The Oprah Game: Must We Play by Their Rules? Must We Play at All?

The Oprah Game: Must We Play by Their Rules? Must We Play at All?

One of my longtime favorite authors is Leora Skolkin Smith, author of Edges, O Israel, O Palestine! This year she contacted me because she was going to be on the west coast and wanted to participate in our Authors' Coalition promotional CD program and booth at the LA Times/UCLA fair.

I coach our participating authors on making the most of their appearances. That includes suggestions that they send out media releases, invitations, etc. It also includes the advice that authors make the most of their strengths. Leora happens to be mentored and edited by the venerated literary writer, Grace Paley, and published by that fine writer's own Glad Day Books. Those are definite pluses that Leora should utilize on her own behalf for it fits with her branding as a serious literary writer. Who would have guessed that such advice could get Leora into hot water? Further, who would have guessed that by doing so, the underbelly of the Oprah book selection process would be revealed? Perhaps this is part of what Jonathan Franzen objected to just before Oprah closed down her book club operation a couple of years ago.

Leora says, "Before the LA Times Festival of Books, (as everyone should and did) I sent out press releases. I used Grace Paley, my publisher and editor, on my subject line because I have Grace's COMPLETE permission to do so and because I knew Oprah and her major media hounds are ONLY impressed with big names. It [became] a distasteful and utterly degrading experience and I wish I could bring more attention to the corporation Oprah Winfrey is. Get people to recognize her falseness.

This was the horrible response I got to this press release from Amy Gross, the Editor-in-Chief of Oprah magazine.

'Was this really a message from Grace Paley? I don’t think so. I think your ploy of using that as your subject is disrespectful and off-putting.'

This hit a chord in me which played only the melody of rage, self-defense and intense despair that publishing has come to this. This all happened a few weeks before the O magazine had run a sugar-candied feature on my dearest mentor, Grace Paley, which I know Grace didn't even read because she thinks so little of them. And this timing stirred my anger more. Here she was: MY EDITOR AND PUBLISHER! I wrote them back and I cc'd their public relations department, their president and Oprah herself (who of course never bothered to respond).

I also contacted a lawyer. After all, accusing me like this is mildly slander.

Here was their final reply, not from the editor-in-chief, who owed an apology, but from O's publicty department. It seems obviously they feared that Grace Paley would be calling them herself soon.

'Dear Ms. Solkin-Smith,

Please accept our apologies for the misunderstanding regarding your email press release. We are always extremely cautious when people invoke the names of well-known personalities - as you can imagine, we are highly protective of Ms. Winfrey's name and feel the same way about our friends, including Ms. Paley. Your email did not refer to Glad Day Books until the very end, and so it was not immediately clear that you are in fact published by that company.

Best of luck at the book festivals.

Sincerely,
Alexandra Carlin
O, The Oprah Magazine
_______________________________________
Alexandra Carlin, Director of Public Relations
Hearst Magazines
300 West 57th Street, 41st Fl
NY, NY 10019
(o) 212-649-2573
(c) 646-201-6022
(f) 646-280-2573"

Leora goes on to say, "How dare they claim Grace Paley as their friend, thereby making them guilty of the very thing they were accusing me of? Shameless name-dropping and exploitation of a famous writer. Secondly, no one seems to really be able to touch them. Too rich. Unreachable. Protected by so much money one can't even blink at them."

I might add that Ms. Carlin appeared to ignore her editor's inattention to detail (caring enough to read a letter through before blasting an author?), in favor of finding a good excuse for her bad behavior.

Leora continues: "Before this, [the Oprah office] had asked for my novel THREE times, each time asking me to send it by "messenger"—a cost of no less than fifty dollars a shot. They never wrote me back and, like a fool, eager for attention and full of naiveté, I kept sending my novel and paying for the messenger.

"Should any other writer ever believe these people are sincere if asked to messenger their work, please do tell them not to fall for the Oprah game. It's a monopoly board and the only place an unknown writer finds herself is in jail. While Oprah gains more property on Boardwalk and Park Place."

This brings me to a final aspect of the Oprah Affair. Many who are active in the writing community not only seek Oprah (and her publishing empire's team's) attention. Others seek to tell them how they, too, can succeed with this process—often for a fee, sometimes a hefty one. You may be the lucky seeker of Oprah's favor, but do you want to put yourself up for this kind of abuse, this kind of inconsideration for your pocketbook and your dignity? Frankly, I hope not.


Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.

On Imus, Intolerance, Iraq and I

Writers and serious readers should be interested in all the political aspects of free speech because they affect us so vitally.

Two stories on the front page of the LA Times Calendar section seemed calculated to consider this most precious of rights--however inadvertently their juxtaposition may have been. One story was on Imus's firing, the other on PBS's inclination to edit (censor!) the words of our US Soldiers in the documentary "Operation Homecoming." Let's take them one at a time.

I believe in free speech. I hate intolerance. I have been writing about both for the better part of my writing career. So, though I hate to see anything done that tends to strangle an individual's right to say what he or she thinks, I couldn't help but root for the corporate giants who finally seemed to get it right by firing Imus. It seems that if people--and, yes, that includes corporate types with a bottom line to consider--don't stand up to invective then how can we expect the person-in-the-street to act when a leader starts name-calling (and, yes, killing) gypsies, homosexuals, the insane and people with genetic and religious histories different from their own?

