Public relations expert Susan Schwartzman was on hand at this year’s New England Crimebake, an annual conference for mystery writers. We’re thrilled that she was able to blog about it for WU readers. Enjoy!

“I don’t chase the dollar; I chase the reader.”

What bestselling author said those words at the seventh annual New England Crime Bake Conference for crime fiction writers?

None other than bestselling author Harlan Coben whose next novel Hold Tight will be published next April 15th in America and England.

The highlight of the convention for me was the Saturday luncheon, where Harlan was the guest speaker of honor. He is an engaging speaker who captivates his audience as much as his novels hook his readers. Harlan is a witty and a natural raconteur. A measure of just how good a speaker he is could be judged by how many lunches remained uneaten while he spoke. The audience hung on his every sentence.

After the luncheon, he signed books and was just as cordial and affable to his fans as he was behind the podium. The book-signing line that followed his speech wove around the corner, but moved surprising quickly. I got a chance to meet Mr. Coben in person and was not disappointed. He is the genuine article. I bought a copy of his latest paperback, The Woods, which I began reading that evening and could not put down till the wee hours of the morning.

(By the way, Harlan made a cameo appearance in the recent hit movie, TELL NO ONE, which was adapted from his book of the same title. Don’t miss the movie—or his performance.)

Hallie Ephron, award-winning book reviewer and columnist for The Boston Globe and author, was kind enough to invite me to the New England Crime Bake Conference this year to give a ninety-minute presentation on Creating a Wave: Book Publicity in the 21st Century, Why You Need it and Why it Matters. (Heads up! Hallie’s next book Never Tell A Lie, a psychological thriller published by HarperCollins, is due out on the shelves this coming January. Publisher’s Weekly has already given it a starred review, calling it “stunning” and “a deliciously creepy tale of obsession.” Don’t miss it.)

The master class covered a wide variety of topics, including the different types of publicity campaigns, the pros and cons of each of them, what an independent publicist can do for an author, and what to look for when hiring an outside publicist.

I also covered issues such as separating fact from fiction when it comes to book publicity; the various advantages and disadvantages of national versus local television coverage; the importance of media tours; the pros and cons of book-signings; the cost effectiveness of radio-phoner campaigns; the impact of review coverage in The New York Times versus local print coverage; magazine print coverage; simple but effective online publicity options, such as virtual tours, that authors can pursue even on their own; and what all authors should know about getting their books reviewed in monthly magazines.

I regularly participate in panel discussions about publicity at writers’ conferences and will be at the next New York City Pitch and Shop Writers Conference on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 3:45pm, along with an in-house publicist and a literary agent. We each offer different perspectives on book publicity and it is definitely worth your while to attend to learn how to get the maximum exposure for your book.

Susan Schwartzman is the founder and principal of Susan Schwartzman Public Relations, an agency dedicated exclusively to book publicity. Her website is http://www.susanschwartzmanpublicity.com/. Check out Susan’s blog for the latest news and tips on marketing your novel.

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