Literary Marketing and Promotion

Book promotion varies from author-to-author and book-to-book. There are many factors that influence the type of promotion recommended for a book. Ideally it's wonderful to work with an author or publisher with both long and short range goals. Short term objectives are often based upon budget and reasonable expectations for the book's promotion. Normally with an author just beginning to look at doing promotion, a postcard or bookmark to booksellers is recommended, often with a followup. Or a customized phone card presentation to sales reps and key accounts, and coordinated with the author's publisher. Although sometimes Talk Ink works directly with and for a publisher it is more usual that we deal with authors who are looking to expand a book's promotion via their own independent efforts. Recent examples in the marketplace indicate that an author's efforts can be very effective as well as appreciated by a publisher. Because company president Sally Schoeneweiss has an extensive history in the industry, she is especially sensitive to producing a marketing plan and product acceptable to both author and publisher.

Over the years, so many different approaches have been taken that it's difficult to list them all as each promotion was tailored to a specific book, author and budget. But, in general, past promotions include custom phone cards, postcards, bookmarks, poster/mailers, flyers, press kits, book plates and stationary as well as embroidered and custom printed t-shirts, sleepshirts, hats, bookmark pens and specially created promotional products such as dolls, perfumes, etc. Utilizing the combined skills of graphic designers, printers, and media and direct mail experts, company founder Sally Schoeneweiss achieves maximum results for each individual client.

The long range success of book promotion is, in the opinion of Sally Schoeneweiss, consistent and targeted repetition, either via limited publisher distribution, direct mail using Booktalk's extensive mailing lists or the Internet with Booktalk's specialized database or an author's own reader database.

Promotional Phone Cards

Since the company's original phone card promotion (Shannon Drake/ Branded Hearts) in 1994, speciality phone cards have continued to be the company's popular and favorite book promotion. Whether doing a four color or additional silk-screened color on a card, each carrier and envelope is custom designed. Sally is always on the lookout for new presentations and tries to match book and promotional purpose to each application. Although author voice messages have been included in recent years, the company has recently added Voice Survey and Web-based Activation cards which both offer ways of generating responses to key questions and obtaining useful and important data.

Some of the company's clients have included: Linda Lael Miller (New York Times bestselling Pocket Books author), Harlequin/MIRA Books, Dutton, Joan Johnston (New York Times bestselling author for Pocket Books, Dell Publishing and MIRA Books), Carla Neggers (MIRA Books author), Heather Graham (New York Times bestselling author for MIRA Books and Kensington/Pinnacle), Paul Levine, Stephen J. Cannell, Jasmine Cresswell, Gloria Dale Skinner, Jane Bonander, Barbara Parker, Kate Freiman, Patricia Ryan, Debbie Macomber (MIRA Books and Silhouette), Kresley Cole, M. Diane Vogt, Steve Alten, Cathy Maxwell, Mary Burton and Carol Stephenson.

Booktalk

Talk Ink established an Internet presence with the official launch of Booktalk in July 1996. Booktalk is an online booklovers' community composed of many of today's bestselling and popular authors. Personalized author home pages are complete with excerpts from bestselling novels as well as information about upcoming releases, author notes and personal hobbies and interests as well as publisher, literary agent and book industry information. Visitors are encouraged to sign an author's mailing list and all names are databased for individual author use. In addition, authors are encouraged to do e-mails to these lists on a regular basis to involve readers in new book releases. A good author website is one of the most economical and effective ways of reaching readers on an ongoing basis and the cost is minimal to e-mail information to an established reader list about new book releases.

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