9. Mousse marketing madness I’ll talk about the significance of this chapter title later. After being really involved in the book business for more than five years, I have come to realize that writing a book and getting it published is a great deal easier than selling it. Getting reviews is tough too, but the real challenge seems to be letting others know about your work. I have been told that you shouldn’t spend money to advertise. I feel that you have to open your wallet for this endeavor, but you must consider how much you spend and where the bucks are headed. Fortunately, you can let others know about your books through newspapers and television, but it isn’t going to be easy. If you’re a known author, it won’t be difficult. That’s the catch-22. I was somewhat fortunate to be a part of the CCC, through which I met Barbara O’Brien, a top-notch reporter for the Buffalo News. I also got to know Sue LoTempio of the News, whom I will talk about in another chapter. The latter played a major part in my writing, though she doesn’t know it. Barbara came to my home and interviewed me for an excellent article in the News on Sunday August 7, 2005. You can find what she wrote on my web site below the recipes on the home page, by clicking on “Buffalo News article.” She’s a wonderful person and did a fine job in the article. However, I made one mistake: I should have read the article before it got into the paper. That is always a great idea when someone does a feature on you. There was an inaccuracy that Barbara got from my web site, telling where my books could be purchased. It wasn’t her fault and not mine either. On the day after the article was in the News, I called the person at one local bookstore, which should have had all my books. He said that two people wanted to purchase the 2005 book but he didn’t have it. He did have one copy that I gave him as soon as the book was in print. I also gave him the name and phone number of the publisher so he should have gotten the books by the time the article hit the newspaper. Having lost a sale or two, I offered to drop off some copies but he said corporate policy dictated that he go through a specific process. I called him about a month later and he still didn’t have copies of the book. Eventually, I dropped off ten copies of the book, and he finally got some from his source and I got my copies back in January 2006. I can’t emphasize enough that you should make sure to proofread an article before it hits the papers. Former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy used the term “ink stained wretches” when referring to some members of the media. I have to definitely agree that those words truly apply, although not to everyone. If you are a writer or are in the process of becoming one, heed my words of advice. One writer I know was well aware of this warning and did all he could in this regard, but it really didn’t make a difference. An article was to be written about his books for a small paper. He was interviewed, the piece was written and he checked it over. He found a few things he wanted changed as well as a few things that just weren’t true. Facts hadn’t been checked and the reporting was a bit sloppy. He mentioned this to the reporter and received a copy after further changes were made. Unfortunately, it still was not to his liking and some factual errors remained. Before too long, the composition went to press with many of the same mistakes. It was too late and he couldn’t do a thing about it. Sometimes you give it all you got and pigeons still find you! Getting back to the article by Barbara O’Brien, the people interested in buying my book may have gotten it from another store in the area, since I had dropped off copies to a few other places. On the other hand, it appeared that people who wanted to buy the book didn’t get it. Since it’s hard enough selling books, you really don’t want to lose any opportunity. I had been at this store doing a book signing earlier in the year. I did manage to sell a book so the afternoon wasn’t a total loss. In one week over the summer of 2005, I was on the air for two TV broadcasts. One was on Crossroads, a local cable program, while the other was on a local Sunday morning program called Buffalo Matters. Each was a great opportunity to let people in Western New York know who I am. Both interviewers praised my books and I had an opportunity to mention some of my upcoming book signings as well as my web site. I am sure that this resulted in more books sales at events where I appeared. Earlier in 2005, I called Eileen Koteras Elibol, local TV personality on Channel 17, whom I had met earlier. The station was doing another cooking show benefit for the station. Eileen mentioned that I should call Mindy Fox, who was in charge of the guest cooks. I had talked to her before when I donated books to the station for the Annual Auction. As luck would have it, she just so happened to have an opening. I had seven minutes to make a recipe from The Read My Lips Cookbook on WNED-TV. I read Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch not long ago. I highly recommend the book and it relates just what goes into a cooking show. It was noted that when Julia created a chicken recipe for her viewing audience, she needed four of those fowl, one each at various stages of preparation. Remember, her show was only a half-hour, if I recall correctly. I need to mention another great book by Paula Deen, It Ain’t All About the Cookin.’ The book is insightful, inspiring and hysterical – I guarantee you’ll have a tough time putting it down. I will talk more about the city of Savannah later. For my cooking appearance on WNED-TV, I only had seven minutes. I was required to bring a prepared batch of moose, excuse me, mousse, as a moose wouldn’t have fit inside the studio. The day before, I did create some of that chocolate delight, but it took me fifteen minutes. I didn’t have a paddle! However, I figured I would have help, as either Eileen or Goldie Gardiner would be on the set with me. They don’t trust cooks to be there alone. When Saturday came and I got to the kitchen to perform, I wound up whipping the cream and the egg whites while Eileen helped by melting the chocolate and adding the rum. Didn’t I tell you it was delicious? The mousse au chocolat was done in the allotted time and it was a huge hit as the people who tasted it raved and thought they were in heaven. People in Buffalo believe in an afterlife. Those in the studio were actually fighting over the dessert. The purpose of the program was raising funds by selling their new cookbook, WNED Cooks: Q Is For Quick And Easy. I do believe chocolate helped make the day a success. I was on during the first part of the four-hour stint, but there was still chocolate conflict between Eileen, Goldie and Stratton Rawson, even as the show was ending, hours later. The program had a variety of dishes that day, which I’m sure were good, including a pasta dish and mushrooms stuffed with crab. However, unlike the day at Octoberfest in 2003 in Ellicottville, this day mousse was king! Besides my stints on the tube, I also recorded a short radio broadcast about for seeing eye dogs only. I checked and it’s no longer available, but if you like to hear a pod cast of my appearance on the local Buffalo TV program, Crossroads with Pete Anderson from September 27, 2005, click on Episode 34: The Robert Swiatek Show on the right side of the link, http://www.bbla.com/awol/awol.html. You are probably fortunate to not have to listen to the defunct radio broadcast because had you been able to hear it, you wouldn’t have been able to drive a car for three hours afterward. The spiel was a bit dull and boring, unlike the pod cast and the new book. On my web site, you will also see a link for a 2005 interview I did.

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