Book Promos Get Wikis and Video

Well, if anything, the fact that book marketing is getting hot online indicates one thing: some people still read things other than tabloids and free dailies. Video production outfit TurnHere today said it’s expanding distribution for its BookVideos.tv video site, which features clips of authors discussing their latest titles. Videos on the Simon and Schuster-sponsored site will now be seen on new partner sites like blip.tv, LibraryThing, GoodReads, WhatsOnMyBookshelf, Book Divas and Veoh. TurnHere has been pushing its author and earlier local/travel video clips onto Google, MSN, Yahoo, YouTube and other sites for awhile now.

The firm has also introduced a widget to add it to other sites. Since the site launched in June, TurnHere enabled users to send e-mails with the videos or embed them on other sites, add comments, or click to buy the books.

On the more collaborative tip, Near-Time and The History Press have started up an online book community to promote True Richmond Stories, by Harry Kollatz Jr, due out next month. There’s some free content available, including what look to be downloadable print quality images, but the site offers the entire book to paying members. It’s a wiki-style site that will allow the author to make updates and engage in the reader community.

As the press release puts it, “Near-Time Premium extends the life cycle of a book and helps make each project more profitable. During pre-press, content gets to market faster and enables a community of interest around a topic, giving technology and STM publishers a distinct first-to-market advantage. When a title reaches backlist, online distribution allows publishers to capitalize on the long tail of the topic.”