TWENTY-FIVE WAYS TO MARKET YOUR
BOOK WHILE RIDING A BLUE FROG
by Connie Corcoran Wilson
Connie (Corcoran) Wilson began teaching in 1969 at Silvis
(Illinois) 
Junior High School.
She has been a humor columnist for the East Moline, Illinois
“Metro East” and the Rock Island, Illinois “Reminder”
and movie and book critic for the Davenport, Iowa “Quad
City Times.”
During her high school years, Connie wrote for her hometown
newspaper (the Independence, Iowa “Bulletin Journal &
Conservative”) and was editor of her high school newspaper.
She attended the University of Iowa, the University of California
at Berkeley, Northern Illinois University and Western Illinois
University. She has taught writing at six Iowa/Illinois colleges
or universities. Her first book, “Training the Teacher
As A Champion,” which she co-authored, was published in
1989 by Performance Learning Systems, Inc.
In 1986, Connie established the Sylvan Learning Center in
Bettendorf, Iowa, the second in the state of Iowa. In 1995,
she added the Prometric Testing Center. She sold both businesses
March 1st, 2002, and returned to part-time college teaching at
Eastern Iowa Community College.
Connie has been married for thirty-five years to her husband,
Craig, and has a son and a daughter (Scott and Stacey) born twenty
years apart.
This book reflects works both funny and serious. The pieces
span a forty-seven-year writing career, hence the title “Both
Sides Now.”
The book is written. You are no longer objective about whether
it is "good" or "bad." Now, you have to promote
it. If you are me, you have to promote it by yourself, using
only your own creative ideas and your own chutzpah. (I stalked
Dave Barry through the Iowa caucuses, to get a "celebrity
endorsement," but he escaped, even though I found his lair
at the Des Moines Marriott.)
I had published my first book the traditional way. It was
a scholarly book about teaching, and was to be the company Bible.
They took care of distribution, advertising, etc.
My second book of previously-published pieces that were mostly
short humor began as a glorified Christmas card and a therapeutic
way to overcome depression stemming from the deaths of six close
friends or family members in six months. I got out the old humor
columns that I had written and began typing. Anything that had
ever "sold" (and still stood the test of time) made
the book. I was just going to send it to my family and friends,
originally, but it soon took on a life of its own, and I began
thinking that it deserved its moment in the sun.
Now: how to promote? Here are 25 suggestions, which have been
serving mewell, to date.
When coupled with the money I originally made selling the
pieces, I will (atthe very least) "break even" on the
$1,700 spent bringing the book in to the world:
1) Have a large blow-up of the cover made at Kinko's. This
will cost around $80, but, if you use it 8 times, you are money
ahead. You will also "stand out" at any book signing
where other authors are involved. I attended one with about 10
authors, and I was the only one of the group who sold a single
book. (I sold 3 in 3 hours; hardly a landslide.) You might want
to also have some smaller ones made (@ $20 a pop) that you can
put on windows the day of your book signing(s).
2) If you have ever won a large loving cup the size of your
head for your poetry, (as I have), which you have absolutely
no (other) use for, fill it with candy. People love free food.
3) Work the network of people you know who can get you or
give you "free" air time. In my case, I appeared on
the CBS affiliate (Channel 4) for one-half hour on a current
affairs program and on a live NBC program (Channel 6) called
"Paula Sands, Live!" which airs every day at 4:00 p.m.
In one day, that appearance "moved" 6 books (of the
10 on Border's shelves). Paula is the Oprah of book-selling in
our community.
4) Don't be discouraged by poor sales at book signings. Don't
believe anyone who says, "This is a bad book." BELIEVE
IN YOURSELF! BELIEVE IN YOUR BOOK! Your book is (at least) as
deserving and as "good" as anybody else's. (Just think
of the tripe you have paid good money for at bookstores, over
the years!)
5) DON'T try dressing up as the Cat-in-the-Hat and reading
that story to children, to be followed by a book signing. (By
the time I got the make-up off, everyone had split. Besides,
one kid ran screaming from the room, refusing to pose with "the
Cat." And it's hard to drive with a large stuffed tea-pot
on your head. You have to recline the chair of your car and lean
to the left. Very risky.)
6) Are you political? The Mayor of East Moline named me a
GEM.. ."Great East Moliner".. .and we timed that to
coincide with my book signing, complete with a press release
from his office suggesting that a profile be done, which it was..
.because of his press release.
7) So... .(see #6)... a profile was done (thanks to the Mayor),
in the Illinois ("Daily Dispatch") paper. The Iowa
paper ("The Quad City Times") had done one on December
6th, which was very nice and gratifying, but not very well-timed.
Great article. Should have waited to ask for it till closer to
the date of the book signing. REMEMBER: TIMING, in life, IS EVERYTHING!
(Howard Dean has found this out the hard way.)
