The publishing industry is in the midst of a revolution. Thanks to independent publishing, more books than ever are released every day. No longer do a small number of literary gatekeepers at major publishing houses determine what will reach the market. It is indeed the best of times for authors, and yet many encounter frustration…
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Fictional Promotion…How to Get REAL Broadcast Publicity for Your Make-Believe Book
Talk to any book publicist, and you’ll hear the same thing: Getting broadcast publicity for a self-published or mid-list novel is at best challenging, and often nearly impossible. Unless your last name is Clancy, King or Rowling, chances are slim a radio or TV program is going to want you on the air to talk…
Book Marketing and Book Publicity: Why a Book’s Subtitle is So Important
Authors often agonize when creating the main title for their book. Some high-profile authors pay thousands and thousands of dollars to experts just to come up with a catchy main title. But when it comes to book marketing of nonfiction books, the subtitle is the most important element. A book’s main title is designed to…
Book Marketing and Book Publicity: 5 Things You Can Do to Help Your Book Publicist Be More Effective
Authors hire publicists to promote their books, and often pay them well. So why should an author help a publicist do his job? The simple answer is: Because book marketing and book publicity is a very personal business; one in which emotions matter and meaningful communication can make the difference between a successful book promotion…
Radio Interviews Don’t Sell Books – And 4 Other Myths of Book Publicity
There are many misconceptions about book publicity; some a result of misunderstanding of the dynamics of media exposure, and some from outdated advice which no longer applies to today’s market. Below are just a few myths, some of which I’ve gone into more detail in other postings or articles, but I wanted to compile them…
Maximize Your Book Publicity
Completing a radio or television interview is exciting, and seeing your name and book in print is equally thrilling. You, of course, hope the listeners, viewers or readers will buy your book, and it’s inevitable that some will. But most of the time, a radio or television interview will only air once and a print…
The Death of the Book Review?
Industry experts offer varying opinions on the issue of book reviews, but as anyone in the publicity business knows, securing ‘traditional’ book reviews is more difficult than in years past. Large galley mailings are becoming less common. Instead, as my agency has done, the more efficient and economical practice is targeted advance review copy mailings,…
Why You Should Do EVERY Radio Interview You Can
It’s easy to be tempted to ignore or at least not be excited about the prospect of an interview on a small radio station. Some authors think a tiny station will have few listeners, and it may not be worth the time to do the interview. First, this isn’t necessarily true. Think about it: How…
Can You Get Me on Oprah?
As publicists, the number one question we get is: “Can you get me on Oprah?” Or, clients give us a declarative statement: “The only thing I want is to get on Oprah!” Here are some insights on the “Big O” which might help put the Queen of all Media in perspective as it relates to…
Is Summer a Bad Time to Start a Book Publicity Campaign?
Summer. Our favorite time of year, and also the one time of year most publicists will tell you is not a good time to start a book promotion campaign. You might also hear that starting a campaign after Thanksgiving, mid-Spring publicity or mid-Fall are fraught with publicity perils. What are you left with? Basically, September…