What I’ve Learned Searching for a Book PR Firm
Patience, definitely, but also a few things about the industry
I’m a philosophy professor and writer. So far, I have published eight books and many articles. I have spent the last 18 months researching ways to market myself and my writing, looking to hire someone as a publicist or marketing consultant.
From blogs and books, I read up about marketing authors — what book publicists look for, how to present yourself, what to expect in terms of services offered, and so on. Here are some things I have learned so far in my search.
The Best Advice I Have Heard
An idea I often read and heard about is that as an author, You should concentrate on marketing yourself as an author rather than on marketing a particular book. The idea is to build yourself as a brand instead of selling a single product.
This makes so much sense. It encourages people to not only look at your other books but also to see you as a source for expert opinion and future books. For me, it was one of those, “oh, yeah,” moments, affirmed every time I heard it from a marketer. The advice I now focus on is that I am not so much selling books but selling myself as an expert.
