Marketing Wedding Wine

Title: Wedding Wine

Author: Rachel Glass, MA

Agent: Nancy Ellis

PO Box 1564

Willits, CA 95490

707-456-9441

Personal Goals: To explore why we love who we love. To explore faith verses religion. To highlight how people evaluate their own belief systems.

A Description of the Book: Wedding Wine takes place in Umbria, Italy. It is the story of a family that produces a magic wine. Whoever drinks this wine with their fiancée will have a vision showing them their entire marriage. The couple may then decide if they still want to marry. The story begins as the battle lines are drawn within the family. A businessman son seeks the formula so he can sell the wedding wine on a mass scale. A priest son wants to know what the source of power behind the wine really is. The daughter has staked her life on the wine being correct, and so has never married. They each seek the truth about the wine, risking their familys tradition, and the trust of all those who have drank before marrying.

Competition Analysis for Wedding Wine:

Wedding Wine will sell very well in the current market. The family drama is selling now. Romance is selling better than ever. Below are quotes and examples:

Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges By Motoko Rich, published: April 7, 2009 The New York Times "In a recession, what people want is a happy ending. At a time when booksellers are struggling to lure readers, sales of romance novels are outstripping most other categories of books and giving some buoyancy to an otherwise sluggish market."

The following is an excerpt from the article titled A Stirring Family Drama Is A hit,The New York Times On-line March 2009: “That’s the kind of book you all love because it means that not only is word of mouth happening, but you know that something mysterious about this book is really seeping into people’s hearts and minds,” said Susan Petersen Kennedy, president of Penguin Group USA, whose Riverhead imprint published “The Kite Runner” and whose Viking imprint published “The Secret Life of Bees,” a book that also never appeared on the New York Times hardcover fiction list but spent a staggering 106 weeks on the paperback fiction list, with 4.2 million copies in print.

With the ethical dilemma and family drama at its heart, “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” is appealing to readers who want a literary page turner and something to discuss in their reading groups. Martha MacDonald, 63, a retired physical therapist in Winchester, Mass., said she read the novel for her condominium association’s book group. “Usually it takes me a week or two to read a book,” she said. “I read this one in two days. I couldn’t put it down. It raised a lot of issues about how you would have reacted in the same situation. I think it’s an incredible discussion book.”

“Pamela Dorman, an executive editor at Viking at the time, bought the manuscript for “The Memory Keepers daughter” a six-figure advance in 2003. But the publisher set modest sales goals for the hardcover, starting with an 11,700-copy print run. “Frankly, it was having a quiet start,” said Ms. Dorman, now a vice president at Hyperion. It received generally strong reviews (The New York Times did not review it), with a few noting its more treacly qualities. Barnes & Noble picked it as part of its Discover Great New Writers program, and independent booksellers began recommending it to customers.’”

Wedding Wine is a family drama with a fable framework based upon theology, romance, ethics, faith and hope. Those are the elements that sell during a recession / depression. In Film Goers Get a Taste of the Good Life posted by Marc Graser for Variety.com March 2009, the article says, “If the recession is stressing out some businesses, exhibitors aren't sweating just yet. Entertainment has long been shown to be recession-proof. People want to get away from their blues.”

In Disney's Recession-Era Entertainment posted by: Julia Boorstin for CNBC.com February 2009, it is also points out that during a recession people want to be entertained and taken away from daily worries, but to also have an encouraging message about the future. Disney has historically done very well during hard economic times.

A little light fantasy with big questions is the way to present. Don’t ignore the big picture but present it with a spoon full of sugar. During hard times people want more fantasy to escape their troubles. Yet they also need their concerns addressed in a gentle and positive manner. Wedding Wine is about risk, trust, theology, marriage, tradition, and a family’s fortune (plus, every variety of romantic love). I strongly believe this is the perfect time to market Wedding Wine.

Target Audience:

Women and Men who read family drama

Readers of contemporary fiction

Single Adults

Readers interested in theology

Readers of Romance

Positioning Statement: This novel has the subtle fable qualities and relationship conflicts of a Joanne Harris work. Set in Umbria, Italy from World War II to present day, it explores a family whose vineyard makes a magic wine. If a couple drinks this magic wine together, they share a vision which will reveal to them their entire futures.

Author’s Professional Bio: I earned my bachelors degree in psychology from Marymount at Fordham University, and my masters degree in clinical/counseling psychology from Columbia University. I have also formally studied theology.

I currently work in the Roaring Fork Valley, and Aspen, Colorado as a crisis counselor and therapist. I was a professional actress for over a decade, and a member of Screen Actors Guild from 1997 to 2003. I was a staff writer for the magazine DGNY, and have written the yet to be published novel's Neutral and Wedding Wine

For my novel Wedding Wine I have incorporated my theological training to explore the relationship between faith and religion. I have also used my grasp of psychodynamics to create the relationships between the couples and the family members in the story.

Sales Handles and Media Angles: I can participate in, or facilitate, discussions about classic relationship conflicts that are present in the book. I am a single psychologist.

Ideas for Marketing Strategy and Campaign:

Anyone interested in theology, psychology, or romance would be a likely reader of this book. I plan an e-blast campaign not only using the mailing list from Invision Marketing Service, but also my alumni and hospital list which alone total over eight thousand addresses. I am also involved with the Givens Institute which sponsors the Aspen Summer Words Festival and have contacts there to help promote Wedding Wine.

In addition to using MySpace, I will create blogs not only about the book, but also about the relationship pitfalls and fears discussed in the book. I will also host online chats about these topics while promoting Wedding Wine.

Mailing list: (these are lists of names I can provide for any publicity mailing)

Members of the Givens Institute

Participants in Aspen Summer Words Festival

Columbia University: faculty, staff, students

Teacher’s College: faculty, staff, students

Fordham at Marymount: faculty, staff, students

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital: staff

Aspen Valley Hospital: staff

Independent booksellers nation wide

Reviews for Quotes:

Aspen Times

Danielia Kuper, author

Newspaper Coverage: (newspapers with local interest or contact)

Aspen Times

Glenwood Post

Houston Chronicle

Westchester County Weekly

Book Store Author Signings:

Explore Books: Aspen, Colorado

Town Booksellers: Basalt, Colorado

Books & Things: Bruster, New York

Fordham at Marymount Women’s Day Festival, Tarrytown, New York

Summer Words Festival, Aspen, Colorado

Press Materials Author Will Help Write

Blogs

Press Release

Pitch Letters