For authors, book publicity often feels like one of the more mysterious and ever-changing aspects of publishing. What’s involved in the publicity process? What exactly do book publicists do? And where do authors figure into this part of launching a book into the world?
We spoke with three PRH publicists—who among them cover adult nonfiction, fiction, and YA/children’s titles—to understand how publicity works for different kinds of books and what authors can expect. Read on to learn how publicists work with authors, what a typical day looks like, some common misconceptions about what they do, and how you as authors can help them create effective promotional campaigns to get your books into the hands of readers.
Our Experts
Claire Fennell, Publicity Assistant at Random House Publishing Group, works on adult nonfiction and fiction titles.
Lathea Mondesir, Associate Director of Publicity at Penguin Young Readers works on YA/children’s titles. She previously worked on adult nonfiction and fiction titles at Workman, Sourcebooks, and Hachette.
Sarah New, Associate Director of Publicity at Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, works primarily on nonfiction titles, especially cookbooks. She previously worked at Bloomsbury on literary fiction and nonfiction titles.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you?
Lathea: Book publicity is a fast-paced environment with a variety of tasks and projects aimed at promoting books and authors. In a typical day, a publicist is pitching different types of media people (editors, producers, bloggers, and influencers) to secure reviews, interviews, and features. This involves writing press releases, pitching stories, and following up on leads. We coordinate with bookstores, libraries, and other venues to set up events that attract readers and media attention. Then we handle all the details for those events, including tours, signings, and readings. We also work closely with authors to prepare them for interviews and events, including providing them with talking points, media training (if necessary), and promotional materials.
My tasks can vary depending on whether the book I’m working on is fiction or nonfiction. Publicity for a fiction title may focus on storytelling elements and character-driven narratives, whereas for nonfiction, it can require more targeted outreach to specific interest groups, experts, and niche media outlets. Nonfiction publicity often emphasizes the author’s expertise and the book’s practical applications.
In addition, there are differences between adult titles and YA/children’s books. Publicity for adult books may involve more traditional media outlets and literary events. The focus is often on reaching a mature audience through established channels. For YA/children’s titles, publicity includes school visits, library programs, and partnerships with educational organizations. Social media campaigns may be more vibrant and interactive to engage younger readers.
In the end, book publicity is a dynamic field that requires adaptability and creativity to effectively promote different types of books to their respective audiences.
Sarah: There isn’t really a “typical day” for most publicists, but any given day for me could include a mix of the following: responding to media requests, writing pitch emails, mailing books, escorting authors to media and events, conducting media research. I love how varied it is, and the creativity and problem solving, or detective work, that’s required. Every project, every book campaign, is different. One of my favorite moments is meeting an author for the first time and coming up with ideas for how to help them and their book reach readers.
Claire: Here’s a quick overview of a typical day for me:
9:00 A.M.: Arrive at the office and check in with friends and colleagues across the department.
9:10–10:00 A.M.: Sift through my inbox and take care of any individual requests (for example, mailing out book copies to media contacts, sending title assets to Sales and other departments, confirming author event details).
10–10:15 A.M.: Organize my priorities for the day. Usually, I do this by looking at a list of my titles organized by on-sale date. I consider which books I haven’t pitched lately, which have a timely news angle (for nonfiction), and which need attention for tours and events.
10:15 A.M–12:45 P.M.: Pitching, booking author travel, communicating with authors (depending on the above). Sometimes this involves researching publicity campaigns for comparable titles or brainstorming with colleagues about creative/unique publicity opportunities for specific books.
12:45–1:30 P.M.: Lunch & Diet Coke break with the other department assistant. Absolutely mandatory!
1:30–4 P.M.: Depending on the day, I’ll do more of the 10:30–12:45 types of projects, mixed in with meetings with authors and other departments to coordinate campaigns.
4–5 P.M.: Wrapping up tasks, going through my inbox again, checking off any major to-dos, and highlighting priorities for the next day.
Q: How do you generally work with authors, and what can authors expect from the publicity process?
Claire: I love this question! Usually, we get introduced to authors four to five months before their book goes on sale. We have an initial “author call,” where Marketing, Editorial, and Publicity meet with the author and their agent to discuss our promotional plans. This is the author’s first opportunity to tell us what they envision for their book. It’s also a great chance to learn about how the author prefers to communicate and how we can be better teammates and cheerleaders for them. After that, we will be in frequent contact with the author over email to keep them posted on our pitching and media hits and to brainstorm other angles for pitching and ideas they may have for press.
