Every successful book project has a top publicist behind it. Best-selling authors know
the book business is 50% about writing and 50% about visibility and promotion. R.R. Bowker recently released the statistics
on U.S. book publishing. Bowker says over 200,000 new titles are published each year. That
means 547 other books came out the same day yours did.
When it comes to national media, just sending out press releases and review copies won't
get you very far. Buying ads in media magazines doesn't work well either. Reality is, many authors
will fade into obscurity for lack of effective promotion. Only a select few will receive major
level exposure and media attention. What is their secret? What do they all have in common?
The answer is, they are represented by a leading publicist.
Nowadays, the vast majority of new releases will remain
on bookstore shelves for only 16 to 20 weeks before being permanently remaindered. In other words, if they are not getting
any mainstream publicity they will quickly go out of print. There is no time to experiment when
it comes to book publicity. Stick with the tried and true. The media's lead time requirements for book promotion are also
a factor. That's why it is so important to get going with a powerful agency as early as possible.
Just like the rest of
show biz, the media is really about who knows who. Long established working relationships are what makes a book publicity
campaign successful. It takes many years to gain the media's trust and build a network of prime contacts. That's what an accomplished
publicist provides.
"In
publicity, contacts are everything."
-- PR Week Magazine --
How do you find
a well connected and experienced publicist? Look for one who has worked with a wide
variety of clientele and some very famous names. Remember also, the most effective publicists are well
known by the media. To illustrate, here is an excerpt from the reply when we recently asked a publicity seeker how
she heard about Garis PR -- "I have heard of your agency through a few different sources, Wesley Buford (former
executive producer, Montel Williams Show), Claire Weinraub (ABC 20/20), associates at Viacom and LeBaron Taylor (Sony Music,
SVP and friend)." In other words, be sure your publicist is trusted and respected by the major media.
Most PR clients come to us by personal referral
from agents, publishers, producers, journalists and even celebrities. Referrals have been received through: Oprah Winfrey,
Robert DeNiro, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Priestly, Dawn Wells, Christopher Atkins, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, Darnell Dinkins
(Cleveland Browns), Daniel Wilcox (Baltimore Ravens), LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers) and many others.
" Your agency was recommended by Margery Buchanan,
marketing director
from Harper - San Francisco."
--
Lisa Fitzpatrick - Manager of Acquisitions --
Palace Publishing Group
"Publicist R. J. Garis initially represented me for
6 months. He got me on about 200 radio interviews and about half a dozen national TV shows. Plus,
he was thorough, responsible (communicated with me almost every day for months), professional / no-nonsense (with me and with
the media) and very available. As far as I was concerned, it was worth every penny, since the media we got resulted in my
own publisher finally standing up and taking notice of the book. That resulted in a great paperback deal the next year, during
which they sent me on two tours."
--
Robert Hopcke, Best-selling Author --
"Would you
hire a doctor who never cured a patient, or a lawyer who never won a case? Then why would you go to a publicist who has no
famous clients? Isn't that what they are supposed to be selling? The best indicator of a good publicist
is their track record. If they don't have any famous clients, how good can they be? How good can their contacts be?"
-- From SpeakerNet News Tips
--
"Your website -- rather than promising 'secrets' -- showed well-known
clients you've served. Other agencies bragged about what they could do. But if they are so cutting edge and competent,
how come I've never heard of anyone they've supposedly helped?"
-- From A First Time Author --
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