I visited a bunch of LA bookstores this week in what is becoming an increasingly familiar drill. I introduce myself, give a reading copy to the store, sign stock if they carry the book, tell a few jokes, and try to be as nice as I can to the wonderful people who are selling my book. I feel like I’m truly pounding the pavement with these bookstore visits, going door-to-door and handselling to the handsellers–real old school. I did the same thing in New York recently, only without a car, which made it more dramatic, as I lugged a heavy bag of books down one city block after another.
It’s been real cool discovering some of the independent bookstores I’ve never visited before. Each one of them is so unique, and their booksellers are so passionate about what they do. At all the stores, chatting with the employees is definitely the highlight for me. People who sell books tend to be interesting people — whether they work at Booksoup in Hollywood or at Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica.
In other news, after disappointing us by leaving the book off their Father’s Day table, I’m pleased to announce that Barnes & Noble has come through on their summer reading table promises! I’ve been to a bunch of B&Ns and have also heard independent confirmation from friends that THE SCANDAL PLAN is indeed on the summer reading table when you first enter the store. Very exciting.
If only the book were as easy to find elsewhere . . . My biggest frustration continues to be Amazon.com, where just about the only way to stumble across the book is to do a search for it. This presents a challenge because, in my limited experience, people will only buy a book if they know it exists. So, how do we get those people browsing through Amazon.com to know that THE SCANDAL PLAN exists? Well, I’m glad I asked me. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Strategy #1: Become a bestseller.
I have to say, all things considered, Strategy #1 is not a bad strategy. The more I think about it, though, I believe I might need a backup plan. You know, just in case. How about this:
Strategy #2: Harassing friends for Amazon Tags, Search Tags, and Reviews.
Yes, I need help for this strategy, so I’ll speak to you directly, whoever happens to be reading my blog now. If you’ve ever purchased anything on Amazon, then you can write reviews and tag items with words and phrases to make it easier to find said item. If you’ve read my book and liked it, I’d ask that you please take a few minutes to write a quick review online and tag my book.
How do I tag a book? Click here to learn how to tag a book with regular tags and here to learn how to tag with the more important search tags. As for reviews, I’ve had a couple friends who wrote some good Amazon reviews (and a bunch of strangers), but I need more.
If you are one of my friends or you’re on my mailing list, you probably received an e-mail from me requesting just this kind of assistance with reviews and tags. Now, my friends are wonderful people and they’ve been super supportive, buying my book and flooding me with e-mails telling me how much they’ve enjoyed it, but, as far as Amazon reviews are concerned, I think everyone is just assuming that everyone else is doing it — because my recent spamming of several hundred people has resulted in . . . that’s right . . . zero new reviews to date. So at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’d ask those who are reading this to please step up and make your voice heard!
Beyond the world of Amazon, there are many other ways for fans of THE SCANDAL PLAN to help spread the word, and I’ve put together a list of all these strategies on a new page of my website called: Campaign for My Book!
Subtle, I know. Anyhow, check it out if you get a chance, and if you can think of any strategies I’ve overlooked, please leave me a comment and let me know. I feel bad that I keep bugging you all for your help, as you are the ones to whom I owe the most already, but the simple truth is that in order for Book #2 to see the light of day, Book #1 needs to be a success. And, as always, I can’t do it without you.
Okay. Enough of my yapping. I promise to keep the self-promotional pleas to a minimum from here on out. Now it’s time to get back to the real work.
