Because I know how powerful news media exposure is for books, products, and services, I’m constantly encouraging you to pursue publicity for your book.

My publishing experience is a great example of why it’s important. My first book contract was a direct result of publicity I generated for a subscription newsletter I created around the lighter side of gender differences. That book sold out, thanks to book publicity generated when my publisher’s in-house book publicist and I collaborated and worked together as a team.

My second book sold out three press runs on the strength of publicity alone. (It was published before social media was a thing.)

Because I think publicity is so important to your author career, I asked a veteran book publicist how she decides which authors and books to work with and how self-published authors can make their work more promotable. It’s an enlightening Q&A with important insights.

Introducing book publicist Karen Engler

I met Karen Engler after I used HARO to find sources for an article about how to turn your passion into a retirement project. I was so impressed with her pitch on behalf of her author client and our resulting conversation that I knew she’d provide thoughtful answers to questions I wanted to ask on your behalf.

Karen is a 30-year publicity veteran specializing in flexible author media tours. As a secret weapon on publicity teams, she has vast experience with nonfiction and children’s books.

Her hobbies include an obsession with animals – especially dogs – and tiny houses. She’s excited to hear about people’s passion projects that have led to their books. Feel free to reach out for a quick consultation; here’s her email address.

Q&A with book publicist Karen Engler

Whether you are a DIY marketer or are considering hiring a publicist, Karen’s insights will help you understand what you need to succeed.

I’ve noticed that not everybody understands what a book publicist does. What services do you provide?

Yes, part of that confusion is because publicity can be a broad category, but publicists are best known for lassoing media attention.

My focus is;

• To generate press materials like press releases, author Q & As, advise on videos, edit articles, and more. It’s different for everyone.
• To reach out to journalists; bloggers; newsrooms (where applicable); website content directors; producers; and radio, podcast, and TV hosts, to lasso media coverage of their books.
• To present the books and authors in the most concise and personalized way. This can vary depending on whom I’m approaching.
• To read the book!

What makes you decide whether to take on an author or book? What do you look for?

I have to be inspired by them and their story or their angle or approach to any given topic. One of the things I love about working primarily with nonfiction books is that most authors are doing an act of service. Whether it’s to inform or entertain, I like being part of bringing their efforts to more people.

I prefer to work with open-minded people. Though I always start by swinging for the fences, the most significant results often come after you redirect or regroup who and where you’re pitching. I’ve seen some amazing things come out of coverage from small media outlets.

What’s your biggest challenge when representing an author?

Finding the sweet spot, that is, the intersection of the author’s work/topic with the zeitgeist in our culture (and media) at any given moment. Then finding the best way for their work to jump off the page.

What’s the difference between promoting a self-published book and one that’s traditionally published?

Traditional publishers are ninjas at packaging books. Though I’m not a big fan of pitching solely with their general press release, they’re great at describing a book and its relevancy.

Self-published books tend to come from lesser-known authors. There’s much nuance to presenting someone who is new or has done little media. This takes a lot more time as well. It is also a big turn-off to people in the media when it’s obvious that authors haven’t worked with an editor on their book.

What can a self-published author do to help make hiring a publicist worthwhile, or to enhance their chance of success if they go the DIY route?

Let go of old-school expectations! It’s a long game now. There is some pre-pitching six months out. However, campaigns start later and go longer than they used to, about six to eight weeks before the publication date, and then continue three to four months after that.

If someone chooses the DIY route, they should be comfortable handling rejection and lack of response. I prototyped a consultancy with authors who wanted to save money and handle their press, and I took over. They were bummed out when they should have been writing! With a few exceptions, it’s taking on another job.

What’s the most important thing you’d like authors to know about working with a book publicist?

A cookie-cutter or formulaic approach to book publicity is short-sighted. Every book is unique. Some methods tend to work, but there’s no formula. Also, success isn’t guaranteed just because another author has written a massive bestseller about the same topic.

Big thanks to Karen for taking the time to answer these questions so thoughtfully!

