Editor’s Note: After a week of trying to write a story about a marketing campaign, online game and book that’s seemingly lead by Bo Hoefinger, a “rebel doggie blogger”, I’ve struggled to articulately convey the true message behind the campaign and put into words the love and warmth that a husband and wife team have for the welfare of dogs, and the huge task of spreading such an important message – all while making us smile. It’s best for Lisa explain it in her own words….
My husband and I are big dog rescue advocates and Bo’s book is dedicated to
all the rescue and shelter workers who make this world a better place, one
animal at time. He donates 10% of his proceeds to help homeless dogs and
cats. The silly Bingo game is in his book and I thought it would be a great
idea to publish the game and then donate 100% of the net proceeds to dog
rescue. Bo’s goal is to become pet ambassador for dog adoption. After all,
who better to spread the word than a former shelter dog? The problem,
getting the word out about the book and game so people will know it’s out
there.
A little background FYI on the book….it was originally written for me as a
x-mas gift back in 2006. Bo was around 14 at the time, and my husband
wanted to give me something to cherish long after Bo was gone. He got the
idea to write a book in Bo’s voice about all the crazy adventures we’ve had
over the last 15 plus years. I sort of live my life like ‘I Love Lucy’ and
Bo’s a bit like ‘Marley’ so Horst (husband) had a lot of material. Anyway,
the book was a total surprise to me. I thought it was so cute, funny, and
original that I decided to see if we could get an agent. In July 2007 Bo got
an agent in NYC (Irene Goodman Agency) and in July 2008 he put paw to paper
on a contract with Kensington Books (Citadel Press). The book was published
in October 2009.
When Bo was signed on he was chosen as book of the month for October, which
was virtually unheard of for a first time author, we were beyond excited.
The economy changed and we were dropped as book of the month and our
publisher has been nowhere in sight since then. Welcome to the wonderful
world of book publishing, bol. We do all our own marketing and promotion,
not easy for a first time author, who’s unknown, and a dog. I’ve managed to
get us in a host of dog magazines, radio shows, book sites and blogs.
However, I’ve learned without national attention it’s virtually impossible
to make any headway.
Over the past three years we have spent thousands of dollars on PR firms and
it’s all been a waste. I’ve learned they do exactly what I do, and that I
care a lot more about Bo’s book than they do. Plus, I work a lot harder.
They’re all great when you talk to them in the beginning, but after you pay,
it’s a whole other story. Their promises all seem to fall by the wayside. I
can’t say any of my experiences with the firms we have worked with have been
good. I’m working on my own ebook for authors to teach them how to self
promote and save thousands. Why pay for something you can do yourself if you
just know where to go. I want to save other naïve authors from making the
same expensive mistakes we did.
I know I gave you a lot of extra info but I just wanted to give you some
background on the book. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for in
offering tips to others but I most certainly am willing to share info. If
Bo’s book doesn’t get some much needed attention there will be no second
printing, which is so sad to me because of all the money he could have
potentially donated to dog rescue. Plus, his book is funny, isn’t there
enough sad dog stories out there? I would think a dog book that finally
makes people laugh would be a nice change of pace.
Horst actually works in finance, he doesn’t have a writing background. When
I decided to try and find an agent everything was new to me, to us. I had
to learn what a query letter is and how to write one, where to find agents,
who to contact. When we finally did get an agent I than had to learn how to
write a proposal to give her so she could present it to the various
publishing houses with our idea. The fact they we got an agent was a million
in one chance. When you’re an unknown writer (who really isn’t a writer) and
are writing a book in a genre that’s never been done before the odds are
against you. There are other books written using a dog’s voice, but none
that are in non-fiction published under the dog’s name.
Anyway, after getting an agent I find out we need to write a proposal. Had
no idea what that was, so back to researching to find out what I need to do.
It was like writing a thesis (not that I’ve written one, lol), it took me
about 8 weeks to complete. There is a lot of info that goes into it re: why
your book is different, the competition, who is your market, why would they
buy it, etc.
Once we got the publisher we had so many expectations, esp. after being
chosen as book of the month. Little did we know, if it’s not written in the
contract there are no guarantees. I understand the economy changed,
publishers weren’t ordering, but Kensington never even told us they were
going to do nothing for us. Had I known in advance, there were reviewers
that I could have sent it to prior to publication, who won’t look at it
after it’s published. Bo’s book was supposed to be in front of book stores,
it made it into the pet section, shoved in between tons of other dog books.
Who goes to the pet section looking for a dog memoir? Nobody. The day it
came out should have been one of the happiest in our lives, instead it was
one of the worst. We had to go to a few bookstores to even find the book,
and when we did, they only had ONE copy. This is how we found out that
Kensington basically hung us out to dry. Not that I’m not grateful they gave
us a chance, but we should have been told. Also, our original editor (who
was wonderful) left after finishing Bo’s book and the new one really didn’t
care about our project. It was the old editor that loved Bo’s book and
losing her was a big blow. I think we’ve spoken to the new editor twice in
the last year. We get no emails, no follow-ups, nothing.
I had been working on marketing and promotion before Bo’s book was
published, to get his name out there, introduce him to the world, so to
speak. But it was really after, when we learned that we were on our own,
that I kicked it up to a whole other level. After all we’ve been through
over the last 3 (almost 4) years, all the information I’ve obtained, I
figured if I wrote an ebook (more like an ebrochure) I could give authors an
idea of what to expect. Basically that it’s up to you to be your own media
person. I’m just outlining things that new authors should do, places to send
their book, how to make contacts, set-up their own site/blog, resources that
will come in handy. All the things that I would have loved to have laid out
in a step-by-step plan way back when. Most of its common sense, but it’s so
much easier when you have everything you need in one place, and someone else
has already organized it for you.
If you look at the PR firms and the prices they charge, the things they do,
it’s ridiculous. I know now that the majority of these ‘experts’ aren’t
experts by any means, they have no more background than I do. There is one
place that charges around $2500 and they guarantee they will send out at
least 3 emails a day to contacts. Three, that’s ridiculous! The thing is,
when you don’t know better, you think they have ‘magic’ contacts, that they
have more of an ‘in’ than you would. Truth be told, I think it’s more
powerful to get a letter directly from the author than some advertising
agency.
So, there you have it, why I decided to put together an ebook. I hate being
ripped off, which I truly feel I was, and I can’t stand the thought of
others being ripped off. I figure if I put the ebook out there for $9.99
it’s a fair price and a chance for someone else to keep thousands of their
hard earned dollars in their own pockets.