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Latest News

Fox and Friends featured Tim Cox, author of Get Out of Our House: Revolution!

ChicagoTribune.com sourced Dr. Travis Collins, author of Tough Calls: Game-Winning Principles for Leaders Under Pressure, for their December 21 article on holiday parenting tips

Yahoo! Green published Jodi Newbern's article "How to Regift (and get away with it)"

Psychology Today: Robert Langston, author of The Power of Dyslexic Thinking, has been invited to be a regular guest blogger

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Tuesday
02Feb2010

P&P publicists share their Teacher Tales

History has many famous teachers: Plato, Miss Crump, Mr. Kotter, Miss Nelson (a.k.a. Miss Viola Swamp) Ms. Frizzle, Miss Krabappel, The Professor, Mr. Feeny, Dumbledore, even Stephen King.

Teachers are the mentors in our lives who, besides our parents, have our best interests in mind. They are there to encourage and motivate us, but most importantly, help us believe in ourselves, especially when we don’t. Teachers never want to see us fail; their greatest satisfaction comes from seeing their students go on to succeed (despite any grudges you might still carry).

Would any of us here at Phenix & Phenix have become publicists without the grammar and writing skills we learned from our teachers, not just in K-12, but continuing through college? Plain and simple, no.

Inspired by Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales, which releases today, here are our tales of appreciation to the educators that made a difference in our lives…

Rusty:
Growing up in a small town, we only had one teacher per grade. Mrs. Shelton, my second grade teacher and mom, needless to say is still my favorite teacher. She is still upset about how my handwriting turned out.

Breanna: First, I have to mention Mrs. Lux and her creative writing class that I took during my sophomore year. I loved the class so much I took it twice (can't remember how I finagled that). Mrs. Lux had this special way about her that was both encouraging and firm. She liked me and made me feel good about my work, which meant a lot to a shy teenager such as myself. Then there were the three teachers - yes, three - who taught my Humanities classes freshman/sophomore year. Mr. Murray, Mr. McKinney, and Mr. Chase (or MurMckCh, as my friends and I referred to them) made everything from the ancient Greeks to Frank Lloyd Wright interesting and even (gasp!) fun. And they treated us like adults, which was a rare treat in high school.

Amy: My junior high school English teacher: Mr. Proctor
Easily one of my all-time favorite teachers. I had Mr. Proctor for 7th and 8th grade English, and he somehow taught us more than just language and literature: he imparted his wisdom, humor and the great art of sarcasm. A bit of an odd character, Mr. Proctor had a Boston Terrier named “Lady” that he always talked about, and he used to play us old Simon & Garfunkel albums on his computer (but not “Celia”—too dirty).

My high school theatre director: Missey Head
That’s Missey Head, not Mrs. Head. She insisted. Mrs. Head made my high school years fun, creative and full of great friends that I met in theatre class. When I somehow first gathered the courage to audition for the theatre production class—after being convinced by Mrs. Head that I should—I went from being the shy girl who kept to herself to the outgoing lead actress school plays. We traveled across the state performing, won awards and I still keep in touch with many of my fellow actors today. I never would have found my true voice if it hadn’t been for Mrs. Head.

Merritt: I usually liked all of my teachers, but I did become an adopted daughter to one, Mrs. Cunningham. I still remember all the bones in the body from my seventh grade life science class with her. Now a family friend, she sometimes forgets that she was my teacher. She introduced me to my passion, Bill Nye the Science Guy (@TheScienceGuy on Twitter in case you were wondering).

Shelby: Some of my favorite teachers in middle school also happened to be coaches, and despite the stereotype, I did actually learn from them. They were some of my funniest and most engaging teachers, with big personalities to go with it. One use to keep a tennis ball in his desk drawer, throwing it at students who fell asleep in class. Another, an old Aggie, would share many an A&M story, including tales of Bevo BBQs. Of course, I have to mention Miss Cargile and Dr. Mills, two of my high school English teachers, and Mrs. Andrews, my journalism teacher. Working in publicity, they obviously rubbed off on me. Mr. Wrensman, my intro to news writing professor, taught us things our other teachers, fell short on, especially grammar. It was one of my hardest classes, but also the most rewarding. Because of him, I am the office resource for grammar rules and AP style when all other reference guides fail.

