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's latest industry statistics
on US print and E-book publishing indicate over 350,000 new titles are now being released
each year. That means 959 other books came out the same day yours did.
When it comes to book promotion,
a strategy of just relying on the in-house publicity department to send out press releases and sample copies won't get
you very far. One national television producer told us her show now receives over 3,000 submissions a day. Only
a handful of select authors will get prime media. What is their secret? What
do they all have in common? The answer is – top level representation.
Having
a SoCal based publicist provides a powerful advantage. Because all types of media need access to our Hollywood stars,
we have negotiating points. For example, we will often package a celebrity interview with a feature on a book. As Donald
Trump says, "It's the art of the deal."
" In publicity, contacts are everything."
-- PR Week Magazine --
The
most accomplished publicists are well known by the national media. Here is
a excerpt from the reply when we asked a new author how she had 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 personal friend)."
Many new clients also come to our agency via
referral from talent or literary agents, publishers, producers, journalists and even celebrities. Personal referrals
have been received through: Oprah Winfrey, Robert DeNiro, Jennifer Lopez, Dan Aykroyd, Jason Priestly, Dawn Wells, Emilio
Estevez, Christopher Atkins, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, Daniel Wilcox (Baltimore Ravens), LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego
Chargers), TV lawyer Star Jones, 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 firms 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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