On the other hand, if we gag the right of individuals to say what they think because they fear recrimination, how can we maintain our free speech, the thing that sets America above so many other nations?

An example of how that was exemplified in the second story headlined "Soldiers seen, but not heard, on PBS." Here we have a station founded to give our nation alternative programming. Thus we have them offering a series called "America at a Crossroads." Hooray for them.

But then we learn that they have censored the very troops they interviewed for this segment because they are "fearful of triggering scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission." They bleep profanities and smudge graphic images. As in all good literature, the writer may find profanity may essential for an audience to fully understand the character, feel the full range of emotion.

And violence? We get so much that panders to humankind's tendency to enjoy retching during any B-rated movie, but when we get an opportunity to see it where it can help understanding how vile it is in real-life situations like the war in Iraq--the situations we get to vote for or against-- we are told "No, no, no!" As if we are babies, unable to be trusted to make our own decisions.

This has come about because the fines are so stiff that a noncommercial entity like PBS couldn't afford them. So the very public domain that could be trusted to tell it like it is, must withhold and the ones making the big bucks get to calculate say, a $15,000 fine against the huge fees they get for commercials and run whatever they darned (get that darned?) well want as long as the profit margin is great enough.

Is there something wrong with this picture? How do we balance this nation's need for free speech--our individual need for free speech--against an equally important need to stand up against intolerance. I'll tell you how. Personal integrity. Personal interest in trying our best not to use our free speech rights to malign others on the basis of anything other than their deeds.

Does that mean Imus should have been fired? I don't think so. Does that mean we should all quit listening? Absolutely. And that goes for many other crabby radio hosts who have no analytical skills and no ethics. Let's all find something better to do with our time than let a blow-hard incite our least appealing, most undesirable human instincts.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how-to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.

A Baker's Dozen: Work BEA The Frugal Way

Book Expo is probably the most exciting tradeshow ever for anyone who has anything to do with the publishing industry.

This huge show (in New york this year!) is not open to the public, but I've seen just plain readers there in the past. If, as a reader, you can't get in. Think. How can you qualify for acceptance? Begin to write reviews, as an example? That's my first hint. Once in the door, are some other hints for you that will help make BEA, book fairs or any other kind of show work better for you.


1. Authors might consider NOT getting a "table" (I hate the term because that's what too many authors do, they come, bring books at sit down at the table supplied by the show director) or booth of your own.

2. If you really want to sign, utilize a cross-promotional effort sponsored by the likes of Span, Book Publicists of Southern California,  IBPA (Independent Book Publishers of America) your distributor, or your publisher. Not all organizations have a presence at every show.

2. Bring copies of your book to sell or give away as opportunities present themselves but carry only one or two at a time. Instead bring lots of copies of your sell sheet, a flier, or a pile of lightweight promotional chapbooks*

3. Use the tradeshow/conference directory, handouts, or whatever they offer to help you find your way. Someone has gone to lots of trouble to provide you with what you need for success. Trust them. They likely know something you don't.

4. Forget being shy. Work at being friendly. Schmooze with people everywhere. Elevators, lunch counters, the subway. Give people your business card. Ask for theirs.

5. Ready for a nap after lunch? Resist the temptation. Instead attend one more panel or semimar or visit one more booth you've picked out from that directory. The one you snooze through could be the one that can make a difference.

6. Think about how you can connect others who might have something in common. When you're doing that, you automatically have your networking hat on. When you network (yourself or others) everyone benefits.

7. Jacqueline Church Simonds suggests you take a contact to lunch. Something like that is a nice thing to do if you invited them to learn something from them, but it's even better if you always make an effort to do return favors to those who have given you information -- over lunch, on the net, or by phone.

8. Take a notebook. Use it. Tape business cards into it. And, mostly, follow up on everything when you get home--the more quickly the better.

9. Make notes on business cards you take. What did you talk about? What ideas did you share? How does what the person on the card do relate to what you do? Most business cards don't give you enough information to remind you of the reason for your connection afteryou've flown back across the nation (or even driven across town in traffic).

10. Take business cards of your own that give the receiver more information that your name, company name and URL. If they have ten cards or a hundred, they will not have time to look up your website to jog their memory. You card should at least attempt to do that with blurbs, visuals, even a bribe to come to your website! Use Vistaprint.com freebie offers for printing (but watch their prices--their shipping costs fluctuate depending one the offer they make. Nothing every comes really free, now does it!)

12. Get in on a press badge. If you write a column that is associated in some way with the industry, freelance or own a website that disseminates information related to that industry's product, you may qualify. If you do, you will be eligible to frequent the media room (lots of networking goes on there!) and you may also qualify to install a stack of your media kits for your fellow media types to take with them. (If you do, be sure to provide kits with the kind of content that will make them want to lug a copy back to their office.)

13. Here are lots of mini-tips in one. Wear comfortable shoes. Pack an extra pair. Use a badge that hangs around your neck to stow extra cards. Women! Wear clothing with pockets. Pockets can work as filing system that is more easily accessed than your purse or briefcase.

*For more on promotional chapbooks read the second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).   For more articles like this one sign up for my Sharing with Writers newsletter. Subscribe by sending an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line to HoJoNews@aol.com


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS. Learn more at www.howtodoitfrugally.com .