By Mark Alpert
I feel reluctant to give advice on this subject, since I’m still figuring out how to do it myself. But I’d like to share what I’ve learned so far.
Last year I read a story in the Times about organizations that sponsor entertaining lectures at various nightspots and performance spaces across New York City. Because several of the lecture series focused on scientific topics, and I write science thrillers, I decided to contact the organizations. I thought this might be a good opportunity to find some new readers.
One of the organizations was called the Secret Science Club. It took some persistence to get in touch with the woman who ran the lecture series. And when I finally did reach her, she said her group preferred lectures by actual scientists rather than science journalists or writers of science thrillers. So that was a dead end.
I had more luck with an organization called Nerd Nite. I’d never heard of this group before, but as it turns out, they sponsor lectures in dozens of cities around the world. Who knew! After exchanging a few e-mails with the man who arranges the New York City lectures, I got on the schedule. I’m going to give a talk about the merger of man and machine — which is the subject of my latest thriller, Extinction— at the group’s event in Brooklyn on the evening of April 19th. (If you want to come, go to nyc.nerdnite.com for information on buying tickets.)
The great thing about participating in this kind of series is that someone else does all the marketing (advertising the event, selling the tickets, etc.) Better still, it gives me the chance to connect with an audience that’s predisposed to enjoying the kind of novels I write. One of the other presenters for the April 19th event is an expert on the costumes worn by the characters on Star Trek. And I thought I was nerdy! I’m ashamed to admit that I know nothing about this topic except that the characters who wear the red shirts are the ones most likely to die while exploring strange new worlds. (Here’s the data from Wikipedia: Of the 59 Enterprise crew members killed in the original Star Trek episodes, 73 percent wore red shirts.) But I do know that anyone who’s that interested in Star Fleet uniforms is also likely to be intrigued by Extinction, a novel that features swarms of cyborg insects and other science-fiction terrors.
So I’m looking forward to the event. And I’m sure there are plenty of other promotional opportunities that I could take advantage of. Hordes of potential readers are out there, like strange new worlds waiting to be discovered. But it takes work to find them.
Thanks for sharing this, Mark. I like the idea of going to groups/organizations that aren’t comprised of readers per se yet which would almost certainly be comprised of readers. A lot of groups are practically begging for interesting speakers to fill the void that has to be filled weekly or monthly. Thanks for the great idea!
I’m always skeptical when I come across blog posts that tout “new promotional ideas for writers,” but this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing, and please tell us how it goes!
It’s also a little sad because over the course of writing we do become fairly informed on our topics. I’ve learned more in the last 3 months about the Marine corps from my research than I had learned my last 38 years life life. I’m not an expert and, sure, a Marine would be a better speaker on it, but I’m getting to be pretty informed. Plus by interviewing a variety of sources I get to synthise the perpsectives.
I guess my point is that it’s too bad you were dismissed as not being ‘expert’ enough.
I’ve thought about that idea of doing lectures/ talks as well. It’s all about finding an audience that wants to hear what you have to say. 🙂
Sounds like a very interesting topic Mark. If I was anywhere near that side of the country I’d certainly pop in to hear it.
Giving talks like that certainly can and does build readership. It gives people an idea of what your writing will be like based on your personality.
For our stand alone set in Paris I approached Paris-centric bloggers, even if they didn’t review books. Got some nice notices and a few reviews. My friend Elaine Viets a couple books ago wrote about dog groomers and had similar success going to these folks. These days, with everyone shouting for attention, you really have to think outside the box.
Great idea to reach out to a new audience. This is what I call Niche Marketing. Early in my Bad Hair Day series, I stopped in at salons, got an exhibitor booth at a beauty trade show, and sent press releases to hair and nail magazines. You never know what will hit so it’s worth a try, but you are right in that it can be time consuming.
Would love to be able to hear your presentation. Any chance it will be recorded?