This is a pre-emptive rant, and something that has bugged me for a while. Anyone who is launching a book at Swancon, please go heavy on the buy-it-because-it-is-good angle and soft on the buy-it-to-support-a-small-press-angle.
If you're launching a book of short stories tell me why these are stories I must read. Tell me which of the stories is the best urban fantasy I'll read this year. Tell me which of the authors is the new Jeffd Ford or Elizabeth Hand or Margo Lanagan. Tell me which bright new artist has set the pages alight with their internal art. Tell me... okay, you get the picture.
Don't try to guilt $25 out of me as a purchase-as-charity sale to support a small press. Yes the publisher has put lots of effort into the book and will almost certainly make a loss on the publication. But don't say you're going to bar the doors until everyone buys a book because the small press publisher deserves our support. Small publishers deserve and get our support because they publish shit-hot stories. If you don't at least try to sell me on buying the book because of its quality then you're not doing you're job and you don't deserve a sale.
I have been to too many launches where the only call to action is "buy the book so you can support the publisher's hard work and they can do more publications."
Harper Collins won't be telling me to buy the books at their launch because Rupert Murdoch needs the money. They'll be telling me to buy the book/s because if I don't I'll be missing the hottest YA fantasy of the year or the best science fiction debut since Mary Doria Russell.
Also, I'm surprised to see one launch being promoted as a mystery, where we have to keep an eye out for clues as to when/where it will be. Sometimes there are reasons these things aren't known a week out from the con. Often they're out of the control of the publisher. It happens. But if that's the case tell us and let us know when we can find out. Otherwise it's just as likely we won't come because we won't know when the bloody launch is on! As Kate would say on Electric Alphabet, it's not good 'platform.'
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
roberthoge- Robert Hoge
Comments
And the whole 'mysterious launch' is hardly a new concept anyway.
I love how negative and unsupportive members of the community can be - attacking something and providing critique before it's even happened. It just gives me such warm and fuzzy feelings.
I'm simply saying I want to come to a launch of a book that looks like it will be a good read. It has some great authors in it and some of the excerpts have looked good.
But unfortunately the marketing and promotion - which is happening now - is keeping useful information hidden. That may generate some extra interest and if it does, great. But to my mind promotion is a numbers game. Revealing details piece by piece instead of saying people who want to support this book ahould be at this place at this time reduces the audience of your message and in all likelihood reduces the number of people who will be at the launch.
I'm not beinbg negative. I want to support the launch of 2012. I'll happily blog about it if the details are available before I leave for Perth.
While you may not like the way we've decided to promote the event, there will probably be others who will be curious.
I'll also add that this year's con hotel isn't the largest venue, which will assist in communicating the vital details at the appropriate time. All this has been taken into account.
So relax, chill out and enjoy the surprise.
Other than that, I'd argue its value of it as an effective marketing tool. But that said, let's keep it all in perspective. It's a book launch at a con - the difference between marketing the launch well and not is maybe 10 people at best. And maybe only half or a third of that in sales.
At the end of the day, I know and expect that you also know that word of mouth is the only real marketing tool. So all the teasers in the lead-up to the con can never be as effective as creating a buzz at the event.
And we've got plans for that, too.