Reintroducing (and Introducing) Myself

A little about me for a whole lot of you.

Since the newsletter has grown, I thought I’d reintroduce myself to those unfamiliar with my background. The 5% discount offer for yearly subscriptions ends tonight at 10 p.m. EST and includes a 30-minute “Ask Me Anything” Zoom. Here is the offer: Offer

Terms: After you purchase your yearly subscription, email me at publishingconfidential@gmail.com, and I will send you a link to schedule a session.

Limits: I can’t review book proposals or query letters beforehand, so unfortunately, that isn’t something included in this deal. It is, however, a service I offer, and you can inquire about it by emailing kathleen@kmspr.com.

We can talk about publicity plans, general publishing questions, marketing plans, and anything else on your mind regarding book publishing. This deal expires tomorrow morning.

Name: Kathleen Schmidt

Age: 51, but I feel like I’m 35 (sometimes)

Nationalities: 75% Italian, 25% Irish

Whereabouts: New Jersey, mainly at the Jersey Shore (it’s nothing like you see on TV—it’s much better). 

Other whereabouts: NYC

Where I grew up in New Jersey: Roselle (I attended Roselle Catholic), Linden, and Union.

Where else I’ve lived in New Jersey: Montclair and West Orange.

Favorite Cities: NYC, Chicago, Boston, London, L.A.

Education: I attended Union County College, then Rutgers in Newark, NJ, for undergraduate studies, and I’m graduating from Southern New Hampshire University with an MBA in May. 

Undergraduate Major/Minor: English Major with a Creative Writing concentration and Psychology minor.

First job ever: At age 13, I was a stock girl.

My first publishing job was as a publicity assistant at Carol Publishing in Secaucus, NJ, in 1996.

College jobs: ESL tutor, waitress, hostess, legal assistant.

Worst qualities: impatience (especially when someone doesn’t respond to me!) and procrastination (specifically when I have a paper due for grad school…but hey, I have a 4.0 GPA!)

My best qualities are my sense of humor, loyalty, ability to think on my feet, and sarcasm. I would also give someone the shirt off my back.

Here is a fun fact that few people know about me: I did theater for three years in college. I acted, sang, and was a stage manager.

Second fun fact: I was the ghostwriter for The Little Book of Goat Yoga. 

Third fun fact: I’ve been writing poetry since I was 8.

Favorite book: Letting Go by Phillip Roth

Favorite author: Philip Roth

Author idol: Judy Blume (who else?)

My favorite Band is Foo Fighters—I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them live.

Other favorite bands: Tool, Metallica, Weezer, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Nine Inch Nails, Fleetwood Mac, Incubus, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, The Killers, Pearl Jam, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Echo & the Bunnymen, Catherine Wheel, Manchester Orchestra, Death Cab for Cutie, INXS, and Queen (to name a few).

Favorite music artists: Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Bruce Springsteen, T-Pain, Miguel, Harry Styles, SZA, Teddy Swims, Stevie Nicks, Samara Joy, Frank Sinatra, Notorious BIG, Eminem, Diana Ross…and many more.

The most famous person I’ve worked with is Prince (the purple one). He was charming.

Second most famous person: It’s a toss-up between The Spice Girls and Bill Russell (the late NBA legend).

Why did I decide to work in book publishing? When I was in college, I either wanted to be a lawyer or a book editor. I knew I loved books, and most professors told me I’d make a great editor, so I started applying for editorial assistant jobs. My dad wanted me to be a lawyer, and I scored very high on my LSATs. I even had an offer for a free ride to law school. I turned it all down to work in book publishing. I KNOW.

How did I get started in publicity? The editorial assistant jobs I was offered in 1996 only paid between $9K and $15K per year. I saw an ad in The New York Times for a publicity assistant at Carol Publishing that said, “Must love pop culture and have a good sense of humor.” The rest is history.

What other positions have I held in book publishing? Senior Publicist, Publicity Manager, VP of Publicity, VP of Marketing, Associate Publisher, Literary Agent, and Acquisitions Editor.

Why did I start this newsletter? In June 2022, I left my in-house position as Publicity Director at Skyhorse Publishing and took a few months to focus on grad school and decide what to do next. In January 2023, I started my own company (I’ll get to that in a minute). In March 2023, with just 100 emails from an old Mailchimp list, I started Publishing Confidential. I wanted to write a newsletter that demystified the publishing industry and covered topics that publishing reporters and trade publications weren’t covering. I have always felt that authors deserve to know more about the book industry.

How do I decide what to write about? Sometimes, I write about something that a subscriber points me to (all of you are great at this). Other times, I write about what subscribers want to know regarding book publishing. I am always open to suggestions.

Why I started my company: I interviewed for several jobs as I turned 50 and found that each position was filled by someone at least 15 years younger than me. It was demoralizing and frustrating. I hesitated to start my own business because I did it between 2010 and 2013, which didn’t go well. The difference this time was the additional experience I gained working for publishers and my MBA program. I wanted to be more than a book publicist, so I approach campaigns with branding, marketing, and publicity in mind. I can also work with writers on book proposals and query letters due to my agenting experience. I pride myself on being author-centered. You can read more about my services on my website here.

Favorite part of my job: Helping authors with their careers and connecting them with readers.

What I dislike about my job: I feel like I am often misunderstood, and that publicity is often misunderstood. 75% of publicity work is researching, writing, pitching, mailings, and author relations. 25% of it is confirming media and prepping authors for interviews, yet if there are not a ton of media confirmations, it is assumed that publicists aren’t doing much. That could not be further from the truth. It’s hard to constantly defend your work. Be nice to publicists.

Why I love writing this newsletter: Writing Publishing Confidential and creating a community here gives me joy. I’ve met several of you on Zoom or in person, and it’s been fantastic. THANK YOU for making this such a great experience for me.

On deck for this week: I’m working on a piece about streaming and publishing. If you have suggestions, send them to publishingconfidential@gmail.com

-Kathleen