Michael Kleiner cited in article about marketing books to Norwegian American Audience
By Tiffanie Clark
Managing Editor
Norwegian-American Weekly
(Oct. 31, 2008)
According to the Association of American Publishers, net sales from major book publishing in 2007 reached $25 billion. R.R. Bowker, the company that compiles the books in print database and assigns ISBN (International Standard Book Numbers) reported that in 2007, there were 276,649 new titles and editions available in the
A very small handful of those books were written with an incredibly specific audience in mind – you. Writing for a Norwegian-American audience comes in all shapes and sizes. When we are at home lost in a great book, most of us don’t think about the fact that every single word we are reading was thought out, that line-by-line the book was edited and that some serious planning had to be done to get this story from someone’s computer screen into our hands.
The life and work of an author is undoubtedly interesting, challenging and rewarding. For many authors the process of completing a manuscript can take years. Writing about
Every writer follows a unique path to find his or her story. Bill Fuller, author of Reckless Courage: The True Story of a Norwegian Boy Under Nazi Rule, found his story while he was recovering from a cancer operation. His visiting nurse’s father has been a teenager in
An idea for a good book can come from so many different places but how you get that great idea out of your head, into a book, and into other people’s homes is really the challenge.
Once an author begins writing, they must consider how they will get their book published. There are numerous options when it comes to publishing and no way is really more right than the other.
“I started my own publishing company, Astri My Astri Publishing, after writing Astri, My Astri: Norwegian Heritage Stories, a bilingual book featuring 16 true stories,” said Deb Nelson Gourley, whose publishing company has since published a number of books.
For some authors it’s easier to work with a pre-existing publishing company. This is the route that Anita Alan chose, but for others, POD (print on demand) is even better still. Carla Danzinger explains, “The self-published book is usually POD – that is, when the publisher receives a certain number of orders, they print that number of books. Some authors may go to a small printing company and have a number of books printed in advance. However, they then need to find a way to sell those copies. A mainstream publisher prints a quantity of books in advance and then hopes to sell them through booksellers (stores). When booksellers receive books from publishers, there’s usually an understanding that the publisher will take back any books not sold. This is generally not the case with print-on-demand publishers, and thus the reason that booksellers don’t want to order books they can’t return. (Some self-publishers offer “returnability” if the author pays several hundred dollars for the service).”
If deciding how to get the book published weren’t enough of a challenge, authors must then consider how to market the book and get it sold.
“An author must have a web site,” encouraged author J.A. Hunsinger. He initially set up a web site to get the word out about his book Axe of Iron. He now has a webmaster who takes care of updating the site and contacting potential venues to sell the book. Web sites are an excellent tool for book promotion and connecting with readers and book stores. Nearly all the authors that have advertised in the Norwegian American Weekly have web sites where more information about their writing is available.
“I’ve started a blog. Social networking sites have sprouted all over the Internet like LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo Pulse, MySpace, YouTube, which have become overwhelming in many ways. However, the existence of these sites plus the blogging phenomenon has forced the public relations industry to look at these sites and how they can be utilized for exposure for their clients,” said Michael Kleiner, author of Beyond the Cold: An American’s Warm Portrait of
Technology had undoubtedly changed the face of publishing and even the task of writing and although many things have evolved with the ever-changing times, the basics are still the same. Books start with a person who wants to tell a story. As in the case of Michael Kleiner, they begin with a man who wanted to be a writer since the time he cold hold a pencil. They begin with a woman staying at an inn or a man who’s had a life-long passion for medieval history. And for some of us, owning a great book that reminds us of our heritage, can in its own way, take us right back to
Check out future issues of the Norwegian American Weekly for our new feature “Beyond the Book,” where authors of Norwegian-American books will discuss the process of writing their books and getting them published. (So far, no additional articles have appeared-MK)
Day 3 and 4 of Høstfest: Selling, marketing and learning experience
I had noticed that the Norwegian Emigrant Museum from Hamar, Norway had a table in Reykjavik Hall, and my father knew the director. My father had told him about my book a few years ago. Knut Djuepedal was there and remembered my father. He never made it to the book store. I also came across the Moomintroll stories, written by Finnish author Tove Jannsson, which my family loved when we lived in Norway for the year, and decided I would come back the next day and buy one for each of the kids. I left some book cards with a travel agent.
Each author was given a batch of tickets with a number on it that identified the author -- mine was 30 -- and we had to put the price of the book below it and tape the ticket somewhere on the book. The worker at the cashier table tore off the ticket and put it in the properly numbered container. Each day we received a report on our sales the previous day.
