The Publicity Puzzle
 Nine years ago,
upon graduating from college, I began my job search in the
communications
field. I accepted a job as an assistant
publicist with a literary publicity firm in Austin, Texas.
Inevitably, family and friends would, and still do, ask, "Where are you
working?" The next question was/ is
always, "What do you do?" I have always
had to explain what I do as a literary publicist. And not just to
family and friends. Writers do not usually know what a literary
publicist does.
It's true...most
people do not grow up saying they want to become a book publicist. Mainly because no one knows what one
does! However, this wonderfully exciting
job is where the heart lies for someone like me who has a passion for books,
coupled with a passion for the media. I
now own my own publicity firm, PR by the Book, and believe I have the best job
in the world!
Part of my job is
to speak to writers' groups at conferences and discuss how to create a stellar
publicity campaign for a book. I am no
longer amazed that 9 out of 10 people in my workshops are hearing about
literary publicity for the first time. I
thrive on being able to unlock the mystery of publicity for them. I am easily excited by uncovering one more
piece of the book puzzle in their quest for bestseller stardom.
I will now
attempt to walk you through the book process. Writer completes manuscript. Writer finds agent to sell manuscript to
publisher. Publisher
agrees to publish book. Publisher
edits copy, coordinates cover design, organizes production of galleys (review
copies) and actual book, coordinates distribution to bookstores and other
booksellers and then the publicist takes over.
{quotes}A
publicist knows how to pitch your book to the media and how each
journalist likes to be contacted.{/quotes}
The best time to
secure a literary publicist is three to four months before the publish date, in
order to allow for maximum amount of time to organize the campaign. However, many authors find a publicist about
the same time that their book hits bookshelves.
A typical campaign lasts four to six months and is orchestrated in a
systemized manner. We spend the first
month developing strategy and press materials.
Then we begin to contact book industry publications, which require that
you send them a book pre-publication. We
also begin to contact magazines with the longest lead times. The typical magazine requires a three-six
month lead-time.
The publicist
then begins contacting appropriate editors of daily newspapers and radio and
television producers. Online media is
typically the last segment of media to be contacted because they move at
Internet speed and require little-to-no lead-time. After all appropriate media has been
contacted, follow up begins. Follow up
is absolutely essential for a publicity campaign. Most media receive hundreds of press releases
a day and, typically, following up is the only way to get yours noticed. We spend the final month of every campaign
doing what we call "sweeps". This means
that we follow up with ALL media that were ever interested in the book or
author. We make sure that we leave no
stone unturned.
There are many
benefits to hiring a publicist. To name
a few:
- A
publicist has the media contacts and relationships needed to secure
interviews/ reviews.
- A
publicist knows how to pitch your book to the media and how each
journalist likes to be contacted.
- Most
writers do not have the time to devote to a publicity campaign. It is a full-time job.
- When
an author is pitching his own book, it is typically viewed as being too
self-promotional. A publicist is
seen as a third party and most journalists are more receptive to
discussing a book with a publicist rather than the author.
A publicist's
main job is media relations, scheduling interviews, book reviews and feature
stories for a client. Occasionally,
other services are offered, such as book tour coordination and event planning,
media training and development of marketing materials. However, a publicist does not typically find
agents, publishers or distributors for the book, schedule speaking engagements
or coordinate travel arrangements for a book tour. 
Publishers
often out-source books to independent publicity firms, such as PR by the Book. Due to the heavy volume of books that a
publisher's in-house publicity staff has to promote, by hiring an outside
publicist, more time and energy can be devoted to individual titles. Some publishers have even done away with
their publicity departments and send all their titles to an outside publicity
firm to handle the promotion efforts.
As I said
before, the job of literary publicist is ideal for someone who loves the
written word and has the desire to help writers have their story told. A recent statistic said that 195,000 books were
written and published in 2004. Publicity
is an integral step for any book that does not want to remain on the
bookshelf. A publicist lets the world
know that the book exists and why they need it.
Not every book can be in Oprah's book club, but we believe that every
book we promote has an audience who needs to know about it.
Just remember,
publicity is a marathon, not a sprint.
We tell authors, "You didn't write your book overnight and you won't
become famous overnight either." The
process takes time. I hope I have helped
solve the mystery of what a literary publicist actually does. Although I didn't dream of being a publicist
when I was growing up, I am very glad I found my calling!
Marika Flatt is the owner of PR by the Book, www.prbythebook.com, a boutique
publicity firm dedicated to helping authors and publishers achieve quality
media exposure. You can contact her at
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