by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing, Books to Movies, Get a Hollywood Movie Producer Interested in Your Books, Hollywood, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications Book Marketing
If you want to sell your book to Hollywood, it’ll help to think like Hollywood producers and directors. Since everybody is so busy these days, you’ll have to boil down your book to a quick pitch that answers the question: What is your book about?
Your logline should SELL the story, not tell the story.
Think about it, do you have a one-sentence summation of your book to tell others? Do you have the main elements of the story composed together? If not, you need a logline.
A logline is a one or two sentence description that boils down the essential dramatic narrative in as succinct a manner as possible, says James Burbidge on Raindance.org
According to John Robert Marlow, author of Make Your Story a Movie: Adapting Your Book or Idea for Hollywood, “If you want to turn your book into a movie then understand that the people who represent and purchase books and screenplays are incredibly busy. They need a way to decide which stories are worth a closer look, and which are not—without actually taking the time to read those stories. This is where the logline comes into play.”
Hollywood Logline, Sell Your Book to Hollywood
Here’s an example of a good logline for a book from the author resource website WildSound.ca.
“The Last Thing She Did” is a romantic comedy in which a ditsy writer struggles to overcome her reliance on a dead friend’s advice in order to meet a deadline.
According to Michelle Mclean, Romance and Nonfiction author, the elements of your logline should consist of Characters, Conflict, Distinction, Setting, and Action.
“A logline is a brief description of the plot of your story, which involves an emotional hook and a twist of irony. A logline organizes a story in the briefest form possible while retaining the strongest emotional effect,” said Jen Grisanti, author of Story Line: Finding Gold in Your Life Story.
“A good use for the logline is the pitch. This handy, dandy quick summary of your story is very useful in persuading agents, editors, and even your dentist that you’ve hit on a ‘wow’ premise that simply MUST be written. Better yet, if it’s already written, then it MUST be read,” said David Macinnis Gill, author and teacher.
“The logline is just as important as a creative tool as it is as a vehicle to spark an interest of others,” said Noam Kroll of Indiewire, an award-winning Los Angeles based filmmaker, and founder of the boutique production company Creative Rebellion.
“You do not need to condense your entire book into one sentence, but you do need to give enough information that the agent/editor/ curious acquaintance you are addressing gets the gist of your book, and is interested enough to want more,” said Michelle Mclean.
One author’s logline gained the interest of several producers and production companies as well as a major agent. “Sometimes the logline comes to me in the middle of writing a book and other times it’s the last thing I do. Whenever inspiration strikes, I capture the words immediately,” says Tricia Stewart Shiu author of the Moa Series, a Young Adult Science Fiction Fantasy. “Writing a logline is, essentially, communicating with gut instincts the core essence of a story. When you’re done, it should ring like a bell,” adds Shiu.
“Another use for a logline is you. A novel is a big thing. It’s difficult to hold the whole story in your mind, especially when you’ve finished a first draft and are still giddy from the flow of creative juices. Writing a logline helps you define—for yourself—the essential elements of the plot. It will also let you know immediately if major components of the plot are missing. This prevents episodic plots that are a string of (interesting and exciting) events that lack a complete story spine,” added David Macinnis Gill.
While writing your logline make sure it is brief. According to Wildsound.ca, brevity is an absolute necessity of creating a good logline, as well as choosing your focus carefully. It is important to choose the focus of your logline because it is the selling point of your book. You need to draw the readers in with action, the plot twists and turns, anything that will grab their attention and interest for more.
Your logline can also be brought to life by an actor through Wildsound.ca who’ll post it to their YouTube Channel, which draws thousands of viewers daily. They claim that agents and producers check the site for new content. It’s worth a look. https://www.wildsound.ca/
The Bottom Line: Creating a logline is an integral part of being able to convey to others what your book is about in a quick concise manner. Master this whether your book is going to Hollywood or not.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Blog, Book Events, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity
To sell your book or product, you have to do whatever it takes to create a buzz. As a book publicist, I need to stay current with my media connections so that I can pitch their topics when they tie into breaking news. One resource I’ve clued into is the National Publicity Summit.
