Book Publicists

SnowOwl said:

Assuming you find a publicist who's legit, is it a good idea to hire a book publicist for your non-fic book? How much do they usually cost?

I hadn't seriously considered this option until recently. A book that is in the same genre as mine was published by a small press but has gained incredible momentum, and the author says she couldn't have done it without her publicist.

Is there a general rule, such as the smaller the press the more need for a publicist, while larger presses can afford to push your book more?

I'm not sure that I'd want to go this route, but seeing as I know little about it, I thought I'd ask for your two cents.

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Does your publisher have a publicist, either in house or via contract? We do publicity in house, but if authors want to hire their own, I'd never complain. Jenna has worked with an outside publicity firm that collaborated with us on publicity efforts for Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer. I think the combination was good. If you hire one, it's a good idea to have your publicist work in conjunction with your publisher so you don't duplicate efforts.

I'm curious, Nomad, how much would a publicist cost? I understand that it will range between the services given, that is more services, more money and vice versa, but tell us how much just to give a taste of it

Dan

WriteRead said:

I'm curious, Nomad, how much would a publicist cost? I understand that it will range between the services given, that is more services, more money and vice versa, but tell us how much just to give a taste of it

Dan

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It's been a really long time since we hired outside publicists, but I think I remember it quoted to us as $3,500 per book--which included a press kit/pre-publication pitch to appropriate print media, follow up, review copies out, follow up, publication release and follow up. I don't know what the going rate is--this is just what our publicist charged us at that time (several years ago).

Thank you, Nomad!

Dan

Ditto on what Nomad said. You should talk to your publisher and see what they are willing to do for you but it is your book and ultimately you are responsible for how well it does based on the writing and how well you promote it.

When looking for a publicist make sure they have the right connections for getting the word out to the right places. Interview as many as you can and find out what other books they've done. Also, check references - people they've repped as well as any of their media contacts you can. It is pointless to spend money on someone who is not respected by the media and able to get you where you need to be.

You should also make up your own marketing plan - research all the media outlets for your subject matter - for example, what radio shows would be right for it, possible television and magazines. The media needs content and if your book serves the public interest you should be able to capitalize on it. And, if your subject matter lends itself to you being an expert, there are lots of things you can do to get on TV and do public speaking engagements.

Good luck.

There's an excellent article on the sub of marketing in the Writer's Market '05. It elaborates quite a lot on what and how to do on this sub and it so happened that I had read it just last night. I had, though, a rather good idea of what to do. What I was curious to know, was how much would a publicist charge.

Thanks for the advices, though,
Dan

WriteRead said:

There's an excellent article on the sub of marketing in the Writer's Market '05. It elaborates quite a lot on what and how to do on this sub and it so happened that I had read it just last night. I had, though, a rather good idea of what to do. What I was curious to know, was how much would a publicist charge.

Thanks for the advices, though,
Dan

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Different publicists have different programs that they offer and some charge by the project, some by the month and make certain placement guarantees and some might work on a % basis of sales - you should just call a few and tell them what you want done and they will quote you a price. But remember, cheaper is not always better...still check them out as I suggested above. Call your publisher and I'm sure they will give you a list of possible candidates. You can also call a media outlet that you are hoping to be covered by (be it TV, Newspaper or radio) and ask for the names of publicists they like to work with.

Thank you, Chesher!

Dan

Is there a good list of legit/good book publicists?

Try the link below... Most people that are honest will be listed with the org...

http://www.prsa.org/

Google "book publicists" and a bunch will come up as well as a book [size=-1]The Savvy Author's Guide to Book Publicity - by Lissa Warren [/size]that looks like it might be good.

But I still suggest you call media people that you want to conquer (not to pitch your project) and ask them what publicists they like to work with because you really want someone who has access and the media will take their calls.

Also call publishers (their publicity departments) and ask who they use when they hire outside.

For my last book I was considering hiring a publicist for a "three day blitz" and the cost for that would have been $1,500.00. My book was chocolate related and I was considering doing this right before Valentine's Day. I chose not to hire the woman (who was excellent and honest) because the cost was just more than I could cover right then. My publisher did a good job getting the word out on my book, but as is the case for most authors, the ultimate responsibility for publicity falls in the lap of the author.

Carmen Leal has an excellen marketing book out called: You Can Market Your Book. It gives a number of less expensive ways to get the word out on your book.

I've found that two things work more than any other.
1. Start getting a "buzz" about your book BEFORE it hits the shelves.
2. Learn to do a great press release.

Most people think that a new book in and of itself is news enough for a press release. Its true that a book less than three months old is news but a better way to hook the media is to connect your book with a current event, a holiday (do you know there is a National Egg Day, a Clean Up your Room Day and a Frog Jumping Day?) or a hot topic. Send out a press release every month with fresh ideas and connections to things the public is interested in. This keeps the "buzz" going.

If you haven't already checked it out, you should. Anyone can send FREE press releases through PRWEB.com

What's the meaning of the expression "to pitch a project". I've met it quite a few times. Oftentimes it's connected w "query" in some way.

Thanks,
Dan

To "pitch a project" means that you will, in a sucinct way, ask an agent or editor if they like your idea. You "pitch" ideas and hope that the agent or editor wants to "catch" them.

