We have a very special guest today at Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion! Welcome Steven M. Reilly, author of THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS: HOW A HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM FOUND REDEMPTION ON THE BASEBALL DIAMOND. Steven is here with us today to tell us how he pumps up his own online book promotion!Welcome to Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion, Steven! Can we begin by having you tell us what your book THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS is about and why you wrote it?
Thank you very much for inviting me, Dorothy.
The book is about redemption sought by three high school baseball players, their team, their coaches and the City they live in. In 1991, high school football was everything in Derby which is the smallest city in Connecticut. The team had a streak of twenty-eight straight years without having a losing season. The streak ended on Thanksgiving Day, 1991. Three seniors including the quarterback also played on the school’s baseball team. One of the seniors was the Mayor’s son and almost all of the other players on the baseball team played football. The head coach of the baseball team was also an assistant football coach who was also battling his own difficulty.
After blowing the streak, the football players, especially the three seniors, were labeled losers forever in the City. Their last chance at redemption was playing on the baseball team. Two of the Seniors were pitchers. The smallest school in the league, Derby battles for and makes the state tournament and ultimately, as the late North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano would say, “survives and advances” to a state championship game.
But the game turns into a nightmare after an early lead disintegrates. We end up down by two runs with two outs in the last inning. With two runners in scoring position, the quarterback comes to the plate and ultimately gets a base hit to tie the game and send it into extras. The excitement builds as each extra inning results in Derby scoring and their adversary tying the game. Complicating matters, a pitching limitation rule forces one of the senior pitchers to return to the mound several innings after being removed. In the eleventh inning(the fourth extra inning) another Derby senior fouls off seven pitches in a row with a three-balls two-strikes two-out count until he ultimately drives in the winning runs. In the bottom of the last inning, Derby’s senior pitcher hangs on despite barely being able to pitch.
I wrote the book simply because nobody else did. The fifteenth anniversary of the team was coming up and I felt the story of the great bunch of players I was associated with should be told.
THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS is a sports memoir. Why did you choose this genre to write? Did you choose it or did it choose you?
Clearly it chose me. Although I had thought about writing a novel before I turned fifty years old, one of my life goals I guess, the desire to write about the team stopped me from procrastinating any further.
In regards to promotion, what have you been doing to promote your book online?
Initially, I created a web site with a company called www.inspiredtype.com. (Shameless
plug for them I guess)They had author templates, one of which fit my books’ theme and several extra goodies, such as news bulletin areas, an area for a blog, the ability to insert polls, photographs and so on. It was free if I was willing to include some google ads on the site. About a month after creating the free site, I decided to remove the google ads and pay for the site.
Thank you very much for inviting me, Dorothy.
The book is about redemption sought by three high school baseball players, their team, their coaches and the City they live in. In 1991, high school football was everything in Derby which is the smallest city in Connecticut. The team had a streak of twenty-eight straight years without having a losing season. The streak ended on Thanksgiving Day, 1991. Three seniors including the quarterback also played on the school’s baseball team. One of the seniors was the Mayor’s son and almost all of the other players on the baseball team played football. The head coach of the baseball team was also an assistant football coach who was also battling his own difficulty.
After blowing the streak, the football players, especially the three seniors, were labeled losers forever in the City. Their last chance at redemption was playing on the baseball team. Two of the Seniors were pitchers. The smallest school in the league, Derby battles for and makes the state tournament and ultimately, as the late North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano would say, “survives and advances” to a state championship game.
But the game turns into a nightmare after an early lead disintegrates. We end up down by two runs with two outs in the last inning. With two runners in scoring position, the quarterback comes to the plate and ultimately gets a base hit to tie the game and send it into extras. The excitement builds as each extra inning results in Derby scoring and their adversary tying the game. Complicating matters, a pitching limitation rule forces one of the senior pitchers to return to the mound several innings after being removed. In the eleventh inning(the fourth extra inning) another Derby senior fouls off seven pitches in a row with a three-balls two-strikes two-out count until he ultimately drives in the winning runs. In the bottom of the last inning, Derby’s senior pitcher hangs on despite barely being able to pitch.
I wrote the book simply because nobody else did. The fifteenth anniversary of the team was coming up and I felt the story of the great bunch of players I was associated with should be told.
THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS is a sports memoir. Why did you choose this genre to write? Did you choose it or did it choose you?
Clearly it chose me. Although I had thought about writing a novel before I turned fifty years old, one of my life goals I guess, the desire to write about the team stopped me from procrastinating any further.
