Author Publicity for Percy’s Special Gift
September 4, 2010 1:58 am
August has been a busy month for author MaryAnn De Salva! She has appeared at several local events in her home town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, signing copies of her children’s book, PERCY’S SPECIAL GIFT.
On August 17th, De Salva was a featured guest on a local television talk show on Green Bay’s Channel 2. Host Kevin Rompa was interested to learn that De Salva, a retired high-school English teacher, was donating all the proceeds from PERCY’S SPECIAL GIFT to selected charities that benefit children. He urged all her former students to “go buy a book, to thank Mrs. De for your great education!” Across the screen, as they talked, ran the dates and addresses of De Salva’s upcoming book signings.
Two days later, on August 19th, De Salva had two book signing events at Seroogy’s, a family-owned chocolate maker that has been providing homemade chocolates since 1899 to people in Green Bay and neighboring De Pere. The book signings were coordinated with an annual tour of the chocolate factory by people from all over the state of Wisconsin. Interested individuals sign up for the factory tour in advance, and Seroogy’s brings busloads of them in for the tour. There were about 500 people at each book signing, so the exposure for PERCY was excellent. De Salva said a special table had been set up for her, with a vase of flowers and a plate of chocolates, and a sign describing her as a “local author.”
De Salva had a supply of specially-designed PERCY bookmarks by PublishingGurus.com to give away with each book she signed. She was thrilled, she said, to find that many former students were there—quite a few of them buying books for their grandchildren! Each of the Seroogy’s events lasted about four hours. “There were literally hundreds of people,” she reported. “It was wonderful!”
August 29th saw De Salva at “Artstreet,” an annual juried art show for which a street in downtown Green Bay is closed for the day. She was invited to spend two hours signing books in the booth reserved for Reader’s Loft, one of the bookstores that is offering PERCY’S SPECIAL GIFT. Several thousand people attended Artstreet.
And finally, on August 30th, De Salva returned to the De Pere high school where she taught for thirty-four years. As students flowed into the building for their fall High School Orientation, there she was, set up at a table and happily signing books.
These are examples of how an author can supplement a marketing program by making personal appearances to publicize a book. There’s nothing like the personal touch: readers will gladly line up for the opportunity to buy a book and exchange a few words with the author. De Salva’s book signings also show creativity and “thinking outside the box”: Seroogy’s chocolate shops are carrying her book, and were glad to include her as part of the annual tour. Congratulations to MaryAnn De Salva on some excellent – and profitable – marketing experiences this past month!
