Elvis' 1969 Memphis Renaissance

Elvis Presley’s 1968 landmark television special, Elvis, more commonly known as the “Comeback” special, was not only one of the most memorable high points in his career, but it also marked the start of an all-too-brief renaissance for the King.  Frustrated by his stifling film career, Presley was raring to break out of Tinseltown and bound back onto the live concert stage.  He would do just that one year after shooting the “Comeback” special and his 1969 Las Vegas debut brought rave reviews from critics and standing ovations from audiences. 

The seed for that onstage comeback also was planted in the 1968 TV special, when director Steve Binder boldly decided to put Elvis onto a small stage and have him improvise a couple of performances before live audiences.  Those live “pit” segments formed the heart of that special and provided its most electric moments.  Although Elvis was as nervous as one of Colonel Parker’s dancing chickens before taking the stage, he was exhilarated by the time he left it.  Binder’s daring experiment fired the King up and he determined to go back on stage before his leather suit, soaked with sweat, was literally cut off of him by designer Bill Belew. 

But Elvis was just as eager to resuscitate his flagging recording career after years of forcing down weak songs that were written for his movies.  He went at that effort with all the energy he had brought to Sam Phillips' Memphis Sun Records in 1954.  He returned to Memphis for this phase of his comeback, but this time chose Chips Moman’s American Sound Studios, a perfect place for Elvis to make a fresh start.  Just as he had done under Steve Binder’s guiding hand, Elvis worked new magic with Moman, produced his last great recording sessions, and enjoyed his last burst of chart success.

The sessions yielded 32 songs which resulted in two gold albums, From Elvis in Memphis, which reached number 13 on Billboard’s album chart, and From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis, a double album that included Elvis’ live LP from his return to Vegas, which peaked at number 12.  Elvis reached such heights only a few more times, notably with his live albums from Madison Square Garden in 1972 and Aloha from Hawaii, from his 1973 television special. 

Elvis also scored six top 10 singles, including his last number one, “Suspicious Minds,” and “In the Ghetto,” which reached number three, earning three platinum and three gold singles in all from his American Sound sessions.

It was a definite uptick for Elvis, giving him his first number one single in seven years and his first top 10 hit in four years, since “Crying in the Chapel” reached number three in 1965, a song he had actually recorded five years earlier.  “Suspicious Minds” would also be his final number one single.

Thus, it was a fleeting return to the top for Elvis, who soon lapsed into the same sort of routine rut on stage that he had found in Hollywood.  Still, the period was one of the most exciting and productive of his career and preserved some of the King’s greatest studio moments.  

This excerpt from Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll describes those last memorable sessions.

“While Colonel Parker arranged his Vegas resurrection, Elvis went back into the recording studio determined to again produce quality records and catapult himself out of both his banal movies and the bland music that had stifled him for years. And he turned away from RCA’s Nashville studio and toward his home town, Memphis, where he had broken musical barriers at Sun Records fifteen years earlier. He cast his eye on the small American Sound Studio run by producer Chips Moman, which had been turning out hits for various labels and had access to top musicians and songwriters. It was all too alluring for Elvis to pass up and offered just what he wanted—a break from his past and a return to his roots. Elvis began a ten-day session with Moman at American on January 13, 1969, with the buzz over what was quickly being called the ‘Comeback’ TV special still very much in the air. Elvis was determined to make good his vow to Steve Binder to take the reins of his career.

“These sessions brought new life and long dormant enthusiasm to Elvis’ work. He again drifted deeply into the music, often oblivious to his surroundings, lost in what he was doing. He spent hours in the studio, often simply jamming on songs he felt like singing, like Bobby Darin’s ‘I’ll Be There,’ and Moman seems to have had the good sense to let him follow his instincts and wait for the good stuff. His patience paid off. Elvis injected the sessions with the same energy he brought to his earliest recordings, turning out twenty-three sharp takes of Mac Davis’s ‘In the Ghetto’ and twenty-nine of ‘Only the Strong Survive,’ written by Jerry Butler, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff and recorded by Butler.  Moman accurately pegged Mark James’ ‘Suspicious Minds’ as a sure-fire hit, a song to which he also owned publishing rights. The combination of a new producer, new musicians, and a new location seemed to ignite Elvis’ creativity the way Sam Phillips once had, and Elvis lent these recordings all of the passion he always brought to his best work.

