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Here are some specialized queries made to specific, critical media outlets in search of exposure for myself and the book. These queries are presented as-is, with all syntax, grammar and spelling mistakes intact. Any analysis of the success or failure of these queries must take into account technical inaccuracies on my part.
Probably the worst feature of these queries is that they were generally created on the fly with a typewriter rather than a computer word processor. I didn't draft these letter and edit them later as I now wish I could have. I don't know what that cost me in lost bookings, but it had to be a factor. Anyone familiar with media query letters will spot many instances where judicious editing might have clinched a booking or prevented a rejection.
| Live It Up (CTV Network) |
"Live It Up" was a nationally-televised prime time magazine show that featured consumer items in every episode. I had high hopes for exposure here and didn't get it. Among the mistakes here were mentioning my other books (this was great for smaller markets but to the trained eye made me look like a trend-hopper and not a genuine expert), selling the hype and the personality over the substance of the book, and what I'm sure must have been sensed as an overweening hunger for publicity.
PAGE 1
Jack McGaw June 11/87
"Live It Up"
CTV
Toronto, ONJune 11/87 Mr. McGaw;
Steve Winter is a 27-year-old amateur rock musician, sometime ad copywriter, a former community reporter who self-published small books last year on subjects as diverse as mail order bookselling, sleep and dreaming and how to cope with failure.
He's hardly the sort of person you'd figure to be gaining a reputation as "Canada's consumer technician".
Yet in five weeks from the release of "The Ultimate Shopper", his first trade paperback, he's been featured in just that role on nearly 20 Canadian radio stations, and even gained an interview on CFTO-TV's "Toronto Today" before his books were available in a single Toronto bookstore. (It's now available across Canada.)
He credits his success to three things: a middle-ground approach that deals with shopping techniques as opposed to handy hints and consumer advocacy issues; a humorous style which he hopes will help him reach all types of shoppers; and an insistence that not only should shopping be fun, but that smart shopping actually takes less time and effort than haphazard spending.
Oh yes...there's also the small matter of a money-back guarantee which Steve insisted be printed on the cover of his book.
Steve credits the effectiveness of his approach, which includes his own 10-point Ultimate Shopper Program, with "years of living on a very low income". He began researching the material in 1981 with an eye to publishing a book for college students and first-time householders, but soon discovered he had something applicable to all consumers. The success of the book is proving his instincts correct, and he has even begun conducting consumer workshops in the Toronto area. In light of his rapid success with the media, he is also planning a cross-country tour-on-a-shoestring later this summer.
Although Steve considers himself one of the most atypical consumers around, he is fast proving that he's a knowledgeable, innovative shopper who is justly earning his reputation as "Canada's consumer technician".
For further information contact: Rob Sxxxxx at Living Skill Books, 555-5555
* * *
PAGE 2
BACKGROUND
Consumer topics: Putting the fun back into shopping Smart shoppers spend less time in the stores and less time and effort on shopping (One survey places impulse purchases in supermarkets over 70%) Negotiating discounts with retailers "Garage sailing" The importance of skills in second-hand shopping
Add'l background: See "My Card"
Sample tape from June 10 CFTO broadcast available on request
Available: Hey, for "Live It Up", anytime. ANYtime!
| Live It Up (CTV Network) |
This was a simple query for a brief author interview spot on the Global TV network's noon news program, which had a magazine-style format in addition to nescasting. No reply was received to this query; it may have made me look somewhat amateurish. I felt and still feel that playing up the money-back guarantee on the cover was a good idea, but it may not have had any meaning to my readers.
Mentioning the workshops may have helped, but had I been called on this point (and I'm not so sure I wasn't, come to think of it) this too could have killed me, because to tell the truth, for all the planning I put into doing free and paid consumer workshops, an idea I still think is viable by the way, I never got around to giving a single one.
Christine McLean
c/o Global TV
Don Mills, ONCONTACT: Rob Sxxxxx at 555-5555
RE: Steve Winter, author of "The Ultimate Shopper", 'the consumer technician'.Steve Winter is a 27-year-old amateur rock musician, sometime ad copywriter, single and living in a rooming house.
