Please Read the Freaking Blog First

This Public Service Announcement had nothing to do with any offenses which may have led my person towards a prison stay.  Nothing at all.

I'm sure it started because of the numerous, generous links many in the litblogging community have afforded me.  Those with many more daily visitors than I (not a difficult feat - just making sure those of you to whom I refer don't get all jacked up over the statement), pointing to something I blogged about, getting the EWN name in front of some people.

The it I refer to with word number 3 in the above paragraph is the litblogging version of the Cold Call.  An email from somebody I've never heard of, asking if I'd be interested in reading and reviewing their work, possibly interviewing them, linking to their website, etc.  Some of these Cold Call E-Mails have led to fantastic discoveries for me.  Zaidee Rose, out of the blue sending me a copy of Holiday Reinhorn's Big Cats, or Lauren Snyder sending me a copy of Kirstin Allio's Garner.  In both cases however, the publicist in question let me know that they had read many of my reviews, or author interviews and based up my liking XXXX, were sure I'd like what they had to send.

Please, I implore you publicists and authors out there.  Do what those two excellent publicists did.  Read the literary blogs you are about to send mass emails out to.  Don't waste your time making sure you've spelled everything correctly, and have the wording with just the right enticement level in your pitch, if the book you are promoting doesn't have a thing to do with what the blogger(s) in question likes.

It's not that difficult a task - read about one week's worth of posts.  Even the slowest of most litbloggers will have enough spread through a single week to give you a solid idea of what they are interested in and most likely to respond positively to.

Got a novel with a European feel to it?  A bit Byzantine?  Try Mark over at The Elegant Variation.  How about something with a dash of mystery to it?  I'd go with Sarah at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.  Something that's been translated?  Why not Michael at The Literary Saloon. A great southern gothic?  Try Jeff at Syntax of Things or CAAF at Tingle Alley.  A little more Sci Fi?  Gwenda at Shaken and Stirred might be interested. (Sorry, no links provided - these folks get enough wild requests without my four readers winging more at them).

I realize that when one uses the name The Emerging Writers Network, one opens themself up to every new writer out there, but really, take a gander at the 300 + reviews at the EWN website and oddly enough, you will have a great deal of difficulty finding the self-help category.  You won't find a great breadth of Romance coverage either.  So, if that's what you're promoting, you may want to steer clear of the EWN.  Just a suggestion.  But, I'm sure if you search hard enough, you'll find litbloggers that will jump up and down at the possibility of receiving your email.  And, isn't that the reaction you're hoping for when you hit that SEND button?

Comments

[susan]

Ah, just read the same deal over at Buzz, Balls & Hype. Looks like a new problem afoot.

[ed]

Dear Sir:

I have a self-published chapbook that won a special "Certificate of Participation" at a recent Bay Area literary festival. I am convinced that this chapbook will be as seminal as the second coming of Jesus and I urge you, [insert blogger's name], to spend the next six months talking about.

Very truly yours,

Virginia K. Lunatic
Foot in Mouth Press

[Richard]

Sorry, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus.