|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
 Contributed by: Connie Gotsch Advertise your book. Get national coverage with three 30-second spots on Satellite Radio -- only $2,000. Bunk! Get a half-hour spot on a local station with a web site--free. Spend your money on a trip to China, and use the experience in your next book. Believe me, if you’re willing to do a little homework, you can turn up great opportunities in local radio. Now please understand, I’m not talking Howard Stern, Paul Harvey or Michael Reagan-type programs here. If you want to get on those, there’s a wonderful book you should read, called “The Fugal Book Promoter How to do What Your Publisher Won’t,” by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. (Star Publish, ISBN 1-932993-10X.) Howard-Johnson has specific ideas about pitching for spots on national shows. I’m thinking of local community affairs programs, hosted by local air personalities. Most stations have at least some public affairs programming. What you must do as an author, is find it. That’s not hard. Start with stations in your home town. Listen to each, and determine which have shows that might include authors. Then pick up the telephone and ask to talk to the show’s host. After you’ve finished working in local markets, go to the library and find The Broadcast Year Book. This monster lists every station in the United States, and gives a brief description of its format. If you wish to pinpoint a station type, specific program, or region, you can do it with this resource. If you would like to work with a list that’s smaller, each state has a broadcast association. Get on the net and type in whatever state you desire, and Broadcast Association. A web site should come up listing stations in that state. You can also find hard copies of those lists at any library. For public broadcasting, goggle PBS, NPR, PRI (Public Radio International), or NFCB (National Federation of Community Broadcasters.) NPR, PRI, and PBS support the majority of public stations. The NFCB supports a unique brand of public radio--one that is highly community oriented, often covering subjects, or issues which other stations do not. These broadcasters can have exciting book shows, or segments devoted to the subject matter about which you’ve written. After developing your lists, target stations the way you would a publisher. Find the ones that fit the book you’re selling. Then, pick up that telephone again. Also check out web sites. Some stations invite e-mail. You can also send press releases to talk show hosts. Explain who you are, what you’ve written, and how you can be reached. If you’ve done previous public appearances or broadcast interviews, mention them, even if they have nothing to do with your book. You’ll send the signal that you have some experience behind a microphone. Experience talks, just like in the job market. Talk show hosts like lively, self-assured guests. Your releases must tell why your book is a good one for the show. Perhaps you have a subject important to a particular community. You might be known in a region or town. You might have a story with wide appeal, or a tale for a special, but under-served audience. Include beginning and expiration dates, if they apply for a particular release. Releases should look professional. Mark them clearly as releases. In “The Frugal Book Promoter How to do What Your Publisher won’t,” Carolyn Howard-Johnson takes you step by step through building a release. I cannot emphasize how important your release is. It’s like your resume. Talk show hosts believe--and rightly so, for the most part--that the better the release, the better the book, and the better the interviewee. Make the release attractive. Choose clear fonts and print sizes. Print on nice paper. Make good reproductions. Once you get a station interested in you, prepare for your interview. Talk to the host ahead of time and find out what he or she will want you to do. Will you be reading? For how long? How many excerpts? What questions will you be asked? Most talk show hosts will gladly spend time planning ahead with you. It helps them get organized as much as it helps you. Agree on how the interview will be conducted. Will you come to the studio, or will you talk by phone? If the latter, make sure your host has a number where he/she can call you. Or make sure you understand you are to call the station. Finally BE ON TIME for the interview. Not only is this common courtesy, but your host may have the studio only for a limited time, after which someone else needs it. If going on air gives you jitters, it’s okay to admit it before you start the interview. Hosts understand stage fright, and will do what they can to put you at ease. Don’t worry about ums, ers, and stutters. They’re a part of speech. Editing does wonders, if you’re pre taping. The excitement of spontaneous live broadcast disguises those little flaws. If you start to flounder, your host will get you out of a jam. He or she is trained to do that. If you’ve planned ahead, smoothing out rough spots will be very easy. Finally, after your interview, don’t be scared to ask for a copy. Sometimes, you’ll need to provide a tape or a CD. But lots of stations will give you one. When you get your air date, send announcements to people who might want to listen. Make sure they have the station call letters, numbers, and web address. Tell them if they can listen on the web in real time, or if the program will be archived. Also, keep up with the host once your show has finished. Tell him or her about book signings, public appearances, and new works. It’s not impossible to develop a nice following among listeners in that fashion. Hosts like to say “Hey, remember Sally Jones and her funny book ‘It’s the Only Way to Fly?’ Well she just got an award for that story--” Good heavens, for the $2,000 you almost spent on three stupid 30-second ads, you can dig up a lot of local broadcast time. And probably have enough dough left over to take off for Beijing, the next time you want to blow your particular pop stand, and go take a walk on The Great Wall. Copyright 2004 Connie Gotsch Click HERE: To Make a Comment about this article or Tell us about an Article you'd like to submit for an Upcoming newsletter. | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
||
 |
 |
