NY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOSEPH FINDER INTERVIEW - Part 2

If you liked the first part of Joseph Finder's interview at Writer Unboxed , you'll love the second part of the interview as Joe shares his formula for writing blockbuster thrillers that command the respect of his loyal fans. Not only is Joe an ace novelist (and a great guy, to boot), but he is also a leading expert in corporate espionage. Aspiring writers will find his comments insightful and thought-provoking. It's a must-read.

TARGETING THE RIGHT MEDIA MARKET FOR YOUR BOOK

A colleague of mine gave me a gift this summer, and she didn't even know it was my birthday:

She recommended an author to me.

When the author, Professor Alan Nadel, called and told me the title of his book, TELEVISION IN BLACK-AND-WHITE AMERICA: Race and National Identity (University Press of Kansas; October 2005), I wondered why my colleague had passed on the book. She specializes in promoting literary and academic books, so this one should have been perfect for her.

In TELEVISION IN BLACK-AND-WHITE AMERICA, Professor Nadel traces how shows such as Bonanza, Disney Productions, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Gunsmoke, The Burns and Allen Show, Route 66, Wyatt Earp, Rawhide, I Love Lucy, Make Room for Daddy, The Virginian, Davy Crockett all helped to underscore racial discrimination and bigotry throughout the fifties and sixties.

To me, a campaign for this book was a no-brainer. And it was. I successfully booked Professor Nadel on a dozen or more NPR radio programs.

I kept the author busy with provocative interviews with intelligent talk show hosts on NPR programs that included The Tavis Smiley Show (a perfect venue for this book), Media Talk on Wisconsin Public Radio, and many other shows. (As of this writing, I'm still getting calls from radio stations wanting to schedule interviews with Professor Nadel--4 months after the campaign ended!)

It was a cut-and-dry campaign, and a pleasure to book.

The author did not have unrealistic expectations. He did not expect to get on Oprah or The Today Show. But he did think, quite correctly, that the media market for his book was NPR.

Authors often want to hire publicists for the big hits only: Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America. But as Socrates might have said, "Know thy book." And there are often golden opportunities for a book that might not be right for Oprah.

WHEN YOUR BUDGET IS LIMITED: TO HIRE OR NOT TO HIRE AN OUTSIDE BOOK PUBLICIST

Many authors wonder if it is worth it to hire an outside publicist, especially when your budget is limited. In my experience both as an in-house publicist and manager of a publicity department, as well as an outside publicist, I can tell you that most authors receive a very limited amount of publicity from their publishers.

Even bestselling authors and authors who receive large advances can benefit from the time, attention and creative efforts that an outside publicist will put into your campaign.

Publishers generally print advance reading copies (arcs or galleys) which are sent to monthly magazines and national media. But persistant follow-up is essential in this business, especially for a new or relatively unknown author. For such authors, a successful campaign will more often than not depend upon outstanding press materials and, more importantly, a focused concentrated effort to create the buzz about their book.

You will probably not receive the focused follow-up from an in-house publicist that you need to really get the word out. Think about this: Every editor out there receives hundreds of books a month. Some packages don't even get opened.

When I call editors the first go-around, it is to make sure they received the book. In many cases, either the package remains unopened, or the book is lying in a huge pile of books that an editor hasn't had the time to sort through. A head-ups call, followed by a creative pitch will put your book on the editor's radar.

In the 15+ years I've been handling publicity, I can tell you that I have garnered my authors review attention that they would not have otherwise received by making numerous follow-up calls and e-mail pitches until I hear definitively from the editor as to whether or not they will review a book.

In one case, after I made my first round of follow-up calls for a chick lit mystery, I e-mailed a teaser excerpt from the book. Even though Cosmopolitan Magazine had told me they received the galley, minutes after I e-mailed the teaser excerpt, I received a call from the book editor's office asking me to overnight a galley. The book was one of three titles reviewed several months later.

I have gotten review attention for debut novelists and first-time authors who would not have received coverage had they not hired an outside publicist. And I handle smaller campaigns for those who have limited budgets.