The third day made me realize that in this environment, one had to be cognizant of the importance of grabbing people's attention quickly; changing strategies in mid stream and your pitch; thinking of different ideas; that the time needed to draw people in when there is a moving crowd as opposed to a trickle becomes even less. You have to be adaptable and flexible. Be observant. What is making the people stop? What is making them look at the book (as opposed to some who stop, flick a few pages without even picking the book up and then moving on)? And, that, some how oblivious some people can be that you are selling a book by asking: "Where do I pay?" (See the table over there that says "Cashier".); "What time is it?" "Where can I find the book on...?" "Where is x author?" "Can I sit in this chair?" (Yeah, while you're sitting there, this is my book).
Other comments that drew a chuckle: Norwegians saying they don't read English well; seeing the Beyond the Cold title and saying, "Not as cold as Sasketchewan/Alberta/North Dakota!"; "Where in Norway do you live?"
"What nationality are you?"
I would say, "American."
They would press me and I'd say, "Jewish."
"Kleiner, that's German."
"We're not German."
And the favorite: "I don't read much." What are you doing in the bookstore then?
A few elderly people complaining there was no large print and a few saying the print was large.
I figured I had about 10-15 seconds to get them to stop at the table and then maybe some more time to discuss further about the book. Do you interrupt while they are reading the back? It was maybe 5 seconds with a moving crowd. I had my poster taped to the apron of the table, which forced people to back up to look at it. Unlike the others, I hadn't even thought about bringing stands -- though I don't know how I would have carried it. The book cover caught peope's eyes. Was the title clear enough to make them stop further? Astrid Karlesn Scott was to my left selling an authentic Norwegian cookbook, books about World War II and DVDs about Christmas in Norway -- and was dressed in a beautiful bunad and had been here before. To my right, Joseph Gavett's books dealt with North Dakota, one of them the history of Minot, another about where he grew up in Minot, so that was a natural for the hometown/staters.
I started using the word "personal." "This is a personal story," and I think "personal" piqued interest. I had done a lot of talking in the morning and had made just made one sale early in the morning. It seemed that around 3 p.m. every day a show ended, because suddenly, a horde of people would come through the doors. I suddenly thought of something else that would lend credibility. On two pieces of paper, I wrote, "National Geographic Traveller Web Site About Norway lists Beyond the Cold in Books About Norway along with Ibsen and Undset," and taped them on the table between the books I had on the table. If I got far enough in a conversation, I mentioned National Geographic.
Jo Ann Winistorfer, the public relations person, said there must be a way to get the poster on the table. Tearing pieces of boxes we taped together a makeshift stand and were able to set up the poster. I tore the ad from Norwegian American Weekly and taped it to a side of the poster. Astrid handed me a marker and said write about the National Geographic web site on the poster. Sales picked up. Then, the traffic pattern went both ways, so the people from the left saw the poster first, the people from the right saw the book first. Two posters for an event like this next time.
In my community of authors, among the suggestions of authors helping authors has been to bring somebody's else book to our event. What I realized in this environment is that is not practical. First, I was invited to the Festival and the parameters was the book had to have a Scandinavian theme. Given the little time I had to talk about my book, there was no time to talk about another book.
While the radio, TV and newspaper people never came around, I was interviewed by two groups of students about what I thought of Høstfest; liked about it; how many times I had been at the Festival. One boy picked up the book and said, "I just have enough money for lunch." Anders Neumeller, Editor of Scandinavian Press and Swedish Press magazines, came and said there could be opportunities to write or place an ad in the periodicals. The Dance of Norwegian Sweaters came through again with their signs "Parade to Trondheim Hall" and I got suspicious since that was where the sweaters were being sold. Additionally, there was a parade of Vikings and a person dressed in a troll outfit walking around on stilts.
Day 4 (Saturday, October 4) of Høstfest: After picking up the Moomintroll books and two Norway coloring books in Reykjavik Hall, I noticed a T-shirt with Geiranger on it with the same picture that is on the cover of my book!
After making two quick sales, Astrid said, "It's the last day. Mark the price down."
The bookmarks continued to be a good item as a reminder or gesture. Some saw the buybooksontheweb.com on the card (not to mention my own web site) and said, "Oh, so I can order later." Good for Infinity Publishing. I ran out of the bookmarks.
My new language was "This is a story about an American child -- me -- living in Norway for a year as a child and returning years later... and developing an affinity/passion/kindredness with Norway, the culture, the people. A second home, second family..." Of course, there were questions about how I came to live in Norway and I told about my father being stationed in Norway after the War, falling in love with Norway, and promising when he had a family he would take them to Norway. He became a college professor and got a sabbatical to do research in Norway...
A man who stopped by said my story was similar to his in that his wife received a Fulbright Scholarship to work at the University of Tromsø and they went with their 13 year old son. His son loved Norway. The man didn't buy the book, however.
