Marvelous Marketer: Hayley Gonnason (Publicist at Tricycle Press)

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Marvelous Marketer!


Today we have Hayley Gonnason, a publicist from Tricycle Press.

Hi Hayley! Thanks for joining us today. I am sure everyone is excited to hear from a publishing publicist. But first, tell me a little about yourself, your background/experience, and your role as a publicist.

I got my start as a publicity and sales associate at a small publishing house called Northland Publishing/Rising Moon/Luna Rising, which has since closed. I’ve been a publicist for Tricycle Press, the children’s book imprint of Ten Speed Press, for just over three years.


First let me ask, do you see a difference in publicity vs marketing in the publishing industry?

That’s a pretty difficult question to answer because marketing and publicity often go hand in hand here at Tricycle. A simple way of looking at it is that with marketing we’re spending direct money to promote a book and with publicity we aren’t. My job as publicist is to promote Tricycle Press books to the media to create buzz and make people want to buy our books.


As a publicist with Tricycle Press, can you give us some insight as to what happens in your typical day?

One of the nice things about my job is, there is no “typical” day. I always have to be ready to shift gears. We recently had a book launch party and there was a miscommunication and books were never ordered for the event. When I found out, I had to drop everything to make sure the books were there in time for the event. In the end the launch went off without (as far as people attending knew) a hitch but little things like that come up all the time. When I’m not dealing with stuff like that, I’m working on creating publicity plans for upcoming books, establishing and obtaining relationships with media contacts, and arranging events for authors and illustrators.


What types of publicity do you do for your authors (ARCs, blurbs, signings, materials, collateral)? And, does your role vary by author or is there a set standard of publicity that all authors get?

At Tricycle,the marketing and publicity dept. covers everything you mention above. We create sales materials, arrange events, create collateral to promote the events, solicit blurbs and early reviews, and attend trade shows—and that’s just to start. As publicist I pitch books to the media and if authors/illustrators have a platform that makes for an interesting/newsworthy interview, I pitch them for features.

Lately, I’ve been working to promote one of our fall books by offering interviews with its subject Maggie Gee, an 86-year-old woman who flew with the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) in WWII. Barack Obama passed legislation last summer that honored WASP members with the Congressional Medal of Honor. It’s a highly topical subject.


In your opinion, what are the top 3 things you think your authors should do to promote their books?

We encourage authors to set-up their own websites so that anyone interested in obtaining more information about them and their books, can get to easily.

We advise authors to get on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. These are also great ways for anyone to get in touch with the author/illustrator. We figure once you build contacts here, it will develop into a way of networking and promoting themselves and their book(s), ultimately leading to sales.

We also encourage authors to participate in school visits and/or book signings. This is great for meeting people in their community and familiarizing booksellers with their book(s). Often times if they’ve met you in person, they’re more likely to recommend the book to potential buyers.


What things do you expect an author to do on their own?

We don’t expect authors—especially first-time authors—to know how to promote their books on their own but we really appreciate them when they try. Some easy and inexpensive ways that authors can spread the word about their new book is to tell their friends, local bookstores, and anyone else who will listen. Many authors are now blogging about their books which is cool. One of our authors travels the country speaking at schools and conferences and she always mentions her books in her presentations and they do very well because they she’s constantly promoting them. That’s not to say that a book won’t be successful if you don’t have a platform but it helps.


What are some creative things you’ve seen your house or authors do in terms of marketing and publicity?

We’re very fortunate in having such creative authors and illustrators who are interested in promoting their books as vigorously they can. When they have a great idea, we do our best to assist them in making it become a reality. For example, last spring we published a great summer read Brand-New Emily and the author mentioned how much she loved Bonne Bell and how fun it would be to do something with them. Running with her idea, we did a joint-promotion with Bonne Bell’s Lipsmackers Lounge where the book was included in a special summer giveaway they were doing. We also arranged several other beach-themed giveaways on websites like Cheerleader and Girl’s Life Magazine. And needless to say, when word got out that the author was giving out Lipsmackers at her events, they were a huge hit!


Thanks for stopping by and sharing some insight with us!

Thanks Shelli!

Marvelous Marketer: Ginger Rue (author of Brand New Emily)

Today we have something a little unique. We have marketing advice from an author, Ginger Rue, who's character Emily hires a PR rep to improve her image in school. I just finished the book and it is fun! Wish I would have thought about it! I highly recommend the book. Also - don't forget to post any questions you have for Ginger.

Hope you enjoy!


Hi Ginger. Thanks for stopping by today. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself and your new book. Is your background in Marketing and PR? How did you get published?

