Emdashery Blog

Yeah, but does the book burp when you open the cover?--

What if an author went out and introduced her novel through a series of houseparties-- a cross between a literary salon and a Tupperware Party?

What if the author devised a fun format and starting with her own friends, got together in little gatherings to talk about books, writing, creativity and whatever else friends talk about?

Those questions were posted by author Patry Francis who did just that. She noted that bookstore readings are well and good, but most people are too busy to get out of their homes, and when they do, there isn't much chance for them to talk with the author. So instead of readers going to the author, what if the author went to the readers through private parties?

She brought the idea to her publisher, and they loved it and offered to help start a party tour. The publisher's response showed:

Once again, it demonstrated that the more an author does for him or herself, the more their publisher will do for them.

Read more here...

Looking for a guest for your book club?--

John Shors wrote a book: Beneath a Marble Sky. It received great reviews, but it didn't sell well. So, when the paperback was released last June, he wrote a letter in the back of the book to prospective readers. If book clubs would buy his book, the letter said, he would attend attend one of their meetings. Since then, he's attended over 200 book clubs and sales of his book are taking off.

Here's a video of Mr. Shors on the CBS News. And here's a short article from Newsweek.

HT: Terry Whalin at a Writing Life

Just one more Mitch Albom post, I promise--

Author Mitch Albom made three stops when he travelled to Seattle on his current book tour. At those stops, he read from his book and answered questions in front of approximately 1,000 people. But the interesting thing about those stops? None of them included a bookstore. They did include a corporate headquarters (Starbucks), and coffee shop (ahem, Starbucks again), and a literary salon.

In the Seattle Times, Haley Edwards takes a look at the implications of the changes in book marketing. She says:

Albom's day of book readings...is emblematic of the way — for better or worse — that the bookselling world is changing.

In the article, Kim Ricketts, founder and owner of Kim Ricketts Book Events says:

"The whole way media is being marketed is changing dramatically and bookstores are scraping uncomfortably in the crevasse. It doesn't matter how you get your information anymore," Ricketts says, citing iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon.com as examples of new sources of media. "People want books, but they don't have to work to get them anymore."

There are a lot of potential readers who almost never enter a bookstore. They don't have the time. They are still willing to buy books, however, as long as they find out about them through non-traditional means.