If you’re thinking about investing in yourself and your book, you’re bound to have questions. Here are answers to the most common questions I get asked pertaining to my role as a book publicist.
PUBLICIST
What is the difference between hiring a publicist versus hiring a literary agent?
You can hire a publicist– a communications professional who will help you promote the release or relaunch of your book using traditional, digital, and social media, along with promotional events and speaking engagements.
A literary agent offers writers representation. It’s a working relationship in which the agent believes in the author’s work and advocates to secure the writer a book deal with a publisher.
There is no upfront cost when you partner with an agent, but publicists work by retainer.
How much does a publicist cost?
Some services are a la carte such as press releases and event planning, but most publicity campaigns are a strategic long-term plan that takes the course of several months. The price of a retainer will vary depending on the publicist and the services they are offering. I have a range of options depending on the author’s needs and budget.
I am a first-time novelist who is choosing to self-publish. I don’t have much of a platform, but I do believe I have a great story with mainstream appeal. Can you help me set up a book tour?
Before you hire a publicist to help you set up a book tour, you must be very clear on who your targeted audience is and have some form of engagement with those readers. Authors with great cover art and a quality well-written story have a better chance of connecting with readers. When you have connected with readers and they have favorable responses to your work, it will give your publicist the ability to successfully pitch you to bookstores for you to have a signing at their venue.
I have worked with debut and self-published authors whose writing and cover art were on par with traditionally published projects. We were able to get bookstores to host tour dates in-store and virtually.
When is the best time to hire a publicist to promote my book?
I suggest beginning the promotion for your book after your manuscript is complete and you hand it off to an editor. Once you have identified your target audience you should begin engagement with that reader. Organic connections that shed light on who you are, your writing process, your book idea, etc are the most popular prompts to start with.
At the early stage you are not selling a book you are introducing yourself and your writing journey.
I prefer to work with new authors for a minimum of 6 months in order to produce a well-balanced campaign. This allows media and promotional outreach without limitations. If the author is looking for a blog tour and social media promotions only, we can create an 8-10 week campaign.
How many interviews am I guaranteed if I hire you to promote my book?
In my 6-month agreements, I state that I will work to get a certain number of placements during our time together, however, I cannot say in advance what media will grant us those placements. The decision weighs heavily on the quality of the writing, the media’s interest in the topic, and the author’s platform.