Interview with Bestselling Author Alex Segura!

We talked about the publishing industry, book promotion, and more.

I was excited when Alex Segura and I connected about an interview in this newsletter. We’ve been following each other on social media for years, and I have long admired his career. Below, we discuss the publishing industry, the promotion of his new book Alter Ego, and tips for writers.

But first, his bio:

Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and an NPR Best Mystery of the Year. He’s also the author of the Pete Fernandez series, as well as the Star Wars novel Poe Dameron: Free Fall and the YA Spider-Verse adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow. In 2024, he published a sci-fi/espionage novel, Dark Space, co-written with Rob Hart; the graphic novel The Legendary Lynx, illustrated by Sandy Jarrell; Encanto: Nightmares and Sueños; and Alter Ego, a standalone sequel to Secret Identity. In addition to his prose writing he has written a number of comics for Marvel and DC, including Star Wars: Battle of Jakku, Spider-Society, and The Question: All Along the Watchtower. With Michael Moreci he is the writer behind the noir re-launch of Dick Tracy. He lives in New York City with his family.

Publishing Confidential: Could you tell me about your publishing journey? Was it hard to transition from writing comic books to writing novels?

Alex Segura: It’s funny because they happened together - but it was harder for me to write comics despite being in the industry. Because I worked in-house at DC and later Archie, I couldn’t pitch my workaround to competitors because I was a publicist, editor, or marketing person at another company. So, I feel like I shifted to novels because I knew I wanted to write.

I saw, early on, that by blending my journalism background with my love for comics, I could get my foot in the door - and I started working at comic book news sites and later a magazine that covered comics, Wizard. Then I pivoted to publicity and was able to work for DC Comics and Archie and Oni Press in various roles - publicity, sales and marketing, some biz dev, some editorial - that helped me see “under the hood” as it were, in comics. But I always knew I wanted to write, so I soaked up as much as I could during that time and honed my craft when not working my day job.

PC: How have you identified and grown your target audience over the years?

AS: I tell new authors to avoid relying on a platform because the algorithm will always betray you. Have an updated website. Start a newsletter that you send out regularly. Keep in contact with people - booksellers, press, etc. - essential to the publishing process. Maintain a strong email list and engage with the social channels you *enjoy*. There’s nothing worse than seeing an author feel like they’re forced to tweet or TikTok. If it’s not for you, or you hate it, people will understand. I also try my best to keep it positive on social media and in communications.

I learned this from being a publicist, but follow-up is key. Reach out to people after you meet them, maintain connections, and keep readers informed. People want to hear organically from authors, not a press release, so while blasting the same text to ten different platforms makes things easier, it doesn’t always work.

PC: What do you consider the biggest challenges for authors today?

AS: Cutting through the noise in a media landscape that is unpredictable and ever-changing, I think many authors are hoping for some magic bullet that will shoot their novel to the top of the charts by going viral, but that is very rare and honestly impossible to engineer without much luck. As a publicist and author, I’ve always been a grinder - which means that I think you have to keep reminding people your book is coming, and that means doing A LOT of press or marketing for the story. But the trick is, you don’t just do it all early - you figure out the timing and make sure you’re saving the really big stuff for on-sale or right around on sale. If you think about it, it’s not that different from running a political campaign. Most people aren’t thinking about your book until they can buy it - but you also want to cater to the avid readers who will preorder months in advance.

But the media landscape is hard. There are fewer book outlets or outlets with solid, regular book coverage. Reporters move all the time. Websites shut down. It’s tough to say what is meaningful truly and will sell books. When I was in PR, I firmly believed that there were only a handful of outlets you could depend on to sell books - like a NYT profile, an on-air NPR segment, or a TV spot - but that’s also changing. So the hard part in the short-term is cutting through the noise to get attention, but the longform issue is just keeping up with how things are evolving and deciding what stuff is worth your time.

PC: You have a marketing, publicity, and sales background. How has the publishing landscape changed in those areas over the past five years?

AS: I think in-house teams are really overwhelmed. There was a long stretch where you had reliable contacts, and you knew you could get X or Y stories out of them for the books you worked on on the PR side. It wasn’t predictable, but it was probably easier to set the table for a big or smaller release that the publisher felt had potential. But now readers are getting their news or engaging with books in different places, and many of them - like BookTok or Bookstagram - didn’t start as places that been involved with publishers or asked for galleys. That changed quickly, and I think we’ve seen publishers really adapt to social media as a way to sell books - but as I said earlier, you’re one algorithmic tweak away from that rug being pulled out from under you.

My experience, as an author who has a lot of his own publicity/sales/marketing experience, is that the best thing you can do is be ADDITIVE to your publisher. It’s very easy to fall into a combative stance, but the people working in those departments are book lovers and want to help you sell books - you’re on the same side, most of the time. Authors tend to default to “I didn’t get any marketing support!” as an umbrella reason why their book didn’t land the way they wanted, but it’s often more complicated than that. I always feel like working with a PR team is just that - you’re helping the team. I try to be communicative (maybe overly so) about my contacts, the outlets I think that might be good for my book, and any ideas or events that I think would be helpful. I also think having an intimate understanding of what it’s like to BE a publicist or in-house marketing person helps because I know their work is hard as hell - and is ever-changing. In my experience, many writers just let the publicity happen or defer - and that’s a natural response. Still, if you want to set up your book to succeed, you need to see what you can contribute, even if you’re not a former PR person. What contacts would be helpful? What reporters have you spoken to before that might want to talk to you again? What indie bookstores are you friendly with that might want to host an event or do a preorder campaign? What influencers do you know that would benefit from an early galley?