In regards to promotion, what have you been doing to promote your book online?
Initially, I created a web site with a company called www.inspiredtype.com. (Shameless
plug for them I guess)They had author templates, one of which fit my books’ theme and several extra goodies, such as news bulletin areas, an area for a blog, the ability to insert polls, photographs and so on. It was free if I was willing to include some google ads on the site. About a month after creating the free site, I decided to remove the google ads and pay for the site.
Secondly I created a MySpace page and, after getting rid of all the nasty spam I received, began the arduous task to find and add friends who are fellow authors, bookstores, libraries, avid readers, celebrities(if I could confirm the site was legit), and sports broadcasters as well as personal friends.
Thirdly, I engaged a service to send out a national press release.
Additionally, I searched the web for review sites, found a number of them, sent books out and received several reviews and interviews which were put up on the book’s Amazon page as well as the book’s web site. I also put up a request on Dan Poynter’s ezine which I signed up for on his parapublishing.com website and received a bunch of reviews that also went up on Amazon.com.
I had also engaged a service to create a book trailer for me but that unfortunately didn’t work out so I have gone back to the drawing board with that. Also, I created a google alert for the name of my book to track what was being said about the book.
Of all the promotional items ( bookmarks, press kits, etc...) you have used to promote your book, which one was used most effectively?
The bookmarks I had professionally created were well accepted at the local libraries
where I left them to be passed out to patrons. While I had hundreds of them passed out, its hard to tell how effective they were to push actual sales. The fresh baked cookies I purchased from a local bakery and Dunkin Donuts coffee went over very well at my library book discussions. All the cookies were eaten so that is one way to at least track satisfaction with a prop.
However, by far my best promotional item has been the giant leather baseball glove I purchased through a company named Akadema. It attracts almost everybody that sees it. After people spot it, they feel compelled to say something about it, like “Hey, Jason Giambi(not so sure fielding first baseman for the New York Yankees) could use that one,” or “Jason Varitek(the Boston Red Sox catcher) could use that to catch Wakefield.”(referring to the Red Sox knuckleball pitcher) I use it at my book discussions, book signings and keep it in my office with a copy of the book. I recently used it at the Eastern States Exposition(“The BIG E”) in West Springfield Massachusetts. The Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association(CAPA) had a store there and on the day I was a featured author, I walked around with the giant glove and asked anyone who had a camera or picture phone on them if they wanted to take a picture of their kid, girlfriend or spouse wearing it. It became a easy way to start talking about my book and why they should buy it. One guy walked by and decided to tell me a joke about the big glove, something about how I had to have big baseballs to use that sized glove. Well, the joke was slightly different than that but after all this is a family website, isn’t it?
Do you feel that the Internet has opened doors for authors who never dreamed they’d ever see a publishing contract and how has it influenced you in regards to your own publishing journey?
In light of the fact the current climate for mainstream published books has resulted in the vast majority of books being from proven or celebrity authors, it certainly has opened the door for unknown authors. I wonder if any of the more famous works of literature were put in front of publishers today would they have seen the light of day.
The ability to get a book published quicker certainly influenced me since I don’t think I would have met my goal of completing my book within the time frame I desired were it not for the internet. It certainly has made communication between my editors and the reception and review of working drafts far more efficient.
If you were in the middle of Manhattan (or any busy thoroughfare) and you wanted to call attention to your book, what would you do and what would you say?
No question I would stand on a corner holding giant baseball glove. I’m sure that I
would get tons of people who either want to talk about it or take a picture of it. I would give them my elevator pitch about the book. If that didn’t work, I’d probably put on a baseball uniform and walk around with the glove. Freshly baked cookies probably wouldn’t work on a street corner in Manhattan, but Girl Scout cookies might.
If you could trade places with any author just for a day, who would it be and why?
Any author? My first choice who have to be any of gospel writers of the New Testament. That one day in any of their shoes would be one amazing religious experience. Other than those writers, I’d probably say William Shakespeare, just to see things as he did for one day. In more modern times, I’d have to say Samuel L. Clemens, just to pick up his wit and wisdom and because I liked Woody Harrelson’s attempted imitation of him on Cheers.
Lastly, how do you determine your book’s success?
When a spouse of one of the player-characters of my book told me I was personally
responsible for the fact she had to buy a new door to fit her husband’s head through it, I knew it was worthwhile. I think I determined its success when it first came out and somebody told me they were buying it for their husband as a Christmas present. When somebody thinks of your book that highly, I think you must have done something right.
