HA HA HA HA! NY PUBLISHING SINKS TO NEW LOWS!!!
HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/27/business/media/
27traveler.html?
How does a company market a science fiction-tinged novel that it thinks could be the next 'Da Vinci Code' if the author refuses to do publicity?
By pretending the book is a movie. Skip to next paragraph Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Jason Kaufman, the editor of 'The Traveler' and 'The Da Vinci Code.'
To promote 'The Traveler,' a story set in a futuristic society written by John Twelve Hawks, Doubleday turned to the film and television industries for inspiration.
'If you're going to look to an industry for innovative and aggressive marketing tactics, it's definitely those industries - not the publishing industry,' said John Pitts, the marketing director at Doubleday, an imprint of Random House.
The tactics Doubleday has adopted to promote Mr. Twelve Hawks's first novel include the use of street teams - groups of young people armed with posters dispatched to talk up the book at events like concerts - and a Web campaign to start discussions of the book in forums like the Alternate Reality Gaming Network.
The publisher is hoping to convince readers that the novel is 'The Matrix crossed with Alias,' said Alison Rich, the Doubleday publicity director. However, the company would be happy to settle for simply convincing elusive young male readers to pick up the book, which goes on sale tomorrow.
Doubleday worked out a low seven-figure deal for the worldwide rights to 'The Traveler' and its two planned sequels, according to Publishers Weekly. The book is being published in 18 countries, and has been optioned by Universal for a film. All that hype does not mean the book will succeed. Publishers and booksellers often have few hard clues about which book will become popular and which will languish on shelves.
