The answers are many. With name authors like Jackie Collins, whose books consistently make the best-seller list, the publisher's commitment to advertising is contracted. With other important authors, the publisher engages in some subtle ego stroking when it runs ads for their books.
Ads in book review sections are read avidly by bookstore owners and librarians, who may order books in anticipation of buyer and reader demand.
Book advertising is also aimed at wholesalers and distributors, who are thus alerted to the possibility of a book taking off as a bestseller.
Finally, an ad for a book reaches the consumer, who is motivated to buy it based on the copy in the ad and the blurbs from critics and notables.
The Author's Tour
Author's tours are the sine qua non of book promotion. Simon & Schuster used tours for about one-third of the books in its winter 1995 catalog.
Much has been written about the rigors of author's tours. Hus- band-and-wife authors Michael Dorris and Louise Erdrich are veterans of the tour wars. Dorris characterizes a day on the tour: "You begin the day a starry-eyed, energetic self-promoter... and end ready for a straitjacket."
On a multicity tour, appearing on dozens of radio call-in shows, on television, and in bookstores, Dorris said he feels like:
...a badminton birdie batted back and forth across the skyline of Denver or Boston or Chicago. One stop you're the jovial raconteur, an anecdote a minute; the next you're Mr. or Ms. National Public Radio, serious and literary. You're self-deprecating in talking to a newspaper reporter, aggressive on a phoner (call-in show), defensive, trusting, joking, serious. You take on the mood of your interviewer, the colors of your context.
What does an author do on a tour or promotional junket, as they are sometimes officially characterized? Here is a list of the major elements of a tour:
- National and local television talk shows
- Call-in radio shows
- Newspaper and magazine interviews
- Bookstore readings and signings
- Meet-the-author luncheons
Book signings are an important component of an author's tour. The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review section lists the forthcoming week's book signings. For the most part they are well attended and contribute to a book's sales. In one week noted there were twenty signings and in another a half-dozen authors reading from their works.
These events must be carefully planned and promoted, otherwise they may prove embarrassing and frustrating to the author. For the bookstore, autographed copies may sell well, even after the author goes on his or her way, especially if the author is a celebrity.
How HarperCollins Spent $200,000 to Promote a Book
Book promotion budgets rarely exceed $100,000, even for celebrity authors or those with a proven sales record. In April 1995, HarperCollins committed $200,000 to promote and advertise psychologist John Gray's Mars and Venus in the Bedroom: A Guide to Lasting Romance and Passion. Gray's Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus was a New York Times best-seller that sold three million copies, and his What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and Your Father Didn't Know was also a best-seller.
Here's how this publisher spent its big bucks on Gray's book:
- 750,000-copy first printing
- $200,000 national marketing campaign
- Network cable television advertising
- 10-city national author tour
- 12-copy floor display
- HarperAudio tie-in
- A main selection of the Literary Guild
What does the author talk about on such an extensive campaign? Gray's subject matter leaves him no shortage of provocative topics. His book tells "what turns men on" and, of course, "what turns women on," as well as "how can a long-time monogamous couple make sex new again."
Book Parties
Book parties provide free food and drink and often a heady mix of glitz and glamour. The book party phenomenon is significant in a book's promotion. In fact, on occasion Publishers Weekly has devoted space to these events. At times the guest list for these parties may number in the hundreds. One objective for the publicity people planning these parties is to invite celebrities. Often these are friends of the author, as well as other writers on the publisher's roster.
Why, one may ask, does the publisher run the expense of these parties? Book parties may serve as a pay-off to the author. Also, they help create a buzz in the industry about the book's importance. Finally, since press people attend these parties, there is often coverage in the celebrity columns. Do the parties help sell books? The answer would have to be, maybe.