Hardly the description you'd expect to apply to someone gaining a reputation as "Canada's consumer technician".
Yet in five weeks from the release of his first trade paperback, he's been featured in that role on nearly 20 Canadian radio stations, often before his book was in the stores.
His humorous yet practical approach combines with an accent on shopping techniques, as opposed to handy hints and consumer advocacy issues, to create a very unusual volume that's been an instant success for a first book, and his lively, informative delivery has resulted in requests for re-booking* on most stations where he's been featured. (TV broadcast tape available.)
He has been researching this material since 1981, when he originally intended to publish a handbook for college students and first-time householders. He soon discovered that he had an approach suitable for every consumer, and initial response has proven him correct.
Oh yes...there's also this small matter of a money-back guarantee which Steve insisted be printed on the book's cover.
Steve also offers free consumer workshops for community groups, seniors' clubs, tenants' associations and other interested groups in the Toronto area.
--30--
*The line about "requests for re-booking", by the way, was the first instance I recall where I stretched the truth. The fact was that a few stations did suggest that they would book future interviews or features (virtually none followed through) and I took the fact that most stations expressed similar enthusiasm to those suggesting future interviews to mean that they would re-book as well. I don't know how harmless this misstatement was, but it may have red-flagged my naiveté.
| Quality Paperback Book Club |
The Quality Paperback Book Club would have been a superb sale had I landed it. They were the largest trade paperback book club in North America and initial sales were usually large enough to necessitate a special reprinting with their specifications. They didn't often buy small press titles, however, and by the time I made this query I knew I had an imperfect product. Still, I had to try. Sadly, it was a desperate act, as the contents show. I'd already blown several good chances and apologizing for the book's mistakes wasn't going to help at this point, nor did the "(more, but not much more)" line at the end of page 1.
PAGE 1:
Marty Asher
Director
Quality Paperback Book ClubJune 11/87 Mr. Asher;
In five weeks from its May 1 release in Canada, "The Ultimate Shopper" has done surprisingly well for a first self-published book in what I'm sure you know is a very reluctant market for self-published books. It has been picked up by Coles and WH Smith/Classic and Steve Winter has already been given coverage on more than 10% of Canada's adult radio stations.
All activity thus far has been considered test-marketing for the US. This book is aimed squarely at a North American, as opposed to a Canadian market, and the material discussed is equally applicable in both countries.
Based on response from reviewers and wholesalers, we are taking the following steps before publishing an edition for the US market:
1. A more dramatic three-color colver is being designed (Proof available on request).
2. The material is being tightened and the book lengthened by 20 to 26 pages to allow for illustrations and cartoons to break up copy, and these are currently being contracted.
3. The book came very close to being used as a subscription premium by Canadian Consumer magazine, but was rejected for what was described as borderline-distasteful material and weak humor in some sections. The humorous approach is being expanded throughout the entire book, questionable material eliminated or rewritten, and throwaway material such as the Afterword eliminated. In addition, the humorous aspect will be played up in cover copy.
4. An inordinate number of typos crept into the first edition. Naturally, the second edition will be proofed much more closely.
(more, but not much more)
PAGE 2
Aside from these changes, the book will be essentially the same.
Most of the publicity received thus far has been from broadcast media. This sort of book seldom gets reviewed in Canada, and most consumer writers contacted felt it was a rather ordinary work. Which probably explains why we've been unable to find one like it. Naturally, the less conservative broadcast market loves it.
The US pub. date was set for Sept. 1 but may be set forward to October or November due to the strong media response and media opportunities multiplying in September here. The publicity approach for the US will parallel successful campaigns in Canada and sub. rights sales, which were not solicited in Canada due to the rapid nature of the book's production, are currently being sought.
As we are not absolutely certain that this book fits the QPB catalog, we are also submitting to Pat Adrian, Cooking & Craft.*
The very best of fortunes,
Rob Sxxxxx Sales & Promotion
*An identical query letter was sent to Pat Adrian.
| CBC Marketplace |
"Marketplace" was a prime time national consumer program which I had hoped would be another relatively easy-to-get spot for the book. It was also a hard news program, and unfortunately, the book was a bit too "soft" to suit them, and I couldn't have been a recognized expert in their books.
