If you've ever wondered whether reading too long at an awards dinner can cost you a National Book Critics Circle Award, or how glossy a press kit can look when there's real money behind it, or whether it's better to arrive early, fashionably late, or just at the nick of time for that interview with Terry Gross, Bella Stander of BookPromotion 101 is your answer woman. A long-time contributing editor at Publisher's Weekly (and a book reviewer for such obscure dailies as the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle), Stander's seen a few things in her time.
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She graciously presented to a nice Writer's Buzz crowd at the Tattered Cover LoDo this weekend about the basic tenets of professionalism in the ever morphing world of book marketing. Some truisms are as old as the printing press--be nice, for example (and she has some examples of the alternative!)--where other things are evolving with the Internet (gotta have a book site--no choice about it).
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If you're meeting with an agent or editor at the Lit Fest, Stander is taking 12 writers in a "Prep to Pitch"workshop on June 22 (the pitches are on June 23). This will be at the Ferril House from 2:00-4:30, and is a recommended prequel to the one-on-one meetings on Saturday. First twelve (with completed manuscripts only, please) to register will gain admission ($65). Call 303.297.1185.
--AD
