One tweet from the right person

On June 9, 2019, I flew to New York for the launch of Greg Giraldo: A Comedian’s Story. From the point of view of self-promotion, Matt Balaker and Wayne Jones provide an interesting case study. Other than hiring a publicist and hosting a few readings, they seem to have concentrated most of their efforts on giving interviews on comedy podcasts, hoping that the word of mouth generated there would drive sales.

On the night of the show, we dined with the authors at The Olive Tree, a restaurant that sits above The Comedy Cellar in the tightly clustered comedy district just off Washington Square. I spotted Nikki Glaser as she walked in, and I may not have been very subtle about it. She sat down at the table next to us and glanced at me, probably wary of what the old bald guy was about to say or do. While talking to someone I assumed was an industry type, she spread out her vast make-up kit on the table and began to apply it without even using a mirror, as she had no doubt done hundreds of times before, on tour buses, in scungy bathrooms, in crap hotel rooms. Nikki Glaser. Goddamn right. And near the front of the restaurant was Colin Quinn. This is the broad appeal of hanging out in a truly world-class city, when you’re in a small room with more than one person that you’ve only seen on television, and you start to feel that anything could happen. Despite proximity to these stars, and the absence of any bodyguards, no one was geeking out, asking for photos, or disturbing anyone’s dinner. Celebrity safe space?

The details of the lineup and the level of interest in the launch at the Fat Black Pussycat comedy venue seemed somewhat fluid right down to the start time. How many young people would show for a book about a mid-level comedian who died nine years ago? Would anyone? All expectations were exceeded later that night as Colin Quinn and Dave Attell walked into the packed room.

The term “mid-level” only refers to Giraldo’s fame relative to others and is in no way related to the quality of his work. His particular strengths and talent were held in high regard by all the comedians at the event. Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld are household names, but as you go deeper into the comedy world, and closer to the status of comedy geek, it becomes difficult to remember how the rest of the world considers (or does not consider) comedians such as David Cross, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, and Todd Glass. Who? How could you have not heard of Maria Bamford?

The appeal of blogs and podcasts as promotional tools is quite strong. In my interviews over the past couple of years, authors have suggested that publicists and advertising may have a limited impact in the context of promoting a small press book. Blogs are already hyper-specific and focused on niche areas, suggesting that the demographic visiting that blog is more likely to make a purchase than the general public. For print, radio, or television media, it’s much easier to gauge the weight of a message based on the specific outlet. A mere mention in The New York Times may carry more weight than two full pages in the Flin Flon

Reminder, but it’s much harder to determine the relative power of individual podcasts. When it comes to self-promotion, you might try a dozen things and hope one sticks. Matt and Wayne have done sixteen readings, events, and interviews, but perhaps all that was outweighed by a tweet from Dave Attell. With 385,000 followers, a few words from him have the potential to sell more books than anything else.