We started Monday with Sharon Mignerey's idea pitching tips, then heard some hard-ass writing advice from Harlan Ellison. Seems like we're having a very reality based week here at Boxing the Octopus. Perfect time to talk about what to expect when your book launches--and what you can do to help your baby bird out of the nest. From her vantage point in the PR department at a major New York publisher, Yen Cheong pays close attention to what ranks and who tanks. In a recent communications/tech article in the New York Times "You've Got Voice Mail, But Do You Care?", Yen discusses the importance of velocity in day to day book industry dialogue. And there's a steady stream of pragmatic insight on her "Book Publicity Blog." I caught up with Yen long enough to press her with a few questions about the constantly changing (but always challenging) art of promotion as it relates to both established and pre-published authors.
Thanks for your time, Yen. Let's start with your take on the importance of the pre-pub web presence. You offered some great thoughts on your blog this week.
Typically, four to six months before the hardcover publication of a book, the publicity department sends out galleys to magazine and newspaper book editors as well as to some broadcast producers and online journalists. When I follow up with galley recipients, I’ll include some information about the book in the text of my email message, but it’s helpful for me to be able to link to more information online — links are an extremely effective and unobtrusive way for book publicists to provide the media with the additional details that could sell a writer or editor on a book. They are also vital tools for bloggers whose posts are lent credibility by links that direct readers to further information.
I’m not saying the complete author website needs to be up and ready six months before the book’s publication date. I’m not even saying the author has to have a web site at all. But I am saying it’s a really, really good idea for *something* — a website, a social networking profile, a blog — to be accessible when galleys are mailed out. An author without a web presence is a bit like the proverbial tree falling in a forest with no one around.
Is there any effort being made to educate authors on how they can better participate?
We are trying to educate authors about how they can better participate regarding web and social marketing initiatives. I’ve written about this a fair amount on The Book Publicity Blog and if you’re interested in something in particular, you can do a keyword search on the site to find posts about social networking / marketing in general.
Is there some methodology in place for measuring what (if any) effect blog tours have on actual book sales?
We don’t have any methodology in place for measuring what effect blog tours have on book sales – although this is a good idea and makes sense, we just don’t have the manpower to track much beyond Amazon rankings!
Do you think the growing effect and credibility of grass roots marketing on the internet will make mid-list authors more attractive to publishers?
As you point out, grass-roots Internet marketing can be very effective, but in order for it to make a mid-list author more attractive to publishers, we’d need to see evidence of its success. (In other words, an author would have to show such marketing success with a previous book or at the very least with their online “persona” – it’s unlikely that simply the promise of a grass-roots initiative would affect an editor’s or an agent’s decision to acquire a book.)
For books being launched into the current economic gloom with squashed budgets for PR and touring, will there be additional sweat equity invested on the part of the publisher's PR department? If so, what will that extra effort be? And if not, what can authors do to compensate?
In publicity we’re certainly all aware of the effects of the recession, whether it be fewer ads or folding book sections, so we’re doing our best to get the most out of reviews / interviews / mentions / etc. which are free. Not surprisingly, we don’t have plans to add more staff members, if that’s what you mean by investing “additional sweat equity.” As at all publishing houses -- and probably all companies these days -- we need to make the most of what we have. Authors can certainly help by networking with bloggers and readers online. As you’re well aware, there’s no way one person can successfully reach out to everyone who could potentially be interested in a book and the more hands we have on board, the more successful an effort will be.
Thanks, Yen.
Readers: Any questions? Yen is out of the country on vacation, but she'll be checking comments below and answering your questions today and tomorrow.
