Darlene Quinn – Author, Winner of the 2009 Indie National Excellence Award for Fiction

Darlene Quinn came to EMSI with a unique challenge – use PR to promote a novel. While non-fiction books are a perfect match for the media because their authors provide valuable information about their areas of expertise, there are very few quality media outlets for fiction authors.

Keep in mind, there are over 400,000 new books published each year, and every one of those authors is clamoring to get air time and ink to push their books, as well.

One of the reasons Darlene chose the retail fashion industry as a setting for her book was because she was once a senior executive at the Bullocks Wilshire chain of department stores in Illinois. It was her experience there, and her friendships with top executives there and at Macy’s, that gave her a deep knowledge of what went on behind closed doors.

That gave us a strategy we knew would work.

Here was a woman who knew the inner workings of the retail industry at a time when major chain stores were filing for bankruptcy and stores were closing by the thousands all over the country because of the recession. In addition, because she was now an author instead of a retail executive, she could be completely candid about what was going on in retail, without fear of recrimination. Our team knew what to do.

EMSI began booking her for interviews on radio, on TV and in print as an expert commentator about the recession as it was affecting the consumer retail business. So far, Darlene has had more than 100 radio interviews and several national TV interviews. In addition, she has appeared in a variety of print and Web publications with a combined circulation/impressions level of more than 100 million. This national media exposure has accomplished two key goals: 1) it positioned her as an expert on the inner workings of the retail industry, and 2) at the same time afforded her the opportunity to promote her book.