I was a middle and high school English teacher for eight years and wrote for magazines on the side. When I quit teaching, I landed a gig as an advice columnist for a great teen magazine called SWEET 16 (sadly, it folded a couple of years ago) and was doing most of my magazine work for the teen audience. One of my best friends had worked in New York at a big
publishing house for a few years, and she suggested that I use the platform of a teen magazine audience to try to do a teen book.

I don't have a background in marketing or PR, but my brother Glenn is an advertising professor at Southern Methodist University, so for years, we've casually discussed different campaigns--he'd tell me why an ad campaign was either terrible or brilliant, and often he'd roll his eyes at me when I'd get suckered in by some gimmick in a commercial--like a talking dog or a cute baby or whatever. So, while I didn't pursue a degree in APR, I've always been pretty aware of some of the aspects of how it works, just from hearing about it from my brother, who is quite phenomenal at what he does.

I got published in the usual way, I suppose. I wrote the book, looked for an agent, signed with an agent, and then worked with her to sell the book. Everyone who's published a book tells you how slow and frustrating the process is, and they're right! So much waiting!

What marketing research did you need to do for the book? What does your character learn about promoting herself?

Since my brother was in Texas when I started outlining BRAND-NEW EMILY, I couldn't ransack his bookshelves, so I called a friend of ours who went to grad school with Glenn. It just so happened that he had cleaned off his shelves a few days before and really wanted to unload about ten or fifteen old marketing, PR, and advertising texts, so I went and picked them up. I read them all and marked places I thought I could apply to my plot. I wanted to throw around a lot of lingo because the PR rep in the book is very knowledgeable, but I wanted to make sure it was relevant lingo.

Emily learns that middle school popularity and politics aren't all that different from the entertainment industry. Both rely on getting good buzz and having the right connections. She also learns how fleeting it all is. I think that in both realms, there's tremendous pressure to be the hip, new thing...so keeping your brand fresh and exciting to the consumer is a constant challenge.

Since your character gets pretty savvy on marketing herself, how have you marketed yourself/book? Web sites/blogs etc. What major points about branding and image do you consider important?

I'm a Southerner, and we're socialized not to be pushy, so it was very difficult for me as a freelancer when I first started out because I didn't want to bother anyone; I didn't want to be a pest. But I learned that if you want something, you have to ask. It's unlikely that someone is going to call you up and say, "Hey, can I promote your book for you?" So I simply asked people I'd worked with at magazines about promoting my book. Not all of them were willing or able to help, of course. One of my best clients isn't a teen magazine, so there wasn't a logical tie-in for them, and I understood that. I also try to think in terms of "win/win" situations; I don't ask bookstores or magazines or companies to do things for me without clearly defining what's in it for them.

Since the plot of BRAND-NEW EMILY involves a makeover, I thought some sort of partnership with a cosmetics company might be in order. But I didn't want to work with just anybody...my book is very fun and wholesome, and some cosmetic companies have an edgy image that just wouldn't make a partnership with them a logical fit. My first thought was Bonne Bell because when I was about 14, they really cornered the market on tweens and young teens. Everything they did was fun and fresh, not too heavy, and always with a positive vibe. So, I researched them and found that they were a three-generation, family-owned business, based in Ohio, and that their corporate philosophy included a statement about how inner beauty is more important than just looking good. I was sort of blown away by how perfect we were for each other!

My book has a strong family theme, and it's set in Ohio, and the value of inner beauty is a major theme as well. I called my publicist at Tricycle and said, "We've got to get in touch with this company! I love them!" While she was trying to get in touch with the right person, my final edit was due and the book was going to the printer. I had this scene where Emily is being made up, and I had described how natural the makeup looked on her--how it wasn't heavy or overdone. We had no idea if Bonne Bell would want to work with us at all, but we went ahead and put their name in that scene. I figured that even if they didn't want to promote the book with us, I didn't mind giving them a plug because they were such a positive influence on young girls, and I really, really didn't want girls reading this book and then caking on a bunch of makeup to try to recreate Emily's experience!

Later, we heard back from Bonne Bell, and they were very enthusiastic. They've given us great exposure on their Lip Smacker Lounge website and they've sent Lip Smackers (their lip gloss line) for me to give out at signings, which makes signings so much more fun. At one of them, this one girl was trying to decide whether to spend her allowance on my book or another book, and I said, "Hey, did this other author show up to sign your book and give you a free Lip Smacker? I don't think so!" She bought my book...which goes back to the whole "if you want something, you have to ask" thing!

