The Tip Sheet

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issue of : June 2007

In this Issue

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."

—Barbara Tuchman

If you have a great quote to share, please send it to tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com.
Thanks!

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PTA ROAD TOURS

You know us for our Morning Drive Radio and Satellite TV Tours, but did you also know that PTA has been sending authors and experts across the country for the past 45 years? Often you have or your author has a reason to travel to another city - a seminar, book signing, or speaking engagement for example. With 4-6 weeks notice, PTA can outreach to all of the local television, radio and print in that city or cities. Whether you have an hour or several days to devote to media, we can book local interviews that fit into your schedule.

Local tours work best for non-fiction, however, fiction by famous authors or fiction that ties into topics covered by the news media also work well. If you'd like to brainstorm with us, we'll let you know if we think your topic is best for a road tour and what cities we recommend. We typically generate 3-6 interviews per city. Our fees are based on a per placement schedule so call us to find out more information!

Please contact Brian Feinblum @ 212-583-2718 or feinblumb@plannedtvarts.com.

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PTA'S FREE TELESEMINARS

Upcoming TeleSeminars

Free Teleseminar June 13th, 8-9pm EST

Dan Poynter, author of more than 120 books, publisher since 1969 and Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), will show you how to make a difference while making a living by coaching you on the writing, publishing and promoting of your book. He has turned thousands of people into successful authors. His mission is to see that people do not die with a book still inside them.

Dan's seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been in The Wall Street Journal and his story has been told in US News & World Report. He has starred in an online interactive book "writing-publishing-promoting" program. His 20-year-old newsletter, Publishing Poynters has a circulation of more than 31,000. Some of his books are: Writing Nonfiction, The Self-Publishing Manual, The Skydiver's Handbook, The Expert Witness Handbook and The Older Cat.

Free Teleseminar June 27th, 8-9pm EST

James A. Ziegler CSP, HSG, is author of Prosperity Equation, New Millennium Edition and president of three corporations with revenues approaching $4 million annually, with a staff of only seven employees. Few people have the hands-on experience producing high-income public seminars like James. He is known for his high-energy, top-rated keynote speeches, national convention workshops, and on site business consultancy. James will discuss:

  • His Secrets of What it Takes to be a Success in the Business World
  • Marketing Trends
  • Industry Future Forecasts
  • Staffing and Responsibilities
  • Secrets of Making Big Money by Producing Your Own Seminar Events

To participate: Please call 712-338-8100. 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) or go to our website at www.plannedtvarts.com. We have about 55 hours of great information for you!

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SURFIN'

You've driven through many towns not knowing where to get a good bite to eat. Now there is http://www.roadfood.com/. What is Roadfood? No, not necessarily Wendy's, McDonald's or Burger King. It's great regional meals along highways, in small towns and in city neighborhoods. It is sleeves-up food, made by cooks, bakers, pitmasters, and sandwich-makers who are America's culinary folk artists. Roadfood is almost always informal and inexpensive; and the best Roadfood restaurants are colorful places enjoyed by locals (and savvy travelers) for their character as well as their menu. The website includes recipes and a forum for users to discuss & reminisce about their favorite pizza, chicken, burgers, & where restaurants were once located; the history of many long lost chains and other great insights.

One of the greatest web sites we have discovered recently is the Old Time Radio website. http://www.otr.net/ has complete broadcasts of over 12,000 radio shows and is completely free. All you need is Real Player. For those who have only seen and never heard The Jack Benny Show, Burns & Allen and Abbott & Costello this site is a treat. With many shows that aired on radio in the 30's and 40's, before making the transition to television, you can hear what made Gunsmoke, Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life and Ozzie & Harriet so popular. Most of the shows have their original commercials. Available are thousands of comedy gems, dramas, serial shows, soap operas and surprises that will keep you exploring and listening for hours.

Many people are familiar with The Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com that lists every known film with screen credits and has a searchable database. But did you know that there is a counterpart for Stage shows? The Internet Broadway Database http://www.ibdb.com/ has information on all the shows and actors, actresses, playwrights that have appeared on the Great White Way since the beginnings of the New York Stage. Details include pertinent people involved as well as interesting facts and production statistics. Get a list of every production of Hamlet on Broadway or a list of your favorite actor's credits. Find out what played at a particular theatre or what shows opened in a specified Broadway season.

