Four months ago I signed my first publishing contract thinking, with a fair amount of relief, that my work had mostly been accomplished. I knew from reading other author’s experiences that I had a bit of a road ahead of me, but hey, the rest seemed like icing compared to the nauseating wonder if anyone would care two hoots about what I had written. So I tiptoed through the tulips, basking in the afterglow of the first conversation I had with “my publisher,” (ah such sweet words) until about a week later when I picked up the book, The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity, by Lissa Warren. It dawned on me that there was going to be another ocean to cross in my life: Publicity.
Gone, it seems, are the days when we writers could exist on some tropical island with our own personal, well built, philly cream cheese guy (mine would be Mike of course…he’ll be reading this) bringing us mojitos and key lime pie as a reward for writing a page a day. Okay, maybe that wasn’t ever a reality. It was a dream, though… sigh. And I wonder if the idea that we could write a bestseller, Harper Lee style, and then disappear into our artist hidey hole and feed off the royalties for the next few decades, was ever based in reality either. What is becoming clearer to me by the minute is that these days a writer’s job is only half done, maybe even less, when they get that monumental call from a publisher offering a contract. The next step is just as important, although we never imagined we would list “Marketing Executive” on our resume. Whether you enlist with a large or small house (and especially if you are self publishing), publicity is the next hurdle.
Since I am new to the whole game, I decided early on to hire a publicist. I meandered into the publicity realm ambivalent to the fact that it can be a minefield. This became evident when I received my first few proposals from larger firms with price tags attached. Sorry kiddos, there’s no college for you, Mom’s gotta spring for publicity! Most firms wanted the full amount up front, but a few were willing to take it in two installments, especially if you were opting for a campaign around 3 months or longer. Despite the layout of cash, there seemed little accountability, or guarantees that what was promised would be fulfilled.
While researching, I continually ran into authors (and my publisher) who warned me to be very careful who I hired. Several said, yes, it can be expensive, but if you hire someone decent, someone with integrity who works hard, the whole publicist experience can be a mutually beneficial relationship, doing wonders to boost your book sales. You just have to ask around and find out who’s doing a good job. So instead of asking publicity firms for references (seemed a waste of time, obviously they would be positive) I went to publicist’s websites and accessed their client lists, randomly picking names from the many. I then Googled those authors, tracked down their personal websites and emailed them directly, asking their impressions of the publicist in question. Every single author I queried got back to me within 24 hours. Whether their experience was positive or negative, they seemed eager to share it. I was fascinated by their journeys, began to get a good sense of who I didn’t want to represent me, and learned a fair bit about the biz along the way. Two large, popular firms garnered particularly negative responses. In one case, four out of the five authors I emailed said they would not go with that publicist again, citing a lack of communication and results. One of these authors told me that she paid 6500.00 and only received a few blogger reviews, with no explanation as to why she didn’t get more bang for her buck. Regarding this firm, the one positive response came from an author who was- surprise surprise! a prominent one. Message received. More than that–thanks to the kind authors who took the time to respond–money I didn’t waste. I intend to pay the favor forward.
The good news: from the website of a different firm, I “cold called” 5 authors and received 5 positive reviews. They are out there. And more good news: there are publicists who charge by the hour! This seems like a no brainer. Less initial expense and more accountibility-the route I will likely travel.
The bottom line: do your homework.
Check out: The Savvy Authors Guide to Book Publicity by Lissa Warren
Publicize Your Book by Jacqueline Deval
Also check out www.sandrabeckwith.com I met Sandy at the Florida Writers Conference last October–what a wealth of info she is!
Comments on this entry are closed.