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The Tip Sheet
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issue of : February 2007
- PTA CELEBRATES OUR 45th ANNIVERARY!
- QUOTE OF THE MONTH - Our Sports MDRT
- HIT A GRAND SLAM WITH PTA SPORTS!
- PTA'S FREE TELESEMINARS
- SURFIN' - A Source for Websites - Keeping track of time, castellans and Windows '98
- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? - PTA's Top Recent Bookings
- TIPS FROM THE TOP - Our Monthly Advice Column
- LOOK WHAT'S COMING UP!!! - Dates for planning your publicity - Taxes, Titanic and Earth Day
- UPCOMING PUBLISHING EVENTS
PTA CELEBRATES OUR 45th ANNIVERARY!
Planned TV Arts is pleased to announce the celebration of our 45th Anniversary! That's right - 45 candles on our cake this year. Founded by Mike Levine in 1962 PTA is the largest independent book publicity firm in the country. The agency started out coordinating fashion demonstrations on live TV and worked very closely with programs such as Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and The Mike Douglas Show. In the early 70's the firm started doing book publicity representing such luminaries as Mickey Spillane, Yogi Berra, Smokey Robinson and established itself as a leader in this field.
In 1989 PTA Satellite was created to offer the latest technology to its clients - the Satellite TV Tour. The following year PTA developed the Morning Drive Radio Tour that became a standard media vehicle for bestselling authors such as Jackie Collins, Jimmy Carter, Richard Preston and many other leading novelists and non-fiction authors. In 1993 PTA merged with Ruder Finn - the largest independent public relations firm in NYC. PTA currently is led by President, Rick Frishman and employs 35 people with offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco. The firm continues to provide media relations for a wide variety of clients from leading New York publishers and magazines to non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies and individual authors.
We thank all of our clients and friends for their ongoing support. It's been a great ride so far and we look forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary in five short years!!!
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
—W. Somerset Maugham
If you have a great quote to share, please send it to tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com.
Thanks!
HIT A GRAND SLAM WITH PTA SPORTS!
Let Planned Television Arts' championship-caliber team of sports publicists promote your next baseball, golf or other sports topic. Our Sports Radio Tour is guaranteed to provide a minimum of 18 interviews for your sports figure or author with All-Star regional sports stations such as WIP (Philly), KTCK (Dallas), KNBR (SF) and WFNZ (Charlotte).
PTA can also take your sports figure to the "BIG LEAGUES" with nationally syndicated shows like:
- "ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning"
- NPR's "Only a Game"
- "The Jim Rome Show"
- "JT the Brick"
It's time for you to take the field with the roster of stars PTA SPORTS has recently promoted, including Tony Gwynn, Yogi Berra, Ben Roethlisberger, Tiki Barber, Lou Holtz, renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter, Baseball Prospectus, Golf for Women Magazine and NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip.
For more information please contact
Jared Sharpe @ 570-547-6336 or sharpej@plannedtvarts.com.
PTA'S FREE TELESEMINARS
Upcoming TeleSeminars
Free Teleseminar February 13th, 8-9pm EST
PTA President Rick Frishman will interview CEO Glenn Dietzel, an expert in e-publishing and online marketing. He will discuss what you need to know about his innovative system, Entrepreneurial Authoring. Leading online marketers have praised Glenn.s work, including: Joel Comm, Stephen Pierce, Armand Morin, Ted Cuba, and Alex Mandossian.
Free Teleseminar February 28th, 8-9pm EST
PTA President Rick Frishman will interview Jaynie L. Smith, the author of Creating Competitive Advantage. She is the President of Smart Advantage, Inc. a marketing/management consultancy whose clients range from mid-sized companies to those in the Fortune 500. She has helped, in the past 20 years, over 2500 CEO's in over 400 industries define and utilize their competitive advantages and has developed the ONLY process that specializes in identifying, clarifying, and communicating competitive advantages and impact on the bottom line.
