Marketing and Publlicity
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: An expletive-laced mention in Library Journal
Library Journal – the journal for librarians everywhere – mention my upcoming novel with some surprisingly explicit language. But in a good way. I’m thrilled, of course. After my wife and children and the New England Patriots and the person who makes my Egg McMuffin every day, librarians are my favorite people.
Read MoreThis author found a way to sell books with sticks and leaves and a little bit of twine.
Last weekend I took my children to Winding Trails in Farmington, Connecticut, to a Fairy House Tour. I had never heard of such a thing and had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest. But it was brilliant. Based upon author Tracy Kane’s Fairy Houses series, local organizations were invited…
Read MoreI’m launching an email newsletter. What should be included?
The publishing Gods (Jane Friedman and many others) have declared that the most important tool that an author has for building a platform and marketing a book is a strong mailing list and a regular newsletter. Having used a mailing list as the sole means of promoting Speak Up, our Hartford-based storytelling organization, I have…
Read MoreMaking a defeat look like a win
MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND did not win the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award. Being nominated was an honor, of course, and making it to the finals was thrilling, but the book finished ninth behind such bestselling authors as JK Rowling, Junot Diaz and Emily Giffin. However, it also beat books by bestselling authors like Barbara…
Read MoreGender equality doesn’t always make good business sense
I’ve recently been debating a friend over the new Carter’s children’s clothing commercials that feature the tagline, “When a child is born, so is a mom.” She argues on her blog: I’m more than just a little bit curious. When a child is born, only a mom is born? Only a mom? I turned to…
Read MoreMy unglamorous self
The Hartford Courant ran a piece about me today. I have yet to purchase a newspaper, but my friend was kind enough to send me a photo of the story as it appears in the paper. My favorite part of the piece is the photo of me writing at the table in all my unglamorous…
Read MoreI am not a Starbucks zombie.
I recently read in the Harvard Business Review that Starbucks seeks to train its customers at nearly the same level as its employees. This is why a Starbucks cashier will convert my request for a medium coffee into a grande when passing the order onto the barista. It’s not for the barista’s benefit (since everyone…
Read MoreCat Stevens taught me that authors should not act like jerks.
I have a more-than-slight tendency to act like a jerk. I can be biting, sarcastic, oppositional, confrontational, aggravating, nonconforming, and disagreeable. My mother referred to me as The Instigator. I like to think that over the years, this tendency has become less pronounced, This is because I have learned to restrain myself. I have chosen…
Read MoreDoes knowing the author make the book better?
I once wrote: A book talk places the author in the position of salesperson. He can sell the product or sell himself. I believe the latter to be always preferable. I have always believed that if I can offer an audience some insight about my life and a few laughs along the way, they will…
Read MoreFeminine hygiene products meet SOMETHING MISSING
Ever think that your feminine hygiene product could use a little more pizazz? Kotex did, and that’s why they are sponsoring a design contest that allows you to “Make your Mark on the Future of Feminine Protection.” I opted to design a pad, though I could have restyled “a period stash” or created an “inspiration…
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