I love Cirque du Soleil. In 2004, I
learned about "O," the
troupe's water spectacular at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, and vowed that one day I'd see the show. I made good on
that vow in mid-June when I purchased a ticket to an October performance, one of many planned activities for my Vegas
Extravaganza this fall.
The great thing about booking a solo ticket for a concert, play, or other performance is that I often get an
excellent seat, even at the last minute. The down side is that when I choose the "best seat available" in the orchestra
section my choices are often limited to the first row. Sometimes that's okay, like when I sat in the front row at the
stage drama, Twelve Angry Men. That play is all
about the writing. Ninety minutes of talking heads means visual perspective isn't a requirement for enjoying the
performance. But for musicals and other spectaculars, I prefer not to be kissing the stage.
Still, for "O" I might have been game for the front row, were it not for the words "WET SEAT" on the venue
chart,
I wondered, "How wet does the WET SEAT get?" I wouldn't mind a droplet or two, even a modest foot splash. But I plan
to look chic in the Vegas nighttime. I even know what cocktail dress I will wear to "O": Silk, fuchsia with yellow
accents and hemline beads, fitting like I was born in it. It isn't a dress for the rinse cycle.
But I'm big on life metaphors and so chided myself for being a wuss, for not binging at the banquet table of life
experiences. So what if I get wet at "O"? ABBONDANZA!
Wait a minute! This isn't a June picnic in Connecticut to which I would wear cargo pants, flip-flops, and a t-shirt.
What if a torrent of water sails out of the Bellagio circus tank at the top of the show and I'm sitting there for the
rest of it shivering in my ruined silk dress that is sticking to me like a sweaty baggie? And my reward for booking the
WET SEAT to prove - if only to myself - that I can belly up to life's banquet bar? Walking the Vegas strip back to my
hotel looking like an alley cat caught in a thunderstorm.
The literary protagonist Auntie Mame told her little charge
Patrick, "Life's a banquet and most sons of bitches are starving out there." I admire Auntie Mame. And while I don't
want to let her - or me - down, I figure it this way: a solo trip to Sin City is ABBONDANZA a plenty.
Baby's going to stay dry.
The interior layout design for Postcards and Pearls is finalized!
Last time, Gina hired a graphic designer for her third book, Postcards and Pearls:
Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road, who nailed the cover on the first
round of designs. That milestone behind her, Gina turns her attention to obtaining endorsements from a variety of
well-established authors, and recounts in response to a reader request, how she did it the first time.
Earlier this year, a reader e-mailed me to ask, "How did you obtain such impressive endorsements for your [second book]?" I was being
sincere when I wrote back, "I asked nicely." But before I got to the asking stage, I developed a strategy.
Identify authors/journalists in your book's target market
For endorsements for my second book, The Lesson of the Chopsticks, I chose self-help authors because that is my genre.
My objective was/is to magnetize my target audience with endorsements from widely-read authors who write for the same
audience.
Making contact
There were any number of authors I could have chosen to contact but, given that I was three months away from
publication, I needed to engage quickly and I felt that a personal referral was the best way to do it. Of the three
authors I identified, I was referred to two of them and I got the third author's contact information from a Google
search.
Approach with grace and respect
I addressed all three authors by their first names when I contacted them. One author e-mailed me back, his message
beginning with, "Ms. Greenlee." Oops. I realized I had been too familiar. Fortunately, that did not turn him off but I
learned the importance of balancing friendliness with a certain level of formality until a connection is
established.
Be succinct
I kept my query e-mails under a page long and asked a friend to read several versions of it and provide feedback until
I got it just right - brief and with the relevant tone. Also, I made a point of telling all three authors that my book
was really short - this way they would not anticipate wading through a tome and would, hopefully, be more inclined to
read the book.
For Postcards and Pearls, I will offer potential endorsers the introduction and an excerpt because the book is more
traditional in length (about 80,000 words). Though they are welcome to read the entire book, I've learned from other
authors that it is the rare endorser who reads the books he or she blurbs from cover to cover.
Demonstrate legitimacy
When I e-mailed the authors, I included the link to the sample page for my first book on my Web site. Because I was a
stranger, I wanted to be taken seriously and minimize concerns that I might be a crackpot. By doing so, I hoped to
increase the likelihood of a favorable response to my query. With the minimal effort of one click, these authors would
know a bit more about me in a few paragraphs. I know they visited the Web link because they referenced the first book
sample when they agreed to blurb my second book.
Approach electronically unless there is an expressed preference for snail mail
My publication timeline did not allow for snail mail but, even if it had, I would have e-mailed. I believe many people
will read and respond to e-mail faster than postal mail because the medium lends itself to that dynamic. Why risk
waiting two weeks or months for a response when you can get one in two days?
Send the galley or excerpt under separate cover
After introducing myself, establishing my legitimacy and stating my business, I asked each author nicely if he'd
consider blurbing my book after reading the galley I intended to overnight to him. I did not attach a manuscript to my
e-mail. That would have been presumptuous and a likely turn off even if they were inclined toward the message of
my book. Only after each author agreed to read the galley, did I mail it along with a convenient postage paid envelope
for its return.
Say "Thank you" in writing with a signed copy of your published book
After my book was published, I overnighted a handwritten note of appreciation to each author, along with a signed copy
of the book he had endorsed.
Postscript: Originally, I asked four authors for blurbs for The Lesson of the Chopsticks. The fourth one I know
personally. That author declined. The three authors I had never met before, said "yes." The moral of the Art of the
Blurb is:
- Assume nothing.
- Do your homework.
- Be professional.
- ASK.
- Stay positive.
- Write the best book you can write at that moment in time.
Gina's publishing adventures continue in August in the next installment of The Leap.
Tell me about your Symbol Life. How have your own metaphors for living shaped you? What leaps have you taken? I'd
love to hear about them.
Thanks for taking time to read my newsletter. I appreciate it and I'll be writing to you again in August.
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