All this to say that I do think branding and image are very important. Kirkus Reviews called my book "fizzy" and "fun," and that made me very happy, because that's what I was going for with BRAND-NEW EMILY. Right now, dark and edgy are big, but I think there is always room for fun. My book was definitely informed by my years as a teacher and how I had to all but beg the kids to read the books on our list. For instance, one year, I selected this fantastic book about a girl in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years, and her mother dies tragically, and they're poor and miserable. It's a beautiful book that's beautifully written, but try telling that to a seventh-grader! Once they'd read it, they loved it, but it's unlikely they'd have picked it up if I hadn't forced them. They used to always ask, "Why does everything we read for school have to be about pioneers or poor people or something depressing?" And if there's a dog on the cover, watch out,
because there's a 99% chance that dog is getting shot or rabies or something terrible, and the kids know that going in!

I wanted a book that girls couldn't wait to read, something that was well written and had some substance, but also had all the fun of reading a magazine. And what's in a teen girls' magazine? Fashion, beauty, boys, celebrities, advice, and insider info--all that stuff is in BRAND-NEW EMILY. When girls tell me they couldn't put it down, I love to hear that, because when I was a teacher, I had to force my students to read X number of chapters per day of whatever we were studying, and except for the couple of kids like me who loved reading anything and everything, the students would've rather been in an ant bed than do their reading!

In your opinion, how important is social networking?

I resisted getting on Facebook. My husband blogs and Twitters and does Facebook and all that stuff, and I could never understand why anyone would purposely put their personal business out for public consumption. But my publicist told me to do it, so I did. I didn't want to. But now I'm a Facebook addict like everyone else! It was fun because so many of my former students whom I'd lost touch with "friended" me (yes, that's a verb nowadays), so I get to see what they're up to now. It's also nice because, while I would feel weird sending an email to everyone I know about each step along the way (signings, reviews, etc.), on Facebook, it's normal...you just post your "status." And my Facebook friends tell their Facebook friends about my book or events or whatever, so it's been very helpful, I think in getting the word out.

I read somewhere that today's authors have to be more PT Barnum than JD Salinger if they want to keep writing books, and I think that's true. It's a different playing field than it used to be. Readers expect to be able to interact with you in some way, whether that's through your website or at a signing.

What creative things have you done to promote a book?

I think the Lip Smackers partnership is very cool and something a little different. I think teens today are programmed to expect more than we did. When we were teenagers, it was like, "Hey! I spent three dollars and I got this magazine to read!" Now, the teen magazines have contests so readers can win something for literally every day of the month, or you can take your magazine in to a store and get free stuff, like sunglasses or a t-shirt. I think it's brilliant, actually. Advertising has had to evolve along with industry. So I was definitely familiar with the concept of adding value to your product, because I know today's consumer, especially teens, expect that.

How did you market yourself to agents/editors before you were published?

I did mention in my query letters that I had an advice column called "Ask Ginger" in a magazine with roughly a quarter of a million readers, so that probably didn't hurt. Platform is definitely a plus; the publisher is taking a big risk on you, and they might feel better about doing so if
they believe you can sell books. That said, I think the most important thing is a great idea for a book combined with strong writing and a solid voice. Write a great query letter, and then when an agent requests a partial or a full, give him/her your best work. It's not the most exciting advice, but I think the best thing you can do as a writer is write the best book you possibly can.

Without that, all the fancy ideas about how to promote it won't mean a thing. In fact, this is roughly the same advice Brynn (the PR rep) gives Emily in BRAND-NEW EMILY: "'The consumer knows other consumers. And he or she might decide to tell those other consumers that the product was a rip-off. By and by, word gets around, and nobody else is buying. All that packaging and advertising have gone to waste as the product dies on the shelf.'" Worry first about having a great product. Then worry about how to promote it.

Thanks Ginger for stopping by!

Thanks Shelli

Marvelous Marketer: Abigail Samoun (Editor, Tricycle Press)

Hi Abigail. Thanks for joining us today.

Before we get pick your brain on marketing, tell me a little about yourself.

Tricycle Press is the children’s imprint of Ten Speed Press which began in Berkeley in the early 1970’s. After over 30 years as an independent publisher, we were just bought by Random House/Crown Books in February.

Ten Speed is known for its quirky, offbeat books like ‘Why Cats Paint’ and ‘The White-Trash Cookbook,’ but also for its business books (‘What Color is Your Parachute?’) and its high-end James Beard Award-winning cookbooks (Charlie Trotter, Hungry Planet, the Moosewood Cookbook). Tricycle’s list shares some of Ten Speed’s offbeat quality with board books such as the ‘My First Book of Sushi’ and ‘Urban Babies Wear Black.’ We’ve also done groundbreaking books like ‘King & King,’ about same-sex marriage, and ‘Mama’s Milk,’ promoting breast-feeding.

