Resources for Writers

The New Author and Publicity: What You Need to Know Now

If you're a first-time author, you shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to publicity and promotion. I'm speaking from experience now, folks. When my first print book was released in 2003, I was naïve about the basics of publicity and self-promotion in the publishing world. Although an experienced businesswoman, trainer, and coach, I needed to learn how to stand out from the thousands of other authors with new books to promote.

I can't tell you how many mistakes I made along the way, both in publicity and self-promotion. Many of these could have been avoided had I known some basic facts first. I also wasted precious time researching information that I wish someone had handed me the way you're going to receive it right now. Consider it your gift: It's the effective way to get the word out about your book.

The good news is I am now an expert on publicity and promotion. I founded www.sanbornpublicity.com, a division of my popular coaching practice. If you need a publicist who will work with you to garner media coverage in print, radio, and TV, consider hiring us to be your advocates for publicity success.

Top Tips for Publicity

Hire a publicist – or not. Whether you're a novelist or a nonfiction author, you need media exposure! Getting publicity is a full-time job, and if you aren't willing to put in the long hours it takes, hire a publicist to do it for you. A good publicist will develop pitch material and contact the media on your behalf after creating a workable publicity campaign based on your needs and desires. Services can include: writing and sending press releases about your newsworthy events and appearances to TV, radio and print media sources, collaborating with you to create interview topics and article ideas to pitch the media, training you in interview techniques, setting up bookstore appearances, and more. Publicists are usually not cheap, though. A good one may cost you $1,500 a month or more. Do your research and find out what you will get for your money. Hint: Ask if they will work with you to develop media pitches. Some publicists make you do all the work, while they sit back and pocket your hard-earned money! Ask if you will get a publicity plan, and whether you will get periodic reports. Don't sign on the dotted line unless you're sure what you're getting.

Get an attractive web site. If you're an author, there is no excuse to have a web site that screams “amateur!” A polished web site that is optimized for top placement in the search engines like Google will get you noticed by web surfers and media professionals. If they can't find you, they won't interview you. Spread the word about your website: put your URL on your business cards, stationery, book jacket, and everywhere else you can think of!

Submit your articles to web sites that suit your platform. You will gain a lot of attention by writing articles in your area of expertise – and submitting them to appropriate sites that will give you a plug for your book and web site. A romance novelist can become an expert on, say, doing up a perfect Valentine's Day dinner, and thus get coverage on food sites and romance sites as well. Use Google to search for the right sites for your platform by entering relevant key words.

Be ready for TV. This means get a great TV wardrobe together, a makeover, and some media coaching if necessary. Hint: Hire a production crew to tape you in action – speaking in front of a group, performing in your area of expertise – whatever. Just make sure you have that professional video ready when a local or national show contacts you. Hint: This is important! Spend the money and do it right. (The only reason you could skip this step is if you already have some great footage from past TV appearances. In my case, my TV footage was terrible, and I had to get a new video produced.)

Contact the media on a regular basis. Be sure to contact, by email or phone, at least two media people per day. Start with your daily newspaper, and select individuals who write about your area of expertise. If you have a story idea or a comment on something they've written, contact them to introduce yourself. You can become an expert the media frequently call upon by making sure they know who you are and what you do. Hint: TV takes its lead from the press. If you get great coverage in a national newspaper or magazine, TV folks won't be far behind, I assure you!

Get out on the lecture circuit. Public speaking is a great way to spread the word about you and your work. If you're not comfortable speaking in front of an audience, practice by giving presentations to small groups until you feel more confident. A great way to do this is to test your skills with your local Rotary club. Later on, you can schedule speaking engagements for pay, which will benefit your fans and your pocketbook. Depending on your platform, you can register with speakers' bureaus (there are many you can find on the Internet) around the country. You'll need that trusty video here, too! They'll want to see you in action. If you speak on a specific topic or career field, search the Web for conferences on your area of expertise. You can request to be a guest speaker for their next annual meeting.

Contact radio stations for more exposure. Radio coverage can be easier to get than TV, and gives you solid practice in learning how to speak clearly and in concise sound bites. Personally, I believe major market radio is the least effective publicity tool for you to use, but other people in the know have a different and much more positive opinion about radio. National radio can get you great exposure, however. My advice would be to get a few local and major market radio shows under your belt, and then shoot for the national shows. There are media books professional publicists use (and pay big bucks for!) to get the latest radio station contact information and personnel changes. But you can always start with the station in your own back yard and become a polished radio guest in no time!

Watch out for time and money wasters. You already know all about the famous book tour, right? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but book tours are, unfortunately, a huge waste of your valuable time and money. Unless you are a famous author with a tour budget, you'll have to go it alone – and often a book tour doesn't help you as much as you think it will. Hint: An intelligently planned book tour includes just a few major cities, with print, radio, and TV appearances to coincide with each stop. So plan your tour wisely – or you'll be out hundreds of dollars with little to show for it.

Kathy Sanborn is a career coach and author of The Seasons of Your Career. Visit her www.lifeandcareercoaching.com for more tips and articles for your success. Kathy provides publicity services at www.sanbornpublicity.com.