Travel_Writer said:
There main site has some spelling and grammar mistakes too, and some of their rates are kind of ridiculously priced. I also don’t think it’s very professional that they have put a client list on there main website, name dropping is a very amateur thing to do especially in media circles.
I'm not sure if that's true in the case of a publicity firm. It certainly isn't true in the case of a literary agency, so why should a publicity firm be any different? One thing that separates a scam agent from a real one is that the real ones are willing to share their list of clients. Some of the biggest names (for example,
Donald Maas) list clients on their web sites. How else would you know that a publicity firm is legitimate unless you knew their cliens? On the other hand, if a publicity firm lists lots of authors whose books you've seen in bookstores (and in Costco, Wal-Mart, etc.), then a new author probably can't afford their rates.
Anyway, even if you have a contract from a legitimate commercial publisher, I'd still be careful about spending money on a publicist. You're better off concentrating on writing your next book, and your next. I know a lot of writing groups talk about the importance of the publicity, but a lot of the money authors spend on publicity is wasted.
And if you are self-publishing or if you have signed a contract with a "self-publishing service," forget it. Unless you have a way to distribute that book -- such as selling them in real bookstores or selling them at lectures, etc. -- then a publicity firm probably can't help.
P.S. They do have to work on that blog a little more.
