The PPA explored web-based publicity opportunities by hosting the editors/writers of some of the most influential and widely blogs on the internet today.

Mark Sarvas,
Editor, The Elegant Variation

Jessa Crispin,
Editor, Bookslut.com

Maud Newton

Ron Hogan
Beatrice.com

JC – Jessa Crispin
MN – Maud Newton
MS: – Mark Sarvas
RH – Ron Hogan

Can you describe your blog and the kind of book or author you would typically cover?
MN: Blog is a collection of things she likes—mostly literary tastes, and likes darker fiction.
RH: Beatrice.com is mostly fiction, runs the gamut from literary to commercial, also some interesting literary nonfiction. Galleycat is a publishing blog covering industry news.
JC: With 35 different reviewers working with the site, a very eclectic mix of books.
MS: Literary Fiction.

What are your personal interests? Favorite genres?
MN: No self-help. Likes some SF, fantasy—people like William Gibson and Jonathan Letham. Mostly just prefers literary novels.
RH: What was said above.
JC: Likes Literary Fiction, Sci-Fi, Comics (writes a comics column for the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as a weekly column for The Book Standard). No mysteries. No self-help.
MS: Literary Fiction. Loves John Banville. Likes Hungarian and French writers (because of his heritage). Particularly interested in writers under seige and in prison, persecuted writers in different countries, dissident writers. Interested in film (he’s a screenwriter as well).

Do you review for any other media outlets?
MN: Has reviewed for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Newsday, and a few more.
RH: Freelance writer for Publishers Weekly
JC: Columns for Chicago Sun-Times and The Book Standard.

How do you decide which articles and sites to link to?
MN: Mostly they are a reflection of her interests, takes a special interest in items about religion and politics.
RH: Mostly it's a gut check, whatever interests him. Galleycat is different, as he needs to post gossip about the publishing world that would be interesting to others.
JC: A reflection of Jessa’s interest as well as those of her other writers.
MS: Entirely a reflection of Mark’s interests.

How do you publicize your blog? Are you linked to other sites? Do other sites lead to you?
MN: Blog is a place for comments and stories interesting to her, so there’s really no publicizing—she just hopes to have people return if they are interested.
RH: Mentions website at all of his book events, also uses Technorati.com.
JC: Bookslut sells advertising. No publicizing beyond that.
MS: Links to those he likes reading, vice-versa.

How do you get your books? If a publisher won’t send a review copy, will you buy one? Do the publishers who send you review copies get more coverage than those who don’t?
MN: All of the above—buys, they are mailed to her, she requests. While occasionally she does review a book that was sent to her unrequested, she wanted everyone to know that she is never going to review chick lit.
RH: Has not bought a book in two years, prefers getting review copies from publicists.
JC: Loves review copies and also appreciates books being sent directly to the freelancers she assigns to (as her apartment is the clearing house for all of the books that end up on the site).
MS: Hasn’t paid for a book in 2 years—loves review copies of things that interest him. Any finished books he doesn’t keep are donated to the library.

Who, if anyone, do you consider your main competition? Is there a battle among the bloggers out there?
MN: Just as she doesn’t think in terms of demographic, she doesn’t really think in terms of competition—prefers getting along with fellow bloggers
RH: Agreed with Maud—just wants Beatrice.com to be the best Beatrice it can be. Doesn’t think about competition for Galleycat, since it’s people like Publishers Lunch and Ed Wyatt at the NY Times
JC: See above.
MS: See above.

Do you publicize local events? Does your coverage focus on local authors?
MN: Yes—send local events to Lauren Cerand (Lauren@maudnewton.com) for possible listing in The Smart Set, which comes out every Monday on the site. Blog probably tends to focus on authors from New York, Florida, Texas, and Mississippi because of her interests. However, on three Fridays a month Annie Reed takes over the site—Annie lives in Canada and covers their literary scene. On fourth Friday, Emma Garman takes over—she lives in England and covers that literary scene.
RH: Does not cover NY events, although he does attend NY literary events. His blog offers other opportunities to touring authors—can write a tour diary to be posted on Beatrice.
JC: Will publicize local events but also hosts a monthly reading series in Chicago. The series is held at a bar and has been attracting 50-75 people per event, with an average of 12-20 books sold. Looking to make this a twice-monthly series. She says "It's been like pulling teeth to get authors flown to Chicago" for the series, so she's open to pitches for authors on tour.
MS: Will mention events related to books he likes.

