Yesterday I read a funny post in The New Yorker about the absurdity of some book pr campaigns. Not because it was far-fetched, but because the scenario reminded me of a situation with a past client and the client's publishing house publicity department. Unfortunately for some authors it is no laughing matter. More publishing houses are focusing on online marketing more and expecting the author to be proactive about their own brand advocacy, but as a writer this new shift in roles poses a heavy challenge.For one I hope this rant is is just parody or sarcasm. I hope what I witnesssed--what is close in spots to what the article describes-- was just a bad case of the unskilled publicist. I need to believe that my future as a writer isn't filled with meaningless, time consuming internet confusion/spam/pan handling practices disguised as marketing efforts. As much as I love marketing and literary promotion I'm a writer first and last, so I need that the New Yorker article to be a wakeup call to the industry for us to return to the heart of publishing-creating and championing great storytelling to our world, not to my 1,2oo plus Facebook followers.
Secondly I hope these poor social media marketing practices fade very fast. Publishing Houses must understand how to create an authentic, efficient, yet intrusive social media design else their authors will crash and burn their brand like Miley Cyrus almost did on Twitter.
Last week she closed her account. As I watched her Youtube explanation for dropping Twitter I realized her problem had an easy solution, her publicist failed her. Because she used her account in pure form(as she should have,) she showed her vulnerability and consequently opened her brand up for scrutiny. For whatever reason(perhaps bad judgment or lack of social media best practices for celebrities) she chose to make her tweetstream public instead of private. Had she made her tweets private they would only be accessible to those she chose to follow. Therefore mass media wouldn't have turned her tweets into celebrity gossip. Instead she could have chosen a media blogger or media contact she respected and allowed in her tweetstream only.
Everything that I type and everything that I do/ All those lame gossip sites take it and they make it news." While I'd like to think that Newsroom is something more than a "lame gossip site," I can't help but wonder if I became part of the problem. -Miley Cyrus
In Day 19 of 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog I want to share a tidbit with you about your blog content. You need to add your voice to every post, but to add value to your readers from time to time you need to share your writing life with your subscribers. People need to know that you are real and have feelings and concerns. You can use your blog to advocate for your brand and yourself. Miley Cyrus vlogs through Youtube; Writers can use a book blog in the same way.
I won't lie the New Media Age in publishing concerns me, as a publicist and author. I am concerned about the future of publishing as more houses close or lose their past solid distribution relationships. I am also bothered by the countless invitations I receive to book events via Constant Contact, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on. I find myself automatically deleting...
Nonetheless I wonder if authors will be able to craft a great novel during their off marketing hours. which seems to grow and grow. I wonder with all this online chatter will readers become desensitized by it like I am becoming.
One thing I really want to do is create a simple, common sense system for authors to manage and retain their ideal readers and connect them with more ideal readers who are praying for the books they write. I don't want my clients or my own book brand to be tainted because of these efforts and I definitely don't want DeeGospel PR to be the butt of a The New Yorker Article...
Dee
