The Tao of Book Publicity: A Beginner's Guide to Book Promotion

I've been busy the past few months putting together a book for authors called The Tao of Book Publicity: A Beginner's Guide to Book Promotion.  

In The Tao of Book Publicity, I outline the basics of book promotion and explain how the business of publicizing a book works. Designed for beginning authors but also useful for those with some experience in book publishing, The Tao of Book Publicity provides information on the importance of writing a good book and the need for developing a platform, as well as how-to explanations for developing publicity material, including front and back cover text, press releases, Q&As, media and blog tour queries, and newsletter and media lists. 

The Tao of Book Publicity also covers social media, book pricing and sales, book tours and media interviews, and author websites. In addition to explaining how book publicity works, this valuable handbook explores practical topics such as publicity costs, timing, and considerations when hiring a publicist. 

Simple, straightforward, and informative, The Tao of Book Publicity includes expert advice on all aspects of book promotion and is a go-to reference guide for beginning and experienced authors alike.

You can purchase a copy by clicking on the title here: The Tao of Book Publicity.

I hope you find it useful, and will share your thoughts about it on Goodreads and Amazon.com. Happy reading!

The Pros and Cons of Hiring One-Stop Shops vs. Multiple Specialists for Book Publicity

There are many different services that publicity firms and individual publicity consultants offer to authors looking to promote their books. These services can include any combination of the following:

• Helping you identify your personal brand, your target audience, and your potential reach as an author

• Creating media kits (press releases, fact sheets, Q&As, etc.), distributing press releases on the newswire services, and creating sales pitches targeted to specific markets

• Working with you to fine-tune your website and create the best possible web promotion for your book

• Scheduling book signing and reading events

• Contacting local and national television and radio station producers to set up interviews

• Working with local and national print and online editors to obtain feature coverage

• Setting up speaking engagements at targeted venues

• Placing articles you’ve written in targeted print and online publications

• Helping you identify your strengths as a blogger, so you can capitalize on the blogging community

• Working with you to develop an integrated social media brand image on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and other social media sites

• Setting up blog tours and online author interview opportunities

• Providing guidance on the creation of promotional items (bookstore posters, bookmarks, postcards, tear sheets, business cards, etc.)

• Acting as a sounding board for ideas, helping to answer general questions, and providing guidance on promotional issues

Most publicists feel comfortable doing the majority of the items listed here. Some, however, may specialize in one or more these tasks – there are those, for example, who work only with authors and books in specific content areas; others specialize in scheduling feature interviews with national media; some mainly offer blog tours or set up social media pages, while others specialize in magazine article placement. 

What any publicist does specifically for a client will vary depending on the book’s subject matter, whether the book is fiction or nonfiction, the amount and types of publicity the author is looking for, the author’s platform, and the author’s budget.

So, what should authors consider before hiring a publicist? I suggest thinking about 1) the scope of promotional work you’re looking for, 2) the budget and timeframe for the work, and 3) whether or not you want to hire one publicist to handle everything, or use a number of specialists to handle different aspects of your publicity.

Which brings me to the main question: Which is better, the one-stop shop (hiring one publicist to handle all of the work), or farming out different parts of the publicity work to multiple consultants?

Here are the pros and cons (from a publicist’s point of view) for each option:

The Pros of the One-Stop Shop

-       You get one unified, focused perspective and source of guidance to work with (rather than possibly having to deal with conflicting information and points of view from numerous consultants)

-       You have one contact point for your publicity, which makes it easier for media, speaking venues, readers, etc., to reach you or your publicity contact

-       The person handling your publicity will be able to easily integrate all the aspects of the book’s promotion because s/he is the only one doing so

-       Your branding and all of the publicity information put out about you is consistent, because it comes from one place

-       You may be able to save time on your projects because just one person is handling all of them (rather than having to wait for different people to coordinate/adjust their schedules)

-       You may be able to save on costs by hiring one person whose rates, style, and availability fit your budget and needs

The Cons of the One-Stop Shop

-       The publicist you choose may not handle all of the types of publicity you want to use in your promotional campaign

-       The publicist may not be able to accommodate the timing you want for some of your promotional projects

-       You might want more perspective than just one person’s on your promotional campaign

The Pros of Hiring Multiple/Specialized Publicity Consultants or Firms

-       You can spread out the expertise you need depending on what each publicist/promotional expert offers

-       You can bounce ideas off of multiple experts to see what fits/suites you best

-       If all of your consultants are on the same page, you can use them as a kind of marketing team that works together to help you promote your book

-        

The Cons of Hiring Multiple/Specialized Publicity Consultants or Firms

-       You can get conflicting information and/or opinions from different PR consultants, which can result in confusion, misunderstandings, and/or discord in your working relationships

-       You can have problems establishing boundaries, especially if some or all of the consultants are used to doing the same thing

-       People looking to contact you or your publicist may have a hard time deciding how to best reach you if there are multiple individuals promoting your work at the same time

-       Your brand may be difficult to manage as a unified image if multiple people are presenting you to the public, or if your consultants aren’t all on the same page

-       You may find it time-consuming to juggle the intricacies of having all the consultants work together efficiently

-       You may be tempted to play one expert off another in the hopes of finding a champion when you don’t agree with one of your consultants, which can result in a breach of trust

-       Your projects may take more time if there are any scheduling conflicts or miscommunication/confusion/misunderstandings among the consultants.

