6.16.10: How to Work With a Publicist by Mari Selby of Selby Ink

Last week’s article by Kate Siegel Bandos offered clear steps regarding the hiring of a publicist. However, most people who hire a publicist have no idea how to maximize their time with a publicist. They neither know what to expect from the campaign nor from the relationship. When a publicist is passionate about your material, you have a cheerleader on your side that will go to any length to promote your project. Initially, that could be both embarrassing and encouraging. The intimacy that happens between you and your publicist is based on the sharing of your dreams and goals for your book. As well, when asking questions that make you feel vulnerable, you are made aware of your lack of knowledge and savvy in the world of book publishing. You are in a sense showing them your unshaved face, and bed-hair, while asking them to be your expert guide to getting your baby out into the world. Teamwork is essential, and requires both the publicist and the author/publisher to be honest, open-minded, and willing.

The following are tips I have found to be helpful when creating the most professional and efficient team to promote your book.

Be Honest:

1. You need to learn and understand the processes involved in securing publicity.
2. Ask any question, no matter how dumb it sounds to you.
3. Working with a publicist is like getting an advanced degree. We can learn from mistakes and by asking questions.
4. Be clear about your goals, and what you can actually accomplish. For instance, without experience with public speaking, stepping up to speaking engagements may be unrealistic.
5. Admit that talking on the radio scares you, or that standing in front of an audience makes you speechless. The success of your campaign depends on playing to your strengths. When you try to cover up your fears,  they only become more obvious. A scientist – author we worked with hated talking on the phone, but was brilliant in front of a group. After a few semi-flops on the radio, he admitted he would rather not do any more interviews. The reviews of his book led to people soliciting him for speaking engagements over a year after he stopped working with us.
6. Your publicist is the keeper of your calendar. Most people are not used to having someone keep track of the minutiae of their lives. A publicist needs to know where and when you are going, even if it’s a day trip. Timing is everything with publicity, and last minute calls of either the rescheduling of an interview, or new opportunities happen frequently.
7. Though the publicist is actually working for the book, you can ask for accountability. Ask for a detailed list of what they will work on for the month. Ask for the kind of update you need to feel like you know what your publicist is doing with their time and your money.

Be Open-Minded:

1. Recently, we worked with an author who was a psychiatrist and parenting expert, as well as an intuitive. She told us that she was tired of the competition and the little recognition she had received by banking on her credentials. She wanted to offer her book to the intuitive market. We advised her that we could work with both, but she insisted, so we were willing to follow her lead. When the responses were not what she expected, she was frustrated and bounced back to just using her credentials.
2. Do your research and know your competition. The phrase “there is nothing new under the sun” holds true for every book. Find the book that holds a seed of what you offer. Study its success and learn to apply what they did to your book. From Kate’s article: “Every day, I hear stories of authors and publishers who think they spent too much on a publicist who only got them coverage in a few newspapers and interviews on a dozen or so radio shows. I also know authors and publishers who would be thrilled with that much coverage. Understanding the reality of today’s media and having realistic expectations is key to getting the help and coverage you and your book(s) deserve.”
3. Be guided by the expertise of your publicist. Generally, they have years of experience combined with an aggressive spirit to keep on top of new trends. By hiring a publicist you are saying, “I authorize you to represent me and my book to the world.”
4. Part of doing a publicity campaign is actually doing market research for your book. The reviews you receive and the sales you make are a testament to how well you have tapped into the market you aimed for in writing your book. It is true that there is no such thing as bad publicity. We received a Publisher’s Weekly quote that began, “this is a fantastic book”–and ended with “the author’s purple prose was more than they could stomach.” We of course used the former phrase. Any publicity is a chance to learn something new about your audience and your material.

Be Willing to:

1. Follow someone else’s lead. Though you are the expert on the topic of your book, a publicist can take your living material and make it accessible to your market.
2. Learn, and learn quickly what works and what doesn’t work for you or your book.
3. Write more, including articles, blogs, and comments on forums about other books.
4. Spend time daily and weekly to market your book.
5. Study trends. See how they match your material. Be willing to offer this information to your publicist to discuss its relevance to your campaign.
6. Read about your topic. Research more of your competition.
7. Always ask, “What else can I do to promote my book?”

Creating and developing a promotional campaign with a publicist is a process. There is a beginning when you first start to develop your relationship and your campaign. There is a middle where, hopefully, things begin to go viral. Even when you have an older book, you can revise the material and come out with a new edition. However, the only true end to promoting your book is when you are ready to stop talking about your book and your material.

Mari Selby founded Selby ink in 1998 after working for a small publisher where she was successful in improving their sales from 20,000 books to over 100,000 books in one year. Prior to being a publicist Mari was a family therapist in private practice for almost 20 years. All of us at Selby ink are passionate about healing and transformation, we prefer to work with books that make a difference in people’s lives, their relationships, our society or the planet. Our passion for books, drive to make your work well-known, and international contacts will provide just the edge you need to create a successful promotional campaign. Selby ink covers all the publicity and promotional bases, from book-shepherding to traditional book tours to online services to viral campaigns. Contact Selby ink today for a free short consultation about your book and you! mari@selbyink.com or www.selbyink.com