Expert Publicity Advice for Authors

Rick Frishman is the founder of Planned Television Arts and recognized as one of the book industry's premier publicists. He keeps a blog I highly recommend reading. Rick's recent post, "Following Up with the Media" has several great tips. Here are some points I found especially interesting and helpful.

"Remember — timing is everything with the media! In the course of a week or two, everything can change. A contact who was totally disinterested last week may now want lots of information on a subject that he or she virtually ignored before."

"Remember the Rule of Seven — it takes at least seven tries before you make contact. But one response, one “Yes,” may be all you need to get your story told. Look at each “No” or lack of response not as a defeat or a setback, but as a small victory that puts you closer to the “Yes” that will land you a feature or a booking."

About publicity expert Paul Hartunian: "When he represented a client who marketed a golf putter, he realized that sooner or later, some high-profile professional golfer would miss a putt that would cost him a tournament. So, he dashed out a press release with the headline, “Did You See _____ _______ Just Miss That Putt?” and left the name blank. Under the headline, he added the subhead, “Call me. I can tell you why ___ ________ missed that putt and how it could have been prevented.” Then, Hartunian filed the press release and waited. Sure enough, before long, a major golfer missed a critical putt to lose a major tournament.

Check out Frishman's Author 101 books and resources too.