5 Things to Know about Publicity Before You’re Published
By Crystal Patriarche | November 15, 2011 |
Whether you’re a debut author about to launch a book (congrats!) or a writer trying to get published (good luck! I hope you do!) or a sophomore or seasoned author who’s thinking of biting the publicity bullet (yes, you should!), there are things to know about publicity in advance.
I love the phone calls and emails I get from authors and writers who are thinking about publicity. I love that they are taking initiative and getting answers, they are preparing to give their book the best chance and they are eager and full of questions about publicity – what is a publicist? what do you do? will it sell books? can you make me a bestseller?
Inevitably, there are similar questions that pop up – and I’ve addressed those here – in case these help you understand what publicity is, what it isn’t and what it can and can’t do for you as an author.
5 Things You Should Know About Publicity Before You’re Published or Before You Hire a Publicist
#1 Publicity is Awareness but not Sales & Marketing
Many authors admit they know nothing, or almost nothing, about publicity – except that they know they need to do it. More often than not, publicity is confused with sales and marketing. Publicity is not sales. Publicity is not marketing. Yes, they go hand in hand. Yes, they can (and should) be synergetic. But publicity (also known as PR) does not guarantee sales. Is there a correlation between when a media hit (book reveiw/feature/blog mention) happens and sales? Yes. Usually. Almost always. But, publicity is about creating awareness and chatter about your book. Sales and marketing is about moving that sales needle. Everything from the book cover design, language on the book, colors on the cover, genre, endorsements – and much more – are well researched by sales and marketing teams to motivate people to buy that book. Publicity is about getting the media and audiences talking about a book, creating visibility for a book – and thus will generate awareness of the book and the author, and also traffic to find more out about the book either to bookstores, the author’s website, or booksellers online. And, hopefully, once there, the sales and marketing of the book (the cover, the colors, the language, the endoresements!) and what the consumer sees when they arrive at that site, will make them purchase it. So…. publicity is not sales and marketing. They are completely different animals – but both very necessary.
#2 Publicity doesn’t happen overnight
Publicity doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it’s a very long-term and strategic process. When you open up the newspaper or pick up your favorite magazine and read an article, or even see a segment on the Today show, chances are that story has been in the works for months and involves a lot of people – including a publicist spearheading it – and a lot of moving pieces and parts that take up time. Even book features and book reviews are the same way – and moreso in some cases because book space is limited and reviewers are getting pitched hundreds of books a day. There are two types of media: short lead (online, broadcast and newspaper) and long lead (print magazines/print media). Yes, short lead media allows for the feature to be published quicker, but both take a lot of back and forth and advance planning. A solid publicity campaign takes six to 12 months to execute. Be patient! Be persistent! Be realistic! In order to give your book the best chance, realize that publicity is a long term strategy.
#3 Publicity is an investment
There’s a terrible catch 22 when it comes to publicity – you gotta spend money to make money, and even then, there’s no guarantee. Often times, authors know they need publicity and they know it’s going to cost money but they need the money from the book sales in order to pay for the publicity. Yet, they need the publicity in order to create awareness of the book so people will be motivated to check it out and consider buying it. It’s a terrible conundrum. Legitimate publicists do not work on commission – I’ve been asked more than once if I would consider working off a model where I make money if and only if the author makes money. Again, see #1. Publicity is not sales. It’s like starting a business – it’s an investment. You’re paying a publicist for the effort and the work done on the publicity campaign, not on sales success. Try and find a budget that’s reasonable for you – and know it’s an investment in your book and in your long-term career.
#4 Relationships matter…and they don’t
Many times authors will ask me what kinds of relationships I have with media. There are lots of people in the industry who will say you need a publicist who has relationships because that’s the only way to get coverage. Is this true? No. Is it important to have media relationships? Yes (it’s a sign of a good publicist for sure). Is it the only way to get coverage? No. You should definitely ask this question when interviewing a prospective publicist, but don’t let people get you down that you can only get coverage if you’re on a first name basis with an editor in chief. What relationships get you is this: when I pitch media that I’ve worked with for a long time and have relationships with, I know they are going to open my emails and thoughtfully read and consider my pitch. Are they going to guarantee me coverage because I have a relationship with them? No. But, because they know me and my work, they will open it and respond and consider my angle because they know I bring them stories that matter, stories that are relevent to their audience and stories that are well thought out and comprehensive. A good publicist has relationships, builds them over time, doesn’t abuse them, and gets coverage for clients in media even when they don’t have an in or a relationship – that’s the sign that they pitched a really good story, so good that the editor bought it whether they have a relatinship or not. So yes, ask a publicist what kind of relationships they have, but more importantly ask them what kind of results they have.
