These six simple book publicity tips will help set you on the path to book promotion in the new year.

1) Tie your book into the New Year hype. What makes your book a good one for the New Year? Consider all of the relevant themes in your book and points in your message and see if any can be shaped into a ‘New Year’ pitch.

–Put a New Year spin on a children’s book that teaches kids manners:
“Rudeness – A Trend of Last Year: New Book Sets Children on the Path to Good Manners”
–Tie your business management book in with the 2011 hype:
“What’s Your New Year’s Business Resolution? New Book Helps Managers and Executives Set Reachable Goals for the Coming Year”

2) Look up appropriate magazines’ editorial calendars. Make a list of magazines whose content fits the themes in your book and key points of your message. Research on each magazine’s website the editorial calendar – can usually be found in the ‘media kit’ or ‘press’ page of the website. Knowing what features are being planned gives you the opportunity to pitch the editors your book to supplement the articles. Also, knowing when the articles are expected to run will allow you to plan the best time to submit your pitch.

*Reminder: Magazines typically work 3-4 months ahead of each issue.

3) Research holidays, awareness months, and remembrance days. Fill your calendar with dates that relate back to you and your book. By researching ahead of time which remembrance days, holidays, and awareness months and weeks tie in to a theme in your novel, a chapter in your business book, or a part of your personal message, you’ll be able to map out when you need to begin pitching. Remember, give yourself 3-4 months for magazines and at least three weeks for newspapers and online publications.

*For a list of holidays, awareness months/weeks, and remembrance days, visit http://www.epromos.com/education/calendars/.

4) Book your book fairs/tradeshows. Not only should you consider attending the major book fairs and trade shows, like BookExpo America (www.bookexpoamerica.com), you should check out fairs and festivals taking place in your region, some in your own backyard! Make sure you’re equipped to attend with business cards in hand. The easier you make it for people to get in touch with you, the higher your chances become to hear back.

*For a breakdown of U.S. and worldwide book fairs and festivals, visit www.bibliobuffet.com. You can locate the lists under ‘Books & More Books’.

5) Start your blog. Make it a New Year’s resolution to start your author blog. Your blog will be a great way to incorporate ongoing industry trends and news developments that relate to your book and message. For novelists, your blog will give you a platform to discuss ‘real life’ issues that relate back to themes in your fictitious story. For nonfiction and business writers, your blog might become a place where you can offer additional tips or advice that expand on the points you’ve made in your book. By incorporating some of the tips from Cathy Stucker’s article above, you could be well on your way to building a successful blog by February!

6) Set three long term goals for you and your book. By brainstorming and setting a few practical goals for you and your book at the beginning of the year, you’ll be able to monitor your progress towards reaching them. The above tips should help you hone in on which goals are most appropriate for you and your book. Are you interested in hiring a graphic designer? The book fairs and tradeshows will be a great place to start networking! Do you want to be branded as an expert in your field? Tying your message in with awareness months and causes will solicit opportunities to highlight your expertise.

Bottom line: If you devote a few hours to completing these tasks, you’ll give yourself a year’s worth of promotional homework and be well on your way to raising awareness for you and your book. So, what’s your book publicity resolution?

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

1. Start promoting to your niche business market first: Have you written a finance book? Start by promoting your book to finance media. Is your book a ‘how to’ for small businesses? Begin by pitching your book to small business interest media. The key to publicity is to build awareness in your niche market before you target mainstream media. By contacting media specific to your business genre, you’ll establish recognition among the groups that matter most. Once the ‘buzz’ sets in, then you can test out the waters in the mainstream business market.

2. Write by-line articles: Write what you know! Your by-line articles should be an extension of your expertise and your book. Each main point in your book can be a topic for an article. Another ideal source for by line articles comes from tracking industry news. Writing and pitching articles that tie in to current business events will help brand you as the ‘expert’ in your field and keep your book timely since publicity for you will encourage publicity for your title. If you’re ever struggling to think of article topics, go back to your table of contents and extract the main idea of each chapter. Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning to get a fresh start!

3. Monitor the news: By tracking industry news trends, you’ll be able to respond more quickly to ongoing business developments. With news – and with business – it’s important to have the edge and staying on top of ongoing trends allows you to position yourself for interview and commentary opportunities before your peers.

