Spreading the word
On brainstorming your publicity with your publishing team
Hi all,
I hope you’re all well and enjoying the sunshine! I am back at my desk refreshed after a couple of weeks off emails/meetings (which sounds like a holiday but some work was done!) and a flurry of catching up.
There have recently been a lot of discussions about publicity within publishing as it’s becoming harder to get your book noticed and, sometimes, all the pitching in the world either doesn’t land any meaningful coverage or does land the coverage without making an impact on book sales. So I thought I’d go through what I personally do to help my authors navigate this stage of the publication process.
What’s the deal with publicity?
I believe that the way publicity used to operate, especially in corporate publishing, isn’t working as well anymore. Emailing press releases and doing mass mail-outs of proofs or finished copies isn’t enough to move the needle the way it used to. Now press releases need to be hookier and mail-outs often need to include even more elaborate (and costly) add-ons to be noticed amongst the hundreds of parcels received every week by journalists or bloggers.
There are many reasons for this and they’re all complex. The media landscape is shrinking and there are ever fewer avenues to pitch to for book coverage. There is competition with other forms of media like TV, film, video games, podcasts, etc that are taking these shrinking media opportunities.
On the publishing side, publishers are amalgamating more of their teams and the sheer scale of workload means that decisions on publicity and marketing can very much be made by imprint rather than for individual books — which means that on any given list there will inevitably be books that aren’t prioritised.
While these problems won’t be solved overnight, I like to focus on actions we can take.
I have created a Google Docs Template (obv) with the below and ask my authors to fill it in and then we usually share the document link with the publisher (editor, marketer, publicist) when it comes to have our meeting about publicity and marketing. If there’s anything that should stay between the author and the agent, we paste it in a new document.
Publishers usually start working on their campaign for the book around 6 months pre-publication and actually pitch between 6 and 3 months pre-publication so you will probably have a meeting scheduled within that time frame. Some newspapers or festivals have longer/shorter lead times than others hence the range. Obviously, super big books start earlier but for these the publisher will be on top of them and hounding you for what they need.
Now you might be thinking that you actually saw a campaign plan around acquisition for your book so the publisher will already have done some thinking about it and have a rough roadmap. HOWEVER, I wouldn’t take what was promised (it’s more of a wish list, pie in the sky type of thing) at acquisitions for a done deal. The publishing team that bought the book will likely not be the same 18 to 24 months after, when it comes to publishing your book. They are also working on a different budget target so the pre-publication meeting is when you know what will happen.
Your pitch for the book
Your agent, publisher and everyone in between will have a pitch for your book but it’s useful for you to put down the writer hat and put on the published writer hat before even starting to think about publication.
There is the way you talk about your book to your nearest and dearest… and there is the way you talk about it publicly. Sometime it’s the same, sometimes there’s some editing, fine-tuning and actual changing of the story behind the book. Readers love stories, especially the story behind the story, and they will always want to know so prepare in advance answers to questions like: why did you want to become a writer? Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration?
Sometimes the inspiration for a setting, plot or character becomes obvious after the writing of the book. Influences aren’t always conscious so take some time to think about your book at a distance.
Prepare your one-sentence pitch (head over here for tips) and also use the opportunities to write bullet points of what you think are the noteworthy aspects of your book (setting, characters, plot, tone, voice, etc.). Most of the time, this will align with what your publishing team has but sometimes you add something the teams don’t known about (especially when it comes to its relevance to you) and that will help their pitching.
Medium favoured
First things first, it’s good for an author to think about which type of media suits them best. You don’t have to be open to everything and just prioritise things that are more comfortable for you. You will likely have to consider opportunities outside of your comfort zone but do ask for help with training and prep ahead of time and talk through your concerns.
If you are short on time, it’s okay to favour options where you can do things in advance (print articles/interviews, podcasts) or give the publisher two weeks of your time and they can book everything within that time frame.
If you’re not great with public speaking then maybe limit the amount of live radio/TV/physical events and instead favour print or online events.
If you don’t like talking about yourself, you may be less keen on interviews or some type of events focused on authors.
If you hate being perceived, you can do more written things but you can also choose to have events that are about the topic of your book where you invite other authors and you lead the discussion rather than be the focus of the event.
There is no right or wrong way to do this, only a way that is most comfortable to you. Be honest with your publishing team — share what is a ‘no’ and what is a ‘not sure but willing to challenge myself with the right support’.
Here’s a list to get you started: which of the below are you most comfortable (or uncomfortable!) doing and if you have experience in any of them?
Print (interview of you)
Print (article you write)
Radio / podcast
TV
Physical events (festivals, bookshops, other venues)
Zoom/online events
Topics you ‘d rather NOT talk about
I know you may be thinking that you’d rather NOT share which topics you don’t feel comfortable about and just avoid them. But this is not the best way to do things because if it’s about something juicy present in your book? You will 100% be asked about it, no matter how small. Also, the internet is forever so once something is out in the world, it’s there forever (there’s no getting that genie back in the bottle).
Think about things you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in a busy train station for example, and share with your team if there is any topic or person or event you don’t want to talk about or ever want to be asked about. Then if there’s a topic you’re comfortable talking about but only with care, then share that too.
Essentially, journalists and anyone interviewing you will want a good story for their article/event so everyone knowing in advance what not to ask is very important to help you feel comfortable and safe. The topics you don’t want to talk about won’t be shared with everyone but rather to the people who need to know.
This also goes for anything in your past that isn’t in your book but could be in the public domain. Being transparent from the start and placing your boundaries will help smooth the publication process.
Do bear in mind — these things can be updated at all times so if you said you were comfortable about something and change your mind, that’s absolutely fine. Just communicate the change with your team and they will handle it.
