Crafty author

I was twitting Patricia Wood over on her blog a while back, informing her that she was not allowed to die because she had not yet signed my copy of Lottery. No, I cannot remember the context for that particular piece of idiocy and I can't find it either. And yes, you should go buy her book, not just because she's a webfriend of mine, but because it's a fine piece of writing. Don't take my word for it; it was short-listed for the Orange Prize.

Anyway, back to the point. She immediately rectified that terrible oversight by offering to send me a bookplate. (For the uninitiated, a bookplate is basically an autographed sticker you can put in your book to instantly turn it into an autographed copy.) Through a series of confusions on my end, it took me a while to get it, but I finally got my hands on it yesterday. Except it was a them. She sent me one personalized bookplate and several others with generic greetings.

What is a girl supposed to do with extra bookplates? As it happened, I was in a bookstore that afternoon, and what should I spy but a stack of her books on a table of bestsellers near the door? (See, I told you it was good.) My natural brilliance asserted itself, and I said to myself, "There's a good place for those extra bookplates." The manager was equally struck by my brilliance. Okay, I'm assuming. He said that the bookplates would be welcome, or words to that effect.

Very pleased with myself, I emailed Pat to tell her of my brilliance. She was very impressed. Okay, so she told me that's why she sent them along. So she was brilliant before me. I am still brilliant, right? (Somehow this story isn't going quite the way I meant it to.)

Anyway, I am impressed with her brilliance too. She didn't ask me to do anything, but let me think of it on my own. Now those books will sell more quickly because most people are very pleased to get a signed copy of a book. And I have stowed away another gentle marketing technique for the future. And I have an autographed copy of Lottery. Thanks, Pat.

By the way, there is still no Wikipedia entry for Patricia. Any Wikipedians around who can do something about that?

Poll results on book trailers

There were 20 votes and this is the breakdown:

<0 They made me decide not to buy. 9 (45%)
1 and I regret it. 1 (5%)
1 and it was great. 4 (20%)
2 or more. I look for them. 1 (5%)
2 or more. It just happens. 0 (0%)
It's complicated. 5 (25%)

Now, this isn't a large enough sample to be scientific in any way at all, BUT did you notice that almost half the voters said that book trailers had prevented them from buying? This seems to tally pretty well with informal discussions I've seen elsewhere.

Elsewhere like on Alexander Field's blog (nice redesign, by the way), or on Jessica Faust's blog, and a couple of other places I don't remember.

What I am taking away from all this is that book trailers are risky, like book covers. They can alienate readers more easily than they can draw them in. Unlike book covers, trailers are not an essential part of the process. I personally am not going to attempt one unless I've got a killer idea that could go viral.

I do thing that a book trailer is probably wise to use a lot of words. After all, anyone allergic to reading text is not going to buy the book anyway. And many readers resent having a visual interpretation imposed on them. One of the reasons they enjoy reading is the freedom to imagine characters and settings on their own. How often have you been disappointed by the casting in the movie version of a favourite book? You see the danger.

However, if you hit the sweet spot, and manage to produce a really catchy trailer that people are scrambling to link to, you've got a winner.

As for me, I read one book because of a trailer. The trailer was better.

Anybody have trailer stories to share? Ones you loved? Ones you hated? The one you keep running in your head for the book you're writing?

Do Not Call!

That's it! I've had it. I signed up on the Canadian Do Not Call List. I am so sick of getting umpteen calls a day from telemarketers - half of them fraudulent - that I could scream. Registering on the DNCL was the first proactive step I have taken. Unfortunately it was just a small one.

The problem is that most of the telemarketers are calling me from the US, and the American DNCL won't let me register. I know, I tried. It keeps telling me to correct my area code.

I used to see advertisements on TV, back when I still watched TV, for a doohickey that would detect computer-dialed phone calls and automatically block them, sending back a message that your phone number is invalid, which would delete you from their database. Are those gadgets still on the market? What are they called and where do I find them?

I've tried a google search, but all I'm finding is the machines to MAKE those annoying calls.

Or do you have any other tips for me, other than systematically asking every telemarketer to remove me from their call lists? And how do you ask a recording to do that?


Technorati tags: Telemarketers, Do Not Call

Late to the launch party

But at least it's not over.

Karen Dionne, aunt to Melanie, an on-line friend of mine, is doing something unusual. Her debut thriller, Freezing Point, was released this week and to celebrate, she's having an online party. There are blurbs from other writers (including Lee Child), an audio excerpt, a video trailer, and plenty more.

While she hasn't figured out how to serve drinks over the Internet, there is plenty of party swag, including iceberg water, penguins from Penguin, and the BBC's great Planet Earth series on DVD. You have to leave a comment to enter the draw, which is not too high a hoop to jump through. And if you buy the book from her website, you'll get a signed copy.

I haven't read the book, at least not yet, but I thought the online party was intriguing enough it deserved a shout-out. You have until tomorrow to hustle over and leave your email address.

And to whet your appetite, here's a brief description of the book from Dionne's permanent website:

As he faces the frozen behemoth of a giant iceberg, environmental activist Ben Maki sees Earth’s future. Clean drinking water for millions, waiting to be tapped from the polar ice. The Soldyne Corporation backs Ben’s grand philanthropic vision for a better today—while making its own plans for a very profitable tomorrow.

Rebecca Sweet lives for the cause—an eco-terrorist who will do whatever she must to protect the earth. And Ben Maki’s ideas have set her on the path to war…

All of them will be drawn into a battle between hope and helplessness, power and pride. But they are about to discover that deep within the ice waits an enemy more deadly than any could imagine—an apocalyptic horror mankind may not survive.

This online launch is probably the wave of the future: cheaper, easier, more targeted than cost-ineffective book tours. What do you think? As a reader, do you go to launch parties? Would you want to? Or do you prefer this virtual format? If you're a writer, do you think you'll be following in Dionne's footsteps? Why or why not?


Technorati tags: Karen Dionne, Freezing Point, Thrillers