Welcome to the August 2020 edition of The Peschel Special: Pieces from Peschel Press.
Hi folks and welcome back. I keep getting later and later with this newsletter but this month is different. I have a genuine reason to be late this month, writing it and releasing it after the fifteenth of August.
I was on television. Oh my God. I was on TV. On Friday, 14 August 2020. I still can’t believe I’m writing those words. And this was a planned event too, so I can’t claim that some reporter spontaneously asked me for a quote after a particularly fractious Board of Supervisors meeting here in the Township of Derry and I said sure.
The Township of Derry, by the way, is the official name for Hershey. Everyone says ‘Derry Township’ but there’s another ‘Derry Township’ in Pennsylvania so we have to be listed differently to avoid confusion at the state level. Or we just say ‘Hershey’, a name known around the entire world thanks to chocolate bars and roller coasters. You should visit and see our skyline. We can see Candymonium https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/candymonium/ from our driveway!
At one point during the ride on Candymonium, it’s possible to cross paths with Skyrush (https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/skyrush/ ), leading to a moment in time known as Candyrush when the roller coasters intersect leading to certain death. Or as near as Hersheypark’s insurance carrier will allow.
I will admit right now that I’ve never ridden on Skyrush and I never will, any more than I’m going to ever set foot on Candymonium. I limit my daredevil activities to going on Good Day Pa and talking about sewing cloth grocery bags. That was enough of a thrill ride, believe me!
As it turns out, getting local publicity isn’t nearly as much of a struggle as getting national publicity or even state-level publicity. Good Day Pa is the Harrisburg ABC affiliate’s daily lifestyle program (https://www.abc27.com/good-day-pa/). They like supporting local authors and regularly provide some airtime for talking about a new book.
I’d heard about Good Day Pa’s author spotlight and finally worked up the nerve to apply. They said ‘yes’ and sent me forms to fill out so my host, Amanda Peterson, would know something about me. If you ever go on a TV or radio program, it’s important to be as complete and clear as possible because unless you are already famous, the host has never heard of you until an hour before air time.
Once I was accepted, I began practicing answering questions about Sew Cloth Grocery Bags. I was told I had about four minutes. Every morning, Bill and I would walk to Friendly’s, pick up trash along the way, and he’d ask all kinds of questions about the book, why I wrote it, who it was for, etc. etc. We would talk for much longer than four minutes because I had no idea what the host would ask until I actually got on set. It’s important to be ready for any question because you don’t want to look like a fool on camera.
Then, the show decided I would be allowed another four-minute window in which to demonstrate the process whereby I turn a flat rectangle of fabric into a ‘boxed’ bag. Way back in February, I had put together a demo of the procedure for the Newport Library and then Covid-19 intervened and I didn’t quite finish sewing and labeling all the steps.
Well. I finished sewing up that project in a hurry and began practicing those steps too. I had to fit my demonstration within four minutes and it was tight. There’s so much to say and I can talk for hours on the subject of cloth grocery bags.
Live TV, remember. There’s no going back and filming a second time. One and done. Like tightrope walking. You practice with a net and a timer but the show doesn’t let you use either one.
The other important thing I had to say (in case Amanda Peterson didn’t ask me) was where copies of my books could be found. Since you ask, that would be Cupboard Maker Books (https://www.cupboardmaker.com/) and Filaments Studio (https://annholtequilting.com/). Both shops are generous enough to carry my books, so I want to be sure that people shop at them.
Why did I choose Sew Cloth Grocery Bags for my first outing on TV? It’s a complicated book to explain. The added demonstration time for ‘boxed’ bags was welcome, but I had to be clear and informative and not confuse the viewing public even more than they already were.
This was a publishing decision. I wanted a book with a wide appeal that I could easily talk about. I could have gone as Odessa Moon and spoken about The White Elephant of Panschin but I’ve only got two books finished in The Steppes of Mars series. However, come the spring of 2021, we will have published The Vanished Pearls of Orlov and that will give me three books to talk about.
There’s also Suburban Stockade, but I thought Sew Cloth Grocery Bags would make for more interesting television. Thus, in the grand tradition for us here at Peschel Press, I chose the hardest book to talk about first because of that demo.
It was a thrilling and fun experience. The staff made it much easier. They explained everything, told me where to look and where to stand. Amanda Peterson made me look almost professional. She was very professional and polished. She makes it look easy, but I’m sure it is not.
What is the upshot of going on Good Day Pa? We’ll find out over the next few months. I don’t know if I’ll sell a few more copies of Sew Cloth Grocery Bags. The two segments will permit me to provide an overview to anyone who wants a program on sewing cloth grocery bags; a librarian can watch my segments and decide if they want to add me to their programming schedule. They’ve got some information to make an informed decision.
What I can say is I know much better what to do if I’m asked to go on a TV or radio program. I know I need to rehearse beforehand. I know that when we publish The Vanished Pearls of Orlov, I’ll apply again. Why not? It was a thrill and I reached an entirely new audience.
In fact, when Bill publishes Career Indie Author, we’ll book him on the show. Just like we did for me, we’ll walk to Friendly’s every day for a week and pick up trash and this time, I’ll ask the questions. I won’t be as smooth as Amanda Peterson but I’ll make sure Bill is ready to wow the central Pennsylvania viewing audience.
So that’s why I’m later than usual this month with The Peschel Special: Pieces from Peschel Press. Getting ready for Good Day Pa took time and I wanted to give all of you, dear readers, a chance to see what I look like on TV. Watching myself (because I didn’t see the segments until just now) I suddenly see the point of a stylist. And a makeup artist. And how the camera adds even more weight so I should exercise a lot more. And more rehearsal. Rehearsal is always good.
Thanks again for joining us here at Peschel Press. In the September newsletter, I should be able to announce the publication of Career Indie Author. This book will help any author improve the business aspects of writing. Writing, whether television scripts or tomes on sewing cloth grocery bags, is a business. A well-run business has a better chance of succeeding.
See you in September!