The national chapter of Sons of Norway "sponsored" the next door Oslo Hall, where you could buy food and there was a stage for entertainment. I approached them about Infinity's sponsorship program, where with a minimum purchase of books, an ad about the organization could be placed in the book and that edition would be sponsored by Sons of Norway. The woman I talked to said the man responsible for something like that wasn't there at the moment. She then said, if I joined Sons of Norway, she would come and buy my book, read it and put the book in the SON library. With membership I could have an autographed Daniel O'Donnell T-shirt or Astrid's Authentic Norwegian Cookbook. I had put in a card for a free sweater earlier in the week. Having no idea who Daniel O'Donnell was, I opted for Astrid's cook book. The woman followed through on her word and bought Beyond the Cold, as well as providing the name and telephone number of the person to contact regarding the sponsorship. I said the New York chapter had written a beautiful review, but hadn't yet invited me to speak.
I was doing real well with the sales for a while. Most of us in the circle got each other's books. I exchanged business cards with everyone in the circle. Jo Ann stood on a ladder to take pictures of us holding our books. As the last day neared late afternoon, we had to start thinking about packing stuff up to prepare shipping books back. I was told to go to Copenhagen Hall to talk with the man responsible for transporting the packages to the proper shipping service. At Copenhagen Hall, the band on that stage was playing Havanagila! No one was dancing. I saw all these booths selling more Scandinavian treats that I didn't know about.
On the way back, I stopped at the Land 'O Lakes ice cream stand for one last cup of cherry nut. Back East we only see Land 'O Lakes butter and margarine. Out here, they sell milk and ice cream. Among their flavors besides the delicious cherry nut was licorise and New York vanilla.
The hours were dwindling down to this unique experience into "Little Norway/Scnadinavia." People wearing Norwegian sweaters; women in bunads. Books and monitors were being packed up. Books were dwindling from the tables. Women staffers for the other books in the store were removing them from the shelves and taking counts. I made another dash to Copenhagen Hall to make sure they would be coming to Trondheim Hall to pick up the books. I went to a computer kiosk where I was able to log in to my FedEx account and print labels. I had saved purchasing my beloved Freia chocolate til the end so it would hold on my trip back. At Helsinki Hall, they were down to a few small hazelnut bars and dark chocolate. Astrid happened by and said, "You know that's the best chocolate in the world?" I said, "I know. Wait til you read the book. Freia chocolate is throughout the book." Then, later, I found a woman with a cart in a hallway that had bigger bars and milk chocolate. (I gave one of the hazelnut bars to Betsy and Nicholas).
The minutes were creeping slowly to 8 p.m. Few shoppers were in Trondheim Hall. I still had four books on the table. I never opened boxes 2 and 3. I opened the book to the section on the last day of the International Summer School and saw the similarities between then and now. The same question came to mind: Will I see these people again? They asked me if I would come back next year and I said I would see. I'll know about how many books to bring. Though, in the short term, I don't know whether financially I broke even, I sold 30 books and put it (and business cards) in the hands of other authors. That is more books than I sold at any event. People from Minot, Velva, ND, Deering, ND, Bismarck, ND, Northwood, ND, Burlington, ND, Kenmore, ND, Powos Lake, ND, Maddock, ND, Stanley, ND, Billings, MT, Dubuque, IA, Omaha, NE, St. Cloud, MN, Annandale, MN, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada, Two Hills, Alberta, Canada bought the book. If this one reads the book and tells this one, and this one... who knows what could happen? Moments before closing, Marea Nelson, one of the volunteers, stepped up and bought the book.
Astrid was touched by the Norwegian I wrote in her copy of the book and said she understood everything, but, of course, I misspelled the personal pronouns. We said a warm good bye to her and Mel and she said she knows she will enjoy reading my book. I went around the circle and to the Norwegians I wished "lykke til (Good luck)."
I picked up my box and laptop ,took a look and walked through the concourses past the kettle toasted Bavarian almonds stands. Outside, as I had done on the last day of the Summer School, I looked back at the Norsk Høstfest and the flags on the outside of the building, turned and walked through the parking lot past the group busses, the RV park to the gate to wait for Nicholas and Betsy.
Så hyggelig å møte deg lile Norge. So nice to meet you (cultutally a very courteous greeting) little Norway.
Second day of Høstfest, Thursday, Oct. 2
Ruth, who had started an International Summer School alumni group on LinkedIn, and told me she would be performing at Høstfest, found me on one of her rare breaks. She told me there was a radio station doing interviews I might want to check. Jo Ann Winistorfer, who was handling PR for Høstfest, stopped by again -- and bought the book -- said she had me down as newsworthy and would look into getting me on the radio show and in the local newspaper. And I finally met Audrey Nelson, who was the Director of the store and heavily involved in the planning.
Sold 3 books. At the end of the evening I started talking to Sigmund Aarseth, who had come from Norway with a book of his paintings and we spoke in Norwegian. Bought a souvenir shirt and contemplated what to buy for the kids.
