What Happens If I Just…Leave My Book Places?

A “Let’s See What Happens” Marketing Experiment in New York City

I’m trying something new this weekend that I’ve never tried before: marketing in the wild. And by wild I mean New York City.

My church orchestra and choir are performing at Geffen Hall on Monday and the group is traveling up there starting today. Yes, we’re flying out of Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport—the place every national news outlet seems to be covering right now because of the TSA situation. I haven’t flown on a plane in seventeen years so I’ve spent that time ignoring airport news. Well, not this week. But it is what it is, so I am steeling myself for the wait, armed with multiple devices, things to read, and the company of my fellow saxophone player. 

While in New York, we have basically two days to be-bop around the city. This will be my third trip to the Big Apple, and my excitement is palpable. Both previous times, I loved being in the city, walking the streets, catching the wafting aromas of foods, and just the general vibe of the town. My friend and I have planned two full days of activities and it was as I planned out the tentative itinerary that an idea occurred to me: what if I brought copies of my latest book, Lucky and Unlucky in Love, with me and left them?

Now, the idea isn’t new or original, but it is a first for me. The gist of the experiment is simple: leave a book on a park bench, a table in Grand Central Station, a coffee shop, or one of those free lending libraries we have around Houston. I’m going to write a little note on the inside of the cover, so when someone does pick up the book (and not instantly throw it away) and opens it, my message will be there. Had I come up with this idea a few weeks ago, I could have pre-planned a social media campaign complete with a pre-printed sticker on the inside cover with a QR code. That’ll be for next time. 

In doing research for this kind of thing, the consensus was that not only is this a good and fun idea, but that I should also film myself doing it. Photos and videos alike. Post it on social media and spread the news. 

We’re staying near Central Park so that’s an obvious location. We’re planning on visiting Grand Central Station and the New York Public Library and nearby Bryant Park, all good locations. Those are my main ideas for book drops, but I’m most excited about the wildcard: the place I won’t recognize until I see it and know it’s perfect.. 

Filming for the Future

This trip also happens to coincide with me writing my first novel-length romance. Now, back on New Year’s Day, I predicted that I would have finished the novel by yesterday, thus leaving this weekend trip as a reward. Well, as I’ve written in other posts, this book is arguably the hardest book I’ve written since my first. It’s going well (75,000 words as of yesterday) but the progress is slower than I would have predicted. 

So I’m taking my Chromebook with me and writing on the plane. Why not? It’ll be more or less three-plus hours each way. And I’ll be able to bust out a few words each morning before we traverse the town, keeping my writing streak alive.

And that’s when another new-to-me-but-not-original idea struck me: in addition to snapping pictures and videos of me leaving my current book, why not film me doing writerly things in New York City? Sitting in a coffee shop. Writing in a notebook on a park bench. Me in front of the library. Perhaps even me interacting with some folks. 

This will be evergreen content that I can use for a long time…or at least until I return to NYC. And while my romance novel does not take place in New York, some of the themes and vibes are universal…but just look better with New York as a backdrop.

Will this work the way I imagine? Who knows. The novel writing is going slower than I imagined, but it is also delving deeper than I expected. Will a future reader see my book on a bench, pick it up, read the tales, and enjoy them? I really hope so. 

Even if they don’t ever contact me, I hope they enjoy the stories in the book and, most especially, leave the book for a future reader to enjoy. Stories are best when shared—and this weekend, I’m literally leaving mine behind—in New York City!—for someone else to find.