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Murder for Charity: Promote Your Book and Do a Good Deed!
By Alina Adams
Hello. My name is Alina Adams and I am a Marketing and Promotion Junkie.
I can't help it. I write paperback originals, a.k.a. The Ugly Stepchildren of Publishing. My latest,
Murder on Ice: A Figure Skating Mystery, was published by Berkley Prime Crime in November 2003.
By my rough calculations, in November 2003, Berkley Prime Crime also published three million and seventy-four thousand other titles,
while employing .3 publicists per every 148,000 titles. (This is a rough estimate, based mostly on my perceptions and a genetic inability to do math). In other words, if I didn't get out there and promote my poor, little orphaned murder mystery, who
would?
I did all the usual things, of course. Sent out review copies to the mystery press, news releases to the mainstream press, contacted people I knew in the media and badgered them for interviews. Basic Marketing 101.
And then I decided to knock it up a notch.
Since my book takes place in the world of competitive ice-skating, I contacted two local charities, The Ice Theatre of New York and Figure Skating in Harlem, and asked them if they would be interested in my doing a book signing at their respective fundraising events, with all the profits going to them.
Both were very enthusiastic about the idea, leading to three distinct promotional streams for me.
First, I publicized each book signing. Many newspapers and websites won't list just another random author scribbling. But the odds of a mention get substantially higher when there's a charity involved. In this manner, even people who have no intention of attending the event saw my book title in print, often for several days in a row, in their community calendars.
Second, I was given a prominent spot at the actual event. For Ice Theatre, I had a table during all three nights of their 2003 Home Season, where literally hundreds of skating fans saw my sign. Many stopped to chat and I ended up selling close to 50 copies.
Third, once the event was over, I sent out a press release with photos from the signing to the local media and to the national skating press. As before, a simple book signing is not news. But a press release with photos of local celebrities talking about how much money was raised for a worthy charity, is.
Finally, for those unable to make any of my signings, I set up links on my website,
http://www.AlinaAdams.com, explaining that, for everyone who bought a copy of "Murder on Ice" through my website, I would donate the proceeds to the charity indicated. In that way, I was able to get additional coverage, this time from the national Jewish press, when I added a button for donations to the Israel Skating Federation.
Now, obviously, this isn't the path to amassing a publishing fortune, since I donate all money from the books I sell back to the charity (I do, however, still collect the royalties, since even sales to nontraditional sources count as sales). But it is a terrific way to get my name out there, not once, not twice, but three times or more from a single event. And the additional good karma that comes from helping a cause I believe in doesn't exactly hurt my feelings, either.
It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. A marketing junkie's dream.
Alina Adams' second figure skating mystery, "On Thin Ice," is an October 2004 release from Berkley Prime Crime. "Murder on Ice" is currently available in bookstores everywhere as well as through her website,
www.AlinaAdams.com!
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