I attended this event to meet the media once or twice a year for years and have gotten clients booked on Fox News, CNBC, NPR and in a number of national magazines as a result. Since the pandemic it is now a virtual event that is held by ZOOM. It’s still very effective and a good use of time and money.
1. Change your PR mindset. Become a news-junky and learn to tie in current events to your own topic. Get magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine or Woman’s Day, watch shows like Good Morning America. Study how they present their stories and guests and think about how you could fit into their format.
2. Develop one-sheeters to give to the media you meet. These are one-page documents, printed in color and represent your pitch, show ideas and contact information. The Summit staff assist you on creating this ahead of time. At the end of your pitch time, you hand the media person your business card and I recommend stapling this to your one-sheeter.
3. Develop more than one pitch or story idea. I have found that when I’m pitching the media, not every idea will fly. When I come to the Summit armed with a variety of show possibilities, this lets me easily get into a positive conversation with the media. If they don’t like my first idea, I try a backup.
4. Be yourself. Be authentic and have open, frank conversations with the media. The media are looking for real people who will represent their areas of expertise and who their audiences can relate to.
5. Look your best. The media attend the Summit time and again because not only do they get to not only hear pitches, but they also get an idea about how you might look on TV. I know that a lot of Summit attendees get advice from image consultants. Check out my article on my blog “How to Look and Sound Good on ZOOM.”
6. Take the pressure off the immediate “hit” and focus on building a relationship with the media. Think strategically and long-term. You probably have more than one book you’re going to promote in the future. Sure, you want to appear on their show or in their magazine but think about the media as people doing their jobs. How would you build a personal relationship with an important person in your life? Treat the media the same as you would a respected colleague. If you get the media to like you, they will follow your career and continue to work with you as long as you have a good story. As a direct result of the Summit, I can call ABC’s The View and pitch them anytime. That’s priceless.
7. Come to the Summit open to what may happen with your fellow attendees. I’ve gone to these events thinking that I’d just go for specific goals with the media. Because I had put myself ‘out there,’ I’d get into conversations with other attendees as we waited, I’ve gotten new clients, joint venture partners and other strategic alliances. The attendees at this event are the superstar authors of tomorrow.
The Bottom Line: You need the media to get the word out about your book. In the book marketing and book publicity business, I know that you have to connect with the media before they will “buy” what you are pitching. The virtual PR Summit fosters that connection to be made.
I’m such a fan of the National Publicity Summit that I am now an affiliate for it. If you are interested in attending, please check out this link.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Author Spotlight, Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book, Social Media, Writing a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications Book Marketing
Social media is a dominating force that can make or break your career as an author in almost every aspect. Besides PR, social media works well to promote a book to a large and varied audience. For example, take a look at the popularity of Holly Madison’s book Down The Rabbit Hole, which hit the top of the New York Times Best Seller List a few years back.
Holly Madison, the ex-Playboy bunny, reality show star, mother, wife and ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner made quite an image for herself and her book on social media with an at-the-time, 1.38 million Twitter followers. On Twitter her hashtags were #downtherabbithole and #hollymadison. According to ritetag.com the hashtag #hollymadison had 2.42K potential views per hour. The hashtag #downtherabbithole had 3.78K potential views per hour!
So what is the intriguing factor for authors about social media? Social media allows direct communication to thousands or even millions of followers (all at no cost) and is credited in great part for making Down The Rabbit Hole an instant success. Using social media also allows authors to meet a whole new audience of readers and gain new ideas for books from the social community.
In an article by Chuck Sambuchino, of Writer’s Digest, Grammar Girl creator Mignon Fogarty said, “I think you really have to enjoy interacting on social networks or you won’t do it well or stay with it. You can’t force yourself to do it; you have to find the things you like and do those even if they aren’t the most popular. For one person it might be Twitter, for another LinkedIn, for another YouTube, for another podcasting, and another blogging.”
Estelle Maskame, Bestselling author of Did I Mention I Love You, (DIMILY) became an Internet sensation by using social media and gained 123K followers on Twitter @EstelleMaskame. With the help of her friends and Wattpad, Estelle’s book reached four million hits on Wattpad. “Using social media to promote my work means that I’ve got a close connection with my readers, especially now, because they’ve been with me since the early days. In a way, we’re all in this together, and ever since the start, I’ve always loved going on Twitter to interact with them,” said Maskame.
