Buzz/PR

This morning author and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk launched a two-day mini-book tour, visiting the most under-appreciated book stores on earth--signing books at six airport bookstores.

The author will stop by Hudson Booksellers around the country between November 2nd and 3rd in a madcap race between airports, promoting his new book, "Crush It!" His book focuses on how people can use social networking resources in the business world, and he's taking his message straight to the airports where business travelers congregate.

Here's more about the tour, from the Facebook schedule: "As the number one airport bookseller, Hudson Booksellers has the unique capacity to directly reach more business travelers than any other retailer. This tour, its accompanying displays, and an exclusive contest are designed to connect Mr. Vaynerchuk with fans and Hudson customers that could benefit from his message...Gary will be signing at LGA, ORD, DFW, DEN, LAX, and EWR."

Publicists and reporters have an evolving relationship in the strange world of 21st Century journalism, and the rules seem to be changing every day.

While writing his new book, "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History," journalist John Ortved received letters from corporate lawyers and resistance from Fox Corporation. In a Daily Beast essay, he described how he struggled with publicity while writing about the television show, The Simpsons.

Here's one passage from the article: "Something I gleaned early from this experience is that Hollywood publicists are so used to journalists kowtowing to their every request that they no longer understand what journalism actually is. We're talking about cartoon characters here, not Watergate, but the light subject matter doesn't exclude the possibility of doing real research and telling interesting stories. They actually thought that we were all on the same team, trying to get their client the maximum exposure, using our words and outlets only to extend their message."

As publicists around the country prepare to pitch The Huffington Post's brand new books section, editor Amy Hertz (pictured) had one clear piece of advice: "This is NOT a book review section. Let me say that again, because I know about 72,000 publicists just plotzed because they have no idea what to do other than ask for a review."

Our blogging siblings over at PRNewser analyzed Hertz's open letter to publicists, delivering apt advice for pitching many book-related blogs. Hertz's post also took a jab at the art of book reviewing as well. "Book reviews tend to be conversation enders, and when you're living in the age of engagement, a time when people are looking for conversation starters, that stance gets you nowhere," she wrote. A chorus of literary types have joined the debate in the comments section.

Here's an excerpt from PRNewser: "So, how do you get into HuffPo books? Blog for the site, engage their readers, pitch two to four months in advance of the release date, and of course develop relationships with editors."

When Arianna Huffington challenged Oprah Winfrey with her new Huffington Post Book Club, we asked, will there be an Arianna sales bump?

Daily Finance answered the question, monitoring the Amazon sales rank for Carl Honore's "In Praise of Slowness." The paperback version of Huffington's first pick, "In Praise of Slowness," started the week with an Amazon Sales rank of 33,736. On the day she picked the book, the paperback had jumped to 151 on the list. The book has since slipped slightly in the rankings--as of this writing, the paperback is listed as 270 among all books.

Here's more from the article: "But then they peaked and, at some point overnight, began to fall ... they've been falling rapidly since then. In other words, Huffington's blessing is enough to produce a marked short-term spike in book sales, but she has nothing like Winfrey's staying power."

Most literary types are shy, solitary, and isolated--traits developed through the obsessive craft of writing. However, in this world of shrinking book reviews and disappearing publicity budgets, writers are being forced to break these habits.

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was former publicist and debut novelist Robert Rave. Rave introduced his new novel "Spin," an insider's look at the world of high-class publicity in New York City. Meet Rave's agent, Jason Allen Ashlock at FishbowlNY's Lunch this week.

Here is Rave's advice for aspiring writers: "I met my [literary] contacts because I was a publicist out networking and socializing with people. And when I say 'networking,' I don't mean the cheesy, going out every night to hand out business cards. I mean making real contacts, having real conversations with people--not being in their faces saying, 'Hey! I've got this new book!' I think it's really important that you do go out to mixers and events. You never know when you might meet somebody down the road."

In an age of digital press releases and paperless publicity, Vintage Books has released this coffin-shaped release to support Otto Penzler's paperback original, "The Vampire Archives."