First day of Høstfest exciting and overwhelming
The wall outside of the exhibition center, "North Dakota State Fair Center" has painted flags of the United States, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Canada. A Dala horse statue on one side reads: "Of C'Horse we're SVENSK! (Swedish). See other side." On the other side of the statue reads: "Of C'Horse we're NORSK! See other side."
You enter the lobby of Leif Eriksson Milennium Hall. As you pass through the ticket takers, there are wooden troll figures on the floor and a sign above the Volunteer kiosk is "Norsk Høstfest" in the rosemaling art. Images of trolls are all over as you walk the concourses, including a large one on a bench. Someone offered to take a picture of me sitting with it, that will entertain my kids along with the one with the troll when I was in Bergen. Not to mention the stroll on stilts that walked around the different halls. The major entertainment is in Great Hall of the Vikings. Oslo Hall has a stage, with a large Norwegian flag as a backdrop, and a food court, where one could sample Norwegian fare like meatballs and lutefisk, meatballs and mashed potatoes prepared by students from Minot High School, lompe (ham and cheese for my lunch) or good old hamburger and fries (dinner at the en, to, tre (1, 2, 3) fine cuisine was $39.95 with a reservation. The other main halls are Copenhagen (which also had a stage for an entertainment), Helsinki, Oslo, Reykjavik, Stockholm, Stockholm Mezzanine, Skien Mezzanine, Troll Stroll South, Troll Stroll West and West Oslo Hall, and of course, Trondheim Hall, venue of the stores selling books, Dale sweaters (at $250 each), souvenirs and silver jewelry.
My place by the door was switched to diagonally across when another author, dressed in brown bunad (regional outfits) and knickers had an elaborate setup. Among his books was a novel about World War II with a Jewish angle. Every now and then he would play his fiddle. There are a number of books dealing with the war including Skis Against the Atom, Knut Haukelid's account of his involvement with The Heroes of Telemark in blowing up the Vemork hydro plant where Germans were using the heavy water in the region to make the fusion for the atom bomb. There is a book about one of the few Norwegian Jewish survivors and his contribution to the war effort.
I am among 14 featured authors with plenty of other books also available. Most of us were within a circle. To my left was Astrid Karlsen Scott, dressed in a beautiful bunad, author of authentic Norwegian cook books and histories of the war, including Little House on the Fjord, her personal story in post war Norway. She grew up in Oslo and now lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband, Mel. Both were quite friendly. Astrid offered a number of tips: how to set up my books; "you can't sit down or the people will go by"; "If they stop, you have to introduce yourself and your book"; "now, go talk to them." I located the Norwegian-American Weekly on a table at the end of the circle and my ad was in it, which I put on my table. The man behind the table was from Norway and we spoke Norwegian. My bookmarks were a good marketing tool because they could be given out as reminders.
People have come from all over the Midwest, Northwest, Canada and Norway. A man started to talk to me at one of the souvenir stores and he was from Tromø, above the Arctic Circle. Later, someone told me 10 people came from Tromsø. A few people noticed the Beyond the Cold title, and muttered, "Not as cold as in Sasketchewan!" Or someplace in the Dakotas. People are drawn by the cover, leaving Writer's Digest as the lone dissenter. I sold 6 books on the first day, six more than I would have sold if I wasn't here. People said the big day is Saturday when there are the largest crowds, while others who have been here every day start making their decisions after being inundated with books, souvenirs, crafts, a feeling I could sympathesize with when I walked around. Halls are host to artists, clothing, food, gifts, jewelry, museums, music, rosemaling, Scandinavian crafts, spinning, sculptors, tatting, rugs, tours and travel, weaving, woodcarving, turning and chipping from the Scandinavian countries.
I am finishing this up as the new day is starting. I must tell about a special author, 98-year old Hazel Brink, whose children's story is The Runaway Little Red Lawn Mower. She wrote stories about her parents on their farm in South Dakota to entertain her grandchildren. Her daughters convinced her to publish them and at 95 she did. Her daughter, Loya Olsen, was with her and Loya's son, Daren Lavoi, illustrated the book and "all the grandsons learned to mow the lawn on the little red lawn mower." More on her and others later. Must get back to selling.
Picking up from yesterday, Hazel moved to a dairy farm in Cohasset, MN in 1945. She was a music supervisor for 30 years in the rural schools.
