There are three cringe-worthy statements when authors explain “who” will read their book: “My book will appeal to both men and women, ages 10—100. Everyone will love it!” “It’s the next [insert mega-selling international franchise here].” “My book is completely unique. There’s absolutely nothing like it out there, there never has been, and there never […]
Lit Happens
What (Not) To Wear for a TV Interview
Have you ever watched an interview on television and couldn’t help but feel that something was drawing your attention away from the person’s message? Perhaps it was what they were wearing. People shouldn’t make judgments based on your appearance, but some will, even subconsciously. Certain colors, patterns and types of clothing can create unintentional distractions […]
How Much Is Enough Book Publicity?
I’m asked all the time: How much should I publicize my book? How much should I spend on book publicity? What is the most important thing to do to promote my book? Unfortunately, just like putting an incredible book together is messy and huge, there is no self-evident right or wrong path to book publicity. […]
Three Reasons To Hire A Book Publicist
DIY book publicity is a given. As an author, you must work tirelessly to promote your book – work as hard as you did to write it (or harder). But, let’s be honest. There are some things you just can’t say about yourself. It’s a Catch-22 in which the author comes out either looking like […]
You’ve GOT to budget for publicity
So often we hear from authors who are interested in publicity but are also cash-strapped from having already spent vast resources on preparing their books for publishing. Self-publishing is especially expensive and authors have to make huge upfront investments before their books even see the light of day. Indie authors have the extra expenses of […]
The Most Important Question Authors Never Ask
When I first begin working on a publicity campaign with an author, we have a lot of bases to cover—How far can they travel for events? What type of media will fit the book best? How much lead time do we have? But there’s one question that I ask every author, and it will determine […]
How Do I Keep Writing? An Editor’s Advice
We’ve all been there: The sentence won’t work the way you want, you read over something you’ve written and somehow the magic just isn’t there anymore, or worst of the worst—the blank page stares at you, mute and judging. You stare it down; you write, scribble out, rewrite, delete, stare some more. When I worked […]
