The Charlie Effect (soon to be a major motion picture…well, it should be.)

I’m hiring Charlie as my publicist!  Thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to drop by and say hello.  And a big merci to Charlie for introducing me around. This really caught me off guard and threw my plan to update my blog once a week right out the window.  I’m a ‘babe in the woods’ here so please bear with me (hmm, perhaps I’m more a cub in the woods) as I learn the finer points.  I haven’t had a chance to look at many other blogs yet, but over the next week or two I plan to. 

Not a lot new on the Iron Elves, not since yesterday anyway, but things are progressing well with Band of Sisters.  We’ve used some of our co-op money for front of store placement in B&N starting the first week in July which should raise awareness of the book dramatically.  Co-op, in case this is an unfamiliar term, is money that a retailer holds back from the books it sells that the publisher is compelled to spend in that chain promoting future books.  Essentially, it’s the bookstores’ way of saying ‘help us help you.’  You probably already know this, but all those books at the front of the store, or on end caps or otherwise stacked and displayed in high traffic areas or near the cash registers got there because a publisher paid for that placement using co-op money.  In turn, the bookstore will order more books from the publisher based on the co-op buy and the marketing the publisher is doing.  Both sides are working together to sell more books.  It’s no guarantee of course, but it does fit with the adage that perception becomes reality.  If you see twenty copies of a book stacked five feet from the door as you enter the store it’s hard to ignore it.  Even if the sale isn’t made then, the odds have increased that someone goes home, logs onto Amazon and buys it there. 

I’ll try to come up with more interesting things to talk about in the future, I promise!

  1. arcticghost

    That is excellent news about Band of Sisters! How many copies are you guys printing for its first run? (notice I said *first* 🙂 this book is gonna be hot!)

    And something tells me you’re going to be just fine at this bloggy thingy, grasshopper 😉

    Reply
    • admin

      I think I know you 🙂 Our first print run was in the 25k – 30k range which, for a hard cover, is a very, very healthy number. We may be getting our first big television shot this week, fingers crossed!

      Reply
  2. retrobabble

    It’s all interesting.

    And I’ve been down here since ’99 – you can find Aero bars at Cost Plus. *cough* Just sayin’. *g*

    Reply

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