Bestseller Interviews

If there’s a publicist that can create a bestseller in the business category, it’s Mark Fortier. Five of the books he handled in the first half of 2007 hit the New York Times Bestseller List. He represents big names like Seth Godin, Sandy Weill, Robert Sutton, Chip and Dan Heath, and many others. You can find a list of his clients and experience here.

Just for us, Mark has agreed to answer 10 questions. If you’re thinking about hiring a publicist for your business book, you can contact him through his web site here.

1) What is the role of a publicist in making a bestseller?

Publicists aren’t alchemists and can’t create bestsellers with a magic wand, but they can absolutely maximize a book’s media and sales potential. An experienced publicist knows which media outlets have the most sales impact, how to customize a pitch to these outlets for the best chance of a booking, and how to use the right timing and momentum so you have enough sales velocity to climb a weekly or monthly bestseller list. A good publicist acts as an author’s promotion partner. He or she should be as driven as you are to reach your goal, and wise enough to steer you in the right direction.

2) Do reviews in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etc. really increase book sales, or are they just ego boosters?

Absolutely. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today are the largest circulation newspapers in the country and are one of the best ways to impact sales. A rave review of course has far more impact than a luke-warm review, and it is much better to get a timely review the same week as other big media instead of a late review.  Also, reviews in big outlets like these can be leveraged by a publicist to secure additional major media. I always send such major reviews to national television and radio outlets to help convince them that the book is “big”, has mass potential, has third party credibility, and is striking a nerve. Reviews in smaller outlets and regional papers have less value but still contribute to cumulative impact.

3) Which is more important for grabbing the media’s attention: a big publisher or a connected publicist?

I wouldn’t want anyone to think that there’s no need for a big publisher if you hire a publicist. And if you have a big publisher that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hire a publicist. The ideal situation is to have both. I’m hired by both authors and publishers and most of the books I work on are published by big publishers. Usually bigger publishers have better publicity departments, but bigger publishers often have bigger lists of books which can sometimes mean less time and attention spent on yours.

Hiring a publicist is like getting an insurance policy for the success of your book. There’s no guarantee, but by hiring a publicist you can rest assured that you’ve left nothing to chance and you are doing everything you can to ensure the success of your book.  You’ll have someone to partner with in the promotion process and they can help you navigate and reinforce your relationship with your publisher. Some publishers like to hand over all publicity responsibilities when an outside publicist is hired and others prefer to divvy up responsibilities according to who has a better relationship with a particular contact or who has strengths or expertise in one area or another. Publicity requires having sustained attention and focus in lots of areas all at the same time so every book can benefit from having more hands for the work and more brains to strategize.

A respected publisher imprint on the spine of your book definitely influences the perception of quality among reviewers and major broadcast.  But a hired publicist can ensure that you’ll get aggressive follow-up, and creative, carefully planned pitches customized to the target journalists you want.

So answer your question, try to get both a big respected publisher and a great publicist that you connect well with and that understands your book. If both aren’t possible, at least get one!

4) How can you make a book visual, so that it appeals to TV media?

To get on a major network TV show, a good publicist should convince a producer that the topic of your book is not too abstract and cerebral to translate well into the visual medium of television. The publicist must be able to describe the book in a way that the producer immediately sees the camera rolling in their head and what the segment would look like.  In effect, the publicist needs to do the job of the producer for them by suggesting what kind of b-roll video footage could be used, what kind of stunt or demonstration might be done by the author on set, what the topic title for the segment might be, and what examples the author would focus on to illustrate his or her ideas.  Most shows will no longer book “talking head” interviews where a host sits down with an author and says “tell me about your book.” They now insist on creativity, visual stimulation, and whatever it takes to make a good television experience that will prevent the viewer from changing the channel.

5) I’m going on the Tonight Show tomorrow (I wish!).  What can I do to be the best guest in the history of the show?

Watch the show as many times as possible so you can deliver the right tone, style and pace. For your example of The Tonight Show, this involves lots of relaxed, chummy banter with the host, great storytelling, and a willingness to let your self be the target for humor.  The Tonight Show doesn’t want you to be funnier than Leno! They want you to be good material to make Leno funny.

Practice an interview with a friend but don’t rehearse and memorize because this will be very obvious.

Focus on your energy.  If you don’t appear enthusiastic and inspiring on TV about your topic, why should anyone be inspired to buy your book?

Get down your timing and pace. You don’t want to be faster or slower than the host and you want to pack in the core of your main messages without going off on a single tangent.  Better to come to a short confident stop than to keep rambling on to explain detail.

I offer my clients basic media training and then refer them to a professional media trainer with a camera-man if they really want to ensure a TV performance that will deliver and have sales impact.

6) Which is more important to the media: the book concept or the author’s story?

A publicist should always use all the best ammunition they have in their arsenal. Sometimes I’ll have a book with a topic that isn’t so original but the author’s story is irresistible. Other times I’ll have the opposite situation.

Book reviewers are certainly going to care more about the book than the author’s story. Most broadcast, particularly radio and short TV interviews, thinks in terms of topic, and then want an author who is articulate and credentialed enough to discuss the topic. But a profile writer in the feature section of a publication is going to be most interested in the author’s story.  And some media like Oprah or NPR’s Fresh Air or Charlie Rose are very focused on the personal experience of the guest and helping the viewer get to know the guest.

7) Can you predict which books will be a hit with the media and which ones will flop?

I’m known for having a knack for this but I’m no fortune-teller. I make these judgments based on how fresh the topic is, how much it speaks to the current cultural conversation of the moment, how much mass appeal the topic has, and how promotable the author is. One of the most common reasons a book might flop is that it is just too similar to books that have already been written. The bar is set high for a book to contribute a new idea.

8) How does publicity translate into book sales?

Usually this happens but it doesn’t always.   Publicity gets the exposure and provides the medium for delivering a message. But the message must be compelling fresh, and viral (something that will get everyone talking), and it must deliver a value proposition. Think about a recent interview you’ve watched on TV. Did it go in one ear and out the other? Or did you find it an entertaining segment but you still weren’t moved enough to buy the book? Or were you so impressed or moved or inspired by an interview that you ran to a bookstore and you told all your friends about what you saw? That’s the difference between a flat interview and a high-impact interview.

9) Can an author sell enough books to financially justify a publicist?

Some of my clients have sold over a million copies of their book, which certainly left plenty of change left over after my fee!

Some authors use part of their advance to put toward a publicist’s fee so they see it as investing in the success of their book.

Other authors hire publicists because the exposure and credibility they gain from a successful campaign is worth far more to them than whatever royalties may stream in from book sales.

In general I don’t think it’s wise to decide whether or not to hire a publicist based on a calculation of how much additional sales you might get.  You should hire a publicist if you really want to invest in the maximum potential of your book, and if you have any doubts about hiring a publicist don’t do it.

10) Who is your perfect client?  What do they do differently?

A perfect client acts as a partner with a publicist and asks what are the most valuable things they can do to play a role in the promotion process. For example an author might start their own blog, network with all of their personal relationships, write articles, and outreach to other bloggers. If the author is not engaged directly in the process, even the best publicist can’t make a book a success. A perfect client is also very clear about their specific goals and specific media targets so that the publicist can focus his or her energy in the right places. Fortunately I’ve been lucky enough to have many perfect clients and there’s nothing more rewarding than working closely with them to hit a bestseller list.

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