Next week media types around the country will receive copies of the cardboard cutouts and plastic glow-in-the-dark fangs to celebrate the book's release. The creators, Vintage/Anchor's associate director of publicity Sloane Crosley and her assistant assistant Sarah Cantor also built a tombstone release for "The Book of Dead Philosophers" by Simon Critchley.

Here's more about the vampire anthology: "Vampires! Whether imagined by Bram Stoker or Anne Rice, they are part of the human lexicon and as old as blood itself. They are your neighbors, your friends, and they are always lurking. Now Otto Penzler--editor of the bestselling Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps--has compiled the darkest, the scariest, and by far the most evil collection of vampire stories ever."

An author will take center stage at the 11th Annual Fordham Women in Business Conference on Friday, October 2. The evening's keynote speaker is Mary Lou Quinlan founder of Just Ask a Woman and author of the upcoming book "What She's Not Telling You, Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It."

Entitled "Power Players: Women Who Mean Business," the one-night business conference is scheduled from 6:00pm until 10:00pm at The New York Academy of Sciences in New York City.

Here's more about the evening: "This year's theme will focus on the actions women have taken to achieve their professional goals. The conference will feature a keynote speaker, a panel discussion and multiple networking sessions. Our guest list will include business school students, alumni and professionals who support the heritage of saluting and mentoring outstanding women.

Yesterday afternoon, we sat in on a talk by Seth Godin, one of our favorite business motivational writers, sponsored by the Digital Publishing Group, a network of publishing professionals who are interested in figuring out how to make a viable success of their industry in the 21st century. When it came time for questions, one of the first subjects that came up was how individuals can bring out change in corporate organizations that are predisposed to protecting the status quo...

Now, while Godin didn't hesitate to tell his audience what the publishing industry was doing wrong—acting as if it was in the business of selling paper products rather than the business of findng and disseminating great ideas—his remarks weren't a finger-pointing session so much as a call to action, an invitation to recognize an opportunity for momentous change. He spoke with great enthusiasm about a shift he believes is absolutely necessary: Publishers need to stop collecting a new set of readers for every new writer they sign and start building a congregation of readers for whom they can then acquire suitable writers. (It's our understanding, and correct us if we're wrong, that the new publishing venture from former Soft Skull chief Richard Nash is built on exactly this principle, with the added twist that sometimes you'll find the writers already among the readers.)

While we had the video camera running, Godin fielded a question from Gretchen Rubin, author of the forthcoming The Happiness Project, about how authors just starting out in their careers could distribute free content to their advantage...

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This week People Magazine explored excerpts from Mackenzie Phillips' dark memoir, "High on Arrival." Internet readers played with her shocking allegations like literary catnip, but will it sell when the book debuts on Wednesday?

Phillips--the daughter of Mamas and the Papas rock star, John Phillips--writes of an extended incestuous relationship with her father. Her shocking story of incest has grabbed literary headlines all morning and climbed the Google Trends chart. The memoir talks about her days as a drug-addicted teen television star on One Day at a Time.

Here's more from the publisher: "As a young woman she joined the nonstop party in the hedonistic pleasure dome her father created for himself and his fellow revelers, and a rapt TV audience watched as Julie Cooper wasted away before their eyes. By the time Mackenzie discovered how deep and dark her father's trip was going, it was too late. And as an adult, she has paid dearly for a lifetime of excess, working tirelessly to reconcile a wonderful, terrible past in which she succumbed to the power of addiction and the pull of her magnetic father." (Via The Daily Beast)

Earlier this morning, USA Today ran an item with a brief statement from senior editor Ron Hogan explaining our prediction for Oprah Winfrey's next book club pick—we went with Uwem Akpan's short story collection Say You're One of Them based on the price-point data, but we also felt that it was a book that would speak to Oprah's heart. Just a few hours later, Washington Post book review editor Ron Charles went on Twitter to report that the databases at Ingram, a major book distributor, had inadvertently revealed our hunches were correct: Akpan was Winfrey's pick. Now, we haven't seen that anywhere else yet, but we trust Charles, so here we are.

Strike another blow for the short story renaissance!