Bestseller Interviews

Publicity.

It’s a central part of every author’s marketing campaign — some say the most important part. If you going to become a best-selling author (and I know you will!), then it’s essential you start learning the ropes now.

But isn’t the publisher supposed to handle publicity?

If you’re lucky, the in-house publicist will spend a few months on your book. Some authors also hire freelance publicists, but in either scenario, you’re going to be involved. It’s unavoidable.

To help you get started, Lissa Warren has agreed to answer some questions on book publicity. She’s the Senior Director of Publicity at Da Capo Press, as well as the author of The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity.

Why is publicity so important for a book marketing campaign? How do authors benefit?

Actually, I don’t see publicity as a part, or subset, of a book’s marketing campaign. I see it as its own campaign. But it certainly is important to the success of most books. It’s a great (and basically free, save for the unit cost of the book and the cost of shipping it to the media) way to increase the public’s awareness that a book exists-which is half the battle since so many books are published each year, and there are so many other forms of entertainment and education these days. It’s also a way for the consumer to have the book evaluated by a disinterested third party. A publishing house can say a book is an excellent read – in the flap copy, in advertisements, etc. But when the New York Times or another publication says it’s wonderful, it means more because they’re unbiased.

Publicity is also important because it’s a way that booksellers evaluate a book’s importance. We let our sales reps know about the publicity we’re getting for the book — print publicity (newspapers, magazines websites) as well as broadcast (radio and TV). They in turn let their buyers know. A booking on a morning show, or an interview on NPR, or a review in a major-market paper can help them convince their account to purchase more copies. That increases the visibility of the book in the bookstore. And that’s very important, for obvious reasons.

What is a radio or TV tour, and how can authors use them to sell more books?

A radio tour is when an author pays an outside company to secure interviews with national and local radio programs on their behalf. They usually book them in batches of 20-25. Often times they can be done within the period of one week, which can generate a nice sales pop. Sometimes, all of the interviews can be squeezed into a day or two if the author’s time is limited. All interviews can be done via telephone from the comfort of the author’s home or office. Some last five minutes, some last an hour. The more air-time the better, of course. A reputable radio tour company will guarantee the author 20-25 interviews and will refund (or provide some other form of compensation — such as securing some print interviews for them, or carrying over the remaining radio interviews for their next book) if their efforts are not successful.

A TV tour is similar, but instead they’re reaching out to news shows on TV stations around the country (and perhaps even some nationals like CNN). The author can do the interviews in one day (usually in batches of 10 or 20) from their local affiliate via satellite. The interviews often take place in the a.m., since morning news shows tend to be more open to doing author interviews. Evening news is usually too busy recapping the day’s happenings.

Should authors emphasize their personal story during an interview? Why or why not?

If their personal story is relevant to the book, yes. For example, I’m currently publicizing a book called From the Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease. It’s written by Kathy Kastan, who had to have a bypass in her early 40s. Her story is inspiring (she went on to become President of an organization called WomenHeart so that she could “give back”), so I’ve made it part of the pitch. On the opposite end of the spectrum is a book called We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah by military historian Patrick O’Donnell. For that one, I’ve tried to focus my pitch on the men whose story Patrick tells. So it all depends on the book.

During an interview, how can authors make themselves memorable, so that publicity translates into sales?

It’s important to learn how to talk in soundbites, to explain your book in 30 seconds or less (in a way that’s interesting), to be gracious and humble and not interrupt or talk-over the host (or the other guests if it’s not a solo interview). Anecdotes, examples, and analogies can be helpful-and also very memorable. Depending on the show’s format, you may be able to read a passage from the book. That’s a nice way to give people a feel for it-to show them what your prose is like. One thing to guard against is shamelessly self-promoting your book on-air. No need to start every sentence with “In my book.”

What’s the secret for landing an interview on a big talk show like Oprah? How important is it?

Put the package together for them-the expert (which is your author) as well as people who illustrate the point your author is trying to make. If your book is a marriage guide and your author is a psychologist, ask your author to put you in touch with 2 or 3 couples she has counseled-couples who might be willing to go on the show with her. Make their stories part of your pitch.

Keep in mind that they’re going to need to be able to make the story visual. Let them know where the footage could be shot. For instance, using the above example you could suggest they film a ceremony in which the couple renews their vows.

