How to Work with a Publicist: Tips from an Author.

POSTED BY tolly ON January 19, 2011

On the heels of some pretty exciting news, that two of our authors — Leila Levinson and Janice Van Dyck — just became Huffington Post bloggers (check out their profiles here and here), I asked Janice if she’d share some tips on working with a publicist.

See, I’ve always found the author/publicist relationship to be kind of fascinating, and have often wondered how I would behave if I ever became an author.  Oh, I’d like to think I’d be my publicist’s favorite client — easygoing, encouraging, a team player.  But it’s really hard to put your full faith in someone else, isn’t it?  Especially for something in which you’ve invested years of your life … like a book.

Yet, when I’m the publicist, and an author trusts me, I’m willing to bend over backwards for them.  Kindness, appreciation, and a healthy attitude will ALWAYS win them brownie points, not to mention my overtime, because I truly want them to succeed.  Fortunately all of my authors are already this awesome, but every publicist has had to deal with one or two bad apples.  I’m no exception, and have certainly dealt with some in the past.  Let’s just say those bad apples don’t get the brownie points — if you follow this increasingly complicated food metaphor.

Janice and I have had a successful publicity run with her novel, Finding Frances.  Before I share her tips with you, I also wanted to tell you a little bit about the campaign itself, and three key factors that have led to its success:

–Janice booked a local event. This helped us score three television interviews, including one nationally syndicated.

–Janice wrote tons of contributed articles for me. We brainstormed timely topics together, she wrote then let me edit each piece, and allowed me to pitch to places I knew would be a good fit. Here’s a recent tip sheet she wrote that landed on Psychology Today‘s website.

–Janice’s energy, calls, and emails were models of good client communication. When Janice asked for updates, she got them. When we got a good hit, she celebrated with me. In short, she made our work together a partnership, which always makes my job that much more fulfilling!

So!  Without further ado, here are Janice’s simple but oh-so-important Tips for Working With a  Publicist. Make sure to check out Janice’s website, and if you have any author/publicist relationship tips of your own, we’d love to hear about them in the comments section!

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How to Work with Your Book Publicist

1. Be realistic, and then be surprised. It’s easier to adjust your expectations up than down.

2. Give your publicist room to operate. You’re paying a professional. Sometimes you may go a week or two with no word. Trust. That’s how things work.

3. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Every interview is different. Know your audience and do your research. Think it all through ahead of time.

4. Be available to respond quickly. Use the method of communication your publicist prefers. Keep your commitments.

5. Be creative and pass along your ideas. One idea can lead to another, then another, then another. That’s why they call a brainstorm!

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