Tip: Set up Google Alerts for key phrases in your industry. You’ll be quickly notified of breaking news and can pitch your media contacts to offer insight into appropriate issues and trends.

4. Make your own news. Some of our best material to pitch comes from business authors who created their own surveys, statistics, or identified trends in their industry. Your information and your results become “news” and when it is covered in an interview, article, feature story, you are continuing to build your brand and name as a thought-leader.

5. Set up speaking engagements: There are a few business-oriented groups that provide business professionals with great places to network and grow their brand.

• Register your company with your local Better Business Bureau: An organization founded on “advancing marketplace trust,” your local BBB will introduce you to other organizations within your industry. You may contact these organizations and offer to hold a presentation about a topic in your book.
• Don’t plug your book during the presentation but do let your audience know that they can learn more about the topic in your book before you close. For information Join the National Speakers Association: Membership to the National Speakers Association (NSA) allows you to expand your client list service and reach a wider audience through your message all while generating awareness about your book. Their annual convention is a great place to network! Believe us, we’ve been there. For more information about NSA, visit: http://www.nsaspeaker.org/.
• Now that you’re starting to present, make sure your speaking practices are top notch with Toastmasters International: “is a non-profit organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations.” For more information about Toastmasters, visit: http://www.toastmasters.org/.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

The author platform is often the heart of a book publicity campaign. It is, essentially, a list of the author’s credentials in areas that pertain to the content of the book. The author platform may be strengthened by career or life experiences, club and association affiliations, education credentials, and testimonials, among others. An author’s platform establishes credibility for his or her book. You may have the best financial self-help book around but without author credentials, the media and your consumer may not take a second look and your book publicity campaign may suffer. You’ve heard us say it before: “You can’t interview a book.” Thus, the author’s platform, or background, must speak for the book in order to help spark awareness.

So, how do you build your author platform? Here are three tips to get you started:

1) Write what you know: While it might seem like an obvious tip, you’d be surprised how many people step outside of their ‘comfort’ zone to write about things their background doesn’t quite support. Even if it’s a novel, the main themes and plotline should definitely be relevant to your area of expertise! For example, are you an educator? Incorporate an education theme or teacher/student bond into your novel. This will allow your publicist to incorporate ‘real life’ information into your book publicity campaign and position you for interview opportunities.

Writing about what you know helps establish your author platform, incorporate your background into the content of the book and, ultimately, allows your book to reinforce your message because a book simply cannot speak for itself!

2) Pitch to your local media: Local media is most receptive to local authors and their books since coverage of either is relevant and ‘newsworthy’ to their audience. Approach your local media with a copy of your book, a tailored cover letter, and a book release. In your cover letter, make sure you stress that you are a local author and give the editor ideas on how they can incorporate your book/you into their outlet. Perhaps they could run an author profiling story on how you came to write the book. Or they may consider mentioning your book in a local highlights section. Remember, media results build upon themselves and soliciting media runs adds strength to your author platform.

3) Join clubs and organizations: By associating yourself with clubs and organizations that pertain to the content of your book, you’re helping to round out the promotional package. Remember, a book publicity campaign is strongly supported by the author’s credentials. Pull out the main themes in your book – yes, even novels! – and research local clubs and organizations in your area that may tie into them. If your publicist has the opportunity to tie your affiliation with the local SPCA into the promotion for your novel about a family’s beloved dog, your author platform will grow – and so will the appeal for your book.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

Want more tips on building your author platform? Sign up for Cathy Stucker’s Selling Books newsletter and get her audio with advice on Building an Effective Author Platform. The newsletter and the audio are FREE!

Things Book Publicists CAN Control:

Creation of quality press materials: As book publicists, part of our job is to formulate quality press releases in a format the media is accustomed to reviewing. We must tailor our materials to be concise, relevant to the target audiences, and effective in representing what makes a book and its author unique. Book releases should not exceed two pages, including the author’s biography.

Creative, effective pitching efforts: Publicists can control the proactive monitoring of ongoing news trends, social issues, and popular developments that tie into themes and topics in a book. Publicists can also continually think outside the box to create new pitching angles to encourage media attention and spark media interest.

Close client communication: Since publicity is not guaranteed, keeping clients updated on the progress of their campaign is crucial – and within a publicist’s control. Detailing the pitching efforts, media feedback, and ongoing plans not only informs authors of the direction of the campaign, it also keeps publicists focused.