It also helps to send the shows reviews and copies of newspaper and magazine articles about the book-preferably in national or major-market publications so that they come away with the feeling that people are interested in this book.

Keep in mind that, if a TV producer is intrigued by your pitch, they may ask to see some footage of your author. So have it ready. If you don’t, the producer’s enthusiasm may have died down by the time you get it to them.

For the authors still writing their books, what steps can they take to make themselves irresistible to the media?

Your concern at this stage needs to be how to make yourself irresistible to a publisher, and the best way to do that is to build yourself a platform. Start a website or a blog. Publish some articles or op-eds related to your topic. Start giving presentations at libraries, churches, synagogues, schools, corporations, organizations, etc. Get yourself a lecture agent (we know that, if an author gives lots of talks, we’ll have lots of opportunities for back-of-the-room sales of his or her book).

Why should authors hire a publicist? Can you do something that the do-it-yourself author can’t?

Depending on your own media potential and the media potential of your book, it may make sense to hire a freelance publicist to promote your title. If the publishing company doesn’t have a publicity department, or if you get the sense that the publicist to whom you’ve been assigned doesn’t “get” your book or doesn’t view it as a priority, you might want to outsource the campaign. I encourage authors to have a candid conversation with their in-house publicist or editor before doing this, however, because freelancers are expensive. It can be a big investment, and you want to make sure it’s really necessary. Also, if you do decide to hire a freelancer, the in-house publicist or the editor may have some good referrals.

Some authors hire a freelance publicist to do the hardcover campaign. Some hire one to keep the momentum going after the in-house publicist is done (usually 2-3 months after the book pubs). Some hire a freelancer to handle the paperback campaign (usually a year after the hardcover pubs).

Publicists — both in-house and freelance — can do more for authors than they can do for themselves. We have more contacts, because we’ve been building relationships with the media for years. And we know how and when they like to be approached. Plus, the media-at least, major media-prefers not to be approached by authors directly. It’s just too awkward if they have to say no. Besides, they rely on publicists to vet books for them. The editors at the Washington Post Book World know I’m not going to follow-up with them on a book unless it’s a big one for us and unless I’m confident it’s appropriate for review in their pages.

How can authors justify the expense of hiring a publicist? Do they make the money back from book sales?

Authors should think of a freelance publicist as an investment in their future. They may sell more books with a freelancer than without one, but probably not enough to directly recoup the cost. However, thanks to the freelancer’s help the book’s sales track may end up being strong enough that the author can get a second book deal-maybe even for more money. So, in the long run it can literally pay off.

What questions should authors ask a publicist before hiring them?

It’s appropriate to ask them to put in writing exactly what they’d do on your book’s behalf. Will they be approaching national media or just local? If local, in which market(s). Will they go after TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, or all of the above? What about the Web-will they approach websites and blogs as well? Will they arrange bookstore events for you, or is that not part of what they do? Also ask how long they’ll be actively pursuing the media on your book’s behalf (2-4 months is usually the norm).

I’d ask them what books they’ve worked on previously that are similar to yours. That will reassure you that they know what to do with your kind of book (great if they’ve publicized a cookbook to bestsellerdom, but not if yours is a children’s book or a novel). Also ask them what media successes they had for that similar book, and what they feel a successful campaign for your book would look like. That should reassure you that their goals are in line with yours.

Beware of a freelance publicist who makes hard and fast promises. A good publicist will have a gut feeling that she can get you on such and such show or in such and such paper, but we can never guarantee it, no matter how good our contacts are or how many books and authors we’ve placed with that media outlet in the past. A good publicist will use verbs like “try,” “approach,” “reach-out,” “target,” and “pitch.” You get the idea.

What can authors learn from The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity, and why would you recommend they buy it?

The book contains a lot of specific, practical tips for authors who want to do their own publicity — how to write a press release, how to pitch the media, how to arrange a bookstore event (as well as how to promote it), etc. However, it also provides authors with information on what they can really expect from a publicist and how best to support that person’s efforts. My goal is to educate authors about every aspect of what happens to their book after it comes off press. So many authors think their job is done once they turn in their edits. In reality, it’s just beginning.

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