How effective do you think your site is in reaching readers and book-buying consumers?
MN: Doesn’t get any money from her blog as it is a labor of love, so she doesn’t have any hard evidence on how many people go to a bookstore from her site. However, she is often asked to review books for the mainstream media—especially Newsday--that she has mentioned on her site.
RH: Beatrice.com generated $1,800 in sales at Powell’s in the first six months of 2005. There’s a healthy audience at the site.
JC: 8,500 unique visitors per day.
MS: 3,000 – 5,000 unique visitors per day.

Is this a part-time or full-time job for you?
MN: Has a full-time day job. This is just for fun.
RH: Galleycat is a paid part-time job. Also works as a freelancer.
JC: Also writes columns for other media, but Bookslut takes much of her time.
MS: Part-time. Mark updates TEV for about 2 hours each day, usually in the evening.

One of the fears that people have about blogs is credibility. How do you respond to that? What makes you an authority?
MN: Sounds off on politics a lot on the blog, tries to cover politics as she does everything on the site: in a simple but expansive way. While she tries not to make any factual errors, there is a lot of talking from the gut. Doesn’t believe in this idea of the blogs versus print media, but if that were true, who would be more credible?
RH: Tells the story of Steve Almond attacking Mark Sarvas on Salon.com for credibility.

Questions from the audience:
Will you wait to post on a galley until the pub date?
MN: Similar to Mark Sarvas, likes to get out in front by writing about books early, but does not post unless she has something important to say.
RH: Doesn’t review before pub date—since he so often has authors on Beatrice on the site, much of this policing is left up to them.
JC: Likes galleys and will try to time coverage for the month of publication.
MS: Likes galleys and will try to time coverage for the month of publication.

Do you prefer galleys?
MN: Yes. She needs time to read the book and likes to post in the first few weeks that a book is on sale as that seems the most important time for publishing houses.
RH: Galleys help reviews happen in a timely fashion.
JC&MS: See above.

As more blogs exist, how will blogs rank themselves?
MN: Since the blog is not for profit, and never will be, this is not something she concerns herself with. She can understand how this can be frustrating and that it is hard for publicists to understand—but she’s just doing the blog for fun. RH: Asked questioner not to describe blogs as an ‘industry.’ Blogs differentiate themselves through interest.
JC&MS: Same as above.

How many hits do you get per month?
MN: Doesn’t track number of people exactly, but gets about 3,000–4,000 hits a day.
RH: 4,000–5,000 hits a day at Beatrice.com
JC: 8,500 unique visitors per day.
MS: 3,000 – 5,000 unique visitors per day.

Do you have any favorite blogs (other than those of the people on the panel)?
MN: Check out the blogroll on the site, other than that Bookninja, Tingle Alley, Moorish Girl
RH: Members of the Lit Blog Co-Op, Gawker, Wonkette, Bookgasm
JC: Mobylives.com
MS: The Reading Experience.

Do you review young adult books?
MN: Not specifically, but she occasionally posts comments of her step-daughter who reads them.<br> RH: Not specifically, but he would be interested to know about any that have crossed over—from YA to adult or the other way around.
JC: Bookslut has a YA reviewer.
MS: Not unless it’s of very high literary merit or otherwise warrants consideration amongst other adult fiction.

Would you consider audiobooks for review?
MN: Doesn’t really have time to listen to audiobooks.
RH: Yes, especially in 2006. Wants to begin to feature audiobooks in podcast format and to have MP3 samples online.
MS: Would do an audiobook if it tied in with a book in an interesting fashion.

Final Comments: RH: Mentioned the way Netflicks and Marvel Comics treat new releases as an RSS feed—this way people get new releases emailed to them weekly instead of having to look for them. Thinks this would be an excellent idea for books.

The PPA extends its thanks to Christine Aronson, Assistant Director of Publicity for Crown Publishing, and Russell Perreault, VP, Director of Publicity for Vintage Books, for their generous time and expertise on the topic of planning and executing a successful road tour. They offered numerous insights and tips, and a solid framework for putting together all the “nuts and bolts” of a perfect author tour.

