The Class of 2K8 panel at NJSCBWI:Daphne Grab, Nina Nelson, Marissa Doyle, & Nancy Viau Members from the Class presented an afternoon workshop on guerrilla marketing called 28 Great Marketing Ideas from the
Class of 2k8.
Nina Nelson,
Marissa Doyle,
Daphne Grab, and
Nancy Viau spoke about marketing their debut novels, individually and as part of a group, to a packed room full of energetic attendees.
They began with the basics—have a signature line for every email that includes your information, create a professional-looking website that reflects not only your book, but you as an author. People nodded and smiled, and scribbled notes in the spaces left on the handout. Press kits were discussed, along with publisher/author communication, tie-ins to national organizations, and what can be done to create consistent buzz. People scribbled harder!
Nancy, Daphne, And Marissa
Half way through the presentation, Nina, Marissa, Daphne, and Nancy addressed the nitty-gritty of marketing and had a little show-and-tell of popular swag like posters, tote bags, pins, candy, and bookmarks. Library visits, school workshops, signings, movie trailers, and blogging were discussed as ways to spread the word about books. A topic that got a lot of interest was that of social networking, and numerous attendees had questions about the usefulness and safety of promotion through MySpace, Facebook, JacketFlap, etc.
Daphne, Nina,Marissa, and Nancy
The panel was a hit! Questions kept coming long after everyone filtered out into the hallway.
Check the Class website for more 2k8 presentations coming to local, regional, and national conferences this year.
Stay tuned: more pics from the NJSCBWI conference coming tomorrow!
Today's Totally Important Post is about class member Daphne Grab. Teen reviewer Gela gushes about Daphne's book, Alive and Well in Prague, New York. Check it out.
Now, back to this week's topic: Group Marketing...
Debbie Reed Fischer is the other person who was part of the dynamic duo that took SCBWI Florida by storm in January. Let's find out what she has to say about doing a workshop with another author.
Debbie?
Chatting online every day for months creates a very unique bond with someone, and that is especially true in 2k8. Like the rest of the class, Jody and I had already spent hundreds of hours discussing book promotion, as well as sharing opinions, triumphs, disappointments and jokes. So when I arrived at the conference and we found each other, it wasn't the polite, tentative greeting that usually takes place when meeting someone for the first time. From the moment we hugged in the main conference room, I felt as though we'd been friends forever. When we did sit down to discuss our presentation, there was a comfort level of two people who had been working together for a long time. It made planning and executing our presentation as easy as two friends talking about a common interest. That was a direct result of being in the Class of 2k8.
The really great thing about 2k8 is that members have professional backgrounds in areas other than publishing. How is that a plus, you ask? Well, when Jody and I were speaking about book promotion, I was grateful she had worked in the related field of advertising for many years. It was reassuring to have her expertise handy.
One attendee told me, "You usually see workshops on the same thing at all these conferences. This was something truly different." That 'something different' is another thing 2k8 brings to the table, and Jody and I were eager to talk about it. We have mutual enthusiasm for the group and its purpose, which really showed in our presentation. Our Class of 2k8 brochures were received with interest and curiosity, and a lot of people wanted to know more. Another attendee complained that our workshop wasn't long enough, after we spoke for an hour and a half! Not to mention it was the very last workshop of a three-day conference!
M.P. Barker also knows how important group marketing is...
Being part of 2k8 has helped me because I'm a terrible procrastinator, very disorganized, and know absolutely nothing about marketing. I'm very bad at meeting personal deadlines if I'm not responsible to anyone but myself, but fear of shame and humiliation makes me very good at meeting deadlines when they're imposed by somebody else. Having a group to be answerable to forces me to get my act together and get things accomplished. It's also great to have a support group of people whom I can learn from and who are going through all the same things I am.
Liz Gallagher simply puts it this way:
It makes the fish a little bigger in that big pond.
So, if you're thinking of joining a group to help you get the word out about your books,
JUMP RIGHT IN
and
MAKE A SPLASH
that the publishing world won't soon forget!
David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. Kevin Coe is a doctoral candidate in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. They are authors of the The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. To learn more about the book check out their handy website here, to read more posts by them click here. Below Domke and Coe look at the effects of MLK’s legacy on the Democratic primaries.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day has now come and gone, but King’s presence is still being felt in the Democratic primary. (more…)
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Unfortunately for many, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is simply a day off. This day off though, celebrates one of the most important men in American history, and we thought we would take a moment on the OUPblog to recognize his achievements. In the post below we have excerpted President Lyndon B. Johnson speech which announced the death of MLK Jr. to the American public, from our online resource the African American Studies Center.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, my fellow Americans:
Once again, the heart of America is heavy—the spirit of America weeps—for a tragedy that denies the very meaning of our land.
The life of a man who symbolized the freedom and faith of America has been taken. But it is the fiber and the fabric of the Republic that is being tested. (more…)
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In the second book in the Erec Rex series, Erec is called back to Alypium where he must start the quests he needs to do to become king. But all is not as he expected when he goes back. The people hate him and think he is a monster rather than their future king. He doesn’t understand how it could have gone so wrong, and he knows that people important to him are keeping something really big a secret (it is pretty easy to guess what it is). Added to that his twin siblings have been kidnapped and he can’t seem to find them. But with the help of his friends, Erec will right wrongs, save people, and show that he really is meant to be king (even if he doesn’t really believe it either). A great read, but I wish I had gone back and read the first book again before reading this one. I had forgotten some things that would have helped my understanding tremendously. These are a great set of books that is somewhat similar to Harry, but can defintiely stand on their own. Plus the covers are great!
Once again, I reach back to a past sketchbook and dig up this drawing.
All hail the King of Cheese!
Quickie pen and ink drawing that popped into my head after watching a documentary on Robin Williams...
My blog.
The Class of 2K8 panel at NJSCBWI:
Gela's post about Daphne's book was rather short and to the point, but did you see how she described it?
"...this is an absolute INCREDIBLE book!!"
Thank you so much for linking to Gela's post. She was absolutely over the moon when she saw this post. Thank you!
Hey Girls,
I saw Liz's book The Opposite of Invisible reviewed in the Oregonian today. It was a great review and there was a picture of her cover as well.
Sweet news for a very sweet book!
Rosanne Parry