How to Train Your Brain Like a Book Publicist

Media strategy, pitching, content, and a whole lot more.

Hello Confidantes,

Today, we will get inside a publicist’s brain (mine) so you can learn the thought process behind book promotion. First, subscription housekeeping:

I. Assessing the Author and Book

I will preface this by saying that as an undergrad, I was an English Lit major and a Psychology minor. Before my career in publishing, I worked as a cashier, customer service rep at a bank in the loan department, waitress, hostess, telemarketer for big pharma, and legal assistant. Each of those jobs required me to assess people and act accordingly quickly. It’s a skill that has served me well.

Two things need to happen before publicity work begins for a book: conversations with the author and reading their book. When I speak to an author for the first time, it’s a vibe check: Does the conversation flow easily? Is the author willing to listen to suggestions? What is the author’s sense of themself? Does the author have a sense of humor? What would the author do in TV or radio interviews? Can I trust them to speak to a journalist? Having a sense of humor is vital for me because I don’t take myself too seriously and appreciate when others don’t. My gut guides me through conversations, and sometimes, I decline projects when I feel the gap between personalities is too significant. You and your publicist aren’t required to be best friends, but you must have a good rapport with them.

Publicists want to hear how authors talk about their books. We need to assess whether or not you’ll need media training (honestly, this is never a bad idea) or if you’re polished enough to breeze through interviews. A good exercise is to set a timer and record yourself talking about your book for 3, 5, 7, and 10 minutes. It’s best to write your pitch and record a 10-minute version first. It’s easier to edit yourself down to 3 minutes rather than the opposite. You’ll then be able to work with your publicist to refine your talking points. This works for both fiction and nonfiction.

When assessing a book, I wear several hats: publicist, editor, agent, and media contact. I’m reading the material to examine the author’s writing style, subject/theme, media angles, and selling points for readers. I won't take on the project if a manuscript doesn’t grab me within the first 50 pages. That sounds harsh, but I employ the 90% rule, which means 90% of me has to love the project to work on it. I know it when I read it. It’s OK if a fiction book doesn’t have media angles, but it does make pitching it “off the book page” more complex (“off the book page" =not in a designated book review section).