Jaynie will discuss:
- What a Competitive Advantage IS and what is NOT
- How to Use Your Measurements to Close More Sales
- How to Arm Yourself in a Competitive Environment
- Define a Basis for Your Strategic
- How to Leverage Your Referral Rate for More Sales
Here's how to participate:
Call 580-474-3600, then press in the code: 222089#.
Past Teleseminars:
Remember, our TeleSeminars are free (excluding your call cost). If you missed our last TeleSeminar you can dial the replay line at 507-726-3837 (Press the # sign after you dial in) to replay them or go to our website at www.plannedtvarts.com to download past TeleSeminars.
Selling Power Series Featuring Rick Frishman:
Check out a series on http://www.sellingpower.com/video/index.asp?date=2/1/2007 featuring Rick Frishman speaking about a variety of publishing topics.
SURFIN'
It's midnight here and you're still working on that manuscript. What time is it in Calcutta you wonder? The World Time Server http://www.worldtimeserver.com/ has a more complete list of countries than other web sites plus map and globe graphics to help you place each location geographically. The site also makes Daylight Saving adjustments at the same moment that locations actually change to and from DST. Now you too can win bets and amaze friends with your "timely" knowledge.
Do you know anyone who is a haberdasher (one who deals in men's clothes.) Or a hayward? (one who is a keeper of fences.) How about a clicker? (the servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers into the shop by clicking a noisemaker.) Surely you must know someone who is a fell monger (one who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making). No? Well you are not alone, because these ancient occupational titles are mostly not used today, let alone practiced. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dav4is/Sources/Occupations.html#TOP is a website that keeps a great list of these ancient occupations in the form of an alphabetical searchable dictionary. Now you can look up why we want to be castellans.
With new computer products and programs being introduced every millisecond, keeping up with the computer Jones's can become daunting. We however, understand your longing for older graphics, multimedia and communications programs. That's why one of the truly great web sites is www.oldversion.com. Their belief is "Sometimes upgrading to a newer version can be a good thing. Other times, your computer may not be compatible with the new version, the new version is bloated, or all the options you liked are no longer available. OldVersion.com has been supplying the online community with old versions of various programs since 2001." We at PTA say check it out for yourself - it is free and very broad in the scope of the programs offered.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?
Here's a sampling of our latest bookings.
For author Ivan Misner's Truth or Delusion (Nelson Business), we placed with the following publications:
- Investor's Business Daily
- American Venture Magazine
- WorkWise
- Networking Times
For PRIVACY LOST: How Technology is Endangering Your Privacy by David Holzman (Jossey-Bass) we generated the following hits:
- Chicago Tribune
- Fort Worth Star Telegram
- Sacramento Bee
- Syndicated Columnist Shaunti Feldhahn - "Woman to Woman"
For Secrets from the Wine Diva by Christine Ansbacher (Sterling) we scheduled the following interviews:
- KHNL-TV (NBC, Honolulu)
- KMGH-TV (ABC, Denver)
- KSAZ-TV (FOX, Phoenix)
- WARW-FM (Washington, DC)
- KOGO-AM (San Diego)
TIPS FROM THE TOP
The Agenting Process Explained - Part 2
Specialties -- Literary agents specialize in many kinds of books. Usually, their areas of interest are listed in the guidebooks and on their Web sites. You can also pick up books with topics that are similar to yours and look for the names of agents in the acknowledgment sections, where authors generally thank their agents. Even if you find an agent with the same specialty as your book, that agent might not be right for you-or you might not be right for him or her. How can you tell?
When an agent could be right for you: When you approach the agent who just sold the hottest diet book with your time-tested diet book that is based on your long-running newspaper column called "Eating Right." It also doesn't hurt that you're a certified nutritionist who lectures frequently. Since the agent has experience with diet books plus the connections and knowledge of what diet books editors and publishers are buying, you just might have contacted the right agent.
