This is part one of my four-part article about the HHCC conference in Dallas.
The conference was held in the Radisson hotel on Mockingbird Lane. The building looked a little old, though it was clean and neat. The thermostat was set somewhere between sub-zero and absolute zero.
After registering and getting a book bag full of goodies (including two issues of
Glimmer Train), I was just in time for the first session. The choices were between Free Publicity with Jeff Crilley and Finding an Agent with
Harry Hunsicker. Since I had an agent, I went to the Free Publicity session.
Jeff Crilley discussed how to get newspapers and magazines to write about you. He talked about finding columnists who are writing about topics relevant to your book. For example, if your novel is about runaway teens, a columnist doing a two-part series on the subject might be willing to interview you on your research. In the process, they'll likely mention your book. He also gave a little hint: your press releases to the local newsrooms are probably not being read. At most you're gettin a half a second of their attention. The guys in charge are more concerned with the exciting stories, like the double homicide they just heard about on the police scanner.
He has a book available on his site, and he's available for speaking engagements (and he doesn't charge speaking fees).
And to let you know how well his ideas apparently work, I visited my parents (who are wedding videographers and portrait photographes) after the conference on Friday, and when I mentioned "this TV reporter who spoke about free publicity," my mom said, "Was it Jeff Crilley?"
The next session was
Breakthrough with Promotions, by publicist P.J. Nunn. The main idea I took out of that session was to make a twelve-month "slow and steady" promotion schedule rather than do a heavy promotion for the first few weeks after the book is released. The reason is to keep your name out there while you're working on your next book. You want people asking for your book all year, and you want the bookstores to make sure the book is there whenever they do ask for it. That doesn't mean a world-wide book tour. It's more about local signings, radio interviews, and articles in magazines and newspapers.
In part 2:
Guest speaker Jerrilyn Farmer; Finding Fans and Keeping Them; and Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Agents and Editors - But No One Would Tell You.