Other authors who have successfully used social media to gain recognition for their work include Paulo Coelho. Coelho used Facebook and Instagram to stay in touch with his readers and promote his work by sharing quotes and photos of his life and trips he has been on. The Alchemist spent 270 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List with the help and use of social media. According to a Wall Street Journal article, while doing research for his new book Adultery, Coelho’s fans shared over 1,000 emails with personal infidelity stories. Talk about intimate communications!
Margaret Atwood, a Man Booker prizewinner, has made extensive use of digital platforms. Atwood is an avid tweeter with her fans and has a knack for posting creative insight about her latest work. She also used Wattpad to collaborate with another author to create a serialized zombie novel. For aspiring authors, Atwood ran a contest encouraging them to try fan fiction.
With social media, authors have a chance to succeed. Using social media for your work is important because of the vast attraction of readers you’ll get to engage with. There are quite a few social sites to post your work on and get feedback on your book before and after it is published.
The Bottom Line: Anyone can use social media to promote their work; it’s so easy even a bunny can do it.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Events, Book Fairs, Book Festivals, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book, Writers Conferences
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
There are several good reasons why writers should invest the time and effort required to attend writers’ conferences.
Attending a writers’ conference only takes a few hours, or a couple days at the most, a small investment, and a little effort to register and arrange travel and lodging, but the payoff can be big.
Attending a writers’ conference gives you a great chance to pitch your book, learn about the major publishing houses, meet book editors, agents and book marketing specialists. If your book is six months or a year from being finished, you can meet people who will give you valuable ideas on shaping your book and provide other advice to help you wrap up your project when you return home.
Or maybe you have been working on your book for a few months and are feeling insecure or unsure whether you really can be a published author. Attending a conference is a good way to get a reality check from book editors to get a professional opinion on your plot and characters and to determine whether you are on the right track.
Most importantly, attending a writers’ conference provides you with an opportunity to learn about the publishing business from fellow authors. You will also get honest and helpful professional assessments from book editors that will be more than worth the cost and effort of attending the conference.
Of course, you will want to prepare for any writers’ conference you attend by having a plan of what you want to find out and what you will do while there. You will want to develop an ‘elevator pitch’ of your book that you can deliver in 30 seconds. Have a one pager available with your book cover, author headshot, short 50-word synopsis, short bio, website URL, Twitter handle and your contact information. You never know who’ll you’ll meet so be prepared for that moment.
Now that you are ready, here are some writers’ conferences that you should consider attending:
Here are some upcoming writers’ conferences in 2023 for your consideration.
February 3-4, 2023: Boston Writing Workshop (Online)
March 3-4, 2023: Chesapeake Writing Workshop (Online)
March 10, 2023: Alabama Writing Workshop (Birmingham, AL)
March 11, 2023: Atlanta Writing Workshop (Atlanta, GA)
March 11, 2023: Cincinnati Writing Workshop (Cincinnati, OH)
March 11, 2023: Writers Conference of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
March 25, 2023: Minnesota Writing Workshop (St. Paul, MN)
March 25,2023: Kentucky Writers Conference (Bowling Green, KY)
April 13-15, 2023: Las Vegas Writers Conference (Las Vegas, NV)
April 14-15, 2023: Writing Workshop of San Francisco (Online)
April 22, 2023: Philadelphia Writing Workshop (Philadelphia, PA)
April 29, 2023: Michigan Writing Workshop (Detroit, MI)
April 29, 2023: Washington Writers Conference (Rockville, MD)
May 12, 2023: Storymakers Conference (Provo, UT)
May 12-13, 2023: Florida Writing Workshop (Online)
May 13, 2023: Writing Conference of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
May 18, 2023: Pennwriters Conference SCBWI (Coraopolis, PA)
May 25-27, 2023: Writing Heights Writers Conference (Fort Collins, CO)
June 2-3, 2023: Tennessee Writing Workshop (Online)
June 18-23 2023: Santa Barbara Writers Conference (Santa Barbara, CA)
July 7-8, 2023: Carolina Writing Workshop (Online)
July 29-30, 2023: The Muse & the Marketplace Writers Conference (Boston, MA)
July 30 – August 4, 2023: Napa Valley Writers’ Conference (Napa, CA)
August 3-5, 2023: Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference (Fort Bragg, CA)
August 17-20, 2023: Killer Nashville’s International Writers’ Conference (Franklin, TN)
August 17-20, 2023: Writer’s Digest Annual Conference (New York, NY)
September 1-4 , 2023: WriterCon 2023 (Choctaw, OK)
September 23, 2023: Missouri Writers Guild Annual Writers Conference (Columbia, MO)
October 6-8, 2023: James River Writers Conference (Richmond, VA)
October 13-14, 2023: Seattle Writing Workshop (Online)
December 8-9, 2023: Writing Workshop of Chicago (Online)
Select a writers’ conference of interest to you and be prepared to enjoy the benefits of meeting other writers, acquiring knowledge you can use immediately, learn about different genres, find a new market for your book, elevate your professional effectiveness, meet editors, agents and publishers, become inspired and return home energized.