Why that agent might not be right: When you contact that agent about your diet book, the bar might be set so high that you don't have a chance. Since his or her recent success, that agent may have ascended to another level, representing only high-profile chefs and foodies with the most established national platforms.
Different Types of Agents -- Some agents represent a variety of authors who write about many different fields. Some literary agencies have agents who specialize in different areas. If an agent or an agency doesn't handle your type of book, he or she usually can refer you to someone who does. And their recommendations can make a difference. Start thinking of yourself in terms of your specialty areas. Are you a parenting writer, a memoir writer, a true-crime writer, a business writer, or a gardening writer? The more precisely you describe what you do, the more effectively you will be able to communicate with agents or people who can connect you with agents. Agents who specialize usually have terrific contacts with editors and publishers in their areas of interest. They are familiar with all of their books, the competition, their current lists, and their wish lists.
An excerpt from the National Bestseller Author 101: Bestelling Secrets from Top Agents by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman with Mark Steisel
LOOK WHAT'S COMING UP!!!
These are dates that just might relate to a Morning Drive or Satellite TV Tour topic:
| April 2007 | |
| Alcohol Awareness Month | |
| Cancer Control Month | |
| March 31st - April 2nd | NCAA Men's Final Four |
| 1st | April Fool's Day |
| 1st | Palm Sunday |
| 3rd | Passover Begins |
| 3rd | Woman Presides Over US Supreme Court Ann (Sandra Day O'Conner - 1995) |
| 4th | Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Anniversary (1968) |
| 5th - 8th | GOLF MASTERS Tournament (Augusta National) |
| 5th | Helen Keller Miracle Anniversary (1887) |
| 6th | "Barney & Friends" TV Premiere (1992) |
| 6th | US Enters World War I (1917) |
| 6th | Good Friday |
| 8th | Easter Sunday |
| 13th | Thomas Jefferson Birthday (1743) |
| 15th | INCOME TAXES PAY DAY |
| 15th | Jackie Robinson Breaks Baseball's Color Line (1947) |
| 15th | Sinking of the TITANIIC (1912) |
| 22nd | EARTH DAY |
| 25th | Administrative Professionals Day |
| 26th | Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day |
UPCOMING PUBLISHING EVENTS
MARK VICTOR HANSEN'S MEGA BOOK MARKETING UNIVERSITY
MARCH 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 2007 in Los Angeles
"Congratulations! You're Just One Click Away From the Secrets of How to Make Your Book a Bestseller...Even If You've Never Published a Book Before. My name is Mark Victor Hansen. I'm the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books that have sold over 100 Million copies.
You won't want to miss the only event in North America where you will find the world's top expert authors, publishers, and literary agents...together in one location! Join us in Los Angeles, CA for a private, limited-seating conference, on March 2-4, 2007, where the goal is simple... to make your book a Best-Seller! Here's your chance to:
- Be my next MEGA bestseller?
- Pitch YOUR book directly to the LITERARY AGENTS.
- Get the Special "Early Bird" Bonus
- PLUS...Get your questions answered, and learn all the "insider secrets" of the publishing industry.
For more information go to: http://www.megabookmarketing.com/cmd.php?af=115423
LONDON BOOK FAIR
APRIL 16th-18th, 2007 in Earls Court, London
The London Book Fair is the leading spring forum for booksellers, publishers, librarians and worldwide. Ideally timed to provide you with a concentrated 3 day trading and educational platform giving you access to the world's books, real business contacts and shared knowledge. Everything you need to compete effectively in today's fast paced marketplace.
Attendees to The London Book Fair include:
- Publishers - ranging from small to medium sized publishers as well as the larger publishing houses, all conducting rights business, export and national sales
- Domestic booksellers - from both independent bookshops and the chains
- Foreign booksellers - buying for their home markets
- Library and Information Professionals - influencers and purchasers
- Production, Distribution, Technical and Creative Professionals from UK and overseas publishers - looking for effective solutions to their business needs
For more information go to: www.londonbookfair.com