Fractured Publicity: Navigating Book Promotion in the Influencer Age

As if the challenges surrounding book promotion and publicity for authors weren’t heightened enough these days (with complaints about social media often being front and center), recent mainstream media articles have exacerbated those concerns.

• Vox suggested that everyone’s a sellout now, detailing the “burden of self-promotion” on writers and other creatives.
• Esquire explored why debut novels are failing to launch, citing “today’s overstuffed, under-resourced media landscape” as one reason.
• The Guardian ran a piece about how authors are cutting their own checks to augment their publishers’ promotional efforts, a point that Esquire made as well.

Recently, Lit Hub’s Maris Kreizman discussed whether authors really need to spend their own money to make a book successful. Her conclusion: no. “It would be terrible to live in a world where the only way to become a bestseller is to pay for it,” she said.

Questions have perhaps always existed about the value of hiring an outside publicist. Novelists in particular—including those who have signed with major publishers—may wonder what this financial investment can tangibly and realistically deliver.

Traditionally, publicity has been defined as earned media (coverage or placement in newspapers, magazines, TV, podcasts, etc. that the author or publisher doesn’t pay for), while marketing has been defined as paid media (such as advertisements and, more recently, some influencer outreach). Yet “those clear lines have blurred so much,” says Amelia Possanza, co-founder of Lavender Public Relations. Publicists, and the field of publicity, have had to adapt and pivot.

Media fragmentation and the waning effects of the book review have entirely changed publicity. In its coverage of 25 Years of Changes to Book Publicity, Publishers Weekly wrote that, “For most of publishing history, there was one dominant mode of literary publicity: the book review.” For years now, book review outlets have disappeared, and the remaining professional reviews have declined in importance. In fact, a reporter for the New York Times has stated that a review in their pages doesn’t reliably sell copies. (One exception remains children’s books, which continue to rely on reviews.)

Elena Stokes, partner and founder of Wunderkind PR, understands why literary fiction writers are partial to reviews and the validation they can create, but if a client requests that she secure reviews only, she’s wary. “You never know what will work,” she says. “You have to try different strategies across the board.” For Kathleen Schmidt, founder and CEO of Kathleen Schmidt Public Relations, “Reviews have their place in the publishing ecosystem, but they do not sell many copies of books unless there are a number of reviews occurring at the same time.” For this reason, she advises authors to ask themselves, Do You Want Reviews or Sales?

Regardless, a freelance publicist cannot offer any guarantees about results. Stokes says she will speak candidly with interested clients about realistic publicity goals and the amount of time she will need to achieve them, but she won’t press because “their heart should be in it.” Schmidt says that in addition to shopping around for a publicist, writers might consider paid consultations, which she offers, or finding a publicist with experience in digital marketing.

Stokes says that she often hears from traditionally published novelists, asking if they are middle of the pack rather than a lead author, but it’s not often the case that a writer will hire her because they are unhappy with their publisher. “What they want is someone to build on the efforts of their in-house team, to do another round of follow-ups or go after that new lead. That’s where we come in—to go wider and deeper with outreach.”

Andrea Stein, director of publicity at Jane Wesman Public Relations and the author of two novels herself, creates custom plans that combine publicity (including pitches) and marketing (such as helping an author improve their website or organize a giveaway). Since most novelists she has encountered feel uncomfortable promoting themselves, and the options can be overwhelming, Stein encourages them to “at least get some professional guidance and develop a plan.”

Publicity takes advance planning. All publicists say that authors should think about reaching out to a publicist up to a year in advance of their publication date, though six months is the ideal lead time. “So many of the traditional media outlets are still tied to a book’s publication date, and they begin building master spreadsheets of what to potentially cover many months in advance,” says Possanza. “If you’ve missed that window, you might be better off investing those funds in marketing influencer outreach or other areas.”

The publicist-author relationship must be collaborative. “You can’t just hand over the keys to your book to a publicist and wait to see what happens. You must be a participant in the process,” says Schmidt. All publicists meet regularly with their clients to brainstorm, though the type and frequency of these meetings vary. For Stein, brainstorming sessions are valuable for the publicist to find new hooks to engage the media. Also: “Media coverage—whether a podcast interview or written Q&A—does not stop with its publication,” she says. “It becomes content that the author can use and re-use on social media and in email marketing as well.”

