Copyright (c) 2003-2010 by Malcolm R. Campbell. Some images copyright (c) 2003-2009 by www.clipart.com.
"When I am dead, I hope it may be said: 'His sins were scarlet. but his books were read.'"
--Hilaire Belloc
"A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life."
--John Milton
"The true University of these days is a collection of books."
--Thomas Carlyle
"The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book."
--Samuel Johnson
"There is probably no hell for authors in the next world--they suffer so much from critics and publishers in this."
--C. N. Bovee
"For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed."
--Henry Thoreau
"Literature is news that stays news."
--Ezra Pound
"The great art of writing is the art of making people real to themselves with words."
--Logan P. Smith
"The only reward to be expected from the cultivation literature is contempt if one fails and hatred if one succeeds."
--Voltaire
"But the images of men's wits and knowledges remain in books, exempted from the wrong of time, and capable of perpetual renovation. Neither are they fitly to be called images, because they generate still, and cast their seeds in the minds of others, provoking and causing infinite actions in succeeding ages."
--Francis Bacon
If a house burns down on your street, you care because you know the people and/or because you worry about the street being closed or the fire spreading to your house. If a similar house burns down in a town 1,500 miles away, you probably won’t hear about it unless a famous person lives there or a bizarre crime has been committed.
While satellite television, 24-hours news channels, cell phones and the Internet have collapsed the miles between here and there, physical and psychological nearness still play an important role in the news people read. When you distribute a press release about your book or your book signing, you are disseminating news. Interviews and book reviews are news whether they’re in a blog, a magazine or a social network note.
Prospective book buyers base their decisions to read or ignore our news on the same factors that govern the decisions they make about all news: timeliness, importance, size, nearness and personal benefit.
Horace Greely once told a friend starting a newspaper to “begin with the clear conception that the subject of deepest interest to the average human being is himself.” When an editor looks at your press release, s/he will ask “what’s in it for my readers?” When a reader sees your news release in print, s/he will ask what’s in it for me?
That “what” might be saving money, keeping up with friends, learning how to do something important, being in the know about interesting or important trends, or having a good laugh. That “what” might be another book in by a favorite author in a favorite genre. Or that “what” might be discovering a new title to put on display in his or her bookstore.
The “what” is seldom missing from the reader’s thoughts. When we see our new book in print, we’re excited about the advance, the blurbs, the royalties, the cover art work, the back cover blurb, and the culmination of months or years of hard work. Our passion and excitement show in our promotion and can make a difference, but by themselves they’re the wrong focus for our news. The problem here is the word “our.”
When we focus on our book, our work, our achievement, our writing style, and our story line, we’re talking about what’s in it for “me” and most readers don’t care unless we’re already widely known or important. Literally and figuratively speaking, YOU are not near enough for them to care.
To get up close and personal with those you want to buy your books, you must always make your news about what excites, thrills and delights them. In the final analysis, successful promotion is all about them.
Publicity and Promotion
The Nearness of You
“Its not the pale moon that excites me, that thrills and delights me, oh no, it’s just the nearness of you.” -- Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington
The closer you are to a person, place, thing, or event, the greater your interest in it. When a person, place, thing or event, is distant it must be larger and more important to capture your attention.
What Laurence R. Campbell and Roland E. Wolseley wrote in their 1961 textbook How to Report and Write the News is still true today when it comes to the old German proverb Nearest = Dearest: “Most of us are interested in what happens here, or what may happen. We are not interested in what happens or may happen there.”
I don't have a complete list, and I'm missing a few of the book covers for those I know about. But here are a few to get started with.
Not pictured here are James Horace Wood's "Nothing But the Truth," Jean Jones Wall's "I Can Stand by a Rose," Frary Elrod's "Historical Notes on Jackson County, Georgia," and Gustavus James Nash Wilson's "The Early History of Jackson County Georgia"
New Book of Spoken Word Poetry Released
A book of poetry, “big bad slam poet,” by Dave Campbell (aka STRAT) was released this month. Campbell, who died last year, is known to many in the Orlando area arts community and beyond as a talented poet and hip hop artist. He won numerous poetry slams and rap battles. He grew up in the Orlando area and refined his poetry and hip hop skills while working at various jobs.
Campbell’s book has insightful poems about relationships and life in general. In addition to the poetry book, a CD with the same name as the book and with Campbell performing 14 of his poems is expected to be released by the end of the year. The name of both the book and the CD are also the title of one of Campbell’s poems.
Curtis Meyer, a five time participant at the National Poetry Slam, said that “it was as if poetry possessed” Campbell. Campbell “oozed charisma and talent” and “epitomized spoken word as an art form” according to Meyer.
Click on the photo link for more information. The book should become available at additional online booksellers in the coming weeks.
A few books for your shelf
Order from your favorite bookstore or find them at online booksellers.
In Georgia, you'll find them at the Hall Book Exchange in Gainesville and the Bookstand of Northeast Georgia in Commerce.