-       It may cost more to hire multiple consultants or firms

There is no right or wrong answer as to whether you should hire just one person for all your publicity needs, or consider using a number of different people with expertise in certain areas. Personally, I prefer to handle all of my client’s publicity – doing so makes it easier to be responsive, provide guidance, and maintain a consistent promotional and brand image. But, I have, on many occasions, worked with other consultants on client projects, and I’ve enjoyed those interactions.

Whichever way you decide to go, it’s crucial to be up-front from the beginning about what you want the individuals you’re hiring to do (rather than spring it on the publicist or team after the work gets going). If more than one consultant or firm will be involved, it’s especially important to be clear on individual assignments, so that each consultant knows what his boundaries are and how his work fits in with that of the other consultants you’re using.  

When Selling Books, Don’t Forget to Finish Your Swing

As many of you know, I have a daughter who plays college softball. Thus, I spend most of my weekends in the spring driving for hours on California highways and sitting in the stands at college stadiums, cheering the team on while trying to avoid the inevitable sunburn and rear-end numbness we softball moms lovingly refer to as “bleacher butt.” Yes, it can be tiring and time-consuming, but the end result is worth it – I get to watch my daughter and her teammates play the game they love, and nothing gives me more joy (except maybe, after a few nights spent on lumpy hotel mattresses, coming home and sleeping in my own bed).

While I don’t purport to know a lot about softball (I never played it, although I did play a season of women’s rugby in college and have the dental work to prove it), I’ve learned some invaluable lessons from this sport that my daughter adores. One lesson, in particular, that resonates is the adage to “finish your swing,” which my daughter’s hitting coaches claim is the most important part of sending that softball over the fence for a home run. And, just as in softball, finishing strong can be the best way to guarantee success for authors who are trying to promote their books.

As a publicist, I’ve been hired by many authors who are eager to succeed at the publicity game. They are willing to pay me for my services, travel to parts unknown to give talks and sign books, and spend lots of money on printing, postage, and other expenses to get the word out about their work. But while the majority of the authors are willing to part with their hard-earned cash, I find that oftentimes they don’t consider that the work of promotion isn’t finished once I’m able to garner whatever type of publicity they’re looking for, whether it’s setting up a book or blog tour, helping them place articles in magazines and journals, or scheduling media interviews.

And that’s because making these types of events happen is not all there is to it. Once an event or interview is set up, there’s a lot more work to be done – booksellers want display copies, giveaways, and sometimes even food and drinks supplied for their events, and most of them expect the author to fill the seats with attendees.  Likewise, other venues where authors appear (whether it be a library, a museum, a church, a specialty store, or a professional organization luncheon) often hold the same expectations. And even bloggers expect review and giveaway copies, along with the promise that the author will share the blogger’s link on social media sites.

This means that authors have a continued role to play once their publicists book gigs for them. Yes, getting the bookseller, producer, or venue host to say yes is the first step (and oftentimes a big one, depending on the importance of the event to the author), and yes, some events, blog posts, and interviews bring their own viewers. But, in most cases, the work isn’t finished with the confirmation. In addition to showing up (which requires a certain amount of preparation in itself), authors can expect to provide all the amenities for the event including, in many cases, the attendees.

But it’s not fair, authors say – I have to write the book, hire a publicist, pay a lot of expenses, and then I’m supposed to fill the room, too?  

The answer is a resounding yes – your publicist and the venue host can do a good portion of the promoting leg-work for you but, in general, the events your publicist sets up for you will only be successful if you follow through.

But where do I find people to attend my events? authors ask.  Many authors are reluctant to go back to their friends and family members who have already been asked multiple times to buy books and attend signings. But there are other ways to promote an event – here are some to consider:

• Think outside the friends and family box – post notices at work, school, church, book clubs, etc. Hand them out to your fellow yoga classmates, post them at the grocery store and coffee shop near you, and keep them handy when traveling, so you always have one to give to a potential attendee.

• Offer incentives for people to come – free food, drink, giveaways, etc., can often be a motivator for those who are considering attending an event

• Place notices in local media online calendars

• Send out press releases to local media and schedule interviews prior to the event

• Announce events on social media sites

• Blog about your upcoming events – share some insights into what you plan to do there or what the event means to you

• Promote your event or interview at related group meetings and on social media sites where you and your books’ content would be of interest

• List event dates and times prominently on your blog and website

• Send out reminders to those on your email lists

• Be proactive in promoting – tell anyone who might be interested, as often as possible, about your upcoming appearances, interviews, etc.

While completing these activities might sound daunting, consider the ramifications of not doing any social media promotion, not sending display and review copies, not providing giveaways on blog tours, not listing events on your blog and websites, and not talking about your upcoming gigs to anyone who might be interested. Without these types of author follow-up, your events run the risk of not being very successful. You might have connected by setting up the event, but the real power is in the follow-through. Ask my daughter – she’s hitting .415 this season, and she’ll be the first to tell you that even though her swing is strong, the really big hits don’t come unless she finishes moving that bat all the way through.