Summer Intern's Final Post

A big thanks to Parul, who wound up her last week at Savas Beatie. Her final blog post is on SB Insider here.

We really appreciated all her work and help this summer, and wish her the best of luck with the start of a new school year.

Where did the summer go? . . .

Interview with Ted Savas

Our summer intern Parul is winding down her time with us. She conducted an informative interview with Savas Beatie Managing Director Ted Savas, which you can read in full here.

Authors - Be your own promoter while traveling

Here’s an example of how one author has promoted his own book effectively.

Mark Hughes, the author of "The New Civil War Handbook," notified us in early June that he would be vacationing and could make stops at various locations where he could do book signings.

One of his destinations was California, so he and his family were able to come by and visit our office. It’s always nice to meet an author, and we don’t get too many visits up here in Northern California. It was a definite bonus for us to meet the Hughes family. While in California he also visited the Nixon Library and mentioned to us that they sold Civil War books in their bookstore. We followed up on that lead and now the bookstore is placing an order for the Handbook.

Some of the venues that he planned on visiting included Chickamauga, Chancellorsville, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Harper’s Ferry, Ford’s Theatre, Antietam, Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, and Kennewsaw Mountain. Quite a trip! We were able to schedule book signings at about half of these places resulting in the pre-sale of 193 books. You read that correctly. Those stores that weren’t able to have Mark in for signings did accept review copies of his book and are in the process of approving the book for their inventories. Mark also spoke to the rangers and bookstore managers of the places he visited but at which he didn’t do signings, and that has also resulted in his book being considered at those locations.

Of the locations where he did signings, more than 80% of the books sold and those bookstores are placing re-orders. Mark Hughes has referred us to some of the other places he visited including the Clara Barton National Historic Site. He has also set up signings on his own including one at the Mauney Memorial Library near where he resides. All of Mark’s efforts have increased the visibility and sales of his book.

Quick Tip for Radio Interviews

Today we listened to Flying Drunk author Joe Balzer’s interview on The Don Shelby Show on WCCO out of Minneapolis. He did a good job, and the host had definitely done his homework. Don was very familiar with Joe’s story, and was clearly a big fan of the book

Near the end of the interview, Don said, “I’d fly on a plane you were flying any day, Joe. That’s how much I trust you. I recommend that everyone read Flying Drunk.” I was surprised to hear such high praise from an interviewer, and quickly grabbed a piece of paper to write the endorsement down.

I emailed the producer a thank you after the show (as we always do) and included a copy of the quote, asking for her permission to use it on the Praise page of our website, and to help us book more radio interviews. She checked with Don, he approved it, and now it is up on the Flying Drunk website here!

Keep an ear out for similar words in your interviews, ask the host for permission to reprint them, and then post wherever it would help. A quick and simple way to add prestige to your book.