Saturday mornings for me begin in a way that may repulse others.
I have always been an early riser, and like getting to my desk to produce the ideas I will work on for the rest of the day. But on Saturdays there is a 5km run in our local park.
It’s a really good community event, with those taking part ranging from just a few months (in buggies, being pushed by superfit parents) to pensioners, as well as several dogs. And the feeling of virtue you get from having had some exercise before 10am on a Saturday morning (you can tell from this that I am not superfast) is indescribably wonderful, made all the more special by the chance to listen to Inheritance Tracks on Radio 4's Saturday Live on the way home.
Last Saturday I wore my Penguin classics T-shirt, and had comments all the way around the course from stewards about its relevance. It promoted Mystery Mile – so one wondered if I was being ironic (this is a 5k run), several told me they had already read it, one in the familiar jacket, and others commented that it was good to be reminded of reading.
Apart from finding this rather surprising (the shirt’s role had not been planned) it set me thinking that this must be a sponsorship or marketing opportunity for books.
Representatives from Lucozade appeared one week at the finish to hand out free bottles of liquid support for the tired, and today a local sports shop was offering coupons with £15 off their merchandise (if you spent over a certain amount).
What’s to stop publishers putting tee shirts on a few runners and handling out money-off coupons at the finishing line? Publishers routinely produce tee shirts for bookshop staff to wear whilst promoting new titles (thank you to Joanna in Waterstone’s of Kingston for reminding me of this) but where else could they be displayed to maximum advantage?
Where would you like to find information on new books?
A former publisher, Alison writes about publishing and how to get published. She is course leader for the Publishing MA at Kingston University.
Alison,
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of literary marketing at sports events. Look at the racing industry. I don’t see why a Penguin logo shouldn’t grace the hood of Jeff Gordon’s car or why publishers shouldn’t pitch a stall to promote their books at the Tour of Britain. In my opinion, it is a brilliant idea. The usual sponsors for sports events seem to be either giant financial corporations (using our money to get more), or alimentary companies (nearly everyone has heard of Coca-Cola, but how many readers know who publishes their favorite books?). Granted, advertising on such scale takes money and I doubt many publishing houses can compete with the tremendous earnings of Pepsi; but isn’t spending money to double the amount spent one of the basic methods of capitalism?
I usually start my day same as I finish it, by writing. At night, I grab a handful hours of sleep then start over. (That’s when I’m not watching Spartacus re-runs. Get well soon, Andy! You are the best Spartacus since Kirk Douglas.)
Xean
10/17/2010
My witting day generally starts with changing a nappy at the moment. :o)
Juggling work and writing is hard but I do tyr and get some writing in. Even if it is just an idea for a story.
For children's books, the park and playgrouds, would be a good place to wear a tee shirt with the website and a picture of one of the books