Dear Faithful Followers:
The Marketing Department at Bagnoose Media International has done it again! They've set up a reading of The Spy Who Loathed Me near the BMI Northern California Headquarters in Montclair, California.
When: June 28, 7 p.m.
Where: A Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611. Tel: 510.339.8210.
What will happen? Chris Westphal will read selections from the book, the audience will revel in hilarity, and after everyone catches their breath, he will answer questions and give brief shoulder massages, if necessary.
Please come! Please tell everyone you've ever met to come!
Thanks,
Bagnoose Media International Public Relations Department
I am a novelist and humor writer. "The Pyongyang Paradox," the fourth book in my comedic trilogy, "The Chronicles of Huttle," is now available from Genius Books, and on Audible! See links on the right side of this page!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
What's in a name?
Shakespeare said it best, and I quote: "Echo Valley would still be the same hilarious book if it had a different title."
Well, that may not be an exact quote, but the bard's point is well taken. At least in terms of sales, the title Echo Valley is about as exciting as the title A Book. (In fact, for my money, A Book might be a pretty good title. "What're you getting your wife for her birthday?" "Oh, I don't know. I think I'll get her A Book." But I digress)
What is all this talk of titles and sales? Well, as a part of the vast marketing push on behalf of The Spy Who Loathed Me, our intrepid leader, Chris Westphal, found time in his busy schedule to put in an appearance at Ojai's Word Fest writing conference. He did a well-received reading from the book, ran a humor-writing workshop, and then participated in the book fair. It wasn't really a fair, to be honest. Fairs have rides, and cotton candy, and fat people eating corn dogs. This was basically just a bunch of tables covered with books for sale.
In any case, the event went pretty well. Many people stopped by the Bagnoose Media International table, which displayed copies of The Spy Who Loathed Me, and of Echo Valley. Visitors would chuckle at the title The Spy Who Loathed Me, and they'd read the jacket copy, and they'd laugh at that. Many bought the book. Then, they'd look at Echo Valley, and shrug.
After the book fair, Bagnoose Media International's Board convened at Ojai Coffee Roasting Company to discuss the event. Now, the BMI board is a stuffy, conservative lot. If you could smoke cigars at Ojai Coffee Roasting, you can bet that all of them would have lit up.
The chairman stirred his black coffee contemplatively, then looked up. "The inventory was there," he said. "The visitors came by. Yet not a single copy of Echo Valley sold." Then, he bored into Chris Westphal with icy blue eyes. "Why not?" If he'd had a moustach, he would have twisted it. Instead, he just pinched his upper lip a little.
Well, Chris Westphal does not like to be accused--even implicitly--of not making his best effort. "Oh, I touted the book, you can count on that," he said. "But the fact is this: Echo Valley is a lousy title."
The Chairman harrumphed as only a portly chairman can do. The Secretary spewed his lemonade all over the table. The Treasurer said, "This is an outrage!"
But Westphal stood his ground. "Echo Valley doesn't say anything. What's an Echo Valley? And the cover art is a disaster too, by the way."
"But what about people who've already read the book?" asked The Secretary. "If they want to refer a friend to it, well, it will no longer exist!"
Much grumbling ensued. Westphal, ever self-effacing, said, "It's not Gone with the Wind," by which he meant to indicate that sales had not been so robust that a vast fan base would be forsaken. The Board seemed to understand.
Well, that was only the beginning. Of course, over the ensuing weeks, the Marketing Department, the Sales Department, and of course the Legal Department had to get involved, each of them contributing their part to the discussion. Ultimately, consensus was reached: Echo Valley will be retitled In Huttle We Trust, and will be redesigned for a new paperback, in a style complementary to The Spy Who Loathed Me. In the annals of publishing overall, this is of course a minor development, but for a fledgling company such as Bagnoose Media International to embark on such a bold course of action bodes well for its future success.
Keep an eye out for In Huttle We Trust, and also for its sequel, at this point tentatively titled What We Talk About When We Talk About Huttle, but there is a powerful faction within the BMI Power Apparatus that is lobbying for Huttle to the Rescue.
As always, Bagnoose Media International is open to suggestions from loyal followers.
Well, that may not be an exact quote, but the bard's point is well taken. At least in terms of sales, the title Echo Valley is about as exciting as the title A Book. (In fact, for my money, A Book might be a pretty good title. "What're you getting your wife for her birthday?" "Oh, I don't know. I think I'll get her A Book." But I digress)
What is all this talk of titles and sales? Well, as a part of the vast marketing push on behalf of The Spy Who Loathed Me, our intrepid leader, Chris Westphal, found time in his busy schedule to put in an appearance at Ojai's Word Fest writing conference. He did a well-received reading from the book, ran a humor-writing workshop, and then participated in the book fair. It wasn't really a fair, to be honest. Fairs have rides, and cotton candy, and fat people eating corn dogs. This was basically just a bunch of tables covered with books for sale.
In any case, the event went pretty well. Many people stopped by the Bagnoose Media International table, which displayed copies of The Spy Who Loathed Me, and of Echo Valley. Visitors would chuckle at the title The Spy Who Loathed Me, and they'd read the jacket copy, and they'd laugh at that. Many bought the book. Then, they'd look at Echo Valley, and shrug.
After the book fair, Bagnoose Media International's Board convened at Ojai Coffee Roasting Company to discuss the event. Now, the BMI board is a stuffy, conservative lot. If you could smoke cigars at Ojai Coffee Roasting, you can bet that all of them would have lit up.
The chairman stirred his black coffee contemplatively, then looked up. "The inventory was there," he said. "The visitors came by. Yet not a single copy of Echo Valley sold." Then, he bored into Chris Westphal with icy blue eyes. "Why not?" If he'd had a moustach, he would have twisted it. Instead, he just pinched his upper lip a little.
Well, Chris Westphal does not like to be accused--even implicitly--of not making his best effort. "Oh, I touted the book, you can count on that," he said. "But the fact is this: Echo Valley is a lousy title."
The Chairman harrumphed as only a portly chairman can do. The Secretary spewed his lemonade all over the table. The Treasurer said, "This is an outrage!"
But Westphal stood his ground. "Echo Valley doesn't say anything. What's an Echo Valley? And the cover art is a disaster too, by the way."
"But what about people who've already read the book?" asked The Secretary. "If they want to refer a friend to it, well, it will no longer exist!"
Much grumbling ensued. Westphal, ever self-effacing, said, "It's not Gone with the Wind," by which he meant to indicate that sales had not been so robust that a vast fan base would be forsaken. The Board seemed to understand.
Well, that was only the beginning. Of course, over the ensuing weeks, the Marketing Department, the Sales Department, and of course the Legal Department had to get involved, each of them contributing their part to the discussion. Ultimately, consensus was reached: Echo Valley will be retitled In Huttle We Trust, and will be redesigned for a new paperback, in a style complementary to The Spy Who Loathed Me. In the annals of publishing overall, this is of course a minor development, but for a fledgling company such as Bagnoose Media International to embark on such a bold course of action bodes well for its future success.
Keep an eye out for In Huttle We Trust, and also for its sequel, at this point tentatively titled What We Talk About When We Talk About Huttle, but there is a powerful faction within the BMI Power Apparatus that is lobbying for Huttle to the Rescue.
As always, Bagnoose Media International is open to suggestions from loyal followers.
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