I know I need a publicist/marketeer. But that person must know the context ( the Middle East) and my advocacy within such a fraught area of the world , especially as it pertains to Americans. The book ( The Water Above) is written as a running narrative of me and my family in the midst of war in the Holy lands. It is now serialized on sub stack,
Do you know any agents with whom I could talk and who might 'fit' ?
Thank you so much for writing this. I'm an editor but haven't had to work with a publicist because my world is far too niche. It's really interesting to know about what you do long after I'm done with what I do. :) And I want to hire you just to be nice to you, honestly.
Agree. In all industries it wouldn’t hurt to just be nice, or at least hold off on adding more negativity/snark/general unpleasantness to someone’s day.
Thank you for this insider perspective! It’s so important that we understand each other’s work. Sorry about the jerk faces that sometimes made you job not so fun.
2. Is your primary decision to take on a new client based on whether you appreciate the author...or rather is it the content in the book?
3. In the end, it's about selling stories ; I am assuming Fiction or CNF. So how do you establish metrics for success with an author/client?
4. How do you establish a price for your services?
5. Do you ever just take a flying leap with a controversial author/book ?
I ask because while I have published a couple of books, I find the process of ''getting to market'' to be fraught with everything from predators ( social media free lancers) to publicists who sold me well enough but didn't get the book ( The Water Above) to budge much in the ratings.
BTW....My book is being serialized on Sub stack which is where I found you. Further, I am so new to this world you live in that I am unsure that you respond to this type of post?
Hi David, I respond to q’s like these for paid subscribers every Friday. I can give you an idea: I don’t have a set number of books I rep at one time because each project requires a different amount of time. Right now, I’m cycling out of a couple of projects and I’m being intentional about what I take on. My decision is based on my business needs and if I feel the project is a good fit for PR. Meaning, will I get results? Price depends on scope of work. Metrics are tough. The best metrics are book sales, but you can also get a lot of PR for a book and have it not sell. I spent 2019-2022 working on very controversial books/authors at my last in-house job, so I’m not willing to do that anymore.
If popular recognition for one's book is essential to an author's ambition--either for affordable living or, in my case, for advocacy and understanding of issues critical to 'right relations' ( Justice) then we can engage if we are 'good and lucky' with small presses or try to market it ourselves. In either case, most often the marketing is rather slapdash compared to what Pro's like you produce.
As you know better than most, the big publishers want to see our numbers ( followers), historic sales, or lots of awards. All of this costs more than almost any writer/story-teller can afford. And so our stories are often doomed to being muted in the market place.
My sense is that the publishing industry is ripe for disruption---especially with AI also in the mix. Just too many frustrated veteran writers such as myself.
Thank you....you are, as I've read, a self made successful PR/publicist...and so I am appreciative that you took the time to listen.
David...author of 'The Avant Garde of Western Civ, Press Americana' and 'The Water Above' self published.
Like others, boy-o-boy, I wholeheartedly appreciate and confirm everything you wrote. Thank you.
I often wish there was a virtual 'cocktail lounge/support group' for publishing PRs (and those of us who perform multiple roles, including PR) to share our wins and vent about the rest.
I often think that no one--except fellow publicity people--can really understand the constant anxiety and pressure. And how oblivious non-PRs are to what the job entails.
Yes, I love books. I acquire, edit, and promote them. Running a publishing company is my childhood dream come true. But sometimes, sigh, sometimes, I think of chucking it all and telling the world to eff off into the sun.
Oh Kathleen - I loved working in PR but can’t imagine doing it for 20+ years. I’ll always be grateful for the experience, but I basically had no life outside of work. I once worked 12-hour days for seven weeks in a row without a day off. Then when I “went corporate” to work at a power plant 9/11 happened and my pager would go off at all hours of the day and night. People think it’s party central. Sure - parties where you have to work the room and are lucky to get leftovers when the event’s over (after working a 12-hour day).