James: I always loved school and was totally a teacher’s pet. I have to start with Mrs. LaBaume, my 4th grade teacher, for helping me transition from East Long Beach to the Memorial-area in Houston. Trust me, that year was a BIG change. I also have to say two of my high school English teachers, Tish Driscoll and Joann Innerarity. I always felt like English teachers were the easiest to talk to, encouraged us the most and actually treated us like adults (I always loved trying to get away with calling them by their first names). Like Amy, I also have to say my theatre teachers, CeCe Prudhomme and Dusty Davidson (he has a twin named Rusty). Theatre is something that helped me build self-confidence and helped me find my own voice. To this day, I’m never afraid to speak in front of a crowd or on the fly. Last but not least, Mrs. Oxspring, a.k.a. Mary Katherine Oxspring, the teacher I spent three-fourths of my high school career with. I had her two years in a row for math and was her teacher assistant my senior year. Seeing as she lives behind my parents, I still see her quite often.

The lessons we learned from our teachers still stick with us to this day. A big thank you to all of our teachers, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Friday
29Jan2010

iPublicist: Book publicity for Pad and paper

I spent the week sulking that I couldn't attend Digital Book World. SULKING.

Thankfully many of our colleagues in attendance did a great job of posting updates and news via Twitter feeds (#dbw and #dbwpr) and blog posts.

Yen Cheong posted a nice recap of the "Get Noticed! How to Earn Attention for Every Book" panel, which she sat on with Ryan Chapman, Debbie Stier and Peter Costanzo.

I was glad that the panel got so much attention and it made me think--as we shift away from floor traffic, endcaps and bookseller recommendations and toward eReaders, blog tours and trending topics, how will the approach publishers take to publicity continue to evolve?

We've already seen publishers move toward creating new positions to focus on digitial promotion. Chapman is now the Online Marketing Manager at FSG. Ron Hogan, former editor at GalleyCat, is now the Director of eMarketing Strategy at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Many more publishing houses have created or are creating similar positions and I think they are a great idea.

While they do so, publicists (both in-house and independent) are already functioning as both digital marketing strategists and traditional publicists. As time is split between consulting with clients on Web strategy and pitching drive-time radio in Sacramento, in-house publicists are more stretched than ever before. While in many cases saddled with going through the motions of an aging publicity process still considered a must by some marketing managers, they are evolving their expertise to fit the new reality of PR:

  • Blasts have given way to finding creative ways to build topic or genre-specific consumer-focused email lists.
  • Time-consuming multi-city book tours have given way to Skype chats, Tweet the Author and other virtual events.
  • Research for pre-publication mailings has given way book reviewer blog networks.
  • Spending days creating an exhaustive list of different media angles has given way to brainstorming social media strategies
  • The days of worrying about training young talent have given way to excitement about having digital natives on staff.

While much of the job description has shifted, a publicist's ability to consistently book traditional media is more valuable than ever before.

So, here's the magic question--should a publishing house organize the positions within their publicity staff according to expertise (separate positions for traditional vs. digital) or should they place a bigger value on publicists who can do both and simply bring on more in-house publicists to accommodate for the additional time now needed to service both areas?

I believe that the best approach is for the same publicist to head up both traditional and digital promotion for a book--the strategies must work hand in hand. When you split the two there is potential to muddy the message without the best communication.

In going with this strategy, one thing is for sure--publicists can't properly service a massive title list while having a foot in both worlds. As publishers start to realize this, I think we will see an investment in expanding in-house publicity teams, limiting the number of books each publicist is expected to handle and an emphasis on creating strategic partnerships with independent publicity firms that can commit to engagement with the house over the long term--from the first marketing brainstorm--on.

What do you think?

 

Wednesday
27Jan2010

I'm totally impressed with Seth Godin (again)

Have you guys and gals taken note of what Seth Godin is doing to promote his new book, Linchpin? He’s made the online world work for him in a big way.

Okay, okay. I know that Seth is already famous and has a huge platform, but he’s got some very smart ideas that I would wager ANY author could benefit from.  The media landscape is changing rapidly – like you didn’t already know – and a shift from traditional to digital media is becoming more and more commonplace. Seth Godin continues to embrace this and capitalize on it beautifully.

