First Word

Why did you write Passenger from Greece? In a Huffington Post article, I once read about the rising tide of drug cartels in developed countries that use certain Caribbean islands as conduits for the movement of illegal drugs into the United States. The article cited Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic as primary targets, with the Dominican Republic being responsible for 6% of illegal drugs coming to the U.S. My home is Jamaica, and I'm a former flight attendant, so I began to think about how I could bring this international and social dilemma into the spotlight, and also draw readers in with a captivating story. Your cover is gorgeous. What made you select that image to be illustrated? I'd been awe-struck by the beauty of the Greek countryside, and there are shocking facts about the tenacity of the Greek drug cartel, so I decided to use Greece as the developed country in my storyline. My main character, Olivia Reid, is portrayed as an...

The answer to the question, "Why does one book sell super well on Amazon while another does not but sells well in the bookstores?" is the question of the super sleuth. So many variables drive book sales. Public relations and marketing, of course, play important roles in exposure and visibility. But sometimes even a book that has received abundant, positive reviews may not sell well on Amazon but sell well in its market of interest. For example, Daughter of the Caribbean appears to be a big hit in the bookstores near the Caribbean, but still faces low Amazon sales. On the flip side, Fertile Kitchen Cookbook has enjoyed rich Amazon sales and can't sell worth a darn off our table displays. In each case it has to do with the markets these books appeal to. Most Daughter readers may be from regions of the country where online book sales don't appeal to those shoppers so they rely on the bookstore. Fertility is personal, and most couples don't want their personal prob...

Public relations -- often referred to as the "airy-fairy" stuff can be hard to measure results, which is why concrete pick up with the media is the only clear outcome that seems meaningful to most people. What we've tried to do at 3L Publishing with our public relations programs is create complete transparency so the client knows exactly how much work truly goes into moving their campaigns forward. Without complete transparency, the client only sees that maybe they got one request for a book review. Our methods keep our clients involved and aware of our process so that there is no question of the time and resources invested in moving their projects forward with the media. Our key campaigns under way right now are showing those results. Each week on each project, we pitch and receive requests to review the books pitched. So for example, this week the book Daughter of the Caribbean received three requests to see the book, and two requests to discuss an interview with the ...

Writing a book is more than having a book to sell. A book can create a wealth of opportunities by creating a platform for your business to grow. Most authors often make the mistake of focusing exclusively on book sales as a measure of a book's success. While book sales definitely matter, it's not the individual unit sales you should focus on. The real question is what kind of doors did the book's existence open for you? A book is a powerful tool to open the door for speaking invitations or to attract interest in your business in general. Even the existence of one book can beget another book. 3L Publishing as publisher last year invested in the book A Feast at the Beach . Why? It defied our traditional model. We did so, because we felt the title would add value to our overall catalog. It would help attract and grow that segment of market interest. In other words, while we want Feast to sell, whether it becomes a number one best seller doesn't measure its performance in t...

So my financial advisor Cindy Fuzie skillfully taught me the art of how to say "boo" to provide the perfect reaction to either bad marketing and PR or networking behavior. The following are random acts of marketing or just "acts" that are "boo-worthy." And while reading this, you too can learn how to "artfully" say "boo" at the appropriate moment. I'm a guy at a women's networking group and I say, "I came to Nevada because I divorced my wife. The old battle axe." -- Boo! I decide that touching certain body parts at an inappropriate time is funny. -- Boo! I have a wretched case of halitosis and decide to breathe in deeply and exhale quite strongly at a person I am trying to do business with. -- Boo! I visit a table display and set my wine glass down right on top of the beautiful new book Daughter of the Caribbean -- and leave a nice purple ring on the book. -- Boo! (In this instance, "boo" applies to ...

I've decided PR requires all hands on deck to make it work. We are promoting Daughter of the Caribbean , and I already pounded the Oprah camp pretty hard. I did get a response back from the producer -- just not what I hoped to hear. The author Norma Jennings did not let rejection dissuade her. She went in the back door. Her daughter had a friend who is friends with a producer of Jamaican decent over at Oprah. So, what did she do. She approached the friend who gladly passed it on. Not only was the producer excited, but she requested a copy for Oprah! So far enthusiasm has been great -- and we are sending positive energy toward great results. So for author who rely only on us for all openings, it's not your only avenue. Persistence is key. And persistence from all possible connections works best. Because having opened the door from all different sides only reinforces the name of the book. And maybe with enough buzz generated, we will move forward! At least that is what we want to...