Follow-up efforts: Once the media connection has been made, it is in a publicist’s control to continue following up with each contact to encourage coverage. Continued follow-ups help ensure books will not be lost in the pile. Follow ups also provide opportunities for publicists to offer new story ideas/angles that pertain to the book and author’s message.

Things Book Publicists Cannot Control:

Media coverage: A book publicist cannot force media to review a book, write an article, hold an author interview, etc. Our job is to tactfully and creatively package a book and author into timely story angles that will entice the media to take the next step. Once the book is in their hands, however, the choice to use/cover/write about the book or interview the author is up to them.

Negative or positive reviews/coverage: As book publicists, a major part of our job is to remain unbiased so media can formulate their own opinion. If a negative book review is written, it is the thoughts and feedback of the reviewer that are reflected–not the book publicist.

Book sales: Book sales are dependent upon many factors–including how the author performs in an interview, where the book is available for purchase, timing, quality, relevance and how the author maximizes his/her traditional media exposure, to name a few. It is important to keep in mind that as publicists our main goal is to solicit media placements to give the book the best possible chance to sell.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

Here are a few general tips submitting your book to holiday gift guides:

1) Know your desired outlets and their submission guidelines: The first step to submitting your book for holiday gift guide consideration is to list the outlets for which you’re most interested in securing coverage and determine their submission guidelines. In most cases, along with a copy of your book, you’ll want to send a personalized cover letter, book release, and author biography. Make sure you follow the guidelines! Editors will not waste their time researching the required information on their own.

2) Know when to pitch: When it comes to holiday gift guide submission, deadlines are crucial. Pitch too early and your book will be forgotten; pitch too late and you won’t even be considered. Now that you have your list, do your due diligence and research the deadline dates of your most desired outlets. Magazines will most likely need submissions by August (early September at the latest) whereas newspapers may require submission only two months before the holiday season. Don’t just pitch to every outlet at once because it’s easier. Respect the media’s deadline dates or else you’ll run the risk of annoying editors and, perhaps, ruin your chance at inclusion.

3) Donate a portion of your holiday sales to charity: Not only is ‘giving back’ the right thing to do, but by donating a portion of your proceeds to charity you’ll increase the appeal of your product. Media contacts can then plug the organization your product benefits. The holiday season is all about giving back, so why not start with your book? It really is a win-win.

4) Position your book as a ‘Great Gift Under $30’: Or $20. Or $15. Whatever the price of your book is, use the hook when you submit for consideration. By encouraging awareness of the cost of your book, you might inspire the editor to include your book in a featured section of the holiday gift guide. The more categories your book fits in to, the higher the chance will be for inclusion.

5) Give a reason why your book is different than others: Does your book recap a hot trend of 2010? Is it eco-friendly? Telling editors why your book is different from others will give it an edge.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

• Is any part of your novel set during a holiday?

• Are there any themes in your memoir that can be tied into an awareness month (i.e.:  October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month)?

• Is your book ideal for college grads, or Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gifts or themes?

When considering a start date for your campaign, think ahead – sometimes months ahead – to any holidays, causes, awareness months or memorial days that provide a strong news tie for your book. You or your publicist will be able to promote the book in conjunction with the event, giving you a stronger platform upon which to build publicity.

Here is a website to help you locate awareness months/weeks:

http://www.epromos.com/education/calendars/

Second, you must consider the media lead times for publications:

• If you wrote a memoir about your battle with breast cancer, placement in women’s interest magazines during National Breast Cancer Awareness in October would be ideal. Magazine editors and writers work rough three to six months ahead of each issue, thus to maximize your chance for women’s interest magazine placements, you or your publicist must begin pitching the story idea in May or June!

• Newspapers have a shorter lead-time, meaning you can pitch to editors roughly three weeks ahead of when you’re interested in having your book or article included. For major holidays and events it is best to start pitching six to eight weeks ahead of your desired run date.

• Broadcast media (television and radio) work roughly three to four weeks ahead of schedule. If you’re trying to tie your message and/or book in with a specific event or holiday, it is best to start pitching the story idea six to eight weeks ahead of schedule.

