Talking Movies with John Barbour

Guest, Carol Hoenig

http://www.carolhoenig.com/

I am the President of Carol Hoenig Publishing Consultant, Inc. In today’s ever-changing publishing climate, it is important to wear many hats, so to speak. Prior to starting my own business, I worked for a big bookstore chain as their National Event Specialist. I had the opportunity to work with many publishers, both big and small, as well as many authors—some who were just starting out and others whose books were on the bestseller lists.  During that time I was getting a wonderful education on what made some events successful and what made others fail. Believe it or not, I hosted an event in the Manhattan Park Avenue location for a first-time author who had standing-room-only. (This author was so grateful for my efforts that we stay in touch to this day.) On the other hand, there was a recognizably named author who refused to show up to his event when he heard that the crowd waiting for him was minuscule. He didn’t care about those who were in attendance, but rather those fans who weren’t there. This author thought that because it was Park Avenue there would be a huge audience waiting for him, in spite of the fact that I told his publicist to expect otherwise. (An explanation here as to why would be too long, but let’s just say the location was not his market.)

Fast forward to today. One of the other hats I wear is being a published author. Between my experience working with publishers and being a writer in my own right, I know both sides of the business and have learned the importance of thinking creatively when it comes to getting publicity for one’s book. As a developmental editor, I can also plan out a publicity approach for the author while his or her book is still being written. Cookie-cutter approaches do not work and I find ways to help the author consider other avenues for events when a bookstore cannot host one for them. I also find fresh media pitches for their book, as opposed to sending a press release out as an email blast, which rarely gets the attention of any producer or editor.