#5 Buyer beware
Last, a word of warning because I have seen this happen more than once – be careful of scams. There are a ton of publicists and publicity firms out there. If it feels like a sham, if your gut is telling you it’s a scam, if it’s too good to be true, it likely is. There’s no guarantee in publicity. If someone is guaranteeing you XXX amount of media hits and interviews and agreeing to reward your money back if you’re not completely satisfied, then that’s not a legitimate or professional publicity route. If they’re promising to blast out your book to thousands of media – that’s a pitch machine and not a personal, professional publicist working to get you the best, most appropriate and targeted opportunities and exposure for your book. If you’re allowed to pay with a credit card or required to pay in full all up front – that’s not legitimate and you could very well lose all that money. I’ve seen it happen. So, interview, ask questions, ask for references and to talk with clients, follow up on those references and talk to real people. Be smart and take your time – you want a PR partner who you feel can passionately stand behind you and your book, don’t get fooled or scammed by shiny promises.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s Search Engine People Blog
Crystal Patriarche is founder of BookSparksPR, her full-service boutique PR agency that provides strategic public relations and book publicity support, social media, branding, marketing, and consulting to authors – from digital campaigns to traditional media. She’s also a journalist. Her articles and her clients have appeared in many national magazines, newspapers and websites. For more, visit <www.BookSparksPR.com. Follow BookSparksPR on Facebook and Twitter.
Excellent! Straight-from-the-shoulder counsel. You set exactly the right tone with ‘publicity is NOT sales and marketing’. Public relations (PR) and publicity are generally misunderstood and you have done a great service in de-mystifying them.
Thanks, Crystal. It also helps to think like a newspaper reporter. As a former reporter I instinctively knew a good story when it was pitched to me. If you have a strong “hook,” it really helps. And it’s always good to remember that it’s. It about you, it’s about the audience for the publication you are pitching to and want they want. Thanks again.
Sorry about the typo. Auto correct did it. It should have read in the previous post that it’s not about you. It’s about the audience of the publication. Ugh! I hate typos.
The money thing is tricky, that’s for sure. Particularly when it comes to long-lead magazines wanting 6 months lead, and in-house publicists not even being assigned until 3 months out.
My thought is–particulary if you’re pubbing a series–that it makes sense to invest in the first book for sure, then (if money is tight) hope that the first book does well enough to carry the audience into the sequels.
(Now…back to digging through the couch cushions for spare change.)
I know next to nothing about #5, because I’m so far away from needing to worry about such things, but really appreciate the heads-up
Crystal, I know the resources to check out agents, editors and publishing houses for legitimacy, but is there a place one goes to research publicists? A site, for instance?
Thanks for the very clear explanation for what publicity is and isn’t. Your post also helped me understand the importance of social media as ways to get your name out there (for free) and why I get so irked with everyone using it as a sales tool, instead. Publicity isn’t sales! Thanks again.
Thanks for the reminders, and where were you a year ago? ;) The long lead time was a slap in the face to me. I wish I’d gotten the publicity campaign for THE HAZARDS OF HUNTING WHILE HEARTBROKEN much sooner. Next time…
Thanks all! I don’t think there’s a place to check credibility of publicists – my suggestion is to check out their websites, their press pages, get client references and call those references. Ask other authors who they use and recommend.
Such excellent tips and information. Thank you for sharing.
#1 reminds me of what always happens in the design world (where I used to work): “What do you do?” “We’re a design firm.” “Oh, awesome, can you do an ad for my product/service/whatever?” “Um… no. We do design, not advertising.” “Aren’t they the same thing?” *headdesk*
(It’s usually amusing more than frustrating.)
Also, Nora Roberts (you know, THE bestselling romance author) says she sets aside 10% of every advance to promote the book. Don’t know if she even still NEEDS to do that, but it’s a good mental benchmark for us writers to consider for publicity and marketing.
Thanks for the informative post. I think, should I ever get anywhere near published, that I would have the most trouble with #2. I think I’d be so excited about meeting my publishing goals that I’d expect everything to happen at once, not realizing that everything takes time. So this will be a nice reminder for my future self. …I wonder, though, is there any publicity an unpublished writer could do in the meantime? Hmm…
A fantastic post debunking the myths of publicity — thank you!
I also appreciate your honest advice to help us, when the time comes, in choosing the right publicist. Perfect.
