How Authors Move Their Own Merch

Joanne Kaufman - WSJ: "... Web-savvy authors point to the myriad opportunities provided by social networking sites. (Bruce DeSilva, for example, posted a slideshow on his Facebook page of famous people reading his debut crime novel, 'Rogue Island.') They point, as well, to publishers' ever more skimpy advertising budgets and the contraction of marketing and publicity departments, making it all the more essential for them to step into the void. And they have taken due note of the daunting noise—and numbers—in the marketplace. According to Penny Sansevieri, an adjunct professor at New York University and CEO of Author Marketing, a publicity firm, there are 1,500 books published daily in the U.S., including self-published titles. 'To get noticed,' she said, 'you have to throw more at people than just your book.' ... "