Marketing

Thriller writer Richard Bard has landed a three-book deal with Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer imprint for his Brainrush series.

On Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., a record 280-plus top national and international authors and participants will join bibliophiles, booksellers and literary organizations on 14 stages at Borough Hall, Columbus Park, St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights Public Library, Brooklyn Law School, the Brooklyn Historical Society and St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church for the seventh annual Brooklyn Book Festival.

As Sam Leith points out in a short piece in the London Evening Standard, ”the Internet is a modern-day Grub Street… just look at the state of things in the 18th and 19th centuries. People routinely reviewed their friends, or even themselves, at different times in different publications under different aliases. The Times Literary Supplement only abandoned anonymity in 1974.” He continues: “But there’s no infallible way to make sock puppetry impossible, or prevent authors paying for good reviews… this is going to have to be self-policed.”

As I was writing this on the very cusp of Labor Day Weekend, my South Philadelphia neighbors were preparing for something very special: The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, will be playing two shows at Citizens Bank Park over the holiday weekend. The Asbury Park legend is an adopted favorite son (plus it'll be about the only interesting thing happening in the ballpark this summer).

During an interview, Duncan MacNaughton, Chief Marketing Officer at Wal-mart, U.S. said, “We are a pretty big company and our size can be daunting to potential vendors, but that isn’t true. We are constantly challenging our buyers to help us be relevant and local. And smaller suppliers play an important role in that. So if you think your company it too small to sell to Wal-mart, think again.”

Wal-mart is open for business and you can sell to them. What does it take to get on their shelves? You do not have to be a large publisher to sell your books to them, but you have to know what you are doing in order to be successful. The submission process is outlined on their website. Follow their guidelines and if your product looks promising, a buyer will contact you for a direct conversation.

Join us Thu., Sept. 13, at the upcoming free Publishing Business Virtual Conference and Expo as a panel of industry experts explores  important questions around the paradox that is Discoverability Vs. DRM. Christopher Kenneally, Brian O'Leary, Peter McCarthy and Patricia Payton will attempt to get to the bottom of the issues around getting your content discovered without giving it all away:

With all its library levy controversy, Seattle has just been a-hoppin’ with library excitement. Now that the library levy has passed instead of broken, it’s time the Seattle public library gave some serious thought to adapting the library for the future. Fortunately for the library leaders of Seattle, they have just the leader they need, as shown in this this op-ed by a 22-year-old son of a retired librarian. According to him, nobody comes to the library to read books, so libraries should get rid of the books.

TODD RUTHERFORD was 7 years old when he first understood the nature of supply and demand. He was with a bunch of other boys, one of whom showed off a copy of Playboy to giggles and intense interest. Todd bought the magazine for $5, tore out the racy pictures and resold them to his chums for a buck apiece. He made $20 before his father shut him down a few hours later. A few years ago, Mr. Rutherford, then in his mid-30s, had another flash of illumination

Earlier this month, Slate writer Jacob Silverman wrote that having a likable Twitter persona “epitomizes the mutual admiration society that is today’s literary culture, particularly online.”  In other words, he thinks the Internet is coddling writers and softening critics, to the detriment of Meaningful Literary Criticism.

Literary critics everywhere joined in, creating a recursive loop of criticism about criticism about criticism.

You can be more successful selling to corporate buyers if you have an ally on the inside. Find an employee who can provide you with the information you need to succeed. This information may be on purchasing procedures, buying needs or about colleagues who are for or against your proposal.

You should not seek private data or anything illegal; only relevant facts that you can use to support your position and close a sale that is in the best interest of the people and companies involved. People with the following characteristics are most likely to successfully promote your cause internally: