So many fantastic points here. The two most salient ones for me are about fostering authors' careers more than individual books (how do you build a brand if your publisher loses interest when you're not an instant bestseller? Backlist is worth investing time/effort in) and the need for internal branding by individual imprints. It would be so beneficial, not only for the publisher to reader relationship, but also to help authors figure out which imprint is really the right home for their work. When an imprint's list is too all over the place, it's not good a situation for anybody trying to stay on (or conform to) message. Thanks as always for your insight.
Building my author brand is constantly on my mind. It's all about what to focus on with limited time/$. Thank you for your insider take on this changing landscape!
How does Goodreads play into publicity? I feel like the books on Goodreads "best book of April" (or whatever article) always seem to do pretty well and I know several people who look at that list for what to read next
As a book publicist of many decades and equal time as an independent, i applaud much of this analysis. The blurring of publicity and marketing, on author platforms like Reedsy instruct authors about the algorhythm and Amazon ads. Branding as creating an identity platform with purpose seems underserved. I look forward to reafing more.
I mostly read nonfiction. You can find books by entering a subject into Google and selecting ‘Books’. I evaluate them by reading reader reviews on Amazon.
I also read book reviews from the Wall Street Journal. They tend to review the type I’m interested in.
Kathleen - Really great email today. Very helpful. Authors really need to think about what their brand is and how to best directly reach their readers. Are they NYTimes readers? USWeekly? Never read an actual magazine, but only go on TikTok? There's no "one size fits all" when it comes to book publicity. That's for sure!
Thanks for this! As someone w a memoir coming out with a small press in 2025, I really heard this line: "...Brand from within..."I think I'm going to get this tattooed on my...spreadsheet.
So many fantastic points here. The two most salient ones for me are about fostering authors' careers more than individual books (how do you build a brand if your publisher loses interest when you're not an instant bestseller? Backlist is worth investing time/effort in) and the need for internal branding by individual imprints. It would be so beneficial, not only for the publisher to reader relationship, but also to help authors figure out which imprint is really the right home for their work. When an imprint's list is too all over the place, it's not good a situation for anybody trying to stay on (or conform to) message. Thanks as always for your insight.
Very interesting and informative -- and as someone with a book coming out next May, lots for me to think about. Definitely some useful caveats
Wonderful piece! Thanks for the info.
Building my author brand is constantly on my mind. It's all about what to focus on with limited time/$. Thank you for your insider take on this changing landscape!
Too much truth in this piece to even comment on. Concur on everything.
Once again, thank you.
Fantastic
How does Goodreads play into publicity? I feel like the books on Goodreads "best book of April" (or whatever article) always seem to do pretty well and I know several people who look at that list for what to read next
Good Reads is an author site. And the reviews and list reflect their choices made without commercial prods
As a book publicist of many decades and equal time as an independent, i applaud much of this analysis. The blurring of publicity and marketing, on author platforms like Reedsy instruct authors about the algorhythm and Amazon ads. Branding as creating an identity platform with purpose seems underserved. I look forward to reafing more.
I mostly read nonfiction. You can find books by entering a subject into Google and selecting ‘Books’. I evaluate them by reading reader reviews on Amazon.
I also read book reviews from the Wall Street Journal. They tend to review the type I’m interested in.
Kathleen - Really great email today. Very helpful. Authors really need to think about what their brand is and how to best directly reach their readers. Are they NYTimes readers? USWeekly? Never read an actual magazine, but only go on TikTok? There's no "one size fits all" when it comes to book publicity. That's for sure!
So helpful to think about as the industry / landscape continues to shift. Thanks!!
One of the BEST pieces on this topic
Thank you!
When I study management, "publicity" was an important issue for SMEs.
Maybe, for some time, FB, Twitter, etc, was an indirect way of publicity. Now, only sometimes: To reach audience we have to pay in those platforms.
Thanks for this! As someone w a memoir coming out with a small press in 2025, I really heard this line: "...Brand from within..."I think I'm going to get this tattooed on my...spreadsheet.
Great information! Bob Lefsetz has a similar message for the music industry.
Whatever happened to “word of mouth sells books”?
It still does, but how do people hear about them to spread word of mouth?