The future of book marketing does not exist in a vacuum or a philosophical quest to find meaning. It belongs to those who harness the power of community.
Thank you for the reframe about my role as a podcaster as independent media. It took me 7 years to change the description from book reviewer and influencer to media. My role in the ecosystem is to provide coverage and curate recommendation to my audience. My audience is the one that matter not the publisher who are seeking coverage.
One of my grievance with book publicity and how they approach podcast is the spray and pray approach. They pitch but they didn't do their homework and identify that I mostly conduct author interviews therefore my response will likely be - can the author be on the show? If this is not the case, publicist please include the desire expectation for the pitch. This may mean the author only does written interview, guest post, or we just want you to mention the title on your show, etc.
The other area that takes time is relationship building. So much of this job is a give and take. I tend to work with publicists that I have built a relationship over time and make my life easier. I have simplify the system for them and in turn they are able to support the work. Yes, investing in a short zoom to discuss the type of coverage you, me walking you through my booking process will not only help in the short term but long term after your next job. It is pretty common that I will work with the same publicist after they left their initial job that we connected to their next imprint job or independent job from the publisher.
This was a really interesting read (as a reader and hobbyist Bookstagrammmer)
Thank you for reading and your kind comment!
Thank you for the reframe about my role as a podcaster as independent media. It took me 7 years to change the description from book reviewer and influencer to media. My role in the ecosystem is to provide coverage and curate recommendation to my audience. My audience is the one that matter not the publisher who are seeking coverage.
One of my grievance with book publicity and how they approach podcast is the spray and pray approach. They pitch but they didn't do their homework and identify that I mostly conduct author interviews therefore my response will likely be - can the author be on the show? If this is not the case, publicist please include the desire expectation for the pitch. This may mean the author only does written interview, guest post, or we just want you to mention the title on your show, etc.
The other area that takes time is relationship building. So much of this job is a give and take. I tend to work with publicists that I have built a relationship over time and make my life easier. I have simplify the system for them and in turn they are able to support the work. Yes, investing in a short zoom to discuss the type of coverage you, me walking you through my booking process will not only help in the short term but long term after your next job. It is pretty common that I will work with the same publicist after they left their initial job that we connected to their next imprint job or independent job from the publisher.
Spray and pray and relationship building are really the heart of the issue for me, too.
Thank you for including my post! What a fantastic breakdown and list of resources.
Thank you Abigail! You are one of my trusted resources. I hope I understood your words correctly.