Thank you for coming, Steve! Can you tell us where everyone can pick up a copy of THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS?
Your welcome, Dorothy. The pleasure was all mine. The book can be found at numerous places online including Amazon, iUniverse, B&N.com, Bordersstores.com, Waldenbooks.com, and a
host of other sites listed on the book’s website at http://www.thefatladyneversings.com/.
Of all the promotional items ( bookmarks, press kits, etc...) you have used to promote your book, which one was used most effectively?
The bookmarks I had professionally created were well accepted at the local libraries
where I left them to be passed out to patrons. While I had hundreds of them passed out, its hard to tell how effective they were to push actual sales. The fresh baked cookies I purchased from a local bakery and Dunkin Donuts coffee went over very well at my library book discussions. All the cookies were eaten so that is one way to at least track satisfaction with a prop.
However, by far my best promotional item has been the giant leather baseball glove I purchased through a company named Akadema. It attracts almost everybody that sees it. After people spot it, they feel compelled to say something about it, like “Hey, Jason Giambi(not so sure fielding first baseman for the New York Yankees) could use that one,” or “Jason Varitek(the Boston Red Sox catcher) could use that to catch Wakefield.”(referring to the Red Sox knuckleball pitcher) I use it at my book discussions, book signings and keep it in my office with a copy of the book. I recently used it at the Eastern States Exposition(“The BIG E”) in West Springfield Massachusetts. The Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association(CAPA) had a store there and on the day I was a featured author, I walked around with the giant glove and asked anyone who had a camera or picture phone on them if they wanted to take a picture of their kid, girlfriend or spouse wearing it. It became a easy way to start talking about my book and why they should buy it. One guy walked by and decided to tell me a joke about the big glove, something about how I had to have big baseballs to use that sized glove. Well, the joke was slightly different than that but after all this is a family website, isn’t it?
Do you feel that the Internet has opened doors for authors who never dreamed they’d ever see a publishing contract and how has it influenced you in regards to your own publishing journey?
In light of the fact the current climate for mainstream published books has resulted in the vast majority of books being from proven or celebrity authors, it certainly has opened the door for unknown authors. I wonder if any of the more famous works of literature were put in front of publishers today would they have seen the light of day.
The ability to get a book published quicker certainly influenced me since I don’t think I would have met my goal of completing my book within the time frame I desired were it not for the internet. It certainly has made communication between my editors and the reception and review of working drafts far more efficient.
If you were in the middle of Manhattan (or any busy thoroughfare) and you wanted to call attention to your book, what would you do and what would you say?
No question I would stand on a corner holding giant baseball glove. I’m sure that I
would get tons of people who either want to talk about it or take a picture of it. I would give them my elevator pitch about the book. If that didn’t work, I’d probably put on a baseball uniform and walk around with the glove. Freshly baked cookies probably wouldn’t work on a street corner in Manhattan, but Girl Scout cookies might.
If you could trade places with any author just for a day, who would it be and why?
Any author? My first choice who have to be any of gospel writers of the New Testament. That one day in any of their shoes would be one amazing religious experience. Other than those writers, I’d probably say William Shakespeare, just to see things as he did for one day. In more modern times, I’d have to say Samuel L. Clemens, just to pick up his wit and wisdom and because I liked Woody Harrelson’s attempted imitation of him on Cheers.
Lastly, how do you determine your book’s success?
When a spouse of one of the player-characters of my book told me I was personally
responsible for the fact she had to buy a new door to fit her husband’s head through it, I knew it was worthwhile. I think I determined its success when it first came out and somebody told me they were buying it for their husband as a Christmas present. When somebody thinks of your book that highly, I think you must have done something right.
Thank you for coming, Steve! Can you tell us where everyone can pick up a copy of THE FAT LADY NEVER SINGS?
Your welcome, Dorothy. The pleasure was all mine. The book can be found at numerous places online including Amazon, iUniverse, B&N.com, Bordersstores.com, Waldenbooks.com, and a
host of other sites listed on the book’s website at http://www.thefatladyneversings.com/.
If you would like to find out more about Steven, visit his website at http://www.thefatladyneversings.com/. If you would like a chance to win a copy of Steven's book, leave a comment. Winners will be chosen at random on Halloween night and posted at http://www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/!
Tags: author interviews, online book promotion, free book publicity, author interview, public relations, virtual book tour, Steven M. Reilly
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