Next to me is Joseph Gavett, who grew up in Minot and now lives in Tacoma, Washington, was selling four books: Minot: The Magic City, a history; On the Corner of Soo & Hiawatha, where he grew up; a detailed book, North Dakota Immigrants ,and North Dakota: Counties, Towns & People, the first in a series. Deb Nelson-Gourley, who self publishes as Astri My Astri Publishing in Waukon, IA, was proud of the nationally awarded translation of History of Norwegian Settlements, that was written in 1908. Also dressed in a bunad, she also had books on heritage. Beside her were two of her authors, Sigmund Aarseth with Norway Painted in Light and Color, which is bilingual and includes 200 of his paintings, Aarseth's Rosemaling Design: Norwegian Telemark Style and Painted Rooms: Scandinavian Interiors. He and his wife had come from Norway, as did Gunlag Nøkland, author of Legend of Siljatjern (Silja's Pond) Seter: Life, love and faith on a Norwegian mountain dairy, which was bilingual with historic photos and recipes. She, too, was wearing a beautiful bunad. Her husband was with her and I spoke Norsk with them as well. Closing our circle was Jim Hove of Isanti, MN, author of From Scandinavian Shores: Immigrant Culture and Stories from our Nordic Family Histories. His wife, Linda was with him. Other authors was the popular Lauraine Snelling and Gerald Revelle.
Høstfest talks about the involvement in schools. There were parades and Dance of the Norwegian sweaters by children. Later there was Scandi Ski Fantasy a dance routine by three people dressed in blue with skis on, followed again by Dance of the Norwegian sweaters to Trondheim Hall. Youth are important at Høstfest. Here is among the Dances of the Norwegian Sweaters in Leif Eriksson Millennium Hall.
Another Dance of the Norwegian Sweaters, In addition to parading to Trondheim Hall, they performed every day of the Festival in Leif Eriksson Millennium Hall, which is where this performance took place.
A third dance by the children in the Dance of Norwegian Sweaters.
In addition to the Dance of the Norwegian Sweaters was the Scandia Ski Fantasy Dance.
I've arrived in Minot for Norsk Høstfest
At the gate, I sat down next to a woman wearing a red cardigan with clips that probably was Norwegian. She was talking to a man across from us. She pulled out a T-shirt, which I couldn't see, that she had bought at last year's Høstfest and said she could only wear it at Høstfest. She then related how she stayed at a bed and breakfast last year with Norwegians, who asked what her connection to Norway was. She said her parents were Norwegian, but when her father died, she didn't know about family in Norway. She told the Norwegians her name and the town her father was from The Norwegians were from that town and knew people by that name. The woman, who was from South Carolina, is going to be visiting her father's relatives next July! I asked how many times she'd been to Høstfest. She said this was her second time. I said this is my first and I am an author. She said, "It's quite an initiation the first time."
The plane was so packed (I actually got the last seat when I checked in at Philadelphia), there was a screen listing those on standby. Singer Charley Pride, who is an annual performer, was on the plane. Again, I started to check for more blond hair. Then, a man across the aisle from me started kidding the woman in front of him, "Snakker du norsk. Du snakker bra." "Do you speak Norwegian. You speak it well."
The pilot welcomed everybody to the "Norsk Høstfest Express."
Coming in for the landing in Minot (pronounced My-not), there was no Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Oslofjord, mountains. It was flat. Small airport? It was so small it had an address: 25. You got off the plane and on the right was security, the rental car desk and next to that the luggage carousel. I looked around for Betsy -- she and her husband are hosting me -- from the pictures we had exchanged during the week. I went by the luggage carousel and when I turned around I saw a glass enclosed exhibit of Norsk Høstfest; the special Norwegian art of rosemaling, a horse, a container, a book about rosemaling. There was a copy of the famous picture of the Birkebeiner skiers transporting the infant prince to safety in 1206. Back in the lobby, there was a woman wearing a t-shirt of the Norwegian flag and "Norge" on it. People were reacquainting themselves.
Betsy took me to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds where the fest was to be held. She grew up in Williamsport, PA, her husband, Nicholas, in Lancaster, PA. They had come here a few years ago for the hunting and because she dislikes crowded cities. Minot has a population of 36,000. On the outside of the exhibition center was "Norsk Høstfest" with the flags of the Scandinavian countries. Entering the building, there was a Norwegian flair. We had to find Trondheim Hall (city in Norway), Leif Erikson Hall, Sons of Norway, Oslo Hall (also Copenagen Hall). Once inside Trondheim Hall, my table was the very first one. Another author was setting up next to me and said the women in charge of the store was in a meeting. Betsy and I hung up my poster and agreed we didn't want to leave too many books out. We put two boxes under the table and took one home so I could affix the special price tags on them. At the same time, I was taking in the room. Large Norwegian flags hung from the ceiling. There was a silver display in the distance but it said "sølje," silver in Norwegian. In another corner was Dale sweaters.
After battling traffic -- partially due to Høstfest, construction and trains carrying grain -- we reached their simple house, where I met Speck (special kitty), bigger than our Ketzel, but a tabby with a lot of white, and Jacob, the dog. Betsy kept saying if there is any food you want us to get, just let us know similar to Norwegian hospitality although they are not Norwegian. She said they don't lock the doors, just like in the mountains of Norway and in the Lofoten Islands. She picked up Nicholas. They are in their 20s. He made pheasant stir fry, just like I never know what Torbjørn in Norway will serve us.
