Book Marketing Buzz Author Interview: Camille Marchetta
Posted by pumpupyourbookpromotion on February 4, 2008
Camille Marchetta, author of the new literary novel, The River, By Moonlight, was kind enough to answer a few questions about book marketing, virtual book tours and other facets of book marketing in general.
Her credits include: Staff Writer 
for the television series Dallas, producer of Nurse and Dynasty, co-executive-producer of Falcon Crest, and story consultant on the television series, Central Park West.
Welcome, Camille. I am very impressed with your television credits. How did you land those fantastic writing positions?
Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. Honestly, I do feel very lucky to have been associated with so many of television’s landmark shows. Looking back, it can all seem easy enough, but the truth is that two years after I arrived in Los Angeles wanting to write, I had only one assignment to my credit, and a lot of projects getting nowhere fast. I was working temp jobs to earn money. But then a producer, who was hoping to make one of my spec scripts into a film, introduced me to an agent named Lynn Pleshette, an untiring powerhouse of a person, and still a good friend. At the time, she represented (and still does, I believe) a writer named David Jacobs to whom she sent a sample script of mine. David wasn’t able to get me a job on the show he was then story-editing, but he promised that as soon as he could, he would hire me. And he came through on that promise, big time. Soon after, he created the series, Dallas, and gave me a script assignment for the mini-series. Then, in the first full season, I joined the staff of the show as a story-editor. Dallas was such a huge hit. My career was launched. The other work just followed naturally in its wake.
I remember, as the rest of the world at that time, watching the final season of Dallas in which everyone was glued to their sets to find out Who Shot JR? Did you have people trying to get you to tell you who really shot JR before the rest of the world found out?
It’s hard to keep track, but that episode was actually the last in the second season (the show lasted 13). And all of us - the cast, the crew, the production staff – had people trying to pry the answer out of us. Friends were calling me from London, where the bookies were taking odds, begging me to tell them who’d done it. Our offices were broken into. Scripts were stolen. Bribes were offered. But we’d had the foresight to write (and film) different endings. Only a handful of us knew which was the real one. And none of us told. Not even those of us who could really have used a little extra money. I’ve always thought that was amazing, and a real tribute to the spirit of the show.
What was the most rewarding thing about writing for television? The least rewarding?
I suppose the most rewarding was watching first Dallas and then Dynasty climb to #1 in the ratings while I was working on them. Success is very thrilling. As for the least rewarding, well, failure really hurts. I wrote a couple of pilots for series that I thought had great potential, and when the networks didn’t agree, I was crushed. I still think they were wrong.
Why did you decide to start writing books? Did you still write for television while you were writing them?
Growing up, as well as an avid movie-goer and television-watcher, I was a voracious reader. So, writing books was something I always wanted to do, and by the time I finished a season on Dynasty, not only did I feel I was at last ready, but I had enough money put away to take a “sabbatical.” I went to London and wrote my first novel, Lovers and Friends. I wrote my second, The Wives of Frankie Ferraro, after Falcon Crest. For a long while, I alternated between books and television, but for now at least I’m focused entirely on my novels.
Do you feel that marketing books has changed since your first book was released? Who was your publisher and what kind of marketing did they provide for you?
Publishing has changed since my first novel, but I’m not sure that marketing has, though I suppose now even conventional publishers use the internet as well as older media to publicize their books. Arbor House, a division of William Morrow, was my first publisher, and their people did all the usual things of sending the book out for review, getting me some interviews, and paying for an ad in The New York Times. But, really, they spent pennies on me (and with St. Martin’s Press, my second publisher, it was even less). Most of their marketing and advertising budget for that list, if I remember correctly, was targeted to Ken Follett, whose book was released at the same time as mine. In financial terms, I suppose that made sense. A campaign to publicize a well-known author may cost a lot more, but the potential is there to sell enough books to make a huge profit, whereas, with a midlist author, the return – unless a miracle happens – will always be quite modest. For me, for any author, though, it’s very frustrating.
How are you marketing The River, By Moonlight, now?
