Book Marketing Buzz

In a previous post, I mentioned that a little bit of controversy is good for selling books.  While there is always that risk factor involved, I have found that some authors can get away with it with flying colors.

Another example of a controversial book is THE SKY’S NOT FALLING by Holly Fretwell.  Holly happens to be an expert in the field of global warming, but there are some people who feel that maybe we ought not take the approach Holly does for the simple fact that global warming is something that we should be fearful of.

Not so, says Holly.  Her approach is backed up by years of investigative study and, therefore, she backs up her findings in a new children’s book by World Ahead Publishing, the west coast’s leading conservative publisher. 

For today’s Book Marketing Buzz post, I asked Holly to tell me how controversy has affected her sales as we’d all like to know if it would be a bad thing and something to avoid.  Holly shows you how to stick to your heart and what you believe in.

“Have you ever thought,” says Holly, “‘I have heard so much about global warming, I am not sure what is right?’  You hear that the ‘debate’ is over, yet you still hear about some ’skeptics’ out there.  How do you know what to believe?  This is exactly what I thought when I started to study the issue of global warming.  I was teaching a natural resources economic course and looking at the policy implications of global warming; they were scary.  If we assume that the earth is warming, it is human caused, and we can do something about it, the potential actions, as we’ve seen in many proposals, are extremely costly.  The real catch, however, is that the benefits from those costly actions are tiny.  That is what made me really curious.  And that is exactly why I continued my research and ended up writing The Sky’s Not Falling.

In my world, I look at things a bit differently than most of my friends.  You might say I am a closet conservative!  Many of my friends are extremely liberal, and I understand their point of view.  As an adjunct professor of economics, however, it is hard for me to sit at ease with many political policies.  I am definitely fiscally conservative.  But I have a huge concern for our environment and humanity.  I have spent most of my adult life evaluating environmental policies and see the flaws in much government regulation.  This is why some would say I am so conservative I am squeaky!  Really, I am more libertarian with a love for the outdoors and a passion to improve human well being.  In this way writing a controversial book came naturally to me.

My perspective on the world is different than the perspective many people hold.  Hence, controversy is expected.  Any time you write a book that is somewhat politically incorrect you will get controversy.

Let’s think about some of that controversy, or ‘consensus’ as we too often hear that got me started.  There is a lot of inaccurate or misleading information that I have tried to dispel in my book, The Sky’s Not Falling.  For example, many students are being asked to watch Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.”  This has been a real inconvenience because, as the High British Court has stated, there are many non-truths and misleading statements in the movie.  One of the most brazen examples is demonstrated with the graph that shows atmospheric CO2 levels and temperature change.  The two variables are correlated; they move together.  Gore and one of his producers, Laurie David, who recently co-authored a children’s book on global warming, both assert that increases in CO2 levels cause temperature to increase.  They have missed something really important here: one correlation does not mean causation, and two the data show that on average temperature change 800 years before CO2 levels.  Yes, read that again, temperature changes lead the changes in CO1 over the last 650,000 years.

When you are reading chapter one of The Sky’s Not Falling, you’ll learn what global warming really means, you’ll learn what effects actually create a warming trend on the planet, and, most important, you’ll have a measuring stick, a barometer, to know for yourself the condition of the world you call home.

One wall that I have run into with my book is Al Gore!  When someone becomes so popular supporting an idea we can reach a ‘tipping point’ where many others begin to follow suit.  When I oppose some of his ideas it is hard to gain credibility.  He did win the Nobel Prize, after all.  Who am I?  Gore and the IPCC summar reports have really captained the ship claiming that the debate is over.  I challenge you, however, to read at least a portion of the IPCC full reports and compare them to the summary reports.  Though I was always taught a summary was supposed to summarize the information, the IPCC summary reports for policy makers take a long scientific document that caveats most of its findings with uncertainty and transforms it into confidence and ‘consensus.’  Alternatively, you can just read my book which helps to clarify the uncertainty of the science.

The value you will gain, is that by following the easy to read and understandable chapters in The Sky’s Not Falling, you’ll experience a road map of targeted examples and compelling stories that highlight and dispel the dangerous myths about global warming.  You’ll experience eye opening and informative results coming from years of research and conclusions that will give you the peace of mind gained from having the true insights about climate change.

I dare you to read The Sky’s Not Falling and come away not being changed.  Please help me get the word out, ‘the sky’s not falling.’  Humans are amazing creatures and in my book, I tell you many of the things we have done and can do to make this world a better place for people today and in the future. 

With controversy in mind, don’t expect to find my book on the front shelves of your local book store–or Barnes & Noble or Borders.  While many local bookstores are carrying the book and so is Barnes & Noble and Borders, it is usually tucked in the far back corner of the kid’s section.  I can’t even find my own book in my local  bookstores!

As an author, more an educator, I recommend you stick to your heart.  Research what you believe, find the truth for yourself, if you disagree with the mainstream explore the ideas further.  It is that exploration that encouraged me to write The Sky’s Not Falling.  Though some will always call me a skeptic, yeah, a conservative too, I will rest with ease knowing that I have helped at least some better understand the issues that surround global warming.  Maybe even more important, I have helped them become critical thinkers.”

Tags: book marketing, Holly Fretwell, The Sky’s Not Falling, global warming