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….<\/p>\n
My husband and I are big dog rescue advocates and Bo’s book is dedicated to
\nall the rescue and shelter workers who make this world a better place, one
\nanimal at time. He donates 10% of his proceeds to help homeless dogs and
\ncats. The silly Bingo game is in his book and I thought it would be a great
\nidea to publish the game and then donate 100% of the net proceeds to dog
\nrescue. Bo’s goal is to become pet ambassador for dog adoption. After all,
\nwho better to spread the word than a former shelter dog? The problem,
\ngetting the word out about the book and game so people will know it’s out
\nthere.<\/p>\n
A little background FYI on the book….it was originally written for me as a
\nx-mas gift back in 2006. Bo was around 14 at the time, and my husband
\nwanted to give me something to cherish long after Bo was gone. He got the
\nidea to write a book in Bo’s voice about all the crazy adventures we’ve had
\nover the last 15 plus years. I sort of live my life like ‘I Love Lucy’ and
\nBo’s a bit like ‘Marley’ so Horst (husband) had a lot of material. Anyway,
\nthe book was a total surprise to me. I thought it was so cute, funny, and
\noriginal that I decided to see if we could get an agent. In July 2007 Bo got
\nan agent in NYC (Irene Goodman Agency) and in July 2008 he put paw to paper
\non a contract with Kensington Books (Citadel Press). The book was published
\nin October 2009.<\/p>\n
When Bo was signed on he was chosen as book of the month for October, which
\nwas virtually unheard of for a first time author, we were beyond excited.
\nThe economy changed and we were dropped as book of the month and our
\npublisher has been nowhere in sight since then. Welcome to the wonderful
\nworld of book publishing, bol. We do all our own marketing and promotion,
\nnot easy for a first time author, who’s unknown, and a dog. I’ve managed to
\nget us in a host of dog magazines, radio shows, book sites and blogs.
\nHowever, I’ve learned without national attention it’s virtually impossible
\nto make any headway. <\/p>\n
Over the past three years we have spent thousands of dollars on PR firms and
\nit’s all been a waste. I’ve learned they do exactly what I do, and that I
\ncare a lot more about Bo’s book than they do. Plus, I work a lot harder.
\nThey’re all great when you talk to them in the beginning, but after you pay,
\nit’s a whole other story. Their promises all seem to fall by the wayside. I
\ncan’t say any of my experiences with the firms we have worked with have been
\ngood. I’m working on my own ebook for authors to teach them how to self
\npromote and save thousands. Why pay for something you can do yourself if you
\njust know where to go. I want to save other na\u00c3\u00afve authors from making the
\nsame expensive mistakes we did.<\/p>\n
I know I gave you a lot of extra info but I just wanted to give you some
\nbackground on the book. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for in
\noffering tips to others but I most certainly am willing to share info. If
\nBo’s book doesn’t get some much needed attention there will be no second
\nprinting, which is so sad to me because of all the money he could have
\npotentially donated to dog rescue. Plus, his book is funny, isn’t there
\nenough sad dog stories out there? I would think a dog book that finally
\nmakes people laugh would be a nice change of pace. <\/p>\n
Horst actually works in finance, he doesn’t have a writing background. When
\nI decided to try and find an agent everything was new to me, to us. I had
\nto learn what a query letter is and how to write one, where to find agents,
\nwho to contact. When we finally did get an agent I than had to learn how to
\nwrite a proposal to give her so she could present it to the various
\npublishing houses with our idea. The fact they we got an agent was a million
\nin one chance. When you’re an unknown writer (who really isn’t a writer) and
\nare writing a book in a genre that’s never been done before the odds are
\nagainst you. There are other books written using a dog’s voice, but none
\nthat are in non-fiction published under the dog’s name. <\/p>\n
Anyway, after getting an agent I find out we need to write a proposal. Had
\nno idea what that was, so back to researching to find out what I need to do.
\nIt was like writing a thesis (not that I’ve written one, lol), it took me
\nabout 8 weeks to complete. There is a lot of info that goes into it re: why
\nyour book is different, the competition, who is your market, why would they
\nbuy it, etc. <\/p>\n
Once we got the publisher we had so many expectations, esp. after being
\nchosen as book of the month. Little did we know, if it’s not written in the
\ncontract there are no guarantees. I understand the economy changed,
\npublishers weren’t ordering, but Kensington never even told us they were
\ngoing to do nothing for us. Had I known in advance, there were reviewers
\nthat I could have sent it to prior to publication, who won’t look at it
\nafter it’s published. Bo’s book was supposed to be in front of book stores,
\nit made it into the pet section, shoved in between tons of other dog books.
\nWho goes to the pet section looking for a dog memoir? Nobody. The day it
\ncame out should have been one of the happiest in our lives, instead it was
\none of the worst. We had to go to a few bookstores to even find the book,
\nand when we did, they only had ONE copy. This is how we found out that
\nKensington basically hung us out to dry. Not that I’m not grateful they gave
\nus a chance, but we should have been told. Also, our original editor (who
\nwas wonderful) left after finishing Bo’s book and the new one really didn’t
\ncare about our project. It was the old editor that loved Bo’s book and
\nlosing her was a big blow. I think we’ve spoken to the new editor twice in
\nthe last year. We get no emails, no follow-ups, nothing. <\/p>\n
I had been working on marketing and promotion before Bo’s book was
\npublished, to get his name out there, introduce him to the world, so to
\nspeak. But it was really after, when we learned that we were on our own,
\nthat I kicked it up to a whole other level. After all we’ve been through
\nover the last 3 (almost 4) years, all the information I’ve obtained, I
\nfigured if I wrote an ebook (more like an ebrochure) I could give authors an
\nidea of what to expect. Basically that it’s up to you to be your own media
\nperson. I’m just outlining things that new authors should do, places to send
\ntheir book, how to make contacts, set-up their own site\/blog, resources that
\nwill come in handy. All the things that I would have loved to have laid out
\nin a step-by-step plan way back when. Most of its common sense, but it’s so
\nmuch easier when you have everything you need in one place, and someone else
\nhas already organized it for you.<\/p>\n
If you look at the PR firms and the prices they charge, the things they do,
\nit’s ridiculous. I know now that the majority of these ‘experts’ aren’t
\nexperts by any means, they have no more background than I do. There is one
\nplace that charges around $2500 and they guarantee they will send out at
\nleast 3 emails a day to contacts. Three, that’s ridiculous! The thing is,
\nwhen you don’t know better, you think they have ‘magic’ contacts, that they
\nhave more of an ‘in’ than you would. Truth be told, I think it’s more
\npowerful to get a letter directly from the author than some advertising
\nagency. <\/p>\n
So, there you have it, why I decided to put together an ebook. I hate being
\nripped off, which I truly feel I was, and I can’t stand the thought of
\nothers being ripped off. I figure if I put the ebook out there for $9.99
\nit’s a fair price and a chance for someone else to keep thousands of their
\nhard earned dollars in their own pockets. <\/p>\n