“The sessions yielded two albums that nearly reached the top ten and several top-ten singles, including a number one for ‘Suspicious Minds,’ while ‘In the Ghetto’ climbed to number three, ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’ to number six, and ‘The Wonder of You’ (a live track actually recorded later) to number nine, a success rate Elvis had not scored since the early 1960s, and which he would never achieve again. ‘Kentucky Rain,’ written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, peaked at number 16, but Elvis’ urgent delivery of the song deserved a better fate. The two albums blended most of Elvis’ strongest musical influences, showing off his rock, country, R&B, blues, and even gospel chops. The sessions were among Elvis’ best studio work and Moman’s minimalist, sparse production complemented him perfectly. Like his encounters with Sam Phillips and Steve Binder, it was another instance of Elvis meeting up with the right partner at the right time.*

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* Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7^th edition, 503–504; Ernst Jorgensen, Elvis Presley: A Life in Music, 264–79. Also see Peter Guralnick’s liner notes to CD Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology, and Robert Gordon and Tara McAdams, The Spirit of Home, liner notes to CD From Elvis in Memphis.

Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is available from Amazon in the U.S. http://tinyurl.com/mhyaouz & the U.K.: http://tinyurl.com/kyolbnm

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Elvis’ Last Great Moment

By 1977 Elvis Presley had little of the fire that he brought to the world when he burst onto the national music scene in 1956 with his first national television appearance.  Then, he was a ball of unbridled energy and sexuality that frightened a good many adult Americans, but fired up most of their kids.  Pop music and culture were never the same after that and would-be rock stars continue to follow Elvis’ path, trying ever new ways to shock the public and draw attention to themselves.

But by 1977, years of drug abuse, boredom, and self-destructive behavior had left Elvis little more than a shadow of that early fireball.  Many of his concerts had become embarrassments as he forgot lyrics, slurred words, stumbled around the stage, lapsed into long, sometimes confusing monologues, and only sporadically called up a trace of his once great vocal powers.  His health was poor, he looked pale, was noticeably overweight and often listless.  Still, fans continued to pack arenas just to share an hour with their idol and see him in the flesh, much as Babe Ruth still drew crowds long after his playing ability had waned. 

It would seem the least propitious time to produce an Elvis television special, but that’s exactly what his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, did.  By then, Parker knew his star was fading and he was anxious to derive all the income he could from him while Presley was still able to take the stage.  By then, the only way to produce an Elvis TV special was to tape him during one of his concerts, because the King refused to take on anything more than that.  Nothing remotely resembling his landmark 1968 “Comeback” special, which incorporated powerful, impromptu live performances with well staged musical production numbers, and featured Elvis at the peak of his powers, was possible because Elvis had neither the energy nor the will to do it.  Instead, TV crews would be reduced to hoping that they could cull enough decent footage of Elvis on stage to manufacture a one-hour special. 

The task proved challenging and the team of Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion would have only two opportunities to tape Elvis on stage in June 1977, first in Omaha, Nebraska, and second in Rapid City, South Dakota.  The first concert was a near disaster and found Elvis in particularly poor form, but the crew was able to use a few numbers from the show in what was ultimately aired by CBS as Elvis in Concert after Presley's death.  Fortunately for all concerned, Elvis performed much better in Rapid City, although he was still far below the high standards he had set in past years.  Yet, there were moments during the Rapid City show when Elvis called up what remained of his vocal ability.  The following excerpt from Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll recreates some of that show.

“He did better than in Omaha, but that wasn’t a very high bar to reach. As with most Elvis performances by then, the question was not so much how well he sang, but how much better he sang than he did on his worst nights. As always, some numbers were throwaways used as a backdrop for him to toss scarves to the crowd, including ‘Love Me.’ The women nearest the stage were far more excited and animated over this gesture than most of Presley’s singing and Elvis also was more mobile at times during these interludes, even managing to bend over and kiss a girl near the stage.

“He introduced ‘Trying to Get to You’ as a song his father and girlfriend liked, explained that he did it 18 years earlier, and noted that ‘My voice was a lot higher back then, and you gotta have it built in the right place,’ thus excusing his inability to hit the high notes. But he sang it very well, and it remained a song that never failed him.

