By Jane Rosenman and Judy Sternlight
The work of a writer never stops, even after the manuscript has been sold, revised, and published. Down the road, all writers will face this question: How do you garner the most effective publicity for the book you’ve written?
5E recently hosted an online Office Hours session with legendary literary publicist Kimberly Burns of Broadside PR. Kimberly has worked across the publishing field—running author events at A Clean Well-Lighted Place in San Francisco; serving as an in-house publicist for Alfred A. Knopf, Pantheon Books and Random House; to being part of the team that launched The Penguin Press. After starting her own freelance literary publicity company in 2003, she co-founded Broadside PR in 2015, and now leads media campaigns for publishing houses, literary organizations, and magazines (The New Yorker Festival, Granta, The Moth) as well as promoting individual authors. Salman Rushdie, Angie Kim, Zadie Smith, and Laila Lalami are just a few of the luminaries she has worked with.
Kimberly gave us an honest and entertaining overview of what independent publicists do. She described herself as a guard dog for the writer, and talked about how she augments an author’s in-house publicity team. She noted that in-house publicists are often working on a number of books at the same time, so having a dedicated freelancer can help maximize the possibilities for coverage.
After the session, Marina Budhos, author of YA novels including We Are All We Have (Wendy Lamb Books/Penguin Random House), told us, “There were so many nuggets that were useful, even for seasoned writers: the importance of blurbs, how to talk to one's in-house publicity and marketing team, the importance of creating a media Q&A, and planning a full year in advance.”
Obviously not all the writers at our well-attended session will be hiring additional freelance publicists to work on their books. But writers will find value in the takeaways Kimberly passed along.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
* Develop a short media Q&A. The purpose is to intrigue people (readers/media) to want to know more about your book. In just a few sentences, explain what is most important to you about your work. What are the questions you want to be asked about it? What are the three most important aspects of your story? If you’re asked, “What inspired you to write this book,” don’t answer with a generalization. Try to be as specific as you can to separate yourself and your book from the rest. Kimberly described getting hooked by an author’s description of how she came to write her novel. The author was captivated by an old photograph of a girl sitting on a brownstone stoop in the 19th century and wanted to know more about who she was. Interviews are edited down by the media, so you want to make sure your essential message remains intact.
* Which writers have inspired you, and which media outlets cover them? What radio shows or podcasts do you listen to? Which critics do you pay attention to, and at which publications? Answering questions like these will help you place yourself on the media map, which will be instructive for your publicist.
* For published writers as well as writers who are not yet under contract, it’s helpful to get your name and writing out there by writing essays, op-eds and reviews that tie into a subject in the news or on a topic you’re passionate about.
* The importance of blurbs/pre-publication quotes. Kimberly said, “People in the industry often say blurbs are not important, but I think they are. When you see which other writers are lending their support for a book, it sends a short-cut message to readers and acts in the same way a comp title does."
* Be what Kimberly calls, “A good literary citizen.” Get to know your local booksellers. Be supportive of other writers and people in the publishing community. Review someone else’s work in which you have no personal investment. Lead with authenticity in your social media, not with the sole purpose of drawing attention to yourself.
* If you want to explore hiring a freelance publicist, one good resource is the annual roundup from Publishing Trends: https://publishingtrends.com/2023/09/freelance-publicists-contact-sheet-2023/
Fae Myenne Ng, author of the memoir Orphan Bachelors (Grove Press), called the session “a master class” on book publicity. Mamta Chaudhry, author of the novel Haunting Paris (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), agreed, adding, “I wish I had known all this for my last book, but now I’m better prepared for the next one.” Kimberly’s passion for writers and determination to get them traction in a crowded marketplace are a testament to why publicity is the coin of the realm.