09.30.07
Marketing setback
Bummer. Powell’s in a no go. Here’s the why of it.
“Hello Michael,
I’m a local author and my book is hitting shelves at the end of the month. ‘Ghosts of Seattle ’ By Athena, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-7643-2687-5
How do I go about setting up a reading or a signing for promotion? As you can see this is my first book and I’m not even sure where to start.
‘Ghosts of Seattle ’ is about the legends and myths that make up the local folklore of the Downtown Seattle area. It’s a collection of stories that I uncovered in my search of the paranormal. Written first person, it’s more of an adventure about ghost story hunting. I also did all the photography. Much of the summer of ’06 was spent in crawl spaces, haunted basements, graveyards and bars. Good Times. If you have a marketing guide or even a few links I would greatly appreciate it. If you have openings for readings I’m all ears and excitement. Any help you could offer would be fantastic. Here are a couple of links for the book as well as my personal promotional pages and blog. http://www.powells.com/biblio/73-9780764326875-0
http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=9780764326875
www.wisegoddess.com (promotional)
www.theblissquest.com (blog)
Thank you for your time. I really feel like I’m wading hip-deep in a dark pond. Like most writers I think we just want to write, this end of the business is baffling and uncharted. So thanks again.
Athena”
“Hi Athena, Thank you for your email. Thank you also for your willingness to be part of a reading at Powell’s. We get far more requests for events than we can accommodate and must decline, but I appreciate your offer as well as your interest in Powell’s. Thank you again. I wish you the best with your book. Michal
michald@mail.powells.com” So there you have it, the saga for marketing begins. Meh.
Jeremy Benjamin said,
September 30, 2007 at 9:35 pm
That’s a bummer. I’m sure this pep-talk will sound like an uninspired cliche you’ve heard a zillion and six times (why did I just accidentally type “sex” for “six” and then correct it? I ask rhetorically), but try and think of yourself - your literary self, that is - as King Kong and each rejection letter as just another bullet from mortal machine gun fire. Most literary classics on the shelves were rejected by a slew of publishers. Two specific examples of intrepid authors come to mind, but if I divulged them, then this comment would be more about me and my literary tastes than you and this pep talk, so that’s all I’ll say for now: don’t give up. Marketing is tedius, but the experience of trudging through it will be rewarding in some offbeat way in the grand scheme of things, when you’re famous and no longer have to dirty yourself with the promotional dimension.
Athena said,
October 1, 2007 at 9:20 am
Thanks JB.
I think you should know, you have great pep talks.
I love your comments and emails. They always make me smile.
As to marketing and promotional stuff - I do agree, it will be rewarding on some level. Learning about it is tougher than I thought it would be.
I do believe however, that Seattle will be easier because it’s a Seattle based book.
Thanks for the pep talk, JB. You’re fabulous
Epiphany said,
October 1, 2007 at 1:30 pm
You should definitely come to seattle