I have seen too many authors go ahead with things because they don’t want to be a pain or they don’t want it to affect their career. Find the one person you trust in the team and tell them (or ask your agent to do it) — it is better for everyone to avoid a tricky situation than to deal with the consequences of one.
Articles or essays to pitch to print media
If print articles are something you’re interested in, the good thing is you don’t have to write the article in full, just a pitch for it. It’s useful to have a few different ideas for a publicist to pick from: maybe something about you/your life, a theme in the book, a craft thing, etc.
A pitch is typically a short paragraph for each idea. It’s more useful if it is adjacent to the book in some way and will lead people to want to read the book.
The ideas should be ‘hooky’ so timely and universal but showing your unique voice.
Have you written for any publications / do you have any media contacts?
I know it can feel cringe but list everywhere you’ve had a piece published or were interviewed in and any contact you may have (yes, even Brian from high school who now has a book podcast).
Places that have featured you may be more likely to feature you again and therefore your publicist may want to be in touch again and mention the previous article.
Even local press or academic websites etc.
Do you know any authors personally?
I know, super cringe again, but do list all the authors you know. (And I mean, personally know — have had conversations with and are on good terms with. NOT anyone you can think of). Maybe they’d be happy to read the book and offer a blurb if they like it? Or maybe they could pitch a review to a publication (two birds one stone)?
They could also be great people to contact to chair events.
While publishers do their best to secure blurbs, it is getting incredibly difficult (mostly because of how many books are getting published and blurb requests sent!) so a personal connection goes a long way.
This is why it is very good for your community if you yourself support others in their time of need. It’s not always possible but it’s good for the ecosystem. ‘Treat others as you’d like to be treated’ is always a good mantra — supporting your fellow authors, indie bookshops and publishing staffers is always appreciated.
Places to target for reviews or features
It is useful for your publishing team to know which places you would love to be featured in. Yes, we all want the broadsheets, but is there a specific section there that you’d love to get.
Publicists work hard but these slots are increasingly hard to secure so it’s useful to know where you would love to be featured.
Events / Festivals
It’s also good for you to share with your team which events or festivals you’d like to be pitched to and if you have any personal contacts there. It focuses the publicist’s job and it’s great for them to be able to book something you were really keen on.
I know many authors would want events (EVERYTHING) EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. And to a certain extent, your publisher will want to do as much as they can, but events have lately seen ticket sales down and have led to fewer book sales so it may not be financially beneficial for your publisher to pay all your expenses for a small quantity of books sold. It’s better to do fewer but more targeted festivals.
Prizes
Again, it’s really useful for your team to know which prizes you think your book could be submitted to. Most prizes rely on publishers submitting and with many of them incurring a fee, your book may not be submitted unless you ask.
Additionally, for a handful of prizes that limit the number of submissions a publisher/imprint can make, you can ask to be submitted but you may never be told if you are. These are at the discretion of the publisher and a company policy not to share.
Summarise your access needs
You may have already filled in a form at another stage of publishing regarding your access needs but I find it useful to add a summary that may be relevant to the pitching on the same document. Think of accessibility needs when it comes to travelling, in-person or online events and/or interviews.
And because I always need to repeat this: access needs aren’t a luxury where you ask for blue M&Ms and champagne. It is a legal duty of employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Here are some examples:
Forms – for example providing forms in Braille or audio formats, or the publisher handling that aspect for the author
Tasks like signing, events etc – for example giving extra time to travel and complete the tasks, or requesting people to wear face masks
Interview arrangements – such as providing wheelchair access, communicator support
Making sure the location has the right facilities and equipment – accessible building but also amenities like bathrooms and kitchens need to be accessible
Training opportunities and extra support
Building rest times — rest times should be taken into account when making schedule
What’s next?
As mentioned, you will likely have a publicity and marketing meeting with your publisher between 6 months and 3 months pre-publication for your hardback / first publication (paperback meetings don’t always happen). If you don’t have one planned, start asking your agent to enquire about one 6 months pre-pub.
I tend to be collaborative with authors and publishers so we divide and conquer at the meeting who is the best person to approach which newspaper/festival/author. (No, publicity isn’t actually part of my job, but I do want my authors’ books to get the best shot and sometimes step in when needed).
I use a colour coding system (obv) to flag who is pitching to whom and when a pitch has been turned down so we can move on. I know publishers don’t always like to be this transparent but I’d rather an author know the pitching was done, and sadly didn’t land, than leave them to wonder if it has been done at all.
We don’t usually have another meeting but we update each other in the run up and after publication. Aside from some long lead times, you usually do the bulk of publicity a couple of weeks before and after publication and then one-off events/festivals during the rest of the year if you are keen for events.
Around two months after your publication date, your publishing team has moved on to other titles and will be less proactive (the bulk of their work has been done pre-publication). They will still be reactive to any opportunity they receive so keep them updated with what you’re doing.
Resources
The most useful resource I have found was created by blackbookbitch who put together The Author’s Publicity Toolkit.
It is designed for writers who want to take initiative around their book’s visibility when professional publicity support isn’t available because of budget, timing, or access.
It is not positioned as a replacement for a publicist. Publicity is a relational business built on trust, experience and long-term media relationships. Instead, this toolkit empowers authors to understand the process, do meaningful work themselves, and become stronger collaborators within the publishing ecosystem.
I hope this is helpful! Is there anything else you’ve done that’s missing from this list?
Until next time,
Caro
I sure do love a book-stack photo!
Incredibly helpful, thanks Caro. My second novel is being hybrid published at the end of October, so I'm working hard on my publicity campaign right now.