Lessons from a hunchback

In my other blog, I'm talking up the perks of being in Paris for a week. In the Day 5 entry, I mentioned that we got a private tour of Notre Dame, and found out how Victor Hugo's book "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" managed to save the cathedral from being torn down.

I love being a writer.

So here's the thing ... this was a dilapidated building that was crumbling all around the Arch Bishop's head. It was expensive to maintain. It was becoming an eyesore. The good Parisians thought, "Why not a shopping mall? Or perhaps a nice movie theater?" Or whatever the 18th century equivalent may be. Disco?

But along comes Victor Hugo who goes and writes a popular novel of all things, and suddenly the public wants to keep the ol' girl around.

There's word-of-mouth marketing for you. One guy generates nostalgia for some real estate that's on the verge of collapsing, and now the whole world tours it, reads about it, and watches Disney versions of its story.

That kind of makes Quasimodo an early advertising mascot. Kind of like Jack from the Jack-in-the-Box commercials, but without the huge deformity. You know ... the big head?

Hunch-what now?

Anyway, as marketing goes, this kind of thing is ideal. I'm not certain anyone was even in the market to save the cathedral in the first place, but you can't argue with the results of a well-placed "campaign," nonetheless.

Charities, take note. Maybe the way to save that historic landmark is to take a few bucks and throw it at a novelist. Or, in this day and age, a well-known blogger, tweeter, or YouTube video maker. But don't overlook these tips:

1. Tell a story. Don't preach, don't whine, don't beg. Give the public a character and a tale to identify with so they'll feel a connection to what you're trying to save.
   
2. Don't worry about telling "the truth." It's a relative term anyway, where history is involved. Use your landmark as the central location for something fantastic. Fantasy trumps reality nine times out of ten. Of course, if that tenth time trumps fantasy, tell it. Just don't get locked into "facts."
3. Spread the news far and wide. Don't worry too much about making a profit from book sales (or video sales, or whatever). Profit, as far as this piece is concerned, isn't the goal. You are best paid by attention. Encourage people to tell the story to others, to mention the landmark, and to generally generate buzz about your project.
4. Be kind to your writer. We're an underpaid and under appreciated lot. Give the writer full reign to tell the best story they can, in their way. Don't censor or dictate. This isn't about ego, historic preservation, or keeping something within boundaries. This is about generating buzz with a good tale. Let your writer do his job, and when people start dropping in for tours you can "set the facts straight." Take a look at "The da Vinci Code" to see the power of fiction in drawing people to study real history.
5. Give the story away. You can sell copies in your gift shop ... that's a time-honored tradition. But your audience will be limited to those scant few who already know and care about your project. So instead, give copies away. Go to book stores and place copies with stickers that say "Free book! Take me!" on some of the stacks. Hand them out as gifts to everyone you've ever met. If it's a film, offer free screenings. Ask local theaters to run it at no charge to them and let them set a ticket price. In other words, give this thing away as much as possible, because your goal is to generate buzz.
   

Whatever form of media you choose, make sure it fits the broadest possible audience. A film, a television special, a novel, a YouTube viral ... there's virtually no end to the permutations. Just post an ad on Craigslist or elance.com and you'll find plenty of people willing to write your story for you. Then your job becomes easy: put it in as many hands as possible. The word-of-mouth you generate from this can make your project a success.