“ ‘Hawaiian Wedding Song’ seemed an odd concert choice, and Elvis reminisced about doing it long ago in the film Blue Hawaii. His voice was low, slurred, and weak. He strolled over to Kathy Westmoreland, who was doing the high counterpoint part and sang the song directly to her, making a comical face at the end, as if relieved or surprised that he completed it. He carefully placed a scarf around her neck and planted a kiss on her cheek, then returned to flinging scarves to the masses while phoning in ‘(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear’ and ‘Don’t Be Cruel.’

“Someone in the audience shouted for ‘Moody Blue’ and Elvis promised to do it, but said there was something else he must do first. Making his way to the piano, he said, ‘This is . . . an old song called “Unchained Melody.”  I don’t know all the chords, so if you hear me get my fingers caught in the keys back here you’ll know what it is. “Unchained Melody,” from an album called Unchained Melody. Makes a lot of sense.’ After a long pause, another swig of water, and a brief silence, he quipped, ‘How do you like it so far?’ which elicited enthusiastic applause. Despite the lagging, comic introduction, Elvis turned in one of the most memorable moments of his later career. ‘Unchained Melody’ was not a great performance, and Elvis strained for breath at times, sweated profusely, struggled to hit some notes, and had to employ every ounce of strength he had to bring it to a powerful ending. It was late in the evening, and he was clearly tired, but he poured everything he had left into the song, showing the degree of effort that had once made him great, even though the result was a far cry from that greatness. The camera fixed tightly on his face, bathed in sweat, then cut to several women watching him intently from the audience. When he finished, the place erupted into the loudest and most sustained applause of the evening. He rose from the piano smiling, clearly delighted to have brought it off.  It was not the Elvis of old, but it was all that Elvis had left.”

The number, however, was inexplicably cut from the television special, but was released later on the video compilation Elvis: The Great Performances.

Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock 'n' Roll:
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Christmastime with Elvis

Sony/Legacy's Follow That Dream collectors label will issue a new CD edition of Elvis' Christmas Album next month, just in time for the holidays.  Featuring the original album, first released in 1957, the CD adds several bonus tracks, three of which may seem out of place to most listeners as they are totally unrelated to Christmas: “My Wish Came True,” “Treat Me Nice,” and “Don't.”  The remaining nine bonuses are various alternate takes of two gospel numbers that also appeared on the album: "Peace in the Valley" and "It Is No Secret."

Elvis released another Christmas album in 1971 and many holiday compilations were issued after his death, notably Memories of Christmas in 1982, which contained some alternate takes and a memorable, unedited, eight-minute version of "Merry Christmas Baby."  But the 1957 album revealed a side of Elvis that few were aware of at the time, most notably his gospel influences and instincts.  In addition to some holiday rockers and blues, like "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" and his classic "Blue Christmas," as well as a hopped up rendition of Gene Autry's "Here Comes Santa Claus," Elvis turned in moving performances of "Silent Night" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem."  The album also tacked on four gospel numbers Elvis had released earlier: "Peace In The Valley
," which he had performed on The Ed Sullivan Show earlier in the year, "I Believe," "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," and "It Is No Secret," each of which demonstrated how deeply Elvis invested himself in gospel music, a characteristic he never lost, even in his final years, when his vocal powers were fading.

According to Graceland's Elvis website, the FTD label “is a collectors record label that exists exclusively for the dedicated Elvis music collector and currently offers over 100 different Elvis CDs, books and LPs with additional titles released throughout the year.  The FTD label was created by Sony Music and launched in 1999.”  Thus, you'll have to surf the web to find FTD discs, which are not available from mainstream sources like Amazon, and can be costly (one website has advertised the Christmas CD at $40).

Since the bonus tracks are of marginal interest to most listeners, or should the search just prove too difficult, you might want to hunt down a copy of the 1994 CD If Every Day Was Like Christmas instead, which includes all of Elvis' Christmas songs, plus a few bonus tracks and a rare, all too brief, Christmas greeting from Elvis.  The CD was issued in a long, gatefold sleeve that opens into a pop-up of Elvis' Graceland mansion.  That one can readily be found on Amazon and elsewhere and makes a nice Christmas gift for any Elvis fan, including yourself.

Since the holiday season already seems well underway, why not start planning to spend part of it with Elvis?