Seth’s calling his launch for Linchpin the “2.0 media tour.” He hasn’t gone to any traditional media at all to promote it. Instead, he’s relying on his (admittedly vast) online network to help. He’s also incorporating “Free” and “bonus” materials into his campaign  So, he’s giving away stuff to tease the reader into buying, and he’s offering bonus stuff to people who do buy.  Simple, but brilliant. Seth also targeted people from different industries and backgrounds – people he knew would be interested in a book like Linchpin – and he figured out how he could adapt his message for them. As he writes on his blog:

“I spoke to over 40 different people from various industries and blogs about Linchpin. I was given a warm reception by artists, business blogs, marketing sites, brand innovation sites, and creative blogs. It was a blast. My interaction with them reminds me that the online world is quickly becoming even more human and connected everyday." [my italics] 
 
In this day and age, you just can’t rely solely on booking that Oprah gig to sell copies of your book. You (and your publicist) have got to get smart. It’s so important to build an online network early, and nurture and maintain it daily. Equally important? Customizing your promotional efforts to your readers. Go to where your readers are, play to your strengths, figure out what will work with your readers and what won’t.  A lot of us publicity folk have been working toward this for a while: clever marketing tactics, coupled with a targeted campaign that incorporates social media, will yield far better results than just blanketing media outlets with press releases.

Is Seth’s method working? You be the judge: I’ve barely been able to read a blog today without seeing mention of his book (and now here I am, promoting it on this blog). As of this posting, Linchpin’s Amazon ranking is in the top 10 in Books, and it was released yesterday.

Thursday
21Jan2010

Pop Quiz: What's the most annoying word in publishing today?

A) e-Reader
B) Platform
C) Twilight
D) Oprah

Publishing vets are moderately annoyed by each, but here's how different segments of the industry would likely respond:

Publicists: D
Marketing Directors: C (Editor to mkg director: "Don't you think this is our Twilight?")
Booksellers/Sales reps: A
Authors: B

I sympathize with each group, but I think authors have the biggest beef--the publishing industry has a serious love affair with the word "platform." The Writers' League of Texas (WLOT) calls it an "annoying, ever-present, and oh-so-hard to define buzz word." That sounds about right.

So, how do you deal with it?

Cyndi Hughes (Executive Director of the WLOT), Bill Crawford (Greenleaf Book Group) and I are getting together tonight from 7-9 PM for the Writers League of Texas monthly panel discussion to answer the question: "What the heck is a platform? Ten building blocks every writer needs."  Not only is it completely free, but the WLOT will also be hosting an official pre-party at Doc's on South Congress.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday
20Jan2010

Things that make us go "Hmm"

That's right, I'm referencing C&C Music Factory for this post. You can't go wrong with a classic.

As you might expect, every day we speak with authors who are seeking promotional help for their books. Most of the people who contact us are perfectly lovely, but of course there are always a few who say things that make us go “Hmm.”

Sometimes all it takes is one statement to derail a potential partnership with a publicist (or agent, or publisher). As an independent firm, we’re interviewing authors as much as they’re interviewing us, so making a good impression is important for both sides.

If you're navigating the world of book publishing and promotion, here are a few statements you may want to avoid (all of the following have actually been uttered by real-life authors during the course of our submission process):

“This book is for anyone who wants to live.”

So that’s…a lot of people. That might just encompass everyone on the planet (save the heavily depressed types). If you’re asked who your target market is, it’s better to have a more specific answer, such as “mothers of young children” or “men ages 18-35.” This means you’ll need to do some research on your genre, and you’ll need to know your subject matter well enough to understand your audience. 

Now. Why is this important? Because your book will be promoted to your primary audience first – that’s how you build momentum. The readers (and media outlets) who will be the most interested in your work are the ones who will be vocal advocates.  They’ll get the word out to people who might not have picked up your book otherwise. A classic example? Harry Potter. Sure, these books were originally written for an audience of 9-12 year olds. Did that stop me from reading them? Heck no, but before I found Harry Potter, a 6th grader had to tell me about him first.

“Do you know what it feels like to change the world?”

I, uh…no? How does one even respond to this question? If you’re outlining your credentials, 1) try not to make it awkward for the other person listening to you, and 2) just stick to the facts.  You might be a superstar, but frankly, superstars don’t need to justify their status. It may seem counterintuitive, but a healthy dose of humility – paired with a product that speaks for itself – will get you much further. 

Finally, we come to:

“I’m very high maintenance.”

Okay. If I were on a date with someone and he said this to me, I’d be flagging down the waiter and yelling, “Check, please!” It’s not much different in the publishing world. When you decide to work with an agent, publisher, or publicist, you’re entering into a relationship. As with any relationship, you’ll want to put your best foot forward, so don’t drop bombs like this at the very beginning. Are you energetic and aggressive? That’s great – say something like, “I’m fully prepared to put a lot of energy into promoting my book.”  Of course, you’ll actually have to do that, but this means you can use your strengths. Also, you must must must recognize that book publishing and promotion are team efforts. Being part of that team means there’s no room for divas.

Now, to turn the tables: has an agent or publicist ever said anything to you that made you go "Hmm"?