Over
a decade ago, people used to say “I wanna be like Mike,” referring to NBA
legend Michael Jordan. The battle cry for authors may soon be, “I wanna be like Dexter,” the serial-murderer by night, police
blood lab geek by day.
What could a man who kills have in common with those looking to promote and market a book? There are many appealing characteristics to the multifaceted lead character of the hit Showtime series that is now airing its eighth and final season.
Here
are 12 traits authors, publishers, book publicists, and marketers should embody
– the way Dexter does – in order to showcase their books:
1.
Have
a killer instinct. Know to strike and
seize an opportunity.
2.
Don’t
second-guess yourself. Follow through on
your intentions and on what your gut tells you to do.
3.
Plan
ahead. Always prepare to attack and plot
out the details. Stay a step ahead of
others.
4.
Improvise
and be ready to react. Sometimes a
surprise pops up and you need to be ready to deal with it.
5.
Accept
your role as a promoter. Don’t deny what
you do and who you are. Being a marketer
is as much a part of you as being a writer – or a lover, a parent, or anything
else.
6.
Be
passionate about what you do – even if you wished you didn’t have to do
it. Dexter knows he’s carrying a “dark
passenger,” this urge to kill, but he knows he needs to temper it. He’s passionate about what he does and you
should throw yourself fully into promoting.
7.
Whether
it’s a gift or a curse, exploit your talent.
You may not love promoting, or you struggle to find the time to do it, but
when you market a book, call upon all of your skills, resources, and
connections.
8.
Sometimes
finding a balance doesn’t work. Dexter
can’t live a normal life nor spend time at home when there’s a kill awaiting
him. As a promoter, sometimes you need
to be a workaholic. During that window of time for publicity, it’s ok to be obsessed
with supporting your book.
9.
Self-preservation
rules you. Whatever you do, don’t get
caught. In this case, it’s don’t get caught
doing nothing.
10.
Don’t
lie. This is where you and Dexter
diverge. He has to get what he needs but
when promoting, it’s one thing to conveniently manipulate how facts are
presented or omitted, but another to blatantly lie.
11.
Work
by a code. Develop a standard by which
you will approach PR. Have a good work
ethic and set boundaries. Dexter had a
filter for killing and you must have one when it comes to PR.
12.
Justify
your actions. Dexter finds a way to
accept that he’s a killer because he kills only killers. As a publicist, you can feel good in knowing
you are securing media exposure that you deserve. It’s okay that you’re featured in the news
over a story about a homeless child with cancer. You have every right to peddle your book as
if it’s the most important thing, for the media, in the end, serves as the
final arbiter of what it wants to feature.
Lastly,
accept your uniqueness. You are a writer
and a publicist, with your own voice, style, ideas, and experiences. Be who you are meant to be and don’t worry
about the body count.
You
can be like Dexter, and for book publicity, that’s a pretty good role model.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013
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