On red carpets at movie premieres, awards ceremonies, and Correspondents' Dinners, the fashion reporters and photographers will shout out when one of the slinky celebrities walks by in a shrink-wrap dress, and they always ask the same thing:
"Who are you wearing?"
Well, I'm not likely ever to be in such a situation, and even if I am that lucky, nobody will care who I'm wearing, but it's a pity, because I have a terrific answer all set for them.
I'm wearing me.
No, I don't design clothing. But I've decided that whenever a novel of mine is published (as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED will be in only six days and counting!), I'm going to make sure to have an article of clothing made with the cover of the book blatantly emblazoned upon it.
Cheap advertising? Sure. But why should I advertise someone else's product on a t-shirt with an expensively designed logo on it, when I can show the world (or that tiny part of it that might see me walking around) my own product, for my own benefit, and have them ask me about what it all means?
Okay, so it's not going to generate thousands of sales. Might be better if I could get Scarlett Johanssen to wear the shirt, but the odds of that are not great. And besides, at the end of the day, I'll have a nice keepsake to remind me of each book in its own right.
What's not to like?
Want a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED t-shirt? Well, I don't have any spares, but you can buy one here. Look at it this way: It'll have a much larger impact on a small business than walking around in something that says "I'm With Stupid" on it.
Hey, EJ, I have quite a few BIG MONEY T-shirts around. I couldn't give them away on my blog. You the man!
ReplyDeleteI really wasn't trying to sell t-shirts, "Austin." I don't make money off them. But I figured after I went on about them, if somebody actually wanted one, I should point out where they were available. I don't want people to think I'm asking them to buy books AND t-shirts. Just books.
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