Here's a Pen. Buy My Book.

Jeff Cohen

Still saddened and stunned by the news that  Renee Paley-Bain passed away from a form of blood cancer last Friday night. She was a friend to me as she was to anyone she met in the crime fiction community. With her husband Donald (author of more than 100 books) she collaborated on the Murder, She Wrote series (with Jessica Fletcher, of course). And she had the ability to make anyone she met feel like a good friend, a valuable addition to her life. I saw Don and Renee almost exclusively at conventions and they were loved by everyone they met. My heartfelt condolences to Don and his family. You'll be sorely missed, Renee. I'd say rest in peace but I prefer the thought that you're stirring things up and making friends wherever you are now.

I got an email not terribly long ago from a company called USB Memory Direct that specializes in personalized flash drives. The company was offering to send me a small sample of customized items--obviously the, flash drives they sell--with any art I sent them to be emblazoned upon each one, free of charge. The idea was to spread the word of the item's quality and hopefully generate business for the supplier while giving me nifty little gizmos to give out at my myriad book signings, readings and public "appearances." (That word always cracks me up, like there will be a puff of smoke and I'll just materialize in a spot.)

Quite frankly, generous as the offer was, I had to think about it.

I've always been of two minds about promotional items. Yes, people like to get free stuff and it attracts some attention when you're at a convention or a group signing and have to compete (in a friendly way) with other authors for a reader's notice. But do things like postcards and customized tea bags and M&Ms with your title on it (oh yes, you can!) really induce anyone to buy a book? 

To be honest I've never seen any evidence that such items help or harm a title's sales at all. Again, I like them and I admire the authors who come up with especially creative ideas for them. But are they really worth the cost (most of the time) to create them? 

And if you're one of those people who believes that the publisher will buy such things, you are adorable. Publishers do sometimes spring for bookmarks or postcards. That's about it. The idea that each title will get its own promo item (or, more hilarious, that the author will be "sent on tour" with a book at the publisher's expense) is, alas, not so plausible. 

So now I was deciding whether a small quantity (25) of free flash drives with my book's title and the author's name reproduced on them would be worth doing. And I decided that the free part made the equation more palatable certainly. I took USB Memory Direct up on their offer after making sure they were a legitimate company because you wouldn't believe how many fake emails an author gets from people trying "to boost your profile all the way to the bestseller lists!" in a week.

As promised the flash drives, with art work I had sent my contact at USB Memory Direct, arrived promptly. There was a glitch with some of the items I received initially but the company immediately took them back and sent replacements which worked just fine. 

When I was a new author (back at the turn of the millennium, when even Y2K seemed possible) I would have been quivering with excitement when the items arrived. I remember when the first custom postcards--not ones I had actually made myself, which looked it--arrived from my publisher and I was besides myself with amazement. It was confirmation that I was indeed a published author! I'd give these things out, send them to booksellers (or better yet, have Team Pepperoni do that, which is a whole other post in itself) and my career would take off into the stratosphere in no time!

Oddly, the world remained round, the sky stayed blue and my career was just about where it had been the day before. Such are the illusions of inexperience.

This time, I looked at the very attractive flash drives, noted how they work, took in the quality of the artwork transfer, which was very good, and then got back to work on the next 1,000 words. Yes, it's nice to have customized items. But I don't think Stephen King started his career with matchbooks bearing the logo Carrie on them. I've been to enough conventions and seen enough swag to recognize it for what it is: a bribe, and not always a terribly effective one.

Still, the flash drives are very nice indeed. If you see me soon, ask for one and I'll be happy to give it to you. 

What do you think? Will an author with a giveaway make you more likely to investigate his/her book?

 

P.S. Pitchers and catchers report in 38 days.

Comments

[KnyttWytch]

I think promotional freebies are fun, but but no where near as fun as the books!

[Patty]

I love getting swag from authors I love. Just getting it to try to get me read, probably not. I'm a librarian and I can get enough swag at library conferences to require a new suitcase to get it home. I've gotten very picky because of that.

As for E.J. Copperman or Jeffrey Cohen, I would absolutely take something from either of them.

[Anne Louise Bannoon]

I love swag - and the more useful the swag, the better (especially pens). Back when I was doing the TV critic thing, we got all kinds of swag. The idea wasn't that a pen or a t-shirt would influence us, but that it was a way to get the name of the show/network out there so more people could see it. In terms of book swag, postcards/bookmarks and even pens will help me remember to either buy a book I wanted or at least get me thinking kindly about an author so that I will later buy said book.

[Elaine Charton]

Jeff
First thank you for the p,s. I could not remember the exact number of days. The void will soon be over.
Swag does not convince me to buy a book. It may remind me of a book I'd been waiting for. When I had a rent paying job and went to writers conferences I'd bring home mostly pens and everyone knew I had them in my desk. Occasionally, someone would ask me about the author and if I thought they would like them. I wasn't sure if I got any books sold or not. But I like to think I did,even a few.

[Lev Raphael]

Waste of time and money back in the 90s when I got started and ditto today. Book junk doesn't make me want to read a book more, but it does make me feel sorry for the author who was suckered into believing that *this* is the path to success.