It started with a haircut
Have you ever wondered how a book gets noticed
and finds its way into libraries and bookstores?
Many people are under the impression that the
publisher handles those details and that they
do the promoting. Not so. Even the big publishing
houses usually leave that job for the author
and not all authors are aggressive promoters.
Very often, the success or failure of a book
depends on the ability of the author to bring
attention to the work. Some hire publicists,
some take on the chore by themselves, and others
leave it all to fate.
Sometimes fate finds the author.
My daughter owns and operates an upscale unisex
hair styling salon and among her customers is
the news editor of one of Michigan’s larger
newspapers. As it has happened for generations,
a bit of small talk between the barber and customer
eventually leads to, "well, what have you been
up to lately?" The customer said, "I’m writing
a mystery novel." And so my daughter grabbed
the opportunity to brag about her father, the
"should be, but not yet" famous mystery author.
The visit ended with my daughter giving the
man my phone number.
The editor, let’s call him Dave, called me
and asked if we could get together for a chat
about writing. I agreed and of course I brought
along a copy of my latest book. Dave said that
he was always looking for local people to feature
in the newspaper and so we did a short interview.
Two weeks later there was a half page feature
article and book review in the newspaper.
A local librarian saw the article and asked
me if I’d be willing to do a luncheon speaking
engagement at the YWCA’s "Booked for Lunch"
series. I jumped on it and to my surprise, the
local PBS channel showed up with a camera crew
to film the whole thing. It was broadcast once
every weekday day for the next three weeks.
I’m sure glad I remembered to comb my hair that
day.
One of the folks who saw me on TV invited me
to participate in an Author Day at the main
branch of the library where I shared a large
hall with twenty-five other authors all pitching
their wares. The lady sitting next to me at
the Author Day event turned out to be a representative
of the Mid-Michigan Writer’s, Inc. and she invited
me to speak at one of their events in a city
in the northern part of Michigan. The Mid Michigan
Writer’s and I struck it off pretty well and
I was offered two more speaking engagements
through their efforts.
Somebody at the Saginaw Valley State University
saw one of the telecasts from the PBS channel
and invited me to present a three day seminar
on writing and getting published at their College
of Lifelong Learning. It was another first for
me and a wonderful learning experience.
The University included advertising fliers
in all of the local newspapers and the paper
that services my hometown noticed that one of
their homeboys was involved in something interesting
and sent a reporter to my house for an interview.
The result: another full page feature article
complete with lots of photos.
And it’s not over yet. Last week, I ran into
Dave, the newspaper editor, at a local restaurant
and he asked me if I’d like to submit some articles
for a high quality Northeast Michigan Living
magazine.
By my count, that’s ten promotional opportunities.
And to think that it all started with just
a haircut.
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