Writers' Tips! Happy New Year! 4th Week Give-Away

Tip 5: Should I Hire My Own PR Agent?


• Hiring your own publicist to focus on your title can significantly facilitate the exposure of your book to the media.

• Even though the publisher will provide some publicity support for your book, keep in mind that the publicist assigned by the publisher will also have other titles he/she is responsible for which cuts into the amount of time actually devoted to your title.

• There are a number of incentives for hiring your own publicist:

o Contracting an outside publicist, will give increased attention solely on your book, and accessibility to the publicist.

o You can more readily dictate the course of action you wish the publicist to follow.

o The publicist will be liable to the terms and goals you both have contractually agreed upon for your book’s publicity.

o The PR firm may have connections the publisher does not have.

o You can establish the length of time you wish the publicist to allot attention to your book. As long as you’re willing to pay, he/she will keep pitching, provided it makes sense and produces desired results.



In a study conducted by Mike Schultz, publisher of RainToday.com, a company that works with professionals to help them market their services, said the key finding of the report is the payoff that comes to authors who invest their own funds in promoting a book. The study found that 51% of the 200 authors who took part in the survey used their own money to back their book, with the median investment $4,500. The form of the investment typically involved hiring a marketing or public relations firm, and the impact these companies had on a book’s sales is significant.



Comparing the average response, the study found that authors who had outside help sold 10,000 copies of their first book and earned royalties of $55,000, compared to 4,500 copies sold and royalties of $25,000 for authors who depended solely on the efforts of their publishers. Excerpted, Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2006 by Jim Milliot.



Here are a few reputable PR contacts that I can personally, recommend:



• http://authorbuzz.com/ offers authors a reasonable package deal for their services and has a proven track record.

• www.kruppkommunications.com based in New York City, is a dynamic public relations firm, specializing in the creation of bulls-eye publicity for Authors, Celebrities, Entertainers CEOs and Corporations.

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Tip 6: How To Choose The Right Publicist or Public Relations Firm For Your Book



The best place to start is to ask your publisher for recommendations. Tell your editor what your budgeting for publicity and they’ll be able to refer you to several publicists and/or public relations’ firms.



If you still don’t have anyone who fits your budget or meets your expectations with a strong publicity plan, contact the writers’ conferences, other writers, writers’ associations or research the Internet. Believe me, there are a slew of publicists out there that would be thrilled to work on your book, however the “right” publicist is the ONLY one you want.



To know what to expect from the publicist or public relations firm you are hiring, have them submit a publicity plan based on your book, along with a list of references. Their plan should include:

• the media they intend to pitch

• the length of time they will devote to publicizing your book

• number of media hits or likely number they will achieve

• a press release (electronic and hard copy)

• length of time and fee structure of their involvement



If you’re hiring a firm, request specifically, who in the firm will be your contact and responsible for driving publicity on your behalf. It’s important to build a good working relationship with your publicist; the more they can understand your book and you, the better they will be at pitching and booking the media.



Updates on the publicist’s progress can be weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly and so on, depending on the terms of your contract. They need to submit to you an accounting of everyone (media sources and dates) they have contacted and the responses they have received. However, don’t count on the publicist revealing the “names” of their contacts at the various media outlets as these are, in most cases, proprietary. They will want to protect their relationships.



Of course, the Internet is a great source if you want to throw a wide net in your search for the appropriate publicist or firm to hire, but be sure to ask for references and proof of their claims to garner publicity for your book.



Whether you choose to employ your own publicist, do the publicity yourself or not, consider, first if the publisher is providing publicity support for your book. Most titles will get a minimum of a press release and submission to local and/or national media. The amount of publicity attention the publisher will give you is determined by the forecasted unit sales (copies) for your book. If your title is considered an ‘A’ level release then you will get full-court press in the way of publicity attention from their in-house publicity department. If your title falls in the mid-to-low range of releases then you will get the minimum attention. If your book is the latter, then you may benefit from hiring your own publicist.



Meet with and interview possible public relations firms and freelance publicists. Consult with your publisher for recommendations. Depending on the cost involved, it may be beneficial for you to hire a private publicist versus a public relations’ firm as you will get individual attention and the cost will be substantially less, overall. Require references from whomever you decide to sign with for your publicity campaign and conduct a thorough reference check.



Many PR firms and individual publicists specialize in particular areas of the book genre market. It can be advantageous to hire someone who has an established reputation with the media relating to your title’s specific nature, as they can more easily access the right media contacts.

• If you’re a culinary author, you don’t want to hire a publicist whose area of focus has been predominantly in the business category or vice versa.

• The public relations firm and/or the individual publicist needs to be able to effectively layout a publicity campaign for your book and give examples of other successful book launches that they have done in the past.

• Accessing their past clients is a great way of authenticating the publicist’s or PR firm’s claims of placements and successes. They ought to be able to supply you with referrals that you can speak and/or e-mail, directly.

• Book publicity is an entirely different skill set than other types of publicity. While publicists have similar attributes, it behooves you to engage a “book” publicist or public relations firm. Just ask yourself, would you go to a general teacher to learn mathematics or would you go to a Mathematician? They both know how to teach and know about math, but who is the expert? That’s who you want to handle your book campaign. You may only have this one chance, are you going to waste your time and money working with someone who is adequate or the best? You decide.