I was in Starbucks today, just waiting in line and this gal behind me struck up a conversation. She asked what I did, I told her that I’m a book publicist. Of course, she had written a book. So, she tells me that she’s written a memoir, though, it’s not really a memoir per se, it’s letters to her family or something. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The clarity of a book can sometimes take a while to come into focus. Here’s my problem. She asked for my insight (yes, the line was long) and so I told her, start early, start blogging, get a website.
“But,” she protested, “I’m a year away from publishing. Why would I need to start now?” I urged her to consider the numbers, 300,00o books published each year, start early, blog often.
“I don’t want to blog.” She said. I shrugged, I mean you know what can you say? I’m not going to chain someone to a chair and force them to write. She says “What else can I do?” I suggest a few other things, all of which she shot down. “I don’t have time.” She insisted. At this point, I’m
wondering if the latte is worth the wait.
Finally, I said “You know, it’s been nice chatting with you, but really I think you need to hire a coach or someone who can spend the time walking you through this.”
She paused for a moment, “Do you think you can get Random House to pick up my book?”
Well, not Random House, but perhaps a random house.
Oh and the latte was totally worth it (though I considered making the author in question buy it), though tomorrow I’m going to try another Starbucks.
