Talk it over: Game on?
ROGER WOULD–BE–STAR Chepstow
Jane Wenham Jones helps a reader decide if a TV game show might be a good publicity vehicle for his writing
I am considering applying to go on a well-known game show as a means of publicity for my novels (I am self-published). I think I have a pretty good chance of getting on as I have a friend who has done it and he has been helpful with advice on the application process, but I must say the thought scares me stiff. Another friend said I wouldn’t be allowed to mention the titles and so it would have little effect, although she pointed out that I might win some money I could then use for advertising. You have written in the past about appearing on television. Do you think it made a difference to your books sales?
ROGER WOULD–BE–STAR Chepstow
Your letter made me smile, Roger, but I fear it should have been sent to my good friend and colleague, Lynne Hackles. The nearest I have come to a game show is appearing on Ready, Steady, Cook many years ago – a few months before my first novel came out, as it happens – where I grated cheese and chopped broccoli with what I like to think was aplomb, but Lynne had me watching from behind a cushion when she appeared on Deal or No Deal.