Michael Kleiner to promote Beyond the Cold at Norsk Høstfest in North Dakota
Michael Kleiner speaks about Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway at Mt. Airy Authors Day, 6/21/08
Download | Duration: 00:37:59
June 2008 Michael Kleiner Public Relations and Web Design Newsletter: Networking; Eco-Libris putting stamp on books
News from Kleiner's Korner
Michael Kleiner Public Relations
& Web Site Design
Making the Unknown Known
http://www.kleinerprweb.com
kleinerpr@kleinerprweb.com
June, 2008
The Hot Korner
- The Power of Networking and Different Types of Networking
- Eco-Libris putting "stamp" on marriage of books and trees
- Connections through memberships
- Infinity Publishing Conference:
Panel: "The Power of Networking: Four Principles From Networking to Marketing:
Authors Helping Authors and Authors Reading Circle - Next book appearance: Mt. Airy Authors Day, June 21
- Web Site Promotions
- About Michael Kleiner PR & Web Design
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1. The Power of Networking and Different Types of Networking
I missed an issue last month, but I'm back with a June newsletter that I trust you will find interesting and informative. I had been wanting to do something around networking and when a story dropped itself in my lap last week, I realized I have different examples of networking that would make for a fascinating issue.
My trusted author colleague, Susan C. Haley, author of the award-winning Rainy Day People (available in print and audio), and with whom I shared a panel discussion on Authors Helping Authors (see Article 4 below), has written extensively about four principles of networking and what they mean and involve. While geared toward books, the priniciples could apply in any business.
The four principles are:
1. Networking is first getting to know yourself; your strong vs. weaker attributes, a prioritizing of what you wish to achieve.
2. Networking is a reciprocal process.
3. Networking is action; physically doing something. It's the perpetuation of action begetting reaction. We must take responsibility in the creating of our life.
4. Networking is balance. It's imperative to maintain a balance between your expectations and your contributions.
"I have learned that networking is a process," writes Susan. "Results aren't instant. I think it's as much a building of a recognizable name as interest in a specific title or titles. For me, by being active in writing groups, online communities, message forums, e-mail lists and now some E-zines, I've drawn interest in my writing based on my Florida Writer column, list messages and comments on issues other than my books in various forums. With auto signatures, I've been able to draw a fairly large audience to my web site.
"My 'Miracle' story led to Pauline Hager (author of Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan) recommending my web site all over the place. I'm very grateful to her. It's a long process, my friends. Expecting instant or huge results quickly will lead to disappointment. I'd like to impress on people not to give up if results aren't instant and to be prepared for a continuing effort at exposure and also to embrace a reciprocal attitude in helping other writers. I'm continually evaluating my own motivations, and I work sincerely hard at being honest and genuine in my 'networking' efforts. Actually, I think my personal reward comes more from that than selling a book."
Susan was widowed at 55, and through writing was able to deal with the despair but realized. "it was a solitary existence." A friend helped her publish two books and led her to the Florida Writers Association. When asked to lead a chapter in Sarasota County, she paniced.
"I learned that if I'd take a step forward, others would do the same," she wrote in Infinity Publishing's Author's Gazette. "They'd meet me in the middle. To ripple a pond, all one must do is throw in their pebble. Next, I started tossing pebbles into the ponds of other writing groups, assuring them we were all under the same creative umbrella. FWA wasn't an invader of their independence, but a support net; its fibers reaching across the state and beyond.
"It became apparent that the third principle of networking was doing. It's attending workshops and conferences, visiting bookstores and related places of business. It's researching reading clubs, organizing events, becoming familiar with the local publications and media. Most important of all, it's offering an outstretched hand, a smile, a welcome, a thank you.
"I then discovered a fourth principle of 'networking', Balance. It's being willing to learn as well as teach, to listen as well as speak. It's being a shoulder to lean on as well as seeking one on which to lean. It's giving encouragement as well as looking for it. It's attempting to be what others would wish to emulate and creating something others would want to use or share, or in my case, read."
2. Eco-Libris putting "stamp" on marriage of books and trees
(Networking Note: I placed an announcement in the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia e-newsletter about my next book event. An e-mail from fellow member Raz Godelink was the next one I received.)
You look at the Harry Potter tomes and may bemoan the trees that died making J. K. Rowling rich and famous and Harry Potter an icon. (Only the last three books indicate they were published on recycled paper). What if there could be an exchange to bring some of those trees back? Enter Eco-Libris , which has come up with a nifty, simple and affordable idea which marries the love of books while being environmentally friendly. Raz Godelink is CEO of Eco-Libris, which has offices in Newark, DE and Seattle and recently joined the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. Targeting authors, book stores, book publishers, book clubs -- just about anyone involved in the book industry -- the idea is they buy a certain number of stickers from Eco-Libris for a certain number of books. When a sale is made, the sticker which says: "Eco-Libris: One tree was planted for this book," can be affixed to the book. For each sale, a tree is planted. Yes, the sticker is printed from recycled materials: "from 30% post-consumer waste (PCW) and 70% pre-consumer waste, and they are printed with non-toxic ink. The envelope and the thank you letter, which you receive with the stickers, are made of 100% post-consumer waste," according to the Eco-Libris web site. Their tag line is "Balance out your books."
