Friday, April 24, 2009
This Is Your Wake-up Call: 12 Steps to Better Book Publishing
This Is Your Wake-up Call: 12 Steps to Better Book Publishing
[...]
The underlying problem facing the industry is twofold: there are too many books, and too many of them are derivative of each other. You've heard of Gresham's Law—the idea that bad money drives out good. Our industry has long suffered from Grisham's Law, where opportunistic authors and publishers try to imitate John Grisham and other category leaders with books modeled on someone else's commercial success. That strategy might make sense if there were great demand for these imitators, but in today's overcrowded, competitive marketplace, this kind of thinking is dangerous, because it devalues the environment into which we present our work.
[...]
[link via Dystel & Goderich Management blog]
posted by Sal Towse at 1:34 PM|
|
|
[...]
The underlying problem facing the industry is twofold: there are too many books, and too many of them are derivative of each other. You've heard of Gresham's Law—the idea that bad money drives out good. Our industry has long suffered from Grisham's Law, where opportunistic authors and publishers try to imitate John Grisham and other category leaders with books modeled on someone else's commercial success. That strategy might make sense if there were great demand for these imitators, but in today's overcrowded, competitive marketplace, this kind of thinking is dangerous, because it devalues the environment into which we present our work.
[...]
[link via Dystel & Goderich Management blog]
Labels: book promotion, books, publishers, writers, writing
posted by Sal Towse at 1:34 PM|
|
|
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Write Your Nonfiction Book
New blog from Crawford Kilian: Write Your Nonfiction Book ... Online!
The blog is new (only three posts so far) but I'm expecting some interesting content. Currently online, the book proposal.
Blog also includes links, links, links to blogs, links to online magazines, links to a collection of Kilian blogs, links to Web writing resources, more.
posted by Sal Towse at 2:31 PM||
|
The blog is new (only three posts so far) but I'm expecting some interesting content. Currently online, the book proposal.
Blog also includes links, links, links to blogs, links to online magazines, links to a collection of Kilian blogs, links to Web writing resources, more.
Labels: book promotion, books, nonfiction, writing
posted by Sal Towse at 2:31 PM|
|
|
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Book Promotion Tips from the Pros: Featured Author: Marc Acito
Book Promotion Tips from the Pros: Featured Author: Marc Acito
Some interesting insights.
posted by Sal Towse at 5:30 PM||
|
Some interesting insights.
Labels: book promotion, writers
posted by Sal Towse at 5:30 PM|
|
|
Monday, March 30, 2009
Book trailers.
Book trailers are like movie trailers, in a way. Movie trailers cut and piece from the movie to give you a taste of what you will see when you see the movie, to lure you into the theater to buy a ticket.
Book trailers are a video advertisement for a written book. They cut and piece from the book -- add sound, action, pictures, sometimes live actors -- and turn the result into what would be a mini-trailer for the movie the book would be if the book were a movie. The hope is that you will see the trailer and buy the book.
Came across this one just now and thought it was a good example.
There was a panel that included some talk on book trailers at LCC a few weeks ago. You can make your own trailer for something less than $100 (and up) and post it on Facebook or your blog or you can pay one of the companies that know what they're doing (Circle of Seven Productions was specifically named) and for something in the range of $2K-3K (although the price can be much higher, depending on your needs) you get a professional video and the placement/marketing expertise of the company. Or you can make your own trailer and contract with a company like Circle of Seven to do the promotion.
Book trailers as advertisement. As lures. With hopes that the trailer will go viral and the fever will translate into sales.
This trailer (Michael Connelly, THE BRASS VERDICT) is a more sophisticated production with screenplay and actors.
Would you buy a book from a book trailer?
Do you ever send them on?
posted by Sal Towse at 8:28 AM||
|
Book trailers are a video advertisement for a written book. They cut and piece from the book -- add sound, action, pictures, sometimes live actors -- and turn the result into what would be a mini-trailer for the movie the book would be if the book were a movie. The hope is that you will see the trailer and buy the book.
