Category: marketingPage 1 of 2

Again. And again.

Museums, let’s face it, tend not to be good at marketing their product. This envelope contained a membership pitch. Is “Experience it all. Again. And again.” supposed to whip…

Third blurb in

Gary Snyder generously agreed to review my manuscript despite being in the middle of extensive traveling (to L.A. for a Lew Welch memorial and to Spain with Jim…

Second blurb in

I just received this blurb from Emily Sano. Emily was kind enough to read the manuscript on short notice. She writes, “I read the whole book! Loved it.”…

First blurb in

Peter Laufer was kind enough to provide a blurb on short notice, working from the not-quite-finished manuscript: Tom Christensen’s vividly illustrated 1616: The World in Motion is filled with…

Blurb watch

I suppose I should have seen this coming, but I was surprised when my publisher told me catalogue copy (which looks similar to this) is due, and it…

“I am an advocate of finding new and better ways to accomplish common tasks”

This ad, which to me sounds more like some kind of stunt than a typical scam, has been removed from Craigslist. Certainly it’s not a “new and better…

Caption

“You must be here for the rebranding project.” . (Submit your own here.) .

(He)art and commerce

Take my word for it that the image at right — sorry I don’t have a better version — represents the painting The Dead Christ supported by the…

The Emperor’s New Brand

In a distant kingdom long ago a prince was born. He grew up quickly, as children do, and soon the king and queen assembled the most talented people…

Nation brands

Can we agree the whole branding thing has got out of hand? I wish that branding had never left the cattle corral. These days, instead of selling an…

A ruined life?

I received this unusual e-mail recently (subject line: “you ruined my life, sorta / an offer for karmic balancing”). I have edited it somewhat to conceal the identity…

Should publishing be open?

Tim O’Reilly makes some points in its favor. .

Driving traffic

Today’s guest post at ForeWord Magazine is about how book publishers can increase traffic to their websites. .

Internet book marketing

The next installment of my series of columns that is running at Foreword Magazine this month is up. This one looks at why publishers should try to optimize…

Publishing payola

Want to bribe the New York Times Book Review into reviewing your book? If so, you’ll have to come up with something better than these examples of book…

Market testing book covers

Book publishing has always been a little backward in some aspects of marketing. For example, while a graphic designer might produce several covers for a book, these are…

Op ads

No, not op eds — op ads. I had forgotten how pervasive op art was in advertising of the 1960s and 1970s. It was also a period of…

Against branding

Among the words I’d like to retire, toward the top of the list would be branding. It’s not, of course, that I’m opposed to marketing, or creating a…

Stephen Page on book publishing today

Stephen Page, publisher and chief executive of Faber and Faber, writes in an article in the Guardian that “the industry is closer now to a tipping point that…

Should books have ads?

Recently there has been an increase in calls for the inclusion of ads in printed books (this “On the Media” report, for example, touches on the idea). There’s…

Blurbs

BLURB: A brief noise that embarrasses everyone. — Tom’s Glossary of Book Publishing Terms A curious aspect of book publishing is that publishers have never quite figured out…

Blog tours for book marketing

If I was still doing trade book publishing I would recommend to my authors that they try blog touring. Conventional book tours have their place, especially for developing…

10 Questions: Jeffrey Lependorf, Executive Director, Small Press Distribution / CLMP

Ten Questions is an occasional feature in which folks involved in some aspect of publishing kindly oblige my interrogative impulses. Today I’m talking with Jeffrey Lependorf, who serves…

Dutch Type

Publisher 010 Uitgeverij has made what I think is probably a smart decision to put their 2004 title Dutch Type by Jan Middendorp in Google Book Search. Of…