• Online media can be immediate, which is why we love it! You can pitch an article to online media outlets and see it posted the very same day. However, if you’re seeking a specific review, interview or media written article, provide the editor with several weeks to consider your story idea and execute the work.

Bottom line: when you or your publicist has a strong, developed news angle to ground your message and book’s content, it increases the chances of securing media placements. Think ahead to all relevant events, social movements, holidays and memorials and be sure to plan out when you’ll start pitching to the media in order to secure placements on and around specific dates.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

Building local and regional awareness for your book can spark word-of-mouth awareness and allow you to get your feet wet with media exposure. It will also strengthen your platform and help you take your pitch to the next level to attract national attention in the future.

Here are 5 tips to building local awareness:

• Tell your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers: Let those you see on a regular basis know your book has been published. Most likely, the people you’re close with will want to support you so leave your modesty behind and talk yourself up!

• Contact your local newspaper: Remember – the key is to start small. Reach out to your county or town daily and weekly newspapers to let them know that you’ve written a book. Provide them with a synopsis of your book, applicable audiences and a review copy. As a local author, you will be of interest to the local community – there’s a natural “angle” — which is key to attracting the attention of local journalists.

• Build upon your initial interest: So the small community newspaper wrote a feature about you, the next up-and-coming local author? Put it on your website. Share it on your Facebook wall. Tweet the review to your followers. Write it into the book synopsis. In sharing your media placements, you’ll show potential readers and relevant media contacts that your book is getting people talking!

• Pitch to local television and radio programs: Does your book or message tie in with a particular event? Holiday? Community affair? If so, mention to the producers/program directors that you have a timely message to share with their listening or viewing audience. If you don’t have such a tie-in for your book, remember that not you are still “local news.” Share the print exposure you received and send them your speaking points. The less work the producer has to do to put together the interview, the better!

• Hold a book signing: Here are a few tips for promoting your local signing:

Rally up the troops: Send personal invitations to your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to encourage their attendance.Offer to speak: It’s always better to offer a presentation or even a mini-seminar rather than just sitting at table signing books. Offer something of value to the bookstore or wherever you will be holding the event.Hang flyers in community stores and local businesses: Ask local business owners for permission to hang flyers in their stores. Find out if you can post an announcement on the supermarket bulletin board.Encourage local and regional calendar event listings: Contact your local and regional newspapers and community blogs and event websites to encourage calendar listings of your book signing. Register at http://www.patch.com/ to create your own local event listing.

Bottom line: Don’t underestimate the power of your local media market. Starting with your hometown and expanding to surrounding regional outlets will help you start building media credentials for you and your book. Think of media placements as resume builders for your book and message. By noting your achievements, you’ll have more appeal and credibility when pitching to national outlets.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

However, just because the children’s genre is difficult to tap into, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Every story has its target markets; you just need to know how to reach them! Here are a few tips on how to promote your children’s book.

1) Hold an event at your local and regional libraries and elementary schools.

Contact the events coordinator at your library and local elementary school district administration office. Offer an ‘afternoon with a local children’s author’ in which you can read your book to the target age group, discuss the characters, themes and lessons, and hold a workshop with the students. Have your elevator pitch prepared when you call and an electronic outline of your event description ready to submit as a follow-up.

2) Ground your book with relevant themes.

The most difficult children’s books to promote are ones of pure entertainment purpose. When authors weave a ‘real-life’ angle, educational theme, social cause, etc. into their book, it is easier to highlight the uniqueness of the story. The media will be more apt to consider featuring the book/author when they can tie it into a bigger issue. Parents will be more likely to buy the book for their children when they know it is a book that goes beyond a fun read. And, ultimately, children will learn something from reading the book!

3) Find and tap into the children’s book social network.

For each book genre there is a network – the same holds true for the children’s market. Do your research on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs and start interacting with fellow children’s book writers, publishers, and authors. Ask and answer questions, suggest links and associations and share what makes your book unique! The more awareness you generate within your network, the greater ‘word of mouth awareness’ success you’ll have.

4) Submit guest blogs.

Seek out blogs from other children’s authors, readers, and publishers and submit guest blog entries. This is especially great for authors who may have published an entertaining read. Research, select and write about a trend in the children’s book industry and watch publicity for your project follow.