Here is a summary of Elvis' Christmas recordings:

LP Elvis' Christmas Album (1957)

Santa Claus Is Back In Town


White Christmas


Here Comes Santa Claus 

I'll Be Home For Christmas


Blue Christmas


Santa Bring My Baby Back 

O Little Town Of Bethlehem


Silent Night 


Peace In The Valley 

I Believe


Take My Hand, Precious Lord


It Is No Secret 

LP Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971)

O Come All Ye Faithful

The First Noel

On a Snowy Christmas Night

Winter Wonderland

The Wonderful World of Christmas

It Won't Seem Like Christmas 

I'll Be Home on Christmas Day

If I Get Home on Christmas Day

Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees

Merry Christmas Baby

Silver Bells

LP Memories of Christmas (1982)  

O Come All Ye Faithful (take 2)

Silver Bells

I'll Be Home on Christmas Day 

Blue Christmas

Santa Claus Is Back in Town

Merry Christmas Baby (unedited)

If Every Day Was Like Christmas (undubbed)

Christmas Message from Elvis/Silent Night 

CD If Every Day Was Like Christmas (1994)

If Every Day Was Like Christmas

Blue Christmas

Here Comes Santa Claus

White Christmas

Santa Bring My Baby Back

I'll Be Home for Christmas

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Santa Claus Is Back in Town

It Won't Seem Like Christmas

If I Get Home on Christmas Day

Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees

Merry Christmas Baby (edited version)

Silver Bells

I'll Be Home on Christmas Day (alternate version)

On a Snowy Christmas Night

Winter Wonderland

The Wonderful World of Christmas

O Come All Ye Faithful

The First Noel

It Won't Seem Like Christmas (unreleased alternate - take 6)

Silver Bells (alternate - take 1)

Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees (unreleased alternate - take 8)

I'll Be Home on Christmas Day

Christmas Message from Elvis/Silent Night

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Elvis Doth Protest Too Little

One of the most startling patterns exhibited by Elvis Presley was his propensity to acquiesce to nearly everyone.  He seldom, if ever, stood up for himself, put his foot down, or told anyone “No, I’m not going to do that.”  Elvis set broad goals for himself, like staking out the movie career he had dreamt of and returning to live performing in 1969 with a totally new sound, but he left most major decisions to his manager, Colonel Tom Parker and almost always simply did what he was told.  Elvis’ music and wild performing style frightened middle America and he was quickly seen as a threat when he emerged onto the national scene in 1956. Yet, behind the scenes, he was a perfect southern gentleman, raised to show respect and courtesy to everyone.  While admirable, Elvis’ defaulting to this pattern, regardless of what was asked of him, surprised old show business hands who worked with him in the early days and expected even a rising star to make at least some demands. Elvis consistently showed such deference even when he was uncomfortable with material given to him.

When Elvis’ wild performance of “Hound Dog” on Milton Berle’s television show resulted in a media uproar and personal lambasting of Elvis as a vulgar entertainer, Colonel Parker impressed upon his boy the need to tone things down on stage and television.  The immediate outcome was seen on Steve Allen’s show about a month after the Berle debacle.  In order to prevent a repeat performance by Elvis, the TV comedian chose to outfit the rocker in white tie and tails and have him sing the same song to a real basset hound, a somewhat desperate attempt at parody that could fit into his comedy hour.  Elvis’ appearance on Allen’s show was topped off with a comedy sketch called “Range Round Up,” in which Allen, his cast, and Elvis were duded up in cowboy outfits and performed a rather silly routine based on TV western clichés.  Although Elvis played along and, more to the point, never voiced a bit of objection during rehearsals, he actually hated and resented Steve Allen’s staging and concept.  He railed against them to his inner circle, all of whom urged him to simply tell Steve Allen (politely and respectably, to be sure) that he would prefer something different.  After all, Elvis was already a household name, a figure of controversy and, therefore, a star.  He had every right to put his oar in where his image was concerned.  But the King chose to acquiesce instead and went along, doing as he was told. He even talked up his scheduled appearance to his concert audiences prior to the show.

