National Book Month

As an avid reader, as well as a PR consultant, I can't let National Book Month pass without talking about the importance of good new books making it into print and sharing a few tips with new authors.

Many first time authors are choosing to self-publish because they figure it is not only the fastest way to get their book out, but also it could be more profitable. And, if it does really well, they could still get a major publishing deal.

One thing that new self-published authors need to know is that they can't wait until their book is published to begin PR efforts such as seeking book reviews. The larger review journals like to receive copies at least three to four months[prefer four months]prior to your actual publication date. Some do not review published on demand books.

Consumer magazines with book review sections often of lead times of five to eight months out. Self-published authors need to adopt the perspective that once their book is out it is not nearly as newsy as it is before it is out.

Self-published authors also need to realize that being listed in the database for Barnes and Noble or Borders is not the same as being on their shelves. Only book authors who have books stocked in the stores can leverage the PR opportunities of in-store book signings.

There are more books being published now than ever before and available daily newspapers devoting space to their own book reviews is dwindling. For those papers that still have a book reviewer, this means they are inundated with titles and the likelihood of a self-published book being chosen for review is even slimmer.

Getting attention for new titles isn't easy and much of the success of even titles published through a major publisher requires a lot of PR effort from the authors. Prior to the success of the DiVinci Code,Dan Brown had to take on much of the promotion of his former books.

Non-fiction requires as much work to promote as fiction, so don't wait until the book is out to plan your PR campaign.

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I just read that Alex Bogusky is auctioning the services of Crispin Porter & Bogusky interns on ebay. Not that the agency was looking for a public relations angle, but this is an example of how doing something in a different way has news potential that can lead to press coverage.

The news certainly has the potential to generate good PR for the agency since it is being done to help their interns earn more than just the minimum wage that they are paid by the agency.

It also points to the usefulness of ebay to sell services in this instance, a campaign by created by their interns, and not just products.

As a result of this news, I'm guessing that I probably won't be the only person who does a little ebay surfing out of curiosity to find out what types of business services are for sale.

It isn't that offering business services on ebay is a new-new thing, but rather that it is probably not the first place that peole would look.


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