They work with three non-profit tree planting organizations: Sustainable Harvesting International, which covers Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama in Central America; RIPPLE Africa, which works in Africa, primarily in Malawi; and The Alliance for International Reforestation, which plants trees in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Since Eco-Libris launched in July 2007, over 47,000 books "have been balanced out," resulting in 61,500 trees being built. Around 20,000,000 trees are cut down in the U.S. alone each year to produce books. These countries were chosen because communities have been devastated by deforestation. "We chose countries which could gain the most value," said Raz in an interview. "We wanted to help environments with reforestation and communities gain sources of income."
The cost ranges from $5 for five books/five trees to $23.50 for 10 books/10 trees to $47 for 50 books/trees to $93 for 100 books/trees to $450 for 500 books/500 trees. You go to the web site -- http://www.ecolibris.net -- place your order and Eco-Libris sends you the stickers with postage paid by them. Their goal is to balance out 500,000 books by the end of 2008.
Print On Demand (or author originated publishing) would seem an ideal partner, because the philosophy behind POD contributes to conservation by only printing a book when it is ordered. Thereby, there aren't a lot of unsold books lying around gathering dust. Infinity Publishing prints on recycled paper. There is no indication on the iUniverse books I have.
"The thinking behind Eco-Libris was there is a tremendous usage of paper with a tremendous environmental impact associated with it," said Raz. "It will take time until we reach a point of sustainable paper and alternatives. We have to do something now and not sit and wait. We do believe in taking action and in the power of small changes to make a big impact...Eco-Libris is for everyone. It is a green business that enables people to do something reasonable, affordable, yet with an impact: plant one tree for every book they read. We believe that taking responsibility for the environmental costs of the books we read is only natural. We strive for a world where reading books doesn't have adverse effects on the environment, and therefore our mission is to make reading much more sustainable than it is today."
Raz grew up in Israel. There have long been campaigns to donate money to build trees in Israel and the Jewish holiday of Tu B'shevat is dedicated to trees. "Perhaps, subconsciously that influenced me to start Eco-Libris," he says. "Since I was a kid we were planting trees in the forest. The need to plant trees and the value of trees grew up with me. I became aware of keeping trees as a natural resource and not to just transform them into paper."
"What a book is" has changed over the last several years. Ebooks and audio books have gained in popularity. These developments could effect Eco-Libris' businesses. Raz sees these developments as a way to reach their goal. With Ebooks especially, it can be hard for readers to adjust to reading a book on a screen and their instinct would be to print it out, thereby defeating the purpose of preserving paper.
"Firstly, ebooks will become part of the greener alternatives eventually," said Raz. "It's something good to support. Things work in stages and ebooks will be a better alternative sooner or later. With Eco-Libris we want to raise awareness, so when someone opens up a book and sees our sticker, they will think of trees. Like with food, you think of the ingredients."
The name Eco-Libris is devised from a Latin phrase Ex-Libris which means 'from the books' where a label was put on a book to show who owned the book. "We see Eco-Libris as the new, green version of Ex-Libris," Raz says. "In our vision people will balance out their books by planting trees and will indicate their commitment to sustainability by putting an Eco-Libris sticker on the sleeves of these books. As people once showed their love for books with Ex-Libris, we hope to see people show their love for books and the environment with Eco-Libris."
3. Connections through memberships
I am the immediate past President of the Mt. Airy Business Association. Our tag line is "A Network That Works." A couple of months ago, a member, JAE Enterprises, Inc.., which consults with for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations in any stage of their development, received a three-year, $1.5 million federal grant to serve as intermediary to assist non-profits in Camden, NJ with technical assistance and training. They decided to look within the organization first for PR help. In addition, I knew of another member who did a lot of work with Camden organizations. While the RFP did not fit him, he had contacts in Camden that did. With this example we see how "a network that works" can work.
I received three queries within a short space of time through the membership directory of the Sustainable Business Network web site. I am a new member to SBN so it was gratifying to see such a quick response. Two of the three had not joined SBN yet. There was a woman who was writing her business plan and knew she would need a web site. The others were referral/ collaboration partnerships. We'll see if anything comes about, but the key is we know each other is out there. Maybe, it paid off to pay a little more to have a more detailed description on the web site. Be aware of who does what in different organizations you belong to, because the best form of advertising is often word of mouth. Within this newsletter, you may have found potential contacts.