When it came to career moves Elvis gave near-total control to Parker and abided by his choices.  Presley told everyone that he and the Colonel had made a deal that left business decisions to Parker and creative control to Elvis -- and a deal was a deal.  That, too, is admirable and in fairness to the Colonel the arrangement worked well and paid off handsomely for years, but eventually harmed the King’s career.  Not long after returning from army service in 1960, Elvis departed for Hollywood, where he would devote most of the next decade to starring in a series of increasingly banal formula musicals and did very little else. Parker focused entirely on the bottom line and found it far more profitable to tie Elvis’ record releases to the film productions, minimizing costs and maximizing income from Presley’s films.  It looked great on the balance sheet, but as the social upheaval of the sixties gave rise to a new world of rock and protest music, Elvis looked and sounded increasingly irrelevant. In a recorded 1972 interview, Elvis explained that his movie contracts typically ran for four years and, while they obligated him to turn out a prescribed number of films in that time, gave him no veto over scripts or artistic control of his films.  It is difficult to imagine any other big Hollywood star signing such contracts.  More typically, a star who excelled in both music and movies, such as Frank Sinatra, would not only maintain script approval, but might seek out scripts on his own that provided first rate material.  And Elvis was aware of the decline in the quality if his films and music, complained of it privately, but again did nothing about it.  Presley may have thought that his deal with Parker gave him creative control, but when the Colonel made short-sighted decisions like this they had a devastating impact on Elvis’ artistic output and reputation.  Perhaps Elvis was too easily persuaded by the Colonel’s insistence that they would not make the kind of money from serious work that they were taking in from the lightweight films and their soundtrack albums.  Maybe he believed that the Colonel knew best.  In any case, Elvis failed to take the reins of his career firmly in hand.

Elvis only pulled himself out of his Hollywood quagmire by throwing himself into his 1968 television special, known ever after as the “Comeback Special.”  His collaboration with producer/director Steve Binder marked one of the few times Elvis brushed the Colonel aside, albeit gingerly, and pushed his own agenda.  Binder was often at odds with Parker, but found a key ally in Elvis, who shared his vision.

It is difficult to tell how much of the Colonel’s meddling in this legendary special was simply calculated to remind everyone that, ultimately, he was in control, and how much it reflects his genuine cluelessness regarding artistic creativity.  From the start, he wanted Elvis to do a traditional Christmas special, à la Perry Como, with the King singing a dozen or more holiday standards and bidding viewers a Merry Christmas.  Although that was quickly nixed by all involved, Parker persisted and demanded that the special end with a traditional Christmas song, which was no more appealing to Elvis, Binder, and the rest of the production team than the Colonel’s original idea.  Again, Parker gave in, suggesting that he was up to something other than getting an Elvis Christmas special on the air.  As a final fallback demand, clearly intended to reestablish his uber-control of Elvis’ world, the Colonel insisted that at least one Christmas song appear in the show and that demand was met when Binder was able to cull a decent rendition of “Blue Christmas” from the impromptu live sessions that formed the heart of the special.

Despite Presley’s general acquiescence to the Colonel, this was a rare example of Elvis directing his own destiny by trusting his artistic instincts.  The result was a truly magical television event and a miraculous resuscitation of Elvis’ career within a single hour. It also reveals a rare instance of the Colonel backing off and trusting others, at least to a degree, because it was a rare moment when he, too, was somewhat desperate.  Income from Elvis’ movies was drying up and he could not think of any other way to reverse the downward spiral. With few options, Parker gave Binder a freer hand than anyone else would ever receive from him, but even then he was not about to become a mere spectator and he weighed in when he felt the need to, much to Binder’s dismay.

The following excerpt from Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, reveals the kind of behind-the-scenes maneuvering and posturing that underscored this classic television special and how, despite their zeal, both Elvis and Binder had to tread softly around Colonel Parker.