I didn't get the spot. Also note that this is the first letter that contained steno marks at the end (RS/dd). "DD" was just a pair of letters typed randomly in an attempt to make it look as though I had a stenographer. I felt this was a fair means of pretending to affluence I didn't have, and after wrestling with the ethics for months, I began to use steno marks in all correspondence after about October of 1987. I'm not sure how reassuring it was to the recipient, though; it's just one more detail.
CBC Marketplace
POB 500 Stn. A
Toronto, ON
O0O-0O0July 11/87 Marketplace;
Although THE ULTIMATE SHOPPER covers a substantial amount of territory, there are a few points which may be of interest to you.
First, Steve Winter is a strong advocate of second-hand shopping. In spite of the rapid advances in consumer technology, the fact remains that most products are built to last several years. Many people shy away from second-hand shopping because no warranties are available and useful life is decreased. But in most cases, if an item survives the warranty period without a breakdown, it can usually be relied upon to survive many more years; and because of technological advance, marginally-obsolete products tend to lose value at a rate that far outstrips useful life.
Second, he stresses the importance of negotiating skills at the consumer level. Much has been written on this subject from a business and achievement standpoint, but he maintains that the development of sound negotiating skills can pay big dividends in the marketplace as well. Although "haggling" is a time-honored tradition in many European countries, he believes it has become something of a lost art in North America, an art that will be revived if standards of living continue to decline.
Third, his own experience and the testimony of expert shoppers he's met from across Canada tend to support his conviction that skilled shoppers not only get better value but also enjoy shopping more and spend less time and effort doing it.
CONTACT: Rob Sxxxxx, c/o Living Skill Books, (416)555-5555
RS/dd
| Canada News-Wire |
An article by one of the major wire services meant major coverage. Not every paper carries every wire story; far from it, in fact. But you can usually count on a few biggies and a number of mid-sized dailies to take the story. A colleague of mine seeks wire service publicity with a passion for all of her books and has observed anywhere from minimal payoff to huge jumps in sales.
This query received no reply. Note also that with all letters addressed to men I began the letter "Mr. So-and-so". On letters addressed to women I had no way of knowing how they preferred to be addressed, so I began letters by using the full name. I also used the full name for Kerry Dean, because I did not know whether Kerry was male or female. I took great care to attend to the gender problem, which made losing the premium sale to Canadian Consumer over a line which they felt offended women that much more stinging.
Elisa Piper
Consumer Editor
Canada News-Wire Ltd.
Toronto, ON
O0O-0O0July 11/87 Elisa Piper;
Steve Winter is 27, a first-time author with no professional credentials...a young bachelor who has written a consumer manual. And strangely enough, it's becoming a hit.
Steve deals in consumer technique, which he claims is the missing link in a world crazy for comparison-shopping, coupon-clipping and corner-cutting. He places a special emphasis on negotiating skills, a popular subject not often approached from a consumer standpoint. He's also a strong advocate of second-hand shopping, and he's quick to point out that both his own experience and the testimony of dozens of expert shoppers across Canada indicate that skilled shoppers not only spend less time shopping, they also enjoy it more and get more value.
His message is getting through. Within 10 weeks of the book's release, he has made 25 radio appearances across Canada and plans a nationwide tour in late August.
But there is one surprising inconsistency. The print media has been singularly unimpressed, and in spite of the strong response from broadcasters and praise from people such as Ron Collister and Angela Walker (CAC), a survey of consumer editors on Canadian dailies revealed that THE ULTIMATE SHOPPER is thought of as "very ordinary" and "not exactly noteworthy".
Readers don't agree...or at least they haven't yet. Although the book is offered with a money-back guarantee, as was an earlier version entitled "SuperThrift", no requests for refund have yet been received.
Despite the apparent personal inconsistency (a young bachelor writing a consumer manual indeed!) he says he's dead serious in his role, but just as serious about enjoying it. It seems one of the most visible features of the book is its sense of humor, which has prompted more than one broadcaster to comment on how enjoyably it reads, a rare accolade for a book of this genre.
CONTACT: Rob Sxxxxx at Living Skill Books, (416)555-5555
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