Hollywood is great at publicity stunts. They can range from contacting the press about a battle between the actors and director on a movie set, to controversial content that stirs up the public even before a film is released. Think about Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion. The PR people for the movie let the press know about the anti-Semitic controversy, which involves the portrayal of Jewish people as the killers of Jesus. While at the same time, Gibson has been screening the movie to evangelical Christians and publicizing their show of support. As I watch the media coverage, this publicity stunt has generated millions of dollars of free advertising!

While many books will not have this type of potential, you might think about the guy with the fruitcake. A gentleman on the East Coast has a fruitcake that has been in his family for over 100 years. Recently, he was on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" where Mr. Leno ate a piece of the cake! Besides national television exposure, many newspapers picked up this story. So, how can your book find its "sweet spot" for a publicity stunt? Here are some thoughts:

• Does your book radically challenge the status quo? If your book has a theory or concept that challenges current assumptions you might have something. There was a book called "The $100,000 Teacher," which proved that every teacher in America could make $100,000. The stunt involved offering interviews where in less than five minutes the author could explain how it was possible.
  
  
• Watch the morning television news shows: Most major cities have morning news programs that are very playful. For example, in Chicago, think about WGN-TV or Fox News in the Morning. I worked with a local author who wrote a book that featured musical figurines. Actually, he owns 3,000 figurines from all over the world. WGN-TV morning news did a remote broadcast from his house. Throughout the morning show they featured the collection and promoted his book and a book signing on the North Shore.
  
  
• Play up the regional connection: Many members of the Society of Midland Authors have written about the Midwest or Chicago. If you wrote a book about politics in Chicago, you might offer to have a reading at a public library where some of the local officials read sections of your book. The motivation for the politicians could be to encourage young people to read and the importance of the history of government. Of course, the motivation for you is connecting with reporters in the media that can raise the profile of your book.

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