Oh my God I needed to read this today. Am immediately sending this to all my fellow book publicists. The anxiety is very real. I can’t think of many jobs where you could spend a day working incredibly hard and have nothing at the end of it. Luckily the high you get when you do land something is basically on a par with a class A drug!
Kathleen - THANK YOU for this. I feel every word you write to my bones. This year (which feels like a full year so far!) has been rough to say the least. Love what I do -- but dang, it's been a bumpy January & February. Hugs and high-fives from NC.
THANK YOU so much for this, and all you do shine a light on how hard and often demoralizing Publicity is. I joke often that there's a reason that media placements and taking drugs are both called "hits."
The hits lift and sustain us between the vast valleys of nos (if we're lucky enough to even get a response) frustrations and authors and managers who don't understand, respect, or appreciate our job.
I once read a novel with a main character who was a book publicist who said, "I work for a middling publisher full of middling authors who are convinced that the only thing coming between them and literary superstardom is my incompetence."
It's so hard, and I have been lucky to work on some fantastic books with fantastic and appreciative authors. As they said in The Godfather II, "This is the business we've chosen."
Kathleen, this is a great article. I can relate to so many of your experiences after a couple of decades leading corporate communications. I would add that the 24 hour stakeholder cycle (where social media fuels the news) has brought an additional layer of work which many companies are not resourcing.
The pro is that we develop formidable, generalist strategic skills. The con is that we outgrow the role.
Hi Again Kathleen,
As you know, I am now a paid subscriber.
I know I need a publicist/marketeer. But that person must know the context ( the Middle East) and my advocacy within such a fraught area of the world , especially as it pertains to Americans. The book ( The Water Above) is written as a running narrative of me and my family in the midst of war in the Holy lands. It is now serialized on sub stack,
Do you know any agents with whom I could talk and who might 'fit' ?
Thank you so much for writing this. I'm an editor but haven't had to work with a publicist because my world is far too niche. It's really interesting to know about what you do long after I'm done with what I do. :) And I want to hire you just to be nice to you, honestly.
Spot on!!
I love your newsletters, think this sums up the challenges so well. It does indeed cost nothing to be nice and yet sadly not everyone manages it.
Agree. In all industries it wouldn’t hurt to just be nice, or at least hold off on adding more negativity/snark/general unpleasantness to someone’s day.
Thank you.
I love reading your posts. Sending you good vibes for finding sanity.
Thank you!
I really enjoyed this! Not a publicist but in comms so I could definitely relate. Thank you!
Thank you for this insider perspective! It’s so important that we understand each other’s work. Sorry about the jerk faces that sometimes made you job not so fun.
They’ll be in my memoir ;)
Good! lol!
I always tell folks that the title of my unwritten memoir is All the A**holes in the World.
😂
Thaks for this post! It was really insightful and enlightening to read from the point of view of an author!
Good Afternoon, Kathleen,
A few questions for you:
1. How many books can you represent at one time?
2. Is your primary decision to take on a new client based on whether you appreciate the author...or rather is it the content in the book?
3. In the end, it's about selling stories ; I am assuming Fiction or CNF. So how do you establish metrics for success with an author/client?
4. How do you establish a price for your services?
5. Do you ever just take a flying leap with a controversial author/book ?
I ask because while I have published a couple of books, I find the process of ''getting to market'' to be fraught with everything from predators ( social media free lancers) to publicists who sold me well enough but didn't get the book ( The Water Above) to budge much in the ratings.
BTW....My book is being serialized on Sub stack which is where I found you. Further, I am so new to this world you live in that I am unsure that you respond to this type of post?
Hi David, I respond to q’s like these for paid subscribers every Friday. I can give you an idea: I don’t have a set number of books I rep at one time because each project requires a different amount of time. Right now, I’m cycling out of a couple of projects and I’m being intentional about what I take on. My decision is based on my business needs and if I feel the project is a good fit for PR. Meaning, will I get results? Price depends on scope of work. Metrics are tough. The best metrics are book sales, but you can also get a lot of PR for a book and have it not sell. I spent 2019-2022 working on very controversial books/authors at my last in-house job, so I’m not willing to do that anymore.