Here are some key tips and reminders:

4 Months Out from Tour
• Meet with your in-house author events contact (often from the sales department) to review event requests for your author and book. (Exception: If you are looking to do events in New York City with Barnes & Noble in the fall, you may need to book these events earlier and directly with your publisher contact at Barnes & Noble).

3-4 Months Out from Tour
• Meet with your supervisor and map out tour cities and dates around the book’s publication date, or whenever Sales feels you should tour your author. (With rare exceptions, cities should progress from east to west based on proximity to one another.)
• Present proposed tour cities and dates to your author to make sure he/she blocks off required time. Author should understand that the dates/cities are proposed only and subject to change based upon the bookstores’ calendars.
• Once author has approved proposed tour schedule, start securing events with bookstores and sending them written confirmations by mail, fax, or email. Written confirmations should state agreed: date/time, correct spelling of author’s name and book title, event location (this may be different than the mailing address), format (talk/reading duration, q&a, signing duration, any other requirements).
• Once the majority (or all) of the bookstore events are in place, send written tour update to author and include the following information:
Date City Bookstore Event
(Bookstore name, time of event, and city if different from the tour city, for instance a suburb)
• Send tour update to appropriate sales, marketing, and editorial personnel.

6-8 Weeks Out from Tour
• Prepare press material to support the tour and why you should always include:

• Pitch Letter or Talking Points sheet (What is the author going to talk about in an interview? Include 3-5 talking points and a headline, if appropriate).
• Press Release (what is the book about and why should the media cover it?)
• Tour Card or some sheet that includes tour information (cities, dates and booksigning information)
• Other press material pieces to consider: Author Q&A, Programming Ideas Sheet

4-6 Weeks Out from Tour
Book escorts where needed in your tour cities and mail them copies of your author’s book.
• Start preparing your mailing list making sure that all of your media contacts are up to date and that you are including any specialized media (food talk shows? Religion interest? health talk shows? etc.) via:

• Contacting bookstores and escorts for their most up-to-date mailing lists.
• Discussing with escort and bookstore contact their recommendations for the best media for your author and the bookstore’s event.
• Consulting the Web, Bacon’s or another resource.

4 Weeks Out from Tour
• Start pitching the media in the tour markets and add interview commitments to the tour itinerary. IMPORTANT: Add as much detail about the interviews as you can to the itinerary: duration of the interview, circ. of paper, when the interview will run if taped, affiliate information, syndicate information, etc.). Phone interviews with radio stations should always include a “hotline” for the author to call in case the producer doesn’t call on time and the interview is before or after business hours.
• Space out interviews and appointments during the day, allowing enough travel time between interviews (30 mins. travel time between interviews is a good rule of thumb), meals, bathroom breaks, sleep, etc.).
• Add full escort information to the tour itinerary, including the escorts’ cell phone numbers.
• Consider doing a phoner mailing to supplement your tour efforts; add interviews to the tour itinerary, including the city and state of the radio station.
• Set up author profile with travel department and add flight/hotel information to the itinerary as it’s secured.
• Send author another update, soliciting any questions or concerns. Updates should be sent weekly or as needed from 4 weeks out and forward. Include your supervisor and editor of book on the itinerary updates.
• Give thought to arranging for drop-ins for your author where appropriate. Discuss with your supervisor

2-3 Weeks Out from Tour
• Continuing pitching and securing media interviews (you want to fill up the day!).
• Schedule drop-ins where needed and as appropriate (see above).
• Discuss ticketing with author: Does he or she prefer paper or e-tickets?
• Send author another weekly update.
• Start finalizing travel around your media and bookstore commitments and weigh:
  a) what makes most logistical sense
  b) what will benefit our author and the sale of the book the most
• Update bookstores in each market regarding media interviews you’ve secured in their respective markets. Get feedback from escorts and/or bookstores about any remaining media you should go after.
• Review with author how tour is shaping up and how they can best use their interviews and bookstore events to help sell books. Discuss what we can and cannot pay for as needed.