But to answer your question, the entire landscape has gotten much harder and decentralized because of the lack of a better word. Marketing isn’t just about coop or ad placements - it’s about relationships with tastemakers, whether they’re librarians or booksellers or influencers, and that’s a different kind of work and more nuanced and honestly harder. The same goes for publicity - so much of the work has become just keeping tabs on reporters covering your industry or books that by the time you have to pitch things if you’re a good publicist, you WELCOME input from the author on new places to go or new ways to promote. I was blessed at Flatiron to have an amazing marketing and PR team - people who loved the book and went above and beyond to make the ALTER EGO launch campaign feel big. The key was that they were always open to ideas, and it felt like a big, flowing conversation - we were all moving in the same direction. It’s not always the case. Sometimes, in-house publicists bristle at suggestions or add a freelance team to help support. Still, the great PR/marketing departments know it’s an all-boats-rise situation, where everyone is just moving toward spreading the word in a very crowded and loud 24-hour news cycle.

And, come to think of it, that feels like the most significant change over the last decade-plus: the noise. It used to be that you'd break a big piece of book news that resonated for a week or a few days. Now, it cycles out in a few hours! There’s stuff happening all the time and multiple places to get news, engage with news, and share news. So what matters? With Twitter/X falling apart, where do people go for that “town square of the world” vibe? I hope it’s nowhere - I hope this new era allows writers to create direct ways to engage with readers, like newsletters, Patreons, and podcasts, because at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is have your direct line to your readers that transcends platforms.

PC: What’s the best advice you’ve received as a writer?

AS: It sounds boring, but to finish something. I tell new writers this all the time. Finish one thing. If you’re starting out, don’t dig into that 12-novel fantasy epic out of the gate. Write a short story. Finish it. Type “the end,” then revise. Then do another. It’s very easy to start a lot of projects and move to whatever grabs your attention. But that way, you’ll never finish or sell anything. The work comes in getting in the trenches and writing when it’s hard. Hone that skill, and you will be okay.

PC: What is one piece of advice you’d give to authors today?

AS: Become part of the writing community before you even sell your book. I’ve heard from so many debut authors who feel isolated or lost, and I think a lot of it is that they come into publishing and expect magic to happen, but that isn’t the case for 90 percent of us. You have to build relationships. Go to book launches in your area. Make connections. Meet other writers. Join a writing group. Building community is the answer to many things ailing us in the world. Still, it’s particularly relevant in books - because you’re building a foundation that will hopefully carry you through release and beyond. Join writers’ organizations. Volunteer. Share ideas with friend. And, most importantly, lift other writers up - share their successes, celebrate them, and amplify marginalized voices. It’s not a zero-sum game - if your friend’s book does well, it helps everyone.

PC: Walk me through planning publicity and marketing for your new book, Alter Ego.

AS: As I noted before, Flatiron was great - they are extremely professional, proactive, and smart. I felt blessed to have them in my corner, particularly my publicists, Chris and Bria, and the amazing PR head honcho, Marlena, Erin, and Kate, on the marketing side. One of the moments authors often miss happens MONTHS before your book is even on sale - and that’s the launch PR and marketing meeting. That’s truly the moment to suggest ideas, share contacts, and express your hopes and dreams. What I appreciate most about Flatiron is that they were always receptive to suggestions, whether an outlet or influencer to reach out to, or a bookstore - it felt very organic and thoughtful. I used a freelance firm to help because I just had so many projects hitting at the end of this year - including the comic book version of THE LEGENDARY LYNX and DARK SPACE, a sci-fi novel, and that was very additive to the ALTER EGO process because it kept everyone in the loop on what was going on. We could tinker and adapt to ensure every major release got some love. I think the best publishers are open to collaboration - because, as I said before, it’s about everyone succeeding, and Flatiron definitely was that. We had our roadmap, and looking back, it turned out really well. It felt like people were talking about the book online and at events - I saw a lot of new faces on tour, which to me is a sign of whether something is resonating, and that’s a testament to how Flatiron does marketing and PR.

PC: How important do you think author platforms are?

AS: Very. As I noted above, having your own platform shields you from the unreliability of social media platforms. It also helps you build a list of contacts and people you can speak to directly outside of the press, social media, or whatever else. That’s your core audience, and you need to water those plants regularly.

PC: Do you cultivate your audience between books? How?

AS: I write a lot, so it always feels like something is coming out! But I try to promote other authors via my channels as much as I can, so it doesn’t just feel like ME ME ME all the time, which can be exhausting for everyone. People sign up for newsletters and follow you on social to feel like they’re connecting with you, the person. That’s something that’s tough for me because I am a relatively private person in my life, but I also want to be able to engage with readers when not on the road - so figuring out ways to share details and connect is the ongoing challenge.

PC: What are you working on next?

I’m writing a Daredevil crime novel for Marvel/Hyperion Avenue, which will be released next year! I’ve also worked on many comics for DC, Marvel, Mad Cave, and others. Alter Ego just came out, too, so I’m excited to see how folks respond.