How I Met Kevin Pollack at BEA: Book Marketing Tip 101 for Authors
The first book marketing rule for authors is to be good to your readers
Promote your book at book expos and book festivals
One of the most fun parts of becoming an author is the new terminology specific to the book industry that you learn. Once you publish, you are part of the club. “BEA” is one of those book industry terms. BEA or “Book Expo America” was one of the most amazing book marketing venues. Sadly, BEA is no longer an event as of 2022. So why am I talking about it? The reason is because there are still many book expos and trade shows out there for an author to promote a book. They are an invaluable outlet to get your book seen and sold. I use my experience at BEA as an example of how to use book festivals to your best advantage.
BEA story - How to promote your book at any book festival
I attended BEA once as a new author and once as a publicist for another author. Both visits to BEA were thrilling. When I attended in NY as a publicist, I was hired to promote a suspense thriller, titled Televenge. It is a fantastic book by author, Pam Cable. It was my pleasure to spread the word at the Expo about Televenge. If you attended BEA as an author, there were several ways that you could promote your book. You could speak at the event, you could sit on a panel at the event, you could sit in your publisher’s booth and sign books at an appointed time, and you could meet attendees and sign books. I would like to expound on this last opportunity for an author to promote a book.
BEA was like any other trade show. If you have never been to a trade show, it was simply a HUGE venue that got divided into booths where vendors display their goods and services. Attendees got a catalog in advance of the show so they could map out the vendors they would like to visit and the events and workshops they would like to attend. BEA offered authors the opportunity to meet attendees - librarians, booksellers, publicists, media, et al - and sign their new books and/or galleys.
Author Book Signings
The format of the author signings was something to behold. Imagine a huge room. At the very back of the room was a horizontal table that stretched for the entire width of the room. Authors were seated side by side behind the entire length of the table and lines of attendees formed in front of each author. Authors were scheduled at different times for different lengths all day long for 2 or 3 days. Attendees had the date and time schedule of each author, their book, and the description and genre of the book ahead of the conference.
For a book lover, it was like Disney World. Each attendee had an empty book bag with them so that when they stood in additional lines to meet additional authors, they could pop their signed book or galley in their bag. Halloween for adults! Thrilling! If it sounds awful to think about carrying books around after you collect them all consider that BEA offered to ship your treasure trove of books from the venue to your home or office. No fuss, no muss!
Kevin Pollack is a class act
As a publicist, I was there in an official capacity but my business partner agreed that we could take a few minutes and stand in line for a few favorite authors. Our choice was to wait in Kevin Pollack’s (A Few Good Men, The Usual Suspects, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) line for his book, How I Slept My Way to the Middle . In another post, I'll analyze the brilliance of his book, book cover, and title, but for now I want to relay a story about the author himself.
Mr Pollack’s line was long and he had scheduled an hour. When the hour was up, I was still in line, as were many fans. Mr Pollack could have said, so long folks, and been on his way. Instead, he enlisted a security guard to help him set up a line off to the side and signed every one of our books. Mr Pollack treated his fans with respect and appreciation and gained devoted book buyers.
Book Marketing Tips from the Article
Connect and take care of your fans
You can not beat the example above for taking care of your fans, it is book marketing 101. How disheartening would it be to miss the opportunity to meet your author after standing in line for an hour? Kevin Pollack recognized that and did something about it.
Consider a presence at a Book Festival as part of your book marketing plan
Although Book Expo America is no more, there are several other book festivals in the US and around the world that still operate. The folks at BookReporter.com put together a list of book festivals by date. I will write more on the subject of book festivals in the coming weeks but it can be a crucial part of your book marketing plan to spend time and treasure at one. There is an investment of money involved but it can be well worth your time. It is also a fantastic way to introduce yourself to the book industry community. You are a part of it now. Embrace it.
Sell Yourself - Book Marketing Take Courage
Many new authors hate the idea of promoting themselves. It takes courage to get out there and speak up about your book. I tell clients (and I told myself back when I was promoting my own book) that you are not selling yourself, you are selling your message - a message that people already desire. At Book Expo, of all places, authors had a somewhat captive audience in that they were surrounded by book lovers! Go for it! Find a book festival that is a good fit for you and your book. Announce what is great about your book, why it will help people or entertain them, and the problem it solves. You felt so strongly about your message that you WROTE A BOOK. It is time to share that message.