The author who received a review in Cosmopolitan hired me for a huge campaign, which included newspaper coverage, television, radio and a 3-city tour. But even if she spent a small portion on magazine coverage only, as many debut novelists do, that one placement in Cosmopolitan would have been worth it.

Consider this: one placement in a national magazine gets read by thousands, in some cases, millions of readers. Even if your advance is small, it is worth it to get your book noticed. You are writing your book for an audience. You want people to read what you have written. If you don't take charge of your book's campaign, you are relying on luck and chance. If you do take charge, your publicist can complement the efforts of your publisher, and do much, much more to ensure that your book gets media coverage.

Another example of how an outside publicist can work for you is getting coverage in creative ways, or through the back door. I was trying to get a debut novelist coverage in a particular magazine who passed on her book. I suggested to the author that she write an essay on the subject of her novel, and I managed to place her essay in the very same magazine. Her byline also mentioned her book, which is always great coverage, and media attention that she would not have received if she had not hired an outside publicist.

Nothing is a guarantee in this business. And, of course, there are the rare debut authors who get review coverage without the extra push of an outside publicist. More often than not, however, an outside publicist will get you more publicity than if you simply relied on your in-house publicist. Two heads are better than one.

I also strategize with authors on what type of publicity is best for their particular book. Some books, such as self-help books, are usually not review driven. In the case of self-help books, for example, you are more likely to get booked on television than a novelist would. If you are an expert on a subject, magazines will interview you when they are doing a story on your particular subject of expertise. Or you may get quoted in newspapers when they are doing a story on your subject of expertise. Magazines may even excerpt your book. In some cases, you will get profile coverage.

The bottom line: it's a win/win for an author to hire an outside publicist, even if you have a limited budget.

I recently read on a popular author’s blog an author’s comments on feeling helpless about getting media attention for her book. After being turned down by a major national radio program that she thought would be a perfect forum for her book, and not expecting major newspaper coverage, she asked what a midlist author should do in order to get media coverage?

I e-mailed her and suggested that she should consider hiring an outside publicist. She asked me what I would do for her. I outlined a detailed and very effective campaign strategy that I conducted for debut novelist, Kyra Davis. The campaign consisted of a mix of print, television and radio coverage over a course of six months.

The author replied that she had already been reviewed in several newspapers, including The San Francisco Chronicle and Boston Globe. She didn’t understand why she should hire me after getting several reviews in those two major newspapers.

Unfortunately, a handful of reviews usually isn’t enough to really get the word out about your book.

I am frequently asked by first-time authors why they should hire an outside publicist. In June, I participated on a panel sponsored by Backspace (www.bksp.org), a website devoted to help writers learn about the publishing industry and how to get published, and was asked the same question. (I held a detailed on-line chat about publicity that you can read on that website as well.)

The answer is simple: Good publicity is often the difference between getting your name out there to readers and remaining an unknown author, leaving it to chance to sell your book. It’s the difference between getting the media’s attention, which translates into better book sales, and your book becoming lost on the shelves, only to be returned to the oblivion of the publishers’ warehouse three months later.

What’s more, many bookstores may only order a single copy or none at all if the book doesn’t receive extensive media coverage.

Even established authors’ books don’t necessarily sell if they don’t receive media coverage which alerts the public that they have a new book out.

Let’s take a closer look at Kyra’s campaign…

The publicity campaign I handled for her debut novel, SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE, got her wide media coverage, including not just several newspaper and magazine reviews, but more than a dozen reviews, profiles and trend stories, including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Houston Chronicle, The Denver Post, The Detroit Free Press, The Oregonian, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Boston Herald, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Cosmopolitan, and Ebony (for a complete listing of media coverage, please visit my website at www.susanschwartzman.com).

In addition, Kyra was also a guest on top television programs in Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco, and was interviewed by top radio programs throughout the country as well.

The result?

Kyra’s book hit #8 on the B&N Hardcover Mystery Bestseller List as a result of the media coverage her book received. And her Amazon rankings experienced tremendous spikes after every review, television appearance and radio interview that Kyra did. Her book not only sold well during the campaign, but the media coverage she received laid the ground-work for her next book. Kyra Davis and SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE now has name recognition with readers, the media, and booksellers.

And it is all because she hired an outside publicist.