Veteran New York Publicist, Sherri Rosen, Speaks About Writing, Self-Publishing & Publicity
How many of you enjoy sex? Spirituality? Relationships? How many of you know anything about these three subjects? If you feel you do, write about it. Write about what you know, about your personal experiences, your truth, find your voice! Have you had your book published? Have you done your own publicity on your book? Are you a good self- promoter? Ask yourself these questions. Your responses will tell you how to take action.
One of my very first books was How To Satisfy A Woman Every Time And Have Her Beg For More! It was a self-published book that came out in 1981. I came along in 1991, the author hired me, and the book was on the New York Times bestseller list within 6 months and stayed on for 63 weeks. Author made millions of dollars. Got a big book deal from Penguin. Another book Stop Getting Dumped, self-published. We got so much publicity for that book that it ended up being sold to Plume Books, an imprint of Penguin, for an excellent deal. I share some of these stories with you because this is where “hard work and magic come in.” You just never know and it’s important to think outside of the box.
My style is working with the author and/or publisher as a team. We will work with an author if we believe in his/her book. With the hard work that we put into publicity, we have got to love the book and the author. We have integrity and we won’t lie. We can turn a no into a yes. When I was working on How To Satisfy I kept calling the producer of a national radio show in Washington, D.C. once a month. Many months later the producer said “If I hear ‘How To Satisfy’ one more time I am going to scream.” There was silence and then I said to the producer, “This is my job. This is what I do.” He told me to have the author in studio three days later. We also place authors in areas they have never been before. One of our clients was big on the college circuit and we weaved radio and television into her tour, which was something she had never done before and it was a success. We are relentless in our follow-up. We are assertive, not aggressive. There’s a big difference.
Hire a publicist at least three months before the book comes out. Do it to plan strategy, pull together a press kit. Many book reviewers need to receive the book at least three months before the pub date. If you don’t feel confident as a self-promoter than I highly recommend you hire a publicist. Don’t do it yourself! You have gone through the painful process of writing the book, so don’t mess it up by ignoring the publicity end of it. There are all types of publicity with someone out there to match your budget. If you don’t have a good feeling when you speak to a publicist on the phone, try someone else until you find someone that resonates with you. Find someone who is just as excited about your book as you are. Many publishers will not spend the money on publicity of your book, especially if you are a first-time author. For those of you who are working with a publisher and would like them to put some money into publicity of your book, offer them a detailed proposal of what you would like to do. Don’t hesitate to hire an experienced publicist to consult with on putting together a dynamite proposal. The proposal is a sales pitch on why they should spend money on your book. Many publicists like myself will work with authors on putting it together. If you don’t want to hire a publicist for a full campaign, then just use his/her services to assist in putting together the press kit, in making it as professional as possible and to attract the attention of whoever is receiving it. You must remember that many producers and book reviewers receive hundreds of press kits every day and you want to make yours stand out.
Whether you are a self-published or a published author, we suggest that you learn as much as you can about the publishing industry. How to do that is to obtain referrals of creditable individuals in the industry. You can find out this information on the Internet, going into bookstores, and finding out what agents sell what genre of books. Who was the editor that worked on the book. Many times you will find the info in the acknowledgement section. If self-published, ask around to people who have gone through the experience. Obtain referrals, speak to these people and get educated. Checkout their websites, whether it is a publicist, agent, publisher, book proposal expert. Take a look and see what is going on. This may take time but it will save you money and save you from making many big mistakes. Even if you have to spend money for one-hour consultations with professionals in the field, do it, because in the long run you will save money and save yourself from making big mistakes.
You can boost sales with minimum dollars by scheduling some events in your hometown, where you can sell the book yourself. Try to relate your presentation of your book with a local event that is going on, or a holiday event that is happening. Last month we had Valentine’s Day and if anyone had a relationship or sex book, two months prior the author needed to approach bookstores. Look in your local newspaper to see any events that are going on that you can be involved in with your book. And remember, this is investment in your future. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