The Bottom Line: Make a commitment to attend at least one writers’ conference this year. You’ll be glad you did!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Over the years many authors have complained about the time, energy, harassment, and money required to get bookstores to stock their book. They bemoaned the fact that there was not a better way and dealing with bookstores seemed like a necessary evil to be endured, and endured and endured again.
Well, now there is a better way and authors who don’t want to invest themselves or their money in bookstores have another choice. I will wait until the loud and wild applause subsides before continuing.
A business associate and friend, Brian Jud, has come up with an alternative, revolutionary method to help authors sell their books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable, commission basis.
Instead of dealing with dozens of bookstores, the author can instead tap into thousands of sales persons to sell their books to buyers in schools, corporations, associations, and government agencies.
Writers working with Brian Jud’s Premium Book Company, LCC, will have their books shown in a catalog used by 65,000 commissioned sales people to sell to buyers, on a non-returnable basis, with whom they have a relationship. When an order is taken the seller buys the book from the author at 60 percent off the list price and the seller pays the shipping charges.
Writers who sign up with Premium Book Company will:
- Have sales representation to non-bookstore buyers for as long as the book is in print.
- Have their book displayed on the company’s search engine accessible by even more sales people.
- Pay a one-time set up fee of $250 for the first title, $175 for the second title and $125 for each additional title added to the catalog.
- Have an option of buying quarter-page, half-page or full-page ads in the catalog.
- Be able to exhibit books at major premium shows.
- Have access to video tutorials which show how authors can tap the non-traditional book store market.
In effect, the author hires a national sales force of 65,000 for $250. “We know who and where the buyers are, and what they want, and so are equipped to do all the selling and negotiating for the writer,” Brian tells me. “The author gets incremental revenue without having to do any of the selling. And once the one-time catalog set-up fee is paid we sell on a commission-only basis.”
The advantage to his approach is that the author can focus on writing and appearing at book signings or seminars and leave the selling to others. So there should be a shorter time between books which allows the author to build his reputation amongst readers even faster. I share the same advice with writers about why they should hire a professional PR firm to market their books.
While a good idea in general, attending book fairs and exhibits also can rob authors of valuable time that could be spent researching and writing their next book. It is necessary, of course, for authors to attend book signings but there is no reason why they should not rely on the Premium Book Company to represent them and display their book(s) at trade shows, conferences, and book fairs.
If you want to know more about this unique sales approach and how it might benefit you personally contact Brian Jud at [email protected]. He’s a busy guy but he had time to talk with me so I’m pretty sure he will take time to talk with you. You can also check out his website at: http://premiumbookcompany.com/
I would not want any writer, however, to misinterpret my comments about traditional book stores with selling books, especially digital books, at online book outlets. Any author seeking to be a best seller needs also to make their book available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and similar online outlets and hire a professional PR firm to make sure readers know the book is available.
The Bottom Line: Check out the non-bookstore option because once a book is sold into this channel its stays sold unlike the traditional bookstore channel where books are ‘sold’ on consignment.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
