The Word Cloud

I don't know if this is an idea that's been used, could be used or is a non-starter...but I'll throw it out there. Why don't writers from the same publishing houses/genres do more collaborative marketing? For instance if Random House has let's say four YA books out that year surely it makes sense to hit the Waterstones together at some point as well as individually after the launch of each book. You would get far more media attention if there were four or five writers than one... You could offer one of the broadsheets a round table debate about the genre between you and so on...

Booksellers do, to a degree - Waterstones did a big crime-writing promotion, for example, which a friend of mine who writes historical crime was involved with. And I've seen my stuff on a table of 'History with a Twist' in Waterstones. And of course all these promotions are 'supported' by the publishers, so they cost them money to be in, even though it's the bookseller choosing who they want to have in it. So the publisher has to think it's worth the not inconsiderable dollop of the almost invisible marketing budget.

But it makes less sense for publishers. Apart from category fiction, and possibly Headline's Little Black Dress, and at the other end, say, Faber Poetry, or once upon a time Virago Classics, the public doesn't know or care about publishers and imprints, so the booksellers don't feel there's much mileage in promoting particular publishers.

But genre stuff can work - I've just got together with three historical fiction friends - one of them said crime writer, R N Morris, to offer ourselves as a panel to literary festivals, and we have two bookings already. But that's a good example of something which is driven by the writers - though we're getting great support from Faber, bless 'em, who publish two of us.

The trouble is, it's just darned difficult to get much return on any effort, because the numbers are so extraordinary. I'm still reeling from the discovery that the books buyer of W H Smith Travel (who, admittedly, has extremely expensive shops to fill and very little space in them) is offered by publishers 500-600 titles per month, of which he can buy 95. No wonder he goes on covers, and blurbs, and above all the author's track record. It's not as if he can read 'em all...

Emma