Does an author’s appearance on “Oprah” automatically guarantee fame and fortune?
My good friend Dan Janal, president of PR Leads, a company that provides leads from working journalists, and a former journalist himself, is skeptical.
Last week, he blogged here and said he doubted whether any author could sell more than $10,000 worth of books after just one appearance on “Oprah.”
He isn’t talking about the authors like Jacqueline Mitchard or James Frey whose books are chosen for Oprah’s Book of the Month Club. Rather, he is referring to all the other ones who appear on the show, then are lucky enough to have Oprah mention their books or, even better, hold up the books in front of the camera and maybe even discuss them.
“I don’t know ANYONE who went on Oprah and sold 10,000 books to catapult themselves to best-sellers status on a truly legitimate Best-Seller List, with the exception of the authors Oprah selected for her Book Club,” Dan wrote. “But I could be wrong.”
So here’s the challenge. And he’s even willing to make it easy for you.
If you have sold $10,000 worth of books–not 10,000 books–from one appearance on “Oprah,” send Dan proof and you’ll get a year of PR LEADS for free. At $25 per copy, that’s only 400 copies, an amount that many speakers can sell from the back of the room at one speaking engagement. He’ll also tell your story at his blog.
“If I’m really off target, I’ll limit this offer to the first five people who respond with proof,” he says.
Even though his original deadline was last Friday, he’s extending it to this Friday for Publicity Hounds only.
Email your proof to him and you could win a subscription to PR Leads. See his blog for full details.
If Dan is right, and nobody can prove they sold $10,000 worth of books on “Oprah,” I have just the answer. There’s always big radio shows which, if done right, can make your books fly out of your fulfillment center. “Get Booked on Big Radio Shows in the Top 20 Markets” walks you step-by-step through the process of booking yourself on a big radio show so you can sell thousands of dollars in books or other products. Alex Carroll, a veteran guest of 1,264 radio talk shows, tells you exactly how it’s done–without an expensive publicist.
I’m wondering how to get my book out to parents and pre-teens/teens. I’ve tried all the local stuff. I talk to everyone I know. I even sent a copy to our Governor and she referred it to her Talk Early & Talk Often Program. The book is called, So You Think You Want to Be a Mommy? It is a look at life as a single mom. It has interviews with young girls who became moms at an early age as well as insight from my experiences as a single mom. There is too much kids telling kids about sex and pregnancy. Kids don’t even think about STD’s. I’m looking for a way to get this information out.