put it into action.
Drum roll please . . . She developed software and hardware that enables authors to sign books from thousands of miles away. I know, it sounds like it is straight out of science fiction but if you think about how surgery can be done with the doctor in charge in another country, it doesn't seem so far fetched.
From what I understand, the author can be in England and the fans in New York. The invention called "LongPen" uses video conferencing and the internet to bring authors and fans together. Fans place an object they want signed on a special machine with a pen attached, the author signs a special tablet they have at home and like a miracle, the pen duplicates the signature!
During the signing, the author and fan see and interact over a webcam where they can make eye contact and converse. The trials seem to be successful with fans saying it's less intimidating to be out of the author's immediate presence.
As a big sci-fi fan, this whole idea brings to mind a Star Trek episode where one world was dying off because the people interacted over the computer only. There was one teenage boy and girl left and the crew's mission was to find a way to get them off the computer and interacting with each other. Is signing from miles away the next step towards this future? Probably not but it's fun to speculate about!
The "LongPen" will be premiered at BEA this year with several authors staying home and saving all that airplane fuel (and ticket, admission and lodging costs) to show the book industry how the device works. I look forward to hearing more about what fans think! You never know, this may be the next step in publicity!
To find out more about "LongPen", go to http://www.longpen.com/lp-welcome.html.
Drum roll please . . . She developed software and hardware that enables authors to sign books from thousands of miles away. I know, it sounds like it is straight out of science fiction but if you think about how surgery can be done with the doctor in charge in another country, it doesn't seem so far fetched.
From what I understand, the author can be in England and the fans in New York. The invention called "LongPen" uses video conferencing and the internet to bring authors and fans together. Fans place an object they want signed on a special machine with a pen attached, the author signs a special tablet they have at home and like a miracle, the pen duplicates the signature!
During the signing, the author and fan see and interact over a webcam where they can make eye contact and converse. The trials seem to be successful with fans saying it's less intimidating to be out of the author's immediate presence.
As a big sci-fi fan, this whole idea brings to mind a Star Trek episode where one world was dying off because the people interacted over the computer only. There was one teenage boy and girl left and the crew's mission was to find a way to get them off the computer and interacting with each other. Is signing from miles away the next step towards this future? Probably not but it's fun to speculate about!
The "LongPen" will be premiered at BEA this year with several authors staying home and saving all that airplane fuel (and ticket, admission and lodging costs) to show the book industry how the device works. I look forward to hearing more about what fans think! You never know, this may be the next step in publicity!
To find out more about "LongPen", go to http://www.longpen.com/lp-welcome.html.
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