Attention Please?

If you write a book (or create any kind of product for that matter) and you intend to sell it, you want attention. You want to do radio, have your picture on the front page of the paper. You want to be on TV-maybe even one of the top morning shows or even, (deep breath) Oprah.

Do you want all that or at least parts of it? Really? If you answer is still a resounding "yes", the next question is, are you ready if it happens?

Consider what happened in the last week to the Taviano family thanks to their 52 Zoos in 52 Weeks adventure. First, yes they really did that. Based from their home in Ohio, they put thousands of miles on their van, stayed with people they'd never met before except online and got as far as LA, CA.

When they did their last official stop at their hometown zoo in Columbus, they'd sent a media announcement to local TV and newspapers. TV showed up for the wrap up party on August 1. The segments aired the next day, hit the papers a day or two later.

From there the Associated Press picked up the story. By Mon/Tue there were hundreds of results if you Googled the story. Their story was picked up then bumped for something else several times. Then mom Marla was booked on a nationally syndicated radio show by Wed, then the whole family was flown in on Friday to NYC be on the CBS Early Show on Saturday.

Is your head spinning yet?

Of course they had wanted and sought out publicity. But the thing about publicity is you can't totally control it like you can with advertising. You rarely know exactly who's going to grab on to you or your message and when. A week later, things are calmer, another radio show is scheduled last I read.

You want attention for your book, but are you really ready to handle it if it comes faster or bigger than expected? Are you comfortable giving a radio interview, to be interviewed on camera even if it's your local channel?

The Tavianos were relatively prepared for the attention they got; it's hard to be prepared for everything especially early on. But CBS was "out of their comfort zone" as Marla put it to her friends, family & fans as she asked for our prayers and support. And that's another key, as you prepare do the best you can, and also put together a support system. In this time of the www, there's no reason to even think about going it alone.

So once again, if you are blessed to get the attention you seek, are you ready? If not, what are you going to do about it starting right now?

BTW, if you want to read about cool zoos, and what God is doing through the Taviano family, visit www.52zoos.com or www.marlataviano.com You can also keep an eye out for the upcoming book.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett