From my point of observation (outside), promoting a writer can be a sort of easy task of having some bumper stickers printed up, sending out press releases, booking a few readings, doing a few radio and podcast interviews and sending the writer out to meet his public. (It's a simplification, I know.) You'll get all that and more if you're lucky enough to have a publisher that will give you a PR person. But as usual it's only the bigger names that get that treatment and often the midlist author is like the toddler that is taught how to swim by being thrown into the pool.

Recently I have seen a couple of things that really made me question the people who were promoting books. The first was perpetrated by an outsider, who acts as a sort of agent for a group of writers. He publicly attacked a major media outlet with complaints that he and his writers have been ignored by them. This occurred the day before the writers were to give a reading. Even if the "agent" believes in the maxim "Bad publicity is better than no publicity" you have to wonder about the timing. Alienating the people you want to cover your events probably isn't a good idea.

Another event gone wrong occurred when a known writer, popular in various media outside the world of lit, who consistently scores just under the bestseller lists, lent his name and presence to a new writer. Very magnanimous, except that he brought along his current lady, who just happened to be a pop star whose star power sucked every bit of the room’s attention like a black hole sucks in matter. Where the writer promoting his book expected the majority of the attention, this "surprise guest" bought him a one way ticket to Palookaville, at least on that night. Outshone, he and his book faded into the background, a footnote to what should have been a story about him.

Promotion is a funny thing, and it can be fun to see how far you can go on your own, without having an agent, PR person, or publisher behind you. The Internet is a good way to network with other writers, but to break through into the public consciousness beyond your own sphere can be tough, though far from impossible. A young writer recently pestered the editors at Gawker to such an extent that they went public with their complaints and the commenting thread filled up with positive and negative comments. From the original bad publicity ("he's sent us so many press releases we vote him 'pain in the ass of the month'" is a semi-accurate paraphrase) came exactly what the writer wanted: mass attention and increased sales.

It's not all fun and games. A few years ago a talented and ambitious writer was poised to hit the big time. She'd made all the hipster lit connections and had snagged the sort of publishing deal that newcomers all dream of. Unfortunately, there was no money budgeted for her travel expenses while promoting her book, so she got a relative with a pilot's license to fly her around the country for what was destined to be a successful book tour. The tragedy of a plane crash put an end to a promising career as well as a life only partly lived. Some blamed the publisher; as so often happens, the seeming villain of the scenario.

But I think the point here is it can be pointless to try placing blame. If you're lucky enough to get great promotion, terrific. If you have to go the DIY route, good luck: may you have an overflow crowd at every reading. Remember, publishers are running a business. We are running an art. There is a way for us to exist together, but at times it can be damn hard to find it.

J.D. Finch 

Last update : 26-07-2007 13:58

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