1 Week Out from Each Tour Date
• Check in with bookstore to make sure they’re all set and confirm the event once more!
• Pitch media.
• Send the author another update of the tour, including your home and cell numbers as appropriate in case any emergencies arise.
• Tour Itinerary should include:
  • Final flight, escort, ground transportation, and hotel information
  • Final interview information with as much detail as possible (see “4 Weeks Out…”).
• Issue and mail plane tickets to your author.

2 Days Out from Each Tour Date
• Confirm interviews and overnight copies of the book if needed.
• Fax escort final itinerary for his/her market and update them to any changes over the next two days. Note any change of drivers on itinerary along with their cell numbers.
• Keep a hard copy of the entire itinerary in your common area or with your supervisor in case you’re not around and an emergency comes up.

“T-Day” or Tour Day
• Don’t go on vacation! Be accessible before and after work in case any emergencies crop up.
• Continue to pitch media interviews in the markets ahead and update itinerary.
• Continue to confirm interviews 2 days prior to tour date and update author (while on the road) and escorts to any changes. IMPORTANT: When faxing authors at their hotels, make sure that the hotel has indeed received the fax and the correct number of pages and that they will deliver the fax to the author in a timely manner. Make sure the author has received any updates you’ve faxed them.
• Check in with author on the road to see how the day is going.
• Immediately report any travel errors (hotel billing) to your travel department to rectify and keep author informed.

Day after Tour Date
• Follow up with bookstore to find out how event went getting approximate number of people who attended event and approximate number of books sold. Record this information on itinerary or on another file. You have a right to receive this information! Report back to sales and marketing as appropriate.

When the Tour is Over. . .
Celebrate the fact that the author never called you in a panic because you did such a good job!

Thursday, January 19 - Luncheon
Tuesday, February 7 - Workshop (Publicity Strategy)
Tuesday, February 21 - Luncheon
Tuesday, March 21 - Luncheon
Tuesday, April 4 - Workshop (Career Paths)
Tuesday, April 18 - Luncheon
Tuesday, May 23 - Luncheon
Tuesday, June 20 - Luncheon

BOOK FESTIVAL SEEKING AUTHORS

The inaugural Decatur Book Festival, presented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, to be held Labor Day weekend of 2006, now has more than two dozen confirmed authors of a projected 65 authors for the three-day event. The authors include bestselling mystery and thriller writer Michael Connelly, Oprah's Book Club pick Connie May Fowler, Georgia novelist and screenwriter Terry Kay, satirist George Singleton, novelist and essayist Tina McElroy Ansa, food historian John T. Edge, and author/screenwriter/humorist and Decatur native Roy Blount Jr. The Festival's board of directors also includes authors Pat Conroy, Anne River Siddons, Anthony Grooms, and Jim Grimsley.

The Festival will be held September 1-3 in several venues on the Decatur Square. Events will include author readings and signings, panel discussions, a poetry slam, cooking demonstrations, bookseller tents, music, educational and recreational activities for children, and a barbecue and fireworks display. As part of the Festival, the Chattahoochee Review and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses will present the Southeastern Independent and Small Press Festival, and the Georgia Antiquarian Booksellers Association will present their annual book fair.

Event stages will be sponsored by a unique alliance among both national and local booksellers including Border's, Chapter 11 Books, Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse, and Little Shop of Stories.

Participating sponsors include Lenz, Inc. and Verb: An Audioquarterly. Substantial planning and in-kind support are also provided by the City of Decatur, the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Georgia Center for the Book, the Jimmy Carter Library, Decatur First Bank, Young Professionals of Decatur, Paste Magazine, and a large selection of national and local independent bookstores and publishers. (See http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/participants/index.html for a complete list of participating organizations.) For more information, visit www.decaturbookfestival.com.

To submit an author for consideration, contact:
Amy McCrary
Marketing Manager
Lenz, Inc.
(404) 373-2021
amy@lenzmarketing.com

The Job Exchange is a confidential service provided for all PPA members. Here's how it works. If you are looking for a new job, all submitted resumes must include a cover letter. Resumes will be kept on file for one month only. To view up-to-date listings, please go to the PPA website: www.publisherspublicity.org

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Please direct resumes & job listings to Meg McAllister, meg@mcallcom.com

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