Thank you!
Great advice on publicity especially since I’m neck deep in it with my debut novella coming out in 45 days!
Good advice. Most authors do confuse sales and marketing with publicity, and there is a fine line. I think the difference is in telling readers that you have book published (publicity) and spamming readers to buy your book(bad sales effort).
Bravo. I’ll share this one on Publish-L and Self-Publishing Yahoo groups gladly. I’ll offer up some more advice for those who do want to use publicity:
Publicity that helps sell books is much harder to achieve with fiction than non-fiction. You must go beyond the book and offer up intellectual candy in bite size pieces that make people who read, watch or listen want to buy everything and anything you have available. This means that feature stories that delve into areas that allow you to shine will interest and sell people on you way better than book reviews. So instead of just offering up a your book to media and getting them to write about it, you must figure out how to can give media (who are publishers!) the information they need to do their job so that it gets people to take the action you want them to take. This means thinking three steps ahead and creating news, education and entertainment that not only sells subscriptions and advertising for the media , but persuades people to action as well. That is what you want publicity to do for you. This is also very hard to do on your own or even with a publicist helping you. Think about it. When was the last time YOU read the newspaper, watched TV, listened to the radio or read something on the Internet or your cell phone and went and grabbed your credit card?
Great article from a publicity genius! I think the most important thing you said, and the thing we authors need to remember, is that the long view is everything. Publicity done well (and you do it well) is a process that thinks in terms not just of the week the book drops, but also the continued visibility of the book through hardcover and paperback, plus the visibility of the author through his/her writing career. Great publicity isn’t an instant magic bullet, it’s an investment in our lives as authors, and the returns become greater with time.
I learned a lot from this post, especially from your distinction between publicity and sales and marketing, so thanks! To be honest, that’s still the part of the writing business that scares me the most, but it’s somewhat reassuring to have it explained that, though the two are related, publicity is NOT sales. I can be an advocate, I can be a cheerleader, but I’m just not a salesperson. (Of course I’ll try to improve those skills, but for now I’ll revel in the reassurance.)
My first novel will be out in February and I’m working with the in-house publicist, who seems to be working very hard to promote the book. And she did explain to me the difference between marketing and publicity. I am grateful for that. Advances are much lower now (on average) than even two years ago. And mine goes to paying the bills. I think many of us know it’s wise to hire an publicist, but simply can’t afford to.
Thanks for a great post — I’m sure it’s an eye-opener for many.
I’ll add that while you noted that “publicity (also known as PR) does not guarantee sales” — you can say the same about sales and marketing — including advertising and direct mail. Nothing guarantees sales. But publicity — that is, getting the book into the news — is said to be at least 10 times more effective than advertising because of the implied editorial endorsement.
Most authors, unfortunately, don’t have the financial means to hire a good (or bad!) publicist, and have to do most of the work themselves. Those going the traditional publishing route will want to collaborate closely with their in-house publicist, creating a book publicity plan together and assigning tasks and tactics accordingly so they spend as little as possible on outside services. But whether you’re self- or traditionally published, invest some time to learn how to publicize your book long before the book launch. It will be time well spent!
Sandra Beckwith
https://buildbookbuzz.com
Thanks for all the fabulous advice Crystal!!
Brittany Roshelle
The Write Stuff
Crystal – I really appreciated this article. Publicity is one subject that is oft overlooked and misunderstood in the writing community. I recently attended a workshop with a highly esteemed publicist in the Chicago area, and I learned so much…opened my eyes to reality.
[…] and publicist Crystal Patriarche stopped by Writer Unboxed and wrote a great post about the 5 Things to Know About Publicity Before You’re Published. Here is just one valuable tip Crystal extended to aspiring […]
Great tips. This is the kind of information all authors should know, but unfortunately, many don’t. Just today I saw a message on Facebook that said, “I just wrote three books and uploaded them on Amazon. Now, what do I do? Do I need a website?” Wow.
Crystal – awesome post. I’m grateful that you’ve included “relationships matter…but don’t.” I’m a publicist, too, and my bottom line on this is it’s not who you know, but rather, the story you’re telling that counts.
Such an important point — and the topic of so many misconceptions!
Here are two blog posts I did on this for my firm — one’s an updated version of the first.
https://www.farrellkramer.com/blog/bid/104510/It-s-the-Story-that-Counts
https://www.farrellkramer.com/blog/bid/104446/Press-Corps-Reminds-Us-It-s-the-Story-that-Counts