Anthony Mora Communications - Los Angeles public relations firm

Articles: Anthony Mora Communications

Authors and the PR Blues

3/2/07

So you finally did it. You wrote that book you've been threatening to write, sent it to publishers, amassed a mountain of rejection slips, but finally found that right publisher. Your manuscript was accepted. You're going to be a published author. Great - you can now turn your attention to your next book. Your first books finished; your publisher will take care of everything from here on in, right? Surprise!

At my firm, we run the gamut when it comes to representing authors, from self-published, first-time writers to writers who have landed multi-book deals with major publishers and, I am sad to report, the one common link among all the authors we work with is that, unless their names happen to be Anne Rice, Stephen King, or Tom Clancy, very few seem to receive much support.

It would be easy to blame the publishing company's media relations departments, but that's not the problem. Most publishing companies have slashed their in-house staffs and their publicists are overloaded. Every month, up to thirty books are dumped on one or two in-house publicists.

It's an impossible task. What has happened is that many in-house departments have been reduced to little more than direct marketing departments. They send out books, press kits and press releases and hope for the best. They have neither the time nor the man power to make follow-up calls. And unless you have name recognition or have written a shocking expose that the entire world is waiting to read, chances are you and your book will get lost in the shuffle.

Whether you are self publishing or are publishing your book through a major house, this is one instance where I strongly recommend you hire a firm that understands book media relations to implement your campaign. Although some books are evergreen some are time sensitive. This is one time you don't have the luxury of learning as you go.

Although you hope that your book will become a classic and continue to sell throughout the years, your book has a shelf life. You need to launch an effective campaign even before it's published. If you want to have it reviewed, you need to send a copy of your book, or the galleys, to reviewers, often as long as three months before the publication date. Once it's published, you immediately want to hit the local media, the talk shows, and the national press.

One area you definitely want to focus on is national and regional radio. There are hundreds of regional and local radio talk shows and current event-oriented programs that feature books and authors. These interviews are almost always conducted over the phone. You can be at home in your bathrobe, discussing your book, while thousands of people listen.

If you are publishing with a major house, view your publisher primarily as a printer and distributor and assume that all of the responsibility for securing for your book rests firmly on your weary shoulders. If your publisher actually launches a campaign for you, that's great, but don't count on it. You don't have the luxury of being wrong. If you assume the media relations will be done for you and it's not, by the time you discover your error, it will be too late.

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www.AnthonyMora.com

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