We have a whole list of character education books such as ‘Hey, Little Ant,’ which has kids think about the moral issues surrounding the question of squishing or not squishing an ant, and the picture books by anti-bullying expert, Trudy Ludwig. Our list ranges from photographic board books, to humorous read-alouds, to literary young adult novels. It’s an eclectic list and what all the books have in common is their high-quality and broad appeal to a trade audience. Our motto is ‘Books to Make Kids Think.’

As far as for me, I've been an editor at Tricycle Press since 2000 and focus on books, picturebooks, middle-grade, and early young-adult novels. These include the SCBWI Golden Kite winner GEORGE HOGGLESBERRY: GRADE SCHOOL ALIEN and the New York Public Library Ezra Jack Keats awardwinner, YESTERDAY I HAD THE BLUES.

I also edited the middle grade series Edgar & Ellen which has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and launched a cartoon series on Nickelodeon.

There is more information on Abigail in her interview on Cynsations.

Do you or your publishing house have a website/blog? If so, when did you start it and who manages it?

TenSpeed has had a website since I came to the company in 2000. We have some individual contractors who help us with it but it’s managed overall by one of our marketing people.

In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?

First I would have to say websites.

For writers, websites are a very good idea, but if an author feels overwhelmed by the idea, a Word Press or Blogger blog can work almost as well. If I’m interested in an author, I’ll often Google them to find out a little more about them. A blog gives me a good sense of their writing style, what they’ve been up to, what they might do to promote their book, and their interests.

For illustrators, a website is crucial. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to come across a book with amazing illustrations and then Google the illustrator only to find out they have absolutely to web presence. Most of my illustration searches are done online. Even if I get a postcard or tear sheet from an illustrator, I’ll always go online to see more of their work. Make it as easy as possible for an editor to find you: the best web address is one that’s simply your first and last name .com (or, alternatively, first and last name + illustration + .com). Be sure to include lots of samples (twenty or more is ideal).

Secondly, it would be platform.

Someone who has already made a name for themselves among teachers and librarians is gold to your publisher. We love illustrators and authors who do school visits. A few of our authors make a good living doing school visits. School visits and attending trade shows like ALA, TLA, and IRA is great, but also consider less obvious methods such as writing an article for a trade journal (i.e., ‘Teaching Tolerance,’ ‘School Library Journal’), writing a teachers’ guide for your book and offering it through your website or blog, or putting a video up on teachertube.com---give teachers and librarians free content to use and they’ll remember you.

The third thing is to focus on targeting specialty markets.

As trade book sales drop, the special markets are becoming more important to publishers. Most publishers will have someone on their sales team that deals with special market sales. Help them out by thinking of places to sell your book besides bookstores and schools/libraries. There are tons of places that sell books that aren’t bookstores: baby shops, gift shops, stationers, museum stores, tourist shops. chains like the Discovery Store, Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, ...the list goes on. Come up with your own list of special markets to explore and work with the sales people at your publishers’ to get the book into those places. If you have any contacts that might help your publishers’ sales team---i.e., your sister-in-law knows the buyer at Anthropologie---share them.

In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads.

I love Facebook because it’s a way to stay in touch with people I’ve worked with or met at conferences in a casual, less time-intensive way than email. Remember, though, that it’s still a professional relationship---it’s okay to be playful, but not okay to barrage editors or agents with lots of requests for quizzes and such.

I personally prefer Facebook to MySpace for professional contacts because it doesn’t have that teen vibe MySpace has and or as many obnoxious ads. The “status” bar on Facebook is great for letting people know about conferences you’re attending, awards you’ve won, exciting news about your book.

Jacketflap.com is my second favorite social networking site because it’s specifically dedicated to children’s book people. I just found a terrific children’s book designer through that site.

When evaluating whether to take on an author or book, do you ever Google them to see if they already have a web presence or platform?

I didn’t used to but now I do more and more. It’s especially helpful when I’m trying to convince my publisher why we need to take on a given book---it’s a big plus for the project if I can tell my publisher that the book has an “active author.” Having a web presence is a big part of this.

What marketing do you expect an author to do on their own?

At Tricycle, we’ll rarely sponsor a book tour. We’ll help schedule book signings and events, but the travel and lodging costs are almost always up to the author. We also expect authors to put together their own websites or blogs.

We expect authors to do a lot to promote their books. Its a partnership.

Thank you Abigail for being here!

Thanks Shelli!