Truths about Book Publicity

If you’re going to write a book, you want it to be read. But how will your future readers find it?

Book publicity.

Everyone dreams of a book that sells itself through word-of-mouth. It can happen, but it’s rare. And even that book your friend recommended to you almost certainly got a publicity boost somewhere along the way. That boost may have come from the author who put in the time to build an audience of fans, or from a book publicist lining up podcast interviews, or any number of other behind-the-scenes efforts.

Gotham Ghostwriters recently wrote a good blog post giving new authors the basics on how to think about publicity, which is defined as earned (as compared to paid) media coverage. Here are the key takeaways, with my two cents added:

• Start early. In fact, you can’t start too early. I tell my authors that they should begin publicity campaigns at least three months before publication.

• Understand the marketplace in which you’re competing. What other books are out there like yours? What does your audience want?

• Build audience ahead of time. The seminal article on how and why to do this was Kevin Kelly’s 2008 essay 1,000 True Fans.

• Be open to paying for professional help; you might need it. Publicity is hard; the market is very competitive. A good publicist knows the right people, and that opens doors.

• Accept that this help will be expensive, typically several thousand dollars per month for several months.

• Have realistic expectations about what publicity can accomplish. Publicity can sell books, but you’re unlikely to directly recoup your investment via sales. For instance, a typical New York Times bestseller may have had the benefit of $250,000 worth of publicity. Ouch.

You can read the entire post here.