Bottom line: Don’t be afraid to steer away from topics in your book! Children’s authors, especially, must be creative and persistent.
Bonus Tip: Jacket Flap online is a website that connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. Visit today to start networking! http://www.jacketflap.com

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

2. Know your intentions and expectations: Sharing all of your expectations with your publicist before you sign the contract is crucial. As publicists, we need to know what your intentions are for a campaign—be it to secure national television interviews, to build a local or regional author presence or to sign a movie deal. By being honest from the beginning your publicist will let you know whether or not they can assist you in achieving your goals. You’ll also help your publicist set the campaign up to work on targeting the results you’re seeking.

3. Know your short term and long term goals: By knowing and communicating your short term (3-4 months) and long term (3-5 years) goals, your publicist can execute your campaign with creative and sustainable pitching ideas to not only carry you and your book through your campaign but also to help set you up for success in years to come by “branding” you. A publicity campaign could position you as an expert/author now as you plan future books and opportunities.

4. Know your travel schedule: If you have plans to travel during your campaign for business, pleasure, or even a family visit, let your publicist know. Any traveling you do during a publicity campaign is an opportunity for regional and local media exposure in the area you’re visiting. When your publicist can contact producers at television stations with the offer of an in-studio interview within a specific window of time, it creates a sense of urgency to confirm.

5. Know what makes you an interesting interviewee: The themes in your book may not be the only things you’re qualified to speak about in an interview. So, what makes you unique? Don’t hesitate to step outside of the boundaries of your book and explore your educational, family, career and lifestyle background. The more information you provide your publicist about yourself may broaden the media markets they can pitch to. We always say, “You can’t interview a book!” so when your publicist can position you as the interesting piece to an interview, your guest appeal increases.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

1) Establish Your Goals for Attending—Are you just looking to network? Exploring publishing options? Do you need a graphic designer? Researching distributors? Contemplating foreign rights options? Or are you just interested in the awesome giveaways?! Establishing your reasons for attending prior to the event is important. This will help you develop the list of questions you’re hoping to answer. You’ll also know what you need to bring and what you can leave at home. Ultimately, knowing your goals ahead of time will help you navigate the trade show and maximize your visit.

2) Know What to Bring—The number one thing to bring? Business cards! Don’t have any? Make them. There are plenty of online sites where you can design and print business cards for a very low cost. You don’t know where you’ll meet someone – we’ve met prospects in line for the bathroom! – and having busi ness cards on hand will allow you to easily exchange information. If possible, bring copies of your book to leave with those whom you’re interested in forging relationships (staple your card inside). Be selective when giving them out to and make sure you make note of who you give a copy! This brings up another good point—make sure you bring a small notebook and pen.

3) Review the List of Exhibitors Ahead of Time—Reviewing the list of exhibitors before you attend the show will not only give you the ‘lay of the land’ but will help you prioritize the exhibitors you want to see. Break your list down into groups of those you definitely want to see, those you want to try to see, and those who you will try to see if time allows.

4) Master Your ‘Elevator Pitch’—OK, so you’re not technically selling your book to each exhibitor, but knowing what makes you and your book unique from others in its genre – and quickly sharing the facts – is important. Trade shows are crowded and exhibitors may not be able to devote a lot of time to discussing your project. If you can walk up to a publisher or distributor and quickly spout out the most important facts about you and your book, you’ll give the exhibitor more time to provide his/her feedback. Isn’t that why you’re there in the first place?

5) Leave the High Heels at Home and Wear Your Walking Shoes!—Although footwear and books don’t go hand-in-hand, anyone who has attended a trade show will tell you to wear comfortable shoes. Trade show days are long and you’ll be on your feet the whole time, walking from booth to booth, standing in book signing lines, food and bathroom lines and cleaning up the ‘freebie’ tables. Believe us, you’ll want to maximize your time at each event and comfortable shoes will help you go the distance…so to speak.

Corinne Liccketto is the Sales & Marketing Manager at Smith Publicity, Inc. Beginning in 1997, Smith Publicity is one of the world’s leading promotional firms, specializing in book publicity. Fueled by a passion for making good things happen for clients, the company has worked with over 900 individuals and companies–from authors and entrepreneurs to publicly-held companies and businesses representing a wide range of industries. The Smith Publicity reach is international with offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, and London. For more information about Smith Publicity, Inc., please visit www.smithpublicity.com.

Photo credit: HGruber