ARE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL?

Just about all authors recognize the importance of arranging book signings and speaking engagements at conferences, workshops, and other functions. Some authors go beyond the "ordinary" and throw a launch party for their book.

If you're a big-name author or even a no-name author with the backing of a big, enthusiastic publisher, your house may throw you a debut party. The publisher/publicist arranges the gig, complete with food and guest list that includes the press.

If you're an ordinary author like the rest of us, you have to throw your own party. Question is, do you want to?

Answer: Depends.

First off, what are your expectations for this event? Is it to share your excitement with family and friends, maybe thank those who helped you with your research or writing? Or is it to generate press interest and market the book? Those are two very different party animals. With the first, your task is fairly easy -- invite family and friends over to your house or a restaurant, laugh a lot, accept praise and toasts to your success. With the second, be prepared for a lot of stress, unless you can get someone to help you.

You might could team up with a local independent bookstore. They supply the place and help with publicity. You underwrite the cost, supply or cater the food, and help with guest list. Or you could go out on your own, maybe with the help of a publicist or party planner. We're talking finding a place that fits your book (like, a country club for your literary novel, or a spooky house for your mystery, or a drive-in theater for your nonfiction look at the last of the great outdoor picture shows), catering food and drinks, and, especially, getting the "right" people to show up.

Which brings up a second thing to consider: what is this worth to you? In other words, how much are you willing to spend? The cost of appetizers, drinks, background music, press releases, time, place rental, and more can add up quickly. Even having just family and friends over to the house can take a wad of bills from your pocket. So, how much can you afford to spend -- and, maybe more to the point, will the pay-off be worth it? Will you get enough publicity and marketing points to offset the cost and generate sales?

If you're considering a launch party as a way of generating publicity, then here's another consideration: can you actually get press coverage? Do you have media contacts who will either come to your party or write about it? Is your book, subject matter, or friends a big enough draw to pull in press and reviewers?

Here's another point to consider: What kind of a mingler are you? Do you enjoy crowds and social situations? Are you witty or adept at small talk? Can you mingle with the best of them? Or do these situations send you in search of a curtain to hide behind or a bathroom to throw up in?

Now, I'm not saying don't hold a book party. Some authors have had great success with them. Just know what you're getting into and what you hope to achieve.

If anyone out there has had a launch party, good or bad, send in your comments or stories. We'd all like to hear what you did and your feelings about your experiences.

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BOOK MARKETING: ASKING FOR BLURBS

One of the great things about getting an agent or selling your book to an editor is that you're finally through with having to write those aggravating query letters. Wrong!

You still have to write them, but now it's to other writers or experts in your book's field. You need blurbs.

Sometimes your agent or editor can get you humdinger blurbs from other writers in his/her stable. There's a good chance, though, that you'll be expected to solicit endorsements.

The first people to turn to for endorsements are the authors you know on a personal basis. Those are easy. There's a good chance you can ask them in person or via the phone or email. They're friends, and you can, therefore, probably count on a positive, enthusiastic quote. (Or they’ll politely tell you “no.”)

But what if all you know are local or beginning authors like yourself? Not to say there's anything wrong with getting blurbs from less-well-known authors, but it's always nice to have a quote from some big name. Readers who pay attention to blurbs can be swayed by a positive quote from Mr. or Ms. Big Name.

If you don't have best-selling authors in your circle of friends, then move to the next circle. That's people you have an acquaintance or some tie with. Maybe you attended a workshop with, or took a class by, or ate lunch at the convention with, or are good friends with the first cousin of ... some name author.

Now you're in the area where you need to write a query letter asking if they would review your book with an eye toward offering a blurb. Don't send the book unannounced. Query first. Make sure you mention that "tie" you have with them, however tenuous.

Consider querying authors who write in the same genre or on a similar subject, even if you have no tie with them. It's still just a query letter. And you've done tons of those, right?

You can also solicit blurbs from non-writers. Maybe they're an expert on your subject matter; they have a name that readers will recognize.