“When Parker saw Binder’s rough cut, he was livid. There was no Christmas song, despite all of the concessions he had made. He had abandoned the idea of an all-Christmas special, agreed to the inclusion of only one holiday song, then backed down from his demand that the show end with a Christmas song and went along with the choice of “If I Can Dream” instead. Now, there was no Christmas song at all. The Colonel was particularly angered because he had called Elvis and Binder into his office early in the editing process to put his foot down on the issue. Binder remembers the meeting vividly, which gave him a unique inside view of the relationship between Presley and his manager. ‘Elvis was, for whatever reason, in real fear of the Colonel and whatever power he wielded over him, and Elvis was, you know, jelly when it came to confronting the Colonel. We walk into the office and . . . Elvis was standing with his arms crossed over his crotch, with his head bowed down like a five year old being told he did something naughty. The Colonel said “It’s been called to my attention that there are no Christmas songs in the special, and Elvis wants a Christmas song in the special. Isn’t that right Elvis?” and Elvis mutters, so you can hardly hear him, “That’s right, Colonel.” “And so what are we gonna do about it, Bindle?” [employing his personal take on the director’s name] and I said, “We’re gonna give Elvis a Christmas song. I would never make an artist do something they didn’t want to do. If he wants a Christmas song on the show, we’ll get a Christmas song in the show. That’s fine with me,” and I meant it. I would have figured a way to do a Christmas song. The Colonel said “Okay, that’s resolved. You heard him Elvis, he’s putting a Christmas song in the show,” and Elvis nodded. He [the Colonel] said “That’s all, you can go back to work.” We walked out of the office, we close the door, we start walking back towards the set, Elvis jabs me in the ribs and says, “Fuck him. We’re gonna do whatever we want to do.”  I think, in all honesty, Colonel had the power to fire me every step of the way. I think his instinct said, “Elvis’ career is basically over unless something happens, and something’s going on that I don’t really know what’s going on, and I’ve gotta let it keep going on,” and he didn’t fire me.’” *

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*Taylor Hackford interview with Steve Binder, videotaped January 31, 2006, on Directors Guild of America website:  http://tinyurl.com/ln6lhoz.

Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is available from Amazon in the U.S. http://tinyurl.com/mhyaouz & the U.K.: http://tinyurl.com/kyolbnm

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The New World of Self-Publishing

The world of self-publishing to mushrooming rapidly and may be destined to take over a huge portion of the book publishing industry.  Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is my fourth book and the first that I have self published.  I chose to publish through Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing companies, but there are a growing number of online companies that will provide this service.

Having dealt with four “traditional” publishers and several New York literary agents, I found a few notable differences between going that route and publishing a book myself.  Most aspects of publishing were easier and more pleasant online, although the most notable downside is the initial financial cost to the author-publisher.  Traditional publishers pay the costs of printing and distributing books, including books that are sent out for review.  They also may absorb at least some of the costs of licensing photographs and other images.  As a self-publishing author I had to pay these costs myself as well as fees for professional editing and indexing, cover design, and copyright registration.  Today’s legal environment also motivated me to purchase an umbrella liability insurance policy and form a Limited Liability Company for my own publishing imprint.  These costs will vary with the needs of each author, but can run several thousand dollars.

All promotion is the author-publisher’s responsibility.  This is another area where traditional publishers have typically played a role, but my personal experience showed very minimal efforts in this area.  I had to hustle on my own to arrange book signings and obtain space at book festivals.  For one book, my co-author and I hired a publicist, who did get some additional press for us, but at an additional cost and with minimal result.  Since much marketing and promotion is now done digitally, gaining a good working knowledge of social media alone can be, for some, a better investment than hiring a publicist.  There are, of course, still printed publications that review books and it is certainly worth shipping review copies to them in hopes of a good notice that will spur sales.  Be sure to include a press release that has the name, email address, and phone number of a contact person, a brief, punchy summary of the book’s strongest points, excerpts from any blurbs or reviews the book has already received, and a bio paragraph about you.

Digital marketing involves researching websites and Facebook pages that are related to your topic and likely to be used by people who share an interest in your topic.  Also find online discussion forums that deal with your subject or those closely related to it, and join in.  Tell participants about your book and include a link to the online sites where it can be purchased.  Also include links to your Facebook page, Twitter handle, and your blog.  More important, join in the conversations on these forums to establish your knowledge of and genuine interest in your subject, rather than simply asking people to buy your book.  They are more likely to buy it if they get to know you a bit and see that you have a passion for the subject. 

Some digital publishers enable authors to monitor sales of their books throughout the day and provide a running tally of royalties in all currencies, something no mainstream publisher will do.  Thus, you can roughly track spikes in sales to various blogs or items that you’ve posted on the web. 

Another downside to digital self-publishing is the refusal of most bookshops to arrange book signings or other promotions for you in their stores.  I have been left with the impression that there exists a deep resentment toward digital publishers among book store owners, who may view such online companies as competitors. However, in this rapidly evolving landscape, traditional publishers and book sellers must find a way to survive within this new paradigm, just as authors are trying to do.

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