8) When you appear on a local show (as mentioned above), which
I did on February 6th on the morning B100 radio show, take gifts
and a "thank you" note. You can take whatever you want
as a gift (doughnuts, whatever), but I had small "mini"
bottles of zinfandel made up with my own label on them, and they
are quite popular. I have been using them for the TV appearances
(in a gift bag), as well. I will take a couple to the Border's
store manager(s) to thank them for their efforts, as well. If
you really bomb, you can always go
home, get some out and drink them. I find them great for travel,
cheering up, and for gifts. There is a message on the side about
wishing the recipient "Health, Wealth and Happiness."
What they really want is a drink. And you have just provided
it!
9) If you teach at a college, (as I do), offer your students
Bonus Points to show up to cheer you on. Remember: it isn't just
whether they buy your book. It's whether you pack the store.
You are the "loss leader." If you can bring in 75 people
to the store, as I did, the store will have you back for your
NEXT book signing. Nearly all of my students showed up; they
were not required to buy the book, just to show up.
10) Enlist girlfriends in your old hometown to help you get
publicity. Thanks to their efforts, my book signing in Independence,
Iowa, came complete with a front-page story in our hometown newspaper
and I sold beaucoup books. (And I had not been home in 44 years,
except to bury my parents!) I even had to have "runners"
taking books to the local nursing homes, which tells you something
about my audience. And me. (Now I'm depressing myself again.)
11) If you are really shameless, and your book title happens
to be a song title as mine is ("Both Sides Now"), and
you know how to play one, take the accordion you inherited from
your dying cousin and play "Both Sides Now" to the
amusement and edification of the troops. It will definitely draw
a crowd! (Your students will come for the humiliation factor
alone).
12) Give each of your (college) students 5 flyers to distribute.
Tell them that they can just put them on bulletin boards in the
building, should they not wish to have to run around town doing
this.
13) Take your own (home-made) flyers with you and ask each
merchant with whom you do business if you can post one. What's
the worst thing that can happen? They say no and you move on.
(I got a new hair-dresser after my old one said "no,"
but I like the new one better, anyway).
14) Use any e-mail addresses you have. I had those of Delta
Kappa Gamma, EWG
Women's Golf League, all my colleagues at six area colleges,
my country club, all my former customers at the Sylvan Learning
Center over 16 years in business, and the Dean-iacs. If you go
to a conference where you have a table or booth, (as I did to
Poetry.com in Washington, D.C., when I won an award for a poem
in the book), put a notebook out and collect the e-mail addresses
of people who would like to be notified when the book is "out."
I did have business cards and book marks to give them at that
time, but the book was not ready yet. Then, contact them by e-mail,
which is free.
15) Near the day of your book signing, use voice-mail to call
any of the teaching colleagues you actually "know."
(Heck! If you have time, call the ones you DON'T know.) I called
the President of the College; he didn't come.
16) Get permission, but put flyers in the mail boxes of all
your teaching colleagues.
17) If bookstores shut you out, find another venue. For me,
banks and libraries worked. In fact, the book signing I have
at MetroBank, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, is
tied in with their awarding of a $2,500 Travel Voucher if you
come in the store. In this way, we are "cross marketing,"
as I mentioned MetroBank's 100th birthday on every radio or TV
show on which I appeared.
18) Do something outrageous when at the book signing, such
as (at Xmas time) wearing reindeer antlers that light up, or,
likewise, shamrocks that light up. (This is for humor writers;
if you just wrote "War and Peace," stop and think about
it.)
19) Try to get someone to review it who is a well-known celebrity-type
person in our area. Only do this if the review is going to be
good.
20) Pay for what you can afford. After I appeared "live"
on a morning radio show, we cut commercials to run the day before
and the day of the book signing event. They were $10 a spot.
When I do the book signing in the bank lobby, we will split the
cost of about $200 of spots. (20 spots)
21) Ask all your former staffers to distribute flyers wherever
they may go. Do this at a get-together that you host.
22) Always have books (and flyers) with you.
23) Purchase the professionally-produced post cards and send
them to anyone in your Christmas card list or address book, telling
them when you will be where, and try to get this information
in the regular papers, as well, for free.
24) Be creative! My last "ad " will feature me atop
a 300 Ib. Big Blue frog, with the slogan, "Hop on down to
MetroBank to get your copy of "Both Sides Now" autographed
by Connie Corcoran Wilson and register to win a $2,500 Travel
Voucher." This will run in a local magazine that my former
customers at the Sylvan Learning Center always read. Somehow,
I think they will notice this color picture, even though it is
small. (After all, how many people OWN a 300 Ib. Blue Frog?)
25) If there is a regional newspaper with lower rates that
is devoted to Entertainment News," as there is in our area,
use it to place small ads just before the event, and get on their
"Community Calendar," which is free.
Those are my (most recent) "Twenty-Five Ways to Market
Your Book While Riding a Frog." If you have a Chicago cow,
instead, try that!
(c) 2004, Connie Corcoran Wilson, M.S.
Author: "Both Sides Now" Faculty: Eastern Iowa Community
College
www.
ConnieCorcoranWilson.com