Possanza’s authors often receive specific homework assignments, whether it’s working through sample interview questions or signing stock at their hometown bookstore. “Sometimes it’s just small things to help authors build their own relationships that they can continue to lean on long after our time together has ended,” she says.

Fiction campaigns are less predictable than nonfiction campaigns. Although every publicity campaign is different, says Brittani Hilles, co-founder of Lavender Public Relations, “Generally, with nonfiction, you can bring media folks into the fold with the topic alone, while with fiction it often comes down to having media contacts trust your taste enough to dive into the read.”

Schmidt agrees that nonfiction tends to lend itself to media more easily than fiction, especially when the author is an expert in their subject matter. “Fiction is an entirely different beast,” she says. “Big publishers drive the boat with fiction coverage because they can put a lot of resources behind books they feel are big,” whether this means holding a media luncheon, sending swag with ARCs, or ensuring that publicists hype a particular title. “In other words, all books are not created equal in a publisher’s eye.”

Fiction and nonfiction campaigns do share some commonalities: Both involve article placement, says Stein. For nonfiction authors, these articles, also called publicity, spinoff, or companion essays, are based on their book’s content. For novelists, Stein suggests focusing on themes or situations in their books. Stokes encourages “off the book page” stories as well. “For example, if there’s a character in your book that likes to cook, then an essay can potentially be pitched to Bon Appetit,” she says. “It’s about finding connections.”

Both fiction and nonfiction authors should develop a platform, according to Stein and Schmidt (though having a platform is not required to land a debut novel deal). For Stein, an author platform is “the foundation for effectively reaching and influencing readers” and can refer to the author’s website, blogs, social media presence, bylined articles, interviews, webinars, book fair and book club participation, and speaking engagements.

Obviously, it can feel as if there is a chicken-and-egg problem for debut fiction authors trying to build platform. How do you secure speaking engagements and media attention or gain a following for unpublished or in-progress work? Typically, the key is to focus on nurturing relationships in the literary community and develop an online foundation you can build on as the book enters the world.

Schmidt, who defines platform as “whatever medium authors utilize to reach an audience,” says that she is often asked for links to an author’s social media when she is pitching a podcast, for example, because “the podcast host/producer wants to know if the author has an audience to which they can promote their interview.” Schmidt emphasizes that platform isn’t limited to social media, and the power of Substack should not be underestimated.

Agent Kate McKean, who wrote How to Build an Author Platform as a Novelist, explains that the process takes time, and authenticity is essential. Similarly, Stein equates platform with “building meaningful connections” and suggests that authors invest in their platform early on, “as they are writing their books.” Author Leigh Stein also predicts that “platform will become increasingly necessary for novelists.”

Writers can pitch their own work to the media without a publicist, but not with a hard sell. “You can most certainly pitch essays or companion pieces on your own—in fact, you should. Same with alumni magazines,” says Schmidt. She also recommends that literary fiction writers explore Substack for newsletters that cover authors and books. “Cultivate a relationship,” she says, “and then—only then—approach them about doing an interview.”

While Possanza agrees that pitching is tough “unless you truly know a journalist—in other words, would invite them to your birthday party,” she encourages all authors, including introverts, to network. “If you live online, connect with influencers. The friends, virtual or IRL, you make will be your biggest advocates at publication.” Possanza adds that “no influencer or outlet is too small to pursue for coverage.”

Bottom line: What moves the needle on sales is the million-dollar question for any author seeking coverage, especially in today’s fractured media landscape. For this reason, Hilles focuses on relationship building—which hasn’t changed over the years—and managing various media streams. “It takes multiple channels working together to make a successful campaign, from social media attention to bookseller love to positive reviews to a well-placed profile,” she says. Stein also emphasizes the need for a range of media coverage. “The more often potential readers come across your book,” she says, “the more likely it is that they’ll pick it up.”

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A former acquiring editor of children’s books at Little, Brown and Simon & Schuster, Sangeeta Mehta runs her own editorial services company.