How do I get started in book publicity (and what to charge)

[creating4u]

I am a freelance PR/Marketing Consultant and part-time writer. Most of my 1,000+ press releases have been in the area of residential real estate and home building. In doing some soul searching over the last several months about where I'd like to be professionally in the coming years, I decided I'd like to expand my PR capabilities to other areas (broaden the horizons, if you will, AND avoid getting burnt out in one niche area).

Book publicity immediately came to mind because of my love of books, writers' lack of understanding about how to publicize/market themselves and their books, and my ability to relate to writers (as I am one).

My questions on this include:
-Need advice on how to get started in this field. I've read a few book publicity books and tried to talk to a couple people in the industry (without much success).
-What rates do I charge? I'm sure fees are much different than in my current industry as writers are often on tight budgets
-How can I establish an accurate national media list for helping a client get book reviews in magazines and newspapers?
-Any other tips or advice greatly appreciated, including how to go about getting my first clients when I'm experiencing the Catch-22 of no experience in this specific area.

Thanks, in advance, for any and all responses!
_________________
TC
Top Cat Creative Services
www.topcatcreative.com
Your source for PR, newsletters, brochures, direct mail, web site copy & more

[Jeff Colburn]

Hello,

First, I would suggest reading "1,001 Ways To Market Your Books" by John Kremer. Anyone trying to promote a book should memorize this book.

As for what to charge, check with the National Writers Union, and some other professional writer's groups. They should be able to give you an idea of rates.

Making a national media list is a biggie. This will require finding reviewers (do searches in Google), finding contact names at medium and large newspapers, having categories of magazines (you don't want to send a cookbook to a travel magazine, unles the cookbook is about exotic recipes from around the world). Most of your work will be spent finding these publications and contact names, and constantly rechecking to contact information since people come an go so quickly in the newspaper and magazine fields.

Clients can be found by having a website, and promoting it. By placing ads in writers magazines. Writing articles for writers magazines about book promotion, etc.

You can start this business, but you may want to start with a narrow field. You could promote just cookbooks, or just science fiction writers. Once you become known in this field, and have your contacts lined up, then expand into another field. Of course, you could also offer your services to several literary agents and let them do all the legwork of finding clients and contacts, and you would just writer the promotional material.

Have Fun,
Jeff
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[FernReiss@PublishingGame]

>Need advice on how to get started in this field. I've read a few book publicity books and >tried to talk to a couple people in the industry (without much success).
>-What rates do I charge? I'm sure fees are much different than in my current industry >as writers are often on tight budgets
>-How can I establish an accurate national media list for helping a client get book >reviews in magazines and newspapers?
>-Any other tips or advice greatly appreciated, including how to go about getting my first >clients when I'm experiencing the Catch-22 of no experience in this specific area.

Bacon's Media Directory is probably the best source for a national media list.
They include *everything*. It's pricy, but worth it. There are also services that
will sell you listings from Bacon's on an a la carte basis, so that you can zero
in just on what you're interested in (at lower cost.)

I'm surprised you haven't found it easy to speak to people in the book pr
industry. What I love most about publishing is how willing everyone is to
share their info. People are pretty busy with their own stuff, so barraging
them via email is probably not a great idea, but try going to a writing or
publishing conference where you'll meet people face to face, and I'm sure
you'll find people willing to share their experiences. Publishers Marketing
Association runs a PMA University for small publishers in June (this year
it's June 1-3 in Chicago) which is an excellent forum, and attracts at
least two dozen book pr specialists.

And rates? Rates for book pr are all over the place--from $5 for contact info
to $10,000/month retainer.

Hope this helps.
/Fern

"The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days"
"The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days"
"The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days"
Buy the books or try the all-day workshop:
Philadelphia (Jan 12), DC (Jan 14), Boca (Feb 8), NYC (March 29),
Chicago (June 8), DC (June 23). Workshops limited to 18 attendees.
http://www.PublishingGame.com

[l_blatchford]

I also am interested in this topic becuase I was asked to assist a friend to publicize her book. I've found most authors can't afford to pay much, and working on a commission basis is rather difficult.

My business partner and I are trying to book our authors for paid speaking engagements throughout the U.S. We are also doing web sites and other projects for author; meaning that our own web site has been ignored.

If anyone has any insight or recommendations into this aspect, I'm be interested.

Linda Blatchford
Hot D Publicity
http://www.hotdogsncoolcats.com

[tpope]

Hi, I have a long history with books and publishers--I worked both for Barnes & Noble and for a small indy press that got bought out by Random House (I'm in northern Cali).
I, too, have a real estate PR/marketing background (worked for a REALTORs assn.) and now I work for a non-profit health org. as a fundraiser. However, the majority of my experience in PR focuses around books.

If you can, try to work for a book publisher first (or see if you can consult for a publisher first). I don't mean to be a downer but book publicity is very niche and is a far cry from the real estate/building industries. Obviously, you have the savvy and marketing knowledge but you need to know the "players" in the publishing industry and you need "in's" with the bookstores, etc. I would suggest poring through the big publishing houses' websites and get a feel for their niche markets. Do you have any specific media connections that are tied to books/book promotions and publicity? You really need to have inside leads and contacts in the book industry.

Here are a few hints: I would advise not taking on "self-published" writers. The big guns (like your B&N stores etc) will NOT even work with self-pub. authors. They only want mainstream authors who have a big house backing them (i.e. like a Random House etc). I was the community relations manager for 2 B&N stores and we never worked with self-published authors (that is their policy). Although, the reality is that self-published writers are the authors out there who need the biggest help pitching their book but they cannot pay.

Also, a lot of authors have very limited budgets for publicity. Unfortunately, it's a tough market at the moment and most authors already have publicists (that is, if their book is being published by a larger publishing house). I would research smaller independent presses and see if they are looking for publicity consultants--although, you're still not looking at a lot of money and most want consultants who can show them the money-- a proven track record/increased book sales (obviously, good publicity equates to books sold!)

You really, really need to get some experience working with authors and publishers first (they are weird breeds unto themselves!). I am usually not one to discourage people from going after their dreams. However, I'm just speaking from experience and know the realities of book publicity. Publishing is a tough, competitive biz and pitching books is tough. You are dealing with a completely saturated market and everyone is trying to become the next NYT Bestseller author. Also, I would only take on authors who are marketable and have a chance at selling their books mainstream(thus, you really need to research the publishing houses as I mentioned previously). I was just talking today to my mom's cousin about her daughter's failed attempts at self-publishing her book. It's incredibly tough to self-promote (why you need a lit agent or a good publicist who knows the industry!)

Good luck--I hate to put a damper on things but you really need to research and get some experience under your belt before you take a leap into the publishing arena/book publicity.

[Julie Hood]

TC,

You might consider attending the meetings of your local publishers association. You can view a list at http://www.pma-online.org/affiliat.cfm

My group has a resource list for our members (a good place to spread the word about your business). You might offer to present at a meeting: "All About Publicity and Press Releases" or something similar. Some of the members who attend may then ask you for help.

You can also look for the authors with outstanding books, and ask them if they are looking for help with publicity.

As far as rates, a friend of mine charges $50/hour and takes about an hour to do press releases. It depends on your market, and you may just have to experiment to hit the correct price point for your area.

Good luck!
Julie Hood
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