There is no magic to book promotion. There’s no secret formula to creating a successful book, and it doesn’t always take millions of dollars to generate a bestseller. You don’t need a huge Rolodex of media contacts, large advertising budgets, or the full support of a Big Five publisher to make your book a success. While all of those elements certainly can help, I believe that every book, with the right strategy and promotional campaign, has the opportunity to sell well, including yours.
I don’t have a public relations background. My college degree is not in business communications or marketing. I never worked for a publishing house or large PR firm. My first job in publicity was in 2009, when I took on my first client and named my business Kaye Publicity. At the time, I was just a 25-year-old freelance writer and book critic with some big ideas about how to promote books more effectively. As a reviewer, I received pitches from publicists on a daily basis. Some would send boxes of unsolicited books, others would send generic mass emails; some would send me personalized pitches, and the best ones always followed up. I started paying attention to why I picked certain books over others, why editors accepted certain pitches I offered them over others, and most importantly, what sort of publicity efforts resulted in book coverage, and which were ignored.
That year, at a mystery writers’ conference, then-debut author Jamie Freveletti told me she was thinking of hiring an outside publicist for her first novel, Running from the Devil. I quickly gave her all my insights into working with publicists and a list of questions she should ask before hiring anybody. After writing down dozens of pointers, she finally just looked at me and said, “Why don’t you just be my publicist?”
I became a book critic because I love telling people what to read and introducing them to new books. As a book critic, there were only two ways to do that: to write about the book for a publication or post a review on my blog. But as a publicist, I realized, I could do so much more. I could help authors improve their social media effectiveness, attempt to secure corporate partnerships, schedule and promote their book tour, and look for media outlets outside of the books sections of publications to talk about upcoming titles. Due to my experiences as a writer and critic, I had gained insight into what steps were necessary to secure media coverage, and what sort of publicist I wanted to be.
Through trial and error, I learned what works and what doesn’t. Through hours of research, I gained knowledge of new trends and discovered which new technologies and marketing initiatives were worth paying attention to. I learned how to be a book publicist in real time, and this book is an opportunity for me to pass that knowledge along to you.
If you’re contracted through a small independent publisher with a limited staff, you may not have more than the bare minimum of in-house support. And if you’re self-publishing, all promotional responsibilities fall on your shoulders. Though this means more work on your part to make the book a success, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. There are many authors who are very successful in the world of self-publishing; some have even launched themselves onto the New York Times or USA Today bestseller lists.
But that’s just for authors who are with small houses or publishing on their own, right? Why would an author who’s signed with a Big Five house want to hire an outside publicist anyway? Big publishers, like all big companies, have a specific way of doing things. They have processes in place, budgets to consider, policies and procedures that must be followed. Their publicists do the best they can to secure media coverage, but they are overworked, underpaid, and have minimal support. I have teamed up with so many talented in-house publicists who just don’t have the budget or the bandwidth to generate creative PR strategies or implement more tailored outreach plans. Many authors hire outside publicists to pick up where their inside publicists leave off and execute promotions outside of the publishers’ budgets.
Many self-published authors hire outside publicists, marketing companies, or assistants to help them with the work load, but even more do it all on their own. And let’s face it—not everyone has the budget to hire an outside PR team to supplement their publisher’s efforts or to design a plan from scratch. That’s where you come in. Whether you’ve got a lead title with a Big Five publisher, have signed with a small academic press, or are planning on self-publishing, this book will arm you with the tools you need to be your own publicist. After reading this book, you will have a clear understanding of your author brand and how to build that brand using traditional and online publicity, as well as utilize social media and in-person networking. You will know exactly what you have to do from the time you sign your contract to the day your book hits the shelves.
A common theme I will stress throughout this book is the importance of knowing your audience. I do not believe in media for media’s sake or throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall to see what sticks. Once you understand your target and secondary audiences, all promotional efforts should reach those communities. I talk to many authors who constantly ask, “What about this? Or this?” to which I always reply, “Does it reach your target audience?” If the answer is no, then it’s not worth your time. Not all media opportunities are worth pursuing. And many times, your efforts are far better spent elsewhere.
I also believe in keeping your eyes on your own paper. Focusing on what everyone else is doing usually does more harm than good. You constantly second guess yourself and worry that you’re not doing enough. While I recommend that—as you’re formulating your own PR plan—you observe what other authors are doing and gauge which efforts appeared to be successful and which didn’t, or ask author friends who write similar books as you what worked and what didn’t, you should do those things well in advance of your pub date. Once you formulate your own promotional plan, you should stick to it. As your pub date nears, you will get more and more anxious, and anxious people seldom make rational decisions.
The last point to emphasize is that book promotion is more of an art than a science. What works for one author may not work for another, and what’s successful now may not get results in a year or two. In providing the tools outlined in these chapters, I strive to cover all types of books—traditionally published and self-published, fiction and nonfiction, e-only and print. This manual will guide you to choose the promotional tools that will best serve you and your book, but it’s up to you to constantly evaluate what’s effective and what’s not. With your first campaign, you will create a media list and social media strategy, and identify additional marketing efforts that may work well for this title. As the campaign is executed, pay attention to which efforts are generating traffic to your website or which media outlets are the most responsive to your pitches. Take notes. When promotional endeavors hit or media coverage comes out, watch your website traffic, your sales ranking—whatever could indicate the promotion’s effects. Take more notes. Then, when you get ready to publicize your next book, you’ll know which strategies to replicate and which to skip.