Thank you, Kathleen,
It's just a tough row to hoe.
If popular recognition for one's book is essential to an author's ambition--either for affordable living or, in my case, for advocacy and understanding of issues critical to 'right relations' ( Justice) then we can engage if we are 'good and lucky' with small presses or try to market it ourselves. In either case, most often the marketing is rather slapdash compared to what Pro's like you produce.
As you know better than most, the big publishers want to see our numbers ( followers), historic sales, or lots of awards. All of this costs more than almost any writer/story-teller can afford. And so our stories are often doomed to being muted in the market place.
My sense is that the publishing industry is ripe for disruption---especially with AI also in the mix. Just too many frustrated veteran writers such as myself.
Thank you....you are, as I've read, a self made successful PR/publicist...and so I am appreciative that you took the time to listen.
David...author of 'The Avant Garde of Western Civ, Press Americana' and 'The Water Above' self published.
Like others, boy-o-boy, I wholeheartedly appreciate and confirm everything you wrote. Thank you.
I often wish there was a virtual 'cocktail lounge/support group' for publishing PRs (and those of us who perform multiple roles, including PR) to share our wins and vent about the rest.
I often think that no one--except fellow publicity people--can really understand the constant anxiety and pressure. And how oblivious non-PRs are to what the job entails.
Yes, I love books. I acquire, edit, and promote them. Running a publishing company is my childhood dream come true. But sometimes, sigh, sometimes, I think of chucking it all and telling the world to eff off into the sun.
Oh god, me too. My fantasy is to throw my phone into the ocean someday & never look back!
Oh Kathleen - I loved working in PR but can’t imagine doing it for 20+ years. I’ll always be grateful for the experience, but I basically had no life outside of work. I once worked 12-hour days for seven weeks in a row without a day off. Then when I “went corporate” to work at a power plant 9/11 happened and my pager would go off at all hours of the day and night. People think it’s party central. Sure - parties where you have to work the room and are lucky to get leftovers when the event’s over (after working a 12-hour day).
Oh my God I needed to read this today. Am immediately sending this to all my fellow book publicists. The anxiety is very real. I can’t think of many jobs where you could spend a day working incredibly hard and have nothing at the end of it. Luckily the high you get when you do land something is basically on a par with a class A drug!
Kathleen - THANK YOU for this. I feel every word you write to my bones. This year (which feels like a full year so far!) has been rough to say the least. Love what I do -- but dang, it's been a bumpy January & February. Hugs and high-fives from NC.
P.S. love the "recovering publicist" term!
THANK YOU so much for this, and all you do shine a light on how hard and often demoralizing Publicity is. I joke often that there's a reason that media placements and taking drugs are both called "hits."
The hits lift and sustain us between the vast valleys of nos (if we're lucky enough to even get a response) frustrations and authors and managers who don't understand, respect, or appreciate our job.
I once read a novel with a main character who was a book publicist who said, "I work for a middling publisher full of middling authors who are convinced that the only thing coming between them and literary superstardom is my incompetence."
It's so hard, and I have been lucky to work on some fantastic books with fantastic and appreciative authors. As they said in The Godfather II, "This is the business we've chosen."
That quote! Perfectly sums it up.
That quote is so depressing and yet completely apt
That quote from the novel is so spot-on.
Fellow former Rodale-ian here :-) And also a recovering publicist. This brilliantly captures the life and manic energy of that profession and life.
Kathleen, this is a great article. I can relate to so many of your experiences after a couple of decades leading corporate communications. I would add that the 24 hour stakeholder cycle (where social media fuels the news) has brought an additional layer of work which many companies are not resourcing.
The pro is that we develop formidable, generalist strategic skills. The con is that we outgrow the role.
I look forward to your next article! 🌟
Thank you!