Sarah: We generally start working with authors six to eight months before publication. We’ll ask authors to complete the author questionnaire and have an initial meeting to discuss marketing and publicity plans. Our media outreach to long-lead media and our top media targets also starts around then. For cookbooks, we’ll pitch national television and food and lifestyle magazines for coverage around this time. I’ll meet with our media contacts and share our catalog and information on upcoming titles. We may have some early indication of media interest in the months leading up to publication, and we share leads with authors on a rolling basis as we receive feedback. However, authors can expect that most coverage confirmations will come a month prior to publication, and some even more last-minute. We continue pitching and following up with media at publication and after, where relevant. Particularly for cookbooks, we’ll pitch end-of-year gift guide/holiday coverage, no matter when during the year a book comes out. Besides the December holiday season, Mother’s Day is the biggest sales moment of the year for this category.
Lathea: Authors can look forward to a collaborative and supportive relationship with their publicity department. The publicity team will read the materials and connect with various departments to understand the campaign goals, target audience, and unique aspects of the book, which helps with tailoring the publicity strategy. Authors may be involved, providing background information on their book to help with crafting pitches and providing insights for press releases. Publicists will arrange book events and prep authors with event details, talking points, and promotional materials, as needed. Authors can expect a dynamic and adaptable approach to publicity, with a focus on effectively promoting their book to the right audience.
Q: What are some things authors can do to help their publicist / publicity team?
Sarah: It’s never too early to start thinking about who your audience is and how you might reach them. I love it when authors come to our first meetings and calls with a vision of who they want to reach and how. It’s great if you have clearly articulated goals for your book publication that your publicist can integrate into their plans. This might include contacts you have at various media outlets or a list of pitch ideas/bullet points that the publicist can share with media. Maybe there’s something interesting you didn’t include in the book or the background about writing it that could be shared as a potential angle for media.
Claire: Tell us what you want to do! Sometimes authors can be shy about their hopes and dreams for their book, or how they imagine it positioned in its genre/space. In reality, knowing the author’s perspective—publicity they’ve seen and loved, essays they might want to write, dream interviews—gives us valuable information about what sorts of things we might choose to pursue as we put together a publicity campaign.
Lathea: Authors can play a crucial role in supporting their publicist and publicity team. Sharing unique insights, anecdotes, and content related to the book can help the publicist craft compelling pitches and press releases. Authors can also contribute to social media posts and blog content and leverage their personal and professional networks to secure additional media coverage, event opportunities, and endorsements. Sharing contacts with the publicity team can open new avenues for promotion. By actively participating and collaborating with their publicist, authors can enhance the reach and impact of their book’s publicity campaign.
Q: Are there any misconceptions about how book publicity works that you’d like to address?
Lathea: One common misconception is that publicists handle everything and authors can be hands off. Successful publicity campaigns benefit from active collaboration between authors and publicists. Authors need to be responsive, engage on social media, and participate in events and interviews. Another misconception is expecting immediate results from publicity efforts. Publicity is a long-term strategy that builds momentum over time. It involves continuous engagement and follow-up to maintain interest and visibility. People often think that the same publicity strategy works for all books. However, publicity approaches vary significantly between fiction and nonfiction and between adult and YA/children’s titles. Each book requires a tailored approach to effectively reach its target audience. While media coverage is a significant aspect, book publicity also involves event planning, author support, and marketing collaboration. It’s a multifaceted process aimed at creating a comprehensive promotional campaign to get the book into readers’ hands.
Sarah: In our division, social media primarily falls under Marketing; this may be different in some other imprints. Also, it’s important to listen to your publicist about how they are adapting their strategies and plans in the changing media landscape and the changing book tour landscape. Everyone on the team wants your book to succeed, and your publicist is one of the key people to make this happen.
Claire: Maybe this is repetitive of my prior answer, but never be afraid to be in touch! Publicists are just people, and, for that matter, people who are so excited to usher your book into the world. No idea or question is silly—we always want to hear from you!
Stephanie Bowen is Director, Author Development for Penguin Random House.