What questions do you have for book publicist Karen Engler about working with a book publicist? Please ask them in a comment. 

• Magazine
• Newspaper
• Online media outlet or content site
• Radio station
• TV program
• Blog
• Podcast

It’s more powerful than advertising and other paid-for marketing tactics because it brings with it far more credibility. That’s because when you’re quoted by the press, you get an authority boost.

People are smart enough to know that journalists are selective about who they use as sources. So, if a reporter chose you, you must know what you’re talking about.

What are the easiest and most effective ways to get publicity? Here are my top three.

1. Write and distribute a publicity tip sheet.

A tip sheet is a type of press release that offers tips or advice in a bulleted or numbered format.

Like a press release, it’s written like a news story so that a media outlet or blogger can run it as is. No additional research or writing is necessary.

Media outlets, especially newspapers and magazines, like tip sheets because they can pull out just one or two tips to fill space. They also run them as short articles or use them as a starting point for longer feature stories.

Radio stations like to share the advice in snippets or, like TV talk shows, build author interviews around the tip sheet topic. Bloggers run them as new posts because tip sheets with substance help them deliver useful information to their followers.

Learn how to create one and see an example in “How to create a book publicity tip sheet.”

2. Blog regularly.

When I’m looking for sources for my freelance writing article assignments, I often start with a Google search.

I might type in my article topic, or, when I specifically want to interview an author, I’ll type the topic plus the word “author.”

More often than not, search results take me to blog posts. I contact the blogger via email; if they respond (and sadly, it’s “if,” not “when”), we do an interview … and that expert scores free publicity.

Here’s how you can leverage your blog’s content to get publicity:

• Provide your email address on your “contact” page, not a form that people have to type into. Because I rarely get a response to my form-based inquiries, I try not to use them when I find a source I’d like to interview. If I can use only one of the two experts I’ve found, I’ll start with the one who provides an email address.
• Respond to media inquiries quickly. Most of us move on to the next option quickly when we don’t hear back from someone we’ve contacted within a reasonable amount of time.

3. Subscribe to HARO.

HARO – Help a Reporter Out – is a free service that helps journalists find sources to interview and quote in articles and broadcast segments.

It is one of the easiest – if not the easiest – ways to get book publicity.

HARO is every book publicist’s secret weapon because works. That’s why every time I coach an author who wants media exposure, the first thing I ask is, “Are you using HARO?”

And it’s free.

HARO feeds you requests from journalists

When you create a free HARO account, you’ll get three emails a day. Each of these emails includes a collection of brief messages from journalists who are looking for article or segment sources. We call those messages from journalists “queries.”

I use HARO regularly to find people to interview or quote for my freelance writing assignments, and, sad to say, I rarely hear from authors.

Worse, those I hear from don’t respond in a way that makes it possible for me to interview or quote them.

That’s because there’s a right way and a wrong way to respond, and many sources of all types, not just authors, respond the wrong way.

HARO response secrets

I teach how to use HARO the right way to get publicity for your author career and your book in my course, “Get Quoted: A Journalist’s Strategies for using HARO to Snag Book Publicity.”

Mastering HARO will give you a competitive edge that will not only help you sell more books, it will contribute to the platform you need to get a traditional publishing contract.

And, for those who consult, coach, or speak, it will boost your profile in ways that attract more clients and allow you to charge more for your services.

Get more information on the Get Quoted course description page.

Publicity begets publicity

It’s important to use any of these methods or others, including contacting media outlets directly with article or segment ideas, because publicity begets publicity.

Here’s what often happens once you’ve been quoted a couple of times:

• You, your book, and your website show up higher in search engine results when people, including journalists, search for your topic.
• Journalists who see you’ve been quoted already are more likely to contact you for an interview. That’s because another reporter has vetted you, and because it’s clear that you’re willing and able to talk about your topic.

You also earn the right to share media outlet, blog, podcast, and content site logos on your website in an “as seen on” banner.

Don’t wait to pursue publicity. Let this free strategy help you reach more of the right readers.

Have you snagged publicity? Please tell us how you did it in a comment!