In this episode, we chatted with freelance food and lifestyle book publicist and Thursday Media founder Kimberly Escobar about the adorable perils of working from home (specifically, Zoom-bombing kittens), how both traditionally and self-published authors can make their publicists’ jobs easier, and how to do your OWN book PR if you can’t afford a pro to do it for you. We also talked about the joys and pains—but mostly joys—of owning your own business, why an Arby’s was actually the perfect place for a book launch party, and how even the shyest of introverts can effectively promote their books without feeling like they need to take a shower afterward.

“If your publicist is asking for it, assume that it’s urgent.”

—Kimberly Escobar

Guest Bio

Kimberly Escobar, president and founder of Thursday Media Inc., began her career as publicist at Grand Central Publishing (an imprint of Hachette) before joining the then-newly launched Flatiron Books (an imprint of Macmillan) to spearhead their lifestyles publicity. She made a name for the Flatiron list with some of the most discriminating writers in media and her campaigns often graced the pages of everything from the New York Times to Forbes. She regularly booked top-tier, national broadcast media such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, and The TODAY Show, in her campaigns. She recently launched Isaac Mizrahi’s instant New York Times bestseller I.M., which included stops at CBS This Morning, multiple national NPR interviews, and a New York Times “By the Book” interview, among other major press. She also led the recent publicity campaigns for Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, and the James Beard and IACP award-winning Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian and Between Harlem and Heaven by JJ Johnson + Alexander Smalls. Kimberly has planned, executed, and traveled on countless national book tours with stops in venues as large at 1500-seat theaters to the most intimate indie bookstores. She is now president and founder of Thursday Media Inc., where she continues to craft headlining media campaigns and attention-grabbing events for her clients. You can find her on Instagram @_kimberlyescobar_.

The post Episode 48: Kimberly Escobar — Owner of Thursday Media Inc. first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 48: Kimberly Escobar — Owner of Thursday Media Inc. appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Robyn Crummer-Olson, where she shares the exciting news about her appointment as Publisher at Portland State University’s Ooligan Press. She delivers some real talk about her gold-star author marketing moves, as well as what will torpedo your book selling efforts.

I’d rather talk to 30 people who are raptly listening than 300 who are scrolling on their phones.

We also discuss Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book and Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Remember when CATS was the talk of the town? What a long year it’s been.

Guest Bio

Robyn Crummer-Olson has more than 12 years of experience in book publishing, working with best-selling, self-published authors and in well-established publishing houses. Before working in book publishing, she was a marketing and advertising copywriter and content strategist. She currently teaches Book Marketing and Publishing for Writers classes at Portland State University, and she coaches authors on manuscript development, book project management, and book marketing and publicity. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Women’s Studies from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and a master’s degree in Writing with a specialization in Book Publishing from Portland State University..

Recommended Sales and Marketing Books from Robyn

• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson
• Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
• Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant
• Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
• Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson
• This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin

Find Robyn Crummer-Olson Online

• Her Website
• Her Instagram
• Ooligan Press

The post Episode 44: Book Marketer and Publisher Robyn Crummer-Olson first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 44: Book Marketer and Publisher Robyn Crummer-Olson appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

What exactly does a publicist spend their days doing?

Pitching the media, confirming (and re-confirming) interviews/appearances/events, managing author egos, putting out fires, etc. But if you’re someone who works with NYT bestselling authors like Jennifer Weiner and Fredrik Backman, you also get to go on tour! Ariele Fredman Stewart began her publishing career interning for Bloomsbury and mocking up Harry Potter posters, and now works as the Associate Director of Publicity in the Atria imprint at Simon & Schuster. Corinne talked to Ariele about just how much publicity has changed since the advent of digital media, why her role on book tours is that of a (friendly) cop, how the role of a publicist is always evolving, and whether or not viral fame has changed her toddler.

Ariele Fredman Stewart is a book publicist who has launched New York Times bestselling campaigns for Fredrik Backman, Jennifer Weiner, Colleen Hoover, and many others, including YouTube sensations Shane Dawson and Connor Franta. She loves cheese, crafting, and reading (duh), and lives with her husband and daughter in Queens, NY. Find her on Instagram at @arielestewart.

The post Episode 35: Book Publicist Ariele Fredman Stewart first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 35: Book Publicist Ariele Fredman Stewart appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

There are lots of factors that contribute to the decision to buy or a book or not—the cover, the reviews, the price—but something that’s just as important as any of those are endorsements. Also known as blurbs, these are declarations of praise from people you know, or don’t know but are influential in your subject, about how your book will change lives or save the world (or something equally hyperbolic that’s not really provable but sure sounds good). A good blurb from the right person gives you an air of authority and prestige. And that shit sells books.

Soliciting endorsements—like promoting—can be excruciating for authors who a) are very, very, very shy or b) feel like they’re imposing, which they’re not. Either way, it’s a very necessary piece of the marketing puzzle that can lead directly to a sale, and, if it’s the right endorser, lots of sales! You’ll want to start the process of brainstorming endorsers very early on, preferably as soon as you’ve signed your contract and are still riding high, before the inevitable panic about deadlines sets in. