Gracie in New York Post 6

2/23/2008

It’s Friday morning. It is 7 am. I think we went to bed at 3.

This is the first morning of the MANDATORY 8:30 am meetings with Kelly and Simone. And although, I swear I understand the necessity, I much rather still be lying in bed. Thank goodness for Starbucks (which happens to be strategically located in both the Hilton and Sheraton Hotels.) The chiefs do a head count. I’d like to tell you what was said but it is all a distant fog, as it was then. It didn’t help to be staring at a plastic container of fruit either. Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day but, right now, it just looks like a Picasso painting by Dali on the table.

I’ve set up five seminars. I’m pumped.

First, the logistics. We are at the Sheraton New York, directly across 57th Street from the Hilton Hew York, the conference headquarters. This means that most of the seminars, meetings and workshops are a building away. First order of business is to find a short cut across the street. We find one, through the garage, and manage to save about 10 steps and about fifteen seconds out of the cold. (The weather, however, was very kind to us. We got to the point where we even left coats in the room.)

My first seminar of the day is “On the Road – Planning a Book Tour.”

Thaddeus Rutkowski (at the podium and left to right) Jeffrey Ethan Lee , Ruth Thomlinson, Janice Eidus and Douglas Light

It is guerrilla marketing on the road. It seems if you are lucky to get published, there probably won’t be enough money, publicity, accessible market or a diehard advocate to help promote your book. There is only and mostly just you, the author. So, not only must you write a good book but you must also help market it. Now, it is a hard process but not as daunting as one may think. The trick is to use the resources available to you as an author, many of which are free.

1. There is the “blog.” Set one up and invite your friends and encourage your friends to invite theirs.
2. Start a website and post the link on the “blog.”
3. Find “blogs” to join or visit. Google by theme or genre and then let these folks know about your book and the tour.
4. Visit the local bookstores, network like you’re corporate.
5. Get this, post a YouTube video of you reading your material or/and produce a podcast.

Now to the reading itself. The most important suggestion was to attend a few tours or readings BEFORE you do your own. Take notes on what works and what didn’t for the author. Set a few goals for your tour. One of the obvious ones is to sell books but there are others such as to establish a following or to solidify a business relationship with the store.

I got the feeling that this was a step above selling the books out of the trunk of the car. Considering the proliferation of virtual bookstores, the suggestions were the kind that will be an “Ah-ha” moment when your publisher requests you to “help with the marketing.” And, by all accounts, he or she will.

Ah, a Postscript:

Try to check out the comments to the posts, too. The comment to this post has great information about the panelists.