4. Infinity Publishing Conference:
Panel: "The Power of Networking: Four Principles From Networking to Marketing:
Authors Helping Authors"
and Authors Reading Circle
At the Infinity Publishing Conference in October, 2006, something special happened. Authors wanted to talk to other authors. After a long day of seminars and dinner on opening day, 20-30 people gathered to read excerpts from each of their books. It was a remarkable event. People were overwhelmed by the quality of the writing. The creation of an Infinity Authors' community took root. Over the next couple of months, Lois W. Stern gathered a database of authors,their books, elevator pitches, e-mails and web sites. I downloaded the book covers and created an Infinity Authors page on my book web site. Eleven authors followed suit. Infinity's book cover designer designed a logo for us. At the 2007 Conference, Susan C. Haley, Lois W. Stern, Donna Jaske and myself (the core group that worked on the community during the year), along with Jerry D. Simmons, former VP of Time-Warner Books, presented a panel: "The Power of Networking: Four Principles From Networking to Marketing: Authors Helping Authors." Listen to the podcast of the panel.
The reading circle happened again. Listen to the podcast and discover the diverse talent of writers whose books you might decide to add to your bookshelf.
5. Next book appearance:
Mt. Airy Authors Day, June 21
On June 21, I will be among three authors at Mt. Airy Authors Day at Lovett Memorial Library, 6945 Germantown Avenue, discussing my book, Beyond the Cold.
Readers have found Beyond the Cold to be much more than a travel book. Beyond the Cold traces the development of my affinity and passion for Norway, its people and culture although I am not of Norwegian descent. It begins when I spent a year in Norway with my family at age 11 in 1969-70 (attending a Norwegian school) and my return trips as an adult. The book is unusual in that it is told through a child's eyes and memories and an adult perspective. Among my adult trips was to attend the International Summer School at the University of Oslo with 500 students from 70 countries, returning to speak at the 50th anniversary of the Summer School and my honeymoon. As I have found a second home and family in Norway, Beyond the Cold shows the value of travel and multicultural experience, and a country that is more than cold weather. The book has received many positive reviews including Fjell og Vidde, Norway's largest outdoors magazine, The Norseman, and the newsletter of the Sons of Norway on Long Island, NY. The book includes a section about Mt. Airy and the community organizations.
The book may be purchased at Buy Books on the Web, Infinity Publishing's online bookstore, or call 877.BUY.BOOK or 610.941.9999.
The schedule for Mt. Airy Authors Day: 1:15 p.m.: Lori L. Tharps, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love and Spain; 2:30 p.m.: Liz Farmer Jarvis, debut of Mt. Airy history book; 3:45 p.m.: Michael Kleiner, Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway. Slides of the country will be shown, including travels above the Arctic Circle. More information see the flyer.
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We work with authors and the award-winning Michael Kleiner is an author himself, so he brings his experience and reputation in PR and being an author to the table. But public relations and promotions are not a cookie-cutter field. It takes creativity, imagination and thinking outside the box to know what angle will interest which reporters, whom to target, and what cross-promotions can be utilized to find out of the ordinary places an author may appear. The company serves small businesses and Michael Kleiner just completed a two-year term as President of the Mt. Airy Business Association and eight years on the executive committee. More than 80% of the membership is sole proprietors. Among his specialties are special events. Michael Kleiner understands small businesses, authors, PR and web design and strives to live up to his tagline: "Making the Unknown Known."
Most recently, he spent May, 2007-November 2007, promoting the first anime convention ever in Philadelphia and the first ever produced by an African-American owned company. It was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the weekend event drew several thousand.
2003 Home-Based Business Advocate Award from Small Business Administration for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for Region III (PA, DE, MD, VA, WV, DC)
2003 Communicators Award of Excellence in Feature Writing, an international award.
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(C) 2008 Michael Kleiner Public Relations and Web Design
Infinity Publishing Conference Authors Reading Circle, Part 3 of 3, Carol Welsh, moderator 9/28/07
Download | Duration: 01:04:24
Infinity Publishing Conference Authors Reading Circle, Part 2 of 3, 9/28/07
Download | Duration: 00:15:52
Infinity Publishing Conference Authors Reading Circle, Part 1 of 3, Sept. 28, 2007
Download | Duration: 00:03:07
From Networking to Marketing: Authors Helping Authors panel session by Susan C. Haley, Lois W, Stern, Michael Kleiner, Donna Jaske, Jerry Simmons, Infinity Publishing Conference Sept. 28, 2007
Download | Duration: 01:14:01
Jewish Children's Folkshul, April 22, 2007
Download | Duration: 01:01:30
C.W. Henry School First-Grade Class, April 27, 2007
Download | Duration: 00:32:28
Sholom Aleichem Club, March 11, 2007
Download | Duration: 00:22:04
First grade class at C.W. Henry School, Philadelphia, March 2, 2007
Download | Duration: 00:37:11
Chestnut Hill Senior Center, January 9, 2007
Download | Duration: 00:46:35