The book is self-published, so the responsibility for its fate is entirely in my hands. And I’m trying anything and everything I can think of. The publishing package itself included a press release and distribution of the book to a number of critics. I’ve contacted others on my own. I’ve done emailings. I’ve written letters and sent press kits to bookstores and libraries. I’ve done one reading, and have two more scheduled, and hope those will lead to others. And of course there’s this virtual book tour. I have high hopes for it. I can’t think of a better, more efficient, or fun way of reaching out to readers, of letting them know what’s on my mind. And I hope, as a result, that they will not only buy my book, but let me know what’s on theirs, via my website or, when possible, through the sites where I’m scheduled to appear. I’d love to hear from people. And of course the wonderful thing about self-publishing is that there’s no time frame. The bookstores aren’t going to pull the novel from its shelves (it’s not there!). The publisher won’t give up, stop selling, and remainder copies. The River, By Moonlight is here today, tomorrow, for always. I find that thought very satisfying.
What are your views about the state of publishing today? Do you feel it’s harder to get a book published by a NY publisher and, if so, why do you think this is happening? Was it easier years ago before everyone decided they had a book in them?
It’s not the number of people writing now, though it’s always daunting to walk into a store and see the vast quantities of books available; and I sympathize, I really do, with the need to clear shelves to bring in the next lot. But, though I don’t know this for certain, I suspect that there have always been more books written than the publishing houses could accommodate. The history of self-publishing is a very long one. To me, the problem is not how many, but what kinds of books are published. Since the big houses – for the most part – are no longer independent, but are owned by conglomerates, decisions about what books to buy are not made these days (or at least not often) by editors who fall in love with one. Instead they are chosen by committee, for their earnings potential – not a love match, but an arranged marriage. I think this is bad for everyone. For the editors, the publishers, the writers, the readers. But I don’t see the point wasting much time or energy bemoaning this. It’s just a fact of life. I’m more concerned with trying to figure out ways to get good books, however they reach print, the readers they deserve.
What do you see happening in the future as far as the big houses are concerned? Do you feel the smaller houses are going to become as saturated with new books as the bigger houses?
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the business of publishing, or worrying about its fate. It’s too depressing. I try to concentrate on writing, which is my job. So I don’t have what I’d consider an “informed” opinion. Still, I do have one. I think the publishing companies will continue to follow the path of the film companies, which are also owned by conglomerates. They’ll increasingly specialize in “blockbusters” – with varying degrees of success. Some will go bankrupt. Others will merge, get sold, resold. The smaller houses will concentrate on quality, grow, get bought by the bigger ones, and lose their way. Others will spring up. And on it will go, with some wonderful books continuing to be published amid a vast amount of junk. And now (an exciting development in my view) into the mix has come the self-published book, some from writers who couldn’t find (for any number of reasons) a conventional publisher; others from writers who simply want more control over their work, who don’t want to compromise, make cuts they don’t like, be saddled with covers they detest, be marketed in ways they find embarrassing. The problem is how to sort through this mountain of books, and especially in the case of the self-published works, to evaluate them fairly and give them a chance to succeed. I think some progress has been made doing this, with author websites where excerpts can be posted so potential readers can judge for themselves whether a book is worth buying, with PR companies like Pump Up Your Book Promotion, and especially sites like this one that give authors a chance to meet readers directly. But there’s still a long way to go.
Last question. I just have to ask, you authored a book with Ivana Trump. Did you ever meet The Donald?
Yes, I did, at least twice, but only briefly. And he certainly wouldn’t remember.
Thank you for stopping by, Camille. I wish you much success with your new book, The River, By Moonlight, and hope all of you readers out there will go out and pick up a copy. Better yet, save the steps and buy it at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/26kf53!
You can visit Camille’s website at www.camillemarchetti.com.
Thank you so much. I enjoyed the questions and the challenge of answering them.
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THE RIVER, BY MOONLIGHT VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘08 will officially begin on Feb. 1, 2008 and continue all month. If you would like to follow Camille’s tour, visit http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/. Leave a comment on her blog stops and become eligible to win a free copy at the end of her tour! One lucky winner will be announced on this page on February 29!
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Camille’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/ and choreographed by Dorothy Thompson.
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Tags: Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours, online book promotion, author publicity, virtual book tour, book promotion, Camille Marchetta, The River, By Moonlight, literary fiction, Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Dallas, Dallas mini-series, Dynasty, New York, Hudson River Valley
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