Of course, now you're moving even farther away from your inner circle of friends. That probably makes it a little more intimidating and perhaps less likely that you'll be able to get an endorsement, but if you never query, you'll never know.

Why query first instead of just taking your chances and sending the book unrequested? First of all, that could get expensive. Books and postage add up. Secondly, a query letter is more professional. And thirdly, you're not making a good impression on that author or expert if your book is one of ten that lands in his or her mailbox that week. That author is liable to feel "spammed" and toss your book in the trash.

Now, you might be wondering how many people you should try to get quotes from. You think, hey, I only need one or two for the cover, so I'll query two at a time. If you do that, by the time you gather two suitable quotes, your book could be dead on the shelves. I'd say, send out five or seven at a time.

From that batch, you might get three who'll agree to read the ARC. Send it to them. In the meantime, query another batch. The original three may not all come through. One may decide it's not a book he could enthusiastically endorse. One or both of the other two could give you a review, but nothing you could really pull from for a cover blurb.

Ah, but you say, what if they all love it and wax poetically about the merits and voice and melodious writing? What then? How would I decide which to put on the cover and which to disappoint by leaving out?

Your publisher can always insert a page(s) that lists all the blurbs and put the biggest endorsements on the cover.

Not every browser in the bookstore pays attention to blurbs. But having an endorsement by another author or expert that the reader recognizes does sway some people. And even if they don't know the person who wrote your blurb, having an endorsement tells them that someone other than you and your family liked the book.

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HAVING A PLATFORM FOR YOUR BOOK

One thing that agents and acquiring editors look for, especially nowadays, is whether the author has a platform.

Exactly what a platform is can cause people to stutter while trying to explain the term. Some say it means you have a cause. Your book is about curing cancer. Or your protagonist is a recovering alcoholic. Or … you have something to talk about that might get your publicity. Even more so, if you yourself have conquered cancer or been sober for twenty years.

Some think it means that your book touches on a topic that is hot, like the politics in the Middle East or the two lovers end up together because of their work on global warming. Because those topics are relevant, you could get on talk shows.

Although all of that would most likely be a help in promoting your book and can be part of a platform, it’s not really THE platform.

Your platform is your ability to get publicity and sell your book. You are already a well-known speaker with an active line-up of appearances. You’re an established expert in the field you’re writing about. You’re a celebrity who could get on TV for blowing your nose. Everyone knows your name because you have a radio show or you’re a columnist at a major paper. Or you have contacts. Lots of contacts.

You and I may not have fat black books crammed with networking contacts. But all writers can start trying to build a database of people they could turn to for blurbs, help, recommendations, or promotion. And the time to start is before you publish that book.

Start collecting names and contact information on everyone you meet or know. If it’s a passing acquaintance, record how, when and why you met. If that contact has a contact that might be valuable, note it. If possible, put it in a searchable database. Be diligent.

A platform doesn’t appear over night. It takes time to build. Get your tools out and start hammering.

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HOW TO BE A FEATURED AUTHOR AT THE TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL

Since I’m a Chair for the Texas Book Festival, I get asked by writers how they can be invited to appear at the festival. The fact is that although the staff does a great job of finding wonderful authors, they can’t know about everyone, even though they’ve been out talking to publishers for months. So, if you haven’t been contacted by now, it’s up to you to let them know about your book.

And you can do that. Or you can have your publicist do it for you.

Just go online to the Festival site and you’ll find out how.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

You have to have had a book published in the 18 months prior to the start of the Festival.

Your book can’t have been self-published.

You or your publicist will have to send in copies of your book, a press kit, an author bio and more.

And if you want to be considered to speak or be on a panel, act now. It’s best if you submit all your material before June 1st. Authors are already being lined up and preference is given to those who act early.

And, just to let you know, I have absolutely nothing to do with who gets chosen. That’s done by a committee. I don’t even choose who appears at the Austin Museum of Art, the event that I chair.

The Texas Book Festival is a huge event – and that means many authors participate. If you want to be one of them, go online and find out how.

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