We have seen author videos and heard their podcasts. The sometimes work and sometimes don’t but they should all be applauded for trying to move forward and engage with the market.
We watched a video today of Prue Lieth talking about her new book the Gardner. It wasn’t on Amazon, or a bookchain or even an independent bookshop’s site but on a small provisional newspaper’s site – Newbury Weekly News’ www.newburytoday.co.uk . It may not be new but it was refreshing.
The video is based on a talk she gave to a packed audience at Donnington Valley Hotel on the book which was originally published by Penguin in 2004. The book was then called ‘A Lovesome Thing’ and apparently suffered the then distribution centre crisis at Penguin with only 6,000 of a 35,000 print being sold, and the rest being pulped. Transita has since republished it with a new epilogue and Lieth is out promoting the revised work.
The ability to tie communities through newsprint, bookshops, reading events to authors is exciting and will help bookshops develop in the community. Newbury is certainly ahead of the curve when it comes to use of video within provisional newspaper sites.