A pitch usually consists of a blurb (also called a nuget). Depending on the length of the project you intent to write the nugget can be as short as one line or as long as four or five for a book length project. This should be the best of the best. It gives the essence of what your book (or manuscript) is about in a very consise form.

If you are talking about a book project, your book might include a sentence about who you believe your audience is. This lets the person you are pitching to know that you've done your market analysis and a good job on your homework.

My pitch for my chocolate book (Faith-Dipped Chocolate: Rich Encouragment to Sweeten Your Day, Revell, January 2005) was something like this.

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I intend to write sixty short stories using the various characteristics of chocolate and chocolate related anecdotes to encouragment and share the essence of my faith with my readers. Most of the stories will be directed at a female audience -- often young mothers. The book will include some chocolate related quotes, history tidbits, and a smattering of recipes. I envision the book to run approximately 200 pages with each story running approximately 600 words.

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Hope that helps.

Some publicists are better at promoting non-fiction, while others handle certain genres of fiction. If your doing publicity in tandem with your publisher, I would think coordination would be pretty important. I would not want to send out press releases willy nilly, when my publisher may have already sent releases to my targets. Receiving similar press releases may cause confusion and make you the author look amaturish. This is why the subject of marketing and publicity concerns me.

Where does the "published" author step into the marketing effort of the book. I'm more than willing to help but I don't want to squander money or create more problems than I solve. I like John Kramer's concept of doing at least 1 thing to publicize your book every day (whether you self publish or are a published author) but I think the boundaries need to be clearly defined.

What am I required to do an author?
What should I do that my publisher may not be doing?
Who takes reponsibility for what markets?

For instance, the publisher may handle all the major pre-publications with announcements and review copies at t-minus 4 months to launch. (Kirkus, Library Journal, etc) Then all the major bookstores get an announcement of pending availability and of course the current catalogue with my book found within. Is this the point where the author takes over? (I think you see what I'm driving at, I suspect this needs to be a real team effort with good communication between publisher and author).

I'd like to hear more about people's experience with publicists and the average costs.

Thanks!

Mike

WriteRead said:

What's the meaning of the expression "to pitch a project". I've met it quite a few times. Oftentimes it's connected w "query" in some way.

Thanks,
Dan

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Anytime anyone is selling anything it is called a pitch, whether at the idea stage or a finished product.

I was at the BEA last week and attended a media panel conference. Most of the panelist said press releases were generally not read.

They said they prefer to receive an email pitch - two sentences, short and sweet; think newspaper headline - and then follow it with the package/book.

As an author you can do your own promotion but the drawback is that you probably won't get into the mainstream media. I think the decision to go with a publicist is determined by the scope of your project. If it is something with potential mass appeal, then you probably need someone outside the publisher. If it's local appeal you could probably do it yourself. Either way you MUST coordinate with your publisher.

The other thing the panelists said was that they are more likely to give ink and/or airtime to projects they receive from a publicist they know and trust. People on the panel included the NY Times book review editor, Glamour mag, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, Fox & Friends, 20/20 and PrimeTime producer, Regis & Kelly and a couple of national radio talk show hosts.

Thank you all for the answer for "pitching".

I mentioned somewhere, maybe here, that there is an article in the Writer's Market '05 about marketing, very edu'- and info'ive.

From there, for ex., the author had checked, nationwide, independent bkstores and sent over 1k letters to such stores.

He used readings and signing events (local, prob'ly, understandably) even had brought his own cookies and drinks, approached the media, Radio/ TV/newpapers, di public speaking everywhere possible, networking, cyber-marketing (self-explanatory and creative alternatives, like postcards, etc.

I tend to be very systematic in all my approaches and I'll do the most I'll be able w the least cost, and that seems to me to be an ad which would be very widespread, and this is IMO an ad in Yahoo, or the like.

It may cost you, but when you think about all the expenses AND TIME (which can be used for writing, research, etc.) in the various other venues, like PR, phones, letters, travels, cookies, ha-ha, it may well be that a one-time or twice ad in such a venue can be very effective, even comparatively.

Such an ad appears on tens of millions of web browsers, just think of it what an impact it makes.

Dan

Publicist

SnowOwl said:

A book that is in the same genre as mine was published by a small press but has gained incredible momentum, and the author says she couldn't have done it without her publicist.

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How does she know she couldn't have done it without a publicist? I've seen hundreds of books become extremely popular without a publicist, and just as many flop completely with the help of a top of the line publicist.

Publicists aren't magicians. They can't make a bad book sell, and they can't keep a good book from selling. What they do is usually pretty simple stuff, and can be usually be done easier and cheaper by the writer.

Jamesaritchie said:

Publicists aren't magicians. They can't make a bad book sell, and they can't keep a good book from selling. What they do is usually pretty simple stuff, and can be usually be done easier and cheaper by the writer.

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Can you get your book reviewed by the NY Times?

I'm sure there are lots of great books that die because nobody ever heard about them.

Success in today's world is as much based on 'who you know' as 'how talented you are' so if you don't know a lot of people or the right people, you better find somebody who does.