E!'s Answer B!tch, Leslie Gornstein

The KARMA crew attended the book signing party for Leslie Gornstein, best known as the E! Answer B!tch on eonline.com. We helped her celebrate the launch of her new book, The A List Playbook, which got us super excited (as we tend to be obsessed with behind the scenes Hollywood gossip).

Over snacks, wine and great conversation with supporters of Leslie and her book, we asked ourselves: What is happening in the world of literary marketing? With all the hard work that goes into writing and publishing one’s work, how does an author connect with their target reading audience and promote their book? Is it supported by the publisher? Is it up to the author? What is the secret to book marketing?

The publishing market is more competitive than ever with 180,000 new titles released every year and over 2.5 million titles available on sites like Amazon.com and BN.com. It’s a little known fact that of all the books published each year, fewer than 1% sell more than 2,000 copies.

As we have had more conversations with authors on a quest to market a successful book, we began to realize that this is a real challenge, but even bigger opportunity to leverage social media to promote the book, showcase content, reach target fans and elevate the profile of the author. We think now is the time for word of mouth marketing - it’s engaging, it’s impactful, and it’s cost effective.

Leslie is well on her way to embracing social media and is a great example of not only showcasing the book and connecting with fans, but also extending the experience online through her blog www.alistplaybook.com.  So with that quick shoutout to the one and only Answer B!tch, we thank her for giving us the wisdom and insight (and especially thank her for the juicy gossip in her book). Thanks Leslie!