A Book Publicist's Lament

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com


A Book Publicist's Lament

So many authors are in a rush to publish their books. The production process has become so quick and easy that a book can go from the word processor to Amazon in a matter of weeks. That means the first time an author thinks about calling in a book publicist might be days before the book is available for sale online.

While that provides quick -- if not instant -- gratification for authors who want to see their words reach book buyers as soon as possible, the mad dash from the computer to the bookshelf does require the sacrifice of long lead-time book publicity opportunities.

By the time a book has been published (that is, by the time the book is available for purchase online), you've lost the opportunity to snare most traditional book reviews. Old school book reviewers (who still matter), require at least three months' lead time. And they ask that you send them galleys instead of finished copies of the book.

So calling in a book publicist just before the book's publication date means that you're trading the possibility of traditional book reviews for the possibility of early book sales. But here's the paradox. How many book sales can you reasonably expect if you don't let your potential readers know that your book is going to be published?

That's why, despite the fact that traditional book reviewers should probably have changed their submission requirements long ago, when the technological changes in book publishing shortened the book production schedule so much, it's still impossible for book publicists (and for authors who are conducting book publicity campaigns) to bypass the rules and garner traditional book reviews without having at least three months' lead time.

A Book Publicist's Take on Negative Book Reviews

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com

Book publicists who snare book reviews for authors always want to give novelists and experts what they want: positive, affirmative book reviews. We want authors to feel good about their books, and all book publicists have worked with authors whose egos have been shattered by criticism of their writing. It's particularly hard for book publicists to read negative book reviews since, as book publicists, we take on only projects in which we strongly believe. That means a negative book review doesn't only reflect poorly on the author. It also is a statement about a book publicist's judgment, and a book publicist's reputation is only as good as the last book he or she promoted...so negative book reviews affect a book publicist's bottom line, too.

So I must say, with just a tad of schadenfreude, that this book publicist was a bit relieved to read an article in BuzzFeed Books called "30 Writers Other Writers Loved To Hate." This Buzzfeed article quotes William Faulkner's scathing criticism of Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway; memorializes Ernest Hemingway's disdain for William Faulkner (well, at least it was mutual!); and documents George Bernard Shaw's distaste for none other than -- are you ready for this? -- William Shakespeare!

Of course, Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Shakespeare, and the 26 other writers who were slammed by their peers (if not their contemporaries) in the BuzzFeed piece are long past caring about negative book reviews. And if they weren't, I would hope their support networks (inclusive of their book publicists) would tell them that critics -- whether they're fellow authors, Amazon shoppers, or professional literary reviewers -- always have an agenda.

So, next time you find a negative review of your book on Amazon (or, for that matter, in Publishers Weekly), remember that you're in pretty good company. If Hemingway, Faulkner, and Mark Twain persevered through criticism of their work, so can you. You're tougher than you think!

Don't Frustrate This Book Publicist or Yourself!

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com

Don't frustrate this book publicist or yourself! If you're seeking traditional book reviews for your novel, then approach book publicists between four and six months before your book's publication date.

A new novelist just approached this frustrated book publicist to let her know about her upcoming novel. It will be published at the end of July, the author told me with great excitement. And could I work with her to get magazines and newspapers to review her book?

Well, I could have worked with her to get magazines and newspapers to review her book if she'd approached me four to six months ago. Now all I can offer this novelist is my sympathy and other options for promoting her book -- none of which are the book reviews she's been dreaming of and imagining she could garner. And, this, because she didn't know her book promotion strategy of garnering book reviews for her novel required more lead time than what she had in mind.

So, yes, I'm a frustrated book publicist at the moment. I now have to get back to a hopeful, hard-working novelist and tell her that, because she thought about garnering traditional book reviews just about the time the book was slated to be published, that plan just isn't going to work out for her. Next time she publishes a novel, she will know the drill, and she will reach out to book publicists in plenty of time. But, for now, the novelist just can't get what she wants, and that's not what this book publicist wants to tell her.

I really, really wish I could start my day over again.