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WHAT HAVE WE DONE FOR YOU LATELY?

Here's a sampling of our latest bookings.
Larry King Live

For Typo: The Last American Typesetter (or) How I Made and Lost $4 Million By David Silverman (Soft Skull Press), we secured the following placements:

  • Wall Street Journal: Book Review
  • Entrepreneur.com: listed as a "Best Business Book for the Summer"
  • Businessweek.com: Video interview

For I Didn't See It Coming by Nancy Widmann, Amy Dorn Kopelan, and Elaine Eisenman (Wiley), we secured the following placements:

  • Newsweek
  • Investor's Business Daily
  • GO Magazine (Air Tran's in-flight magazine)
  • Time Magazine Online
  • Business Week Online
  • Joyce Lain Kennedy, Tribune Media Services - Article ran in the Hartford Courant, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel among others
  • Leslie Whitaker, Syndicated Columnist - Article ran in the Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Toledo Blade among other
  • Sheryl Silver, Career Source - Article ran in the Star-Ledger, Hartford Courant, and Birmingham News among others

For America's Top Doctors: A Castle Connolly Guide, here is a sampling of some of the local interviews we secured for Dr. Connolly's local road tour:

  • Cincinnati: WCPO-TV (ABC) and WLW-AM (#1 Overall)
  • Detroit: WJBK-TV (FOX)
  • Dallas: KDFW-TV (FOX) and KTVT-TV (CBS)
  • Denver: KUSA-TV (NBC), KMGH-TV (ABC) and KOSI-FM (#1 AC)
  • Phoenix: KNXV-TV (ABC), KPNX-TV (NBC) and KFNN-AM (Financial News Radio)

For a General Radio Tour for Kings of New York by Michael Weinreb (Gotham), we set up the following interviews:

  • WNYC-FM, The Leonard Lopate Show
  • Sirius Satellite Radio, The Good Life Show w/ Jesse Dylan
  • Lifestyle Radio Network, The Michael Dresser Show

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LOOK WHAT'S COMING UP!!!

These are dates that just might relate to a Morning Drive or Satellite TV Tour topic:

August 2007
8/27th - 9/9U.S. Open (Tennis)
1stAir Force Day
4thCoast Guard Day
5thFriendship Day
6thAndy Warhol Birthday (1928)
7thAnniversary of the creation of the Purple Heart (1782)
9thRichard Nixon resigns (1974)
13Berlin Wall Erected (1961)
16thAnniversary of Elvis Presley's Death (1977)
22ndVietnam Begins (1945)
22thWomen's Equality Day

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TIPS FROM THE TOP

The Agenting Process Explained - Part 4 - Submissions

When agents come up with a list of editors, they usually make multiple submissions of the proposal. Agents will sometimes send proposals to two or more imprints that are owned by the same parent company. However, some companies such as Doubleday and Broadway Books, which are imprints owned by Random House, both have the same editorial board. So an agent would not submit the same proposal to editors at both of those imprints. Unlike writers, agents have this special knowledge, which can save them substantial time, energy, expense and embarrassment.

Before agents send proposals to editors, they usually send them the equivalent of a query letter asking if they might be interested in the book. Queries are sent only when the proposal is ready. Queries can be sent via e-mail or hard copy, depending on the nature of the book and the editor's preference. Editors expect that other editors will have received the proposal and will usually move more quickly on those that elicit their interest. To entice editors and generate more interest in a proposal, agents will tell editors when other editors are interested in a property.

When a proposal includes items such as a self-published edition of the book, illustrations or artwork, they must be submitted in hard copy. Hard-copy submissions are accompanied by a short cover letter that itemizes all materials sent. Sometimes, agents will set time limits in which editors must make offers. When proposals are submitted by e-mail, the cover letter includes a link to the proposal that editors can download. They can also request a hard copy that can be forwarded under separate cover.

Editors are swamped, and it's a challenge for them to read everything they receive. If they're interested, they usually get back to the agent quickly, within a week or two. Many editors have their assistants screen submissions, so if their assistants like a proposal, it may speed up their response time. If editors don't get back to an agent within a week or two, it usually means that the book is not going to sell.

An excerpt from the National Bestseller Author 101: Bestelling Secrets from Top Agents by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman with Mark Steisel

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