Can
you, as an author, discuss with relevance, any of the following:
·
Coronavirus
and infectious diseases.
·
Wall
Street and recession fears.
·
The
national election for the White House and Congress.
Those
topics now dominate the news media and the minds of the American public. Who wants to hear your parenting or
relationship tips – or about some novel – when our nation’s fate is filled with
fear and uncertainty?
Well,
not so fast.
Yes,
the media obsesses over the above, and the news cycle is disrupted by and
defined by those three things. If you can add, with real ideas or expertise,
something on any of those topics, you should pitch yourself to the media about
what you will say.
However,
if you can’t connect on those topics, that’s okay. Not all of the media is
discussing any of those three things. They still cover sports, weather,
entertainment, and lots of other subjects. The world is not at a standstill.
Life goes on and people actually welcome a break from doom and gloom over
things they largely can’t control.
You
have a novel? You want to share diet or beauty tips? You want us to raise
better kids or develop healthier relationships?
Go right ahead and discuss them.
The
media that authors will struggle to get will be the same media that’s always
been hard to get. In other words, some diet book likely was not making it into
the main section of The New York Times, that won't unless it was filled with hard
news of the day or connected to the triumvirate of disease, stocks, and
elections. So in that sense, nothing has changed for most authors.
Perhaps
the ones most challenged are those who would otherwise have newsy topics but
will get dismissed now unless they talk about pandemics, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average or Bernie Sanders. In fact, even amongst those three areas,
in-fighting for coverage will take place. Yesterday’s feature on Mike Bloomberg
will give way to reports from the CDC, and articles about the newest iPhone will
be replaced to stories about Apple plants closed in China.
I’ve
seen this before. It happens once a decade:
9/11. The world stopped and the news media focused
for weeks and months in the aftermath of what a world at war with terrorists
looks like.
The
Great Recession. The world plummeted into fear and for many months the media
delivered one gloomy report after another.
Now
it’s a steady diet of Coronavirus,Wall Street, and a side order of the 2020
election that debates the soul of the nation's media.
This
too shall in fact pass. It will take some time, however.
If anything,
people need the distraction books can bring. Now, more than ever, we need both
books that inform us – and that distract us. The media can still quote you or
give coverage to your book. It’s gotten harder and different, but it’s not
impossible.
Further,
take control of what you can, of what didn’t exist for 9/11 and what was in its
infancy for The Great Recession: Social
media. Go blog, podcast, and use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, You Tube and
Linked In to broadcast your message. You
don’t need anyone’s permission or approval to succeed. No gatekeepers at all.
But,
all things being equal reevaluate how you can discuss any of the big 3 in a relevant
and useful way. If you stretch too far and look like you just want to
capitalize on a disaster, you will be ignored or even vilified.
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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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