Came across this one just now and thought it was a good example.
There was a panel that included some talk on book trailers at LCC a few weeks ago. You can make your own trailer for something less than $100 (and up) and post it on Facebook or your blog or you can pay one of the companies that know what they're doing (Circle of Seven Productions was specifically named) and for something in the range of $2K-3K (although the price can be much higher, depending on your needs) you get a professional video and the placement/marketing expertise of the company. Or you can make your own trailer and contract with a company like Circle of Seven to do the promotion.
Book trailers as advertisement. As lures. With hopes that the trailer will go viral and the fever will translate into sales.
This trailer (Michael Connelly, THE BRASS VERDICT) is a more sophisticated production with screenplay and actors.
Would you buy a book from a book trailer?
Do you ever send them on?
Labels: book promotion, books, video
posted by Sal Towse at 8:28 AM|
|
|
Monday, February 26, 2007
5.4 up near Petrolia
Recent Earthquakes - Info for event nc40193932:
A moderate earthquake occurred at 4:19:54 AM (PST) on Monday, February 26, 2007.
The magnitude 5.4 event occurred 52 km (32 miles) W of Ferndale, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Right at the seaward edge of the Cascadia subduction zone.
We'll be having dinner with Susan Hough on Thursday after her author talk at Kepler's down in Menlo Park for her newest book: Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man
(In the area? Stop on by! Thursday March 01, 2007 -- 7:30 p.m. at Kepler's in Menlo Park)
(Buy now!)
I'm sure the our dinner conversationtalk will turn to local earthquakes and Cascadia and Hayward and San Andreas. It always does.
posted by Sal Towse at 11:26 AM||
|
A moderate earthquake occurred at 4:19:54 AM (PST) on Monday, February 26, 2007.
The magnitude 5.4 event occurred 52 km (32 miles) W of Ferndale, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Right at the seaward edge of the Cascadia subduction zone.
We'll be having dinner with Susan Hough on Thursday after her author talk at Kepler's down in Menlo Park for her newest book: Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man
(In the area? Stop on by! Thursday March 01, 2007 -- 7:30 p.m. at Kepler's in Menlo Park)
(Buy now!)
I'm sure the our dinner conversation
Labels: book promotion, books, bookstores, life, quakes, writing
posted by Sal Towse at 11:26 AM|
|
|
Saturday, February 03, 2007
[WR] Asking an agent to your conference? Miss Snark 'xplains what she needs
For those set-upon (and blessed) folks who organize writers' conferences, Miss Snark has a most excellent post detailing the care and feeding of guest agents.
Miss Snark's must-haves give a peek into the world of agents.
Next time you're at a conference, take an agent to lunch or buy one a drink, just because. You may never use their services but your karma will be polished.
posted by Sal Towse at 11:38 PM||
|
Miss Snark's must-haves give a peek into the world of agents.
Next time you're at a conference, take an agent to lunch or buy one a drink, just because. You may never use their services but your karma will be polished.
Labels: blog, book promotion, writing
posted by Sal Towse at 11:38 PM|
|
|
Friday, December 08, 2006
[WR] David Louis Edelman on book promotion
David Louis Edelman posts on book promotion: what worked, what didn't, what is worth doing, what not.
File this one away for later use, if you can't use it today.
[Snatched from Bella Stander's blog. Thank ye, ma'am.]
posted by Sal Towse at 5:22 PM||
|
File this one away for later use, if you can't use it today.
[Snatched from Bella Stander's blog. Thank ye, ma'am.]
Labels: book promotion, writing
posted by Sal Towse at 5:22 PM|
|
|
: views from the Hill
Bertold Brecht:
Everything changes. You can make
A fresh start with your final breath.
But what has happened has happened. And the water
You once poured into the wine cannot be
Drained off again.
Everything changes. You can make
A fresh start with your final breath.
But what has happened has happened. And the water
You once poured into the wine cannot be
Drained off again.
