The National Book Critics Circle has launched a Campaign to Save Book Reviewing. This post is part of the campaign's blog series, which features posts by concerned writers, op-eds, Q and As, and tips about how you can get involved to make sure that owners and editors know that book sections and book culture matter. Here is a publisher's perspective.
Q. How do you let the world know about the books you publish?
A. We treat every book differently. We try to figure out who is the person we want to reach, and build it up from there. A lot of assumptions. We do a lot of work online. We have a MySpace page . That's just a small thing we do. It certainly must be effective. There are readers online, as are bookstore owners and librarians and bookstore clerks. It's a great way to get the word out. We depend on word of mouth. It's an old-fashioned but still effective marketing tool.
Q. But you're doing it in a new-fashioned way, if you're doing it online.
A. Things change and you have to be able to change with them. What we did 10 years ago may not be effective today. What we do today may not be effective in 10 years. We all need to be flexible and willing to experiment and try new things. We owe it to our authors to do that.
Q. What forms do you find effective online?
A. Peer marketing, word of mouth. You grow to trust a website or friends. And whether that's a blog or a bookstore website or a MySpace page, it's important to get our books in the hands of the right people.
Q. Is there a bookstore website you can use as an example?
A. Powells.com does a tremendous job. I'm a big fan of their website. It's one of the best bookstore websites out there. It's the experience you get when you walk into a store. They've been able to replicate that experience online. Really hand selling, with recommendations, news, It's a nice informative website. They have a Powell's blog, with authors who guest blog. There are recaps of what is going on in publishing today, an award just announced, a book that was just reviewed. It's a good way to keep people interested.
Q. And literary blogs?
A. I know there has been a lot of discussion lately of the importance of bloggers to the industry. I think they are important. Whether you write for a newspaper or a magazine or you're just my mom, and you tell me about a book you like, I think opinions matter. The blogging community is important to the industry.
Q. Are there specific literary blogs you turn to?
A., I browse around. I have Google alerts about books I'm looking for. I'm a surfer on the web. And I'm always interested to see where my search leads me. I always try to take a different path. There are wonderful blogs. The guy who runs a website called Chekhov's Mistress is an interesting guy. We have sent him books, he has talked about the importance of poetry and literature in translation on his blog. He seems very smart.
Bookslut. That's a great site. It's a smart site. They just did an interview with Tao Lin, which I thought was really interesting. Ned Vizzini did the interview. Bookslut matches people well with people who are the reviewers. When you look at it and see the number of novels, nonfiction and poetry being represented on Bookslut, that's wonderful. It's very wide reaching, and includes poetry and translation. Bookslut was one of the first ones out of the gate who showed publishers that websites and blogs are important and they have something to say. Today authors like Nathan Englander participate on Bookslut. Maybe in 2002 that wouldn't have happened.
Q. Do you also go to print publications?
A. Yes. Newsappers, magazines, long lead, from the largest to the smallest, are still an important backbone to the industry. We should do all we can to support them and help them exist.
Q. It's important to cover all bases?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Do you have an author out there now?
A. Today Chip McGrath wrote a great piece in the New York Times about a book we just published called "Dishwasher." Pete Jordan is the author. That was wonderful to wake up to this morning. Pete is embarking on a tour, doing events at stores like Quinby's in Chicago. He's at Atomic Books in Baltimore tomorrow night. He was on NPR Sunday. "This American Life."[He chronicled his dishwashing journey on the show.] He has "All Things Considered" coming up. We just did a great event at Mo Pitken's on Avenue A and Third Street. Talk about covering the bases, he has a MySpace page . People magazine is going to run something. It's nice to see a book like this get nice wide coverage. He's on Bookslut right now.
Q. Any special plans at this year's upcoming BEA?
A. I'm going to be on a blogging panel at the Bookseller Day in Brooklyn, talking about how bookstores can get involved in blogging as a way of reaching out to the community via their websites. The Harvard Bookstore MySpace page has is friends with and links to the local coffee shop, local record shop, shops on Harvard Square. It's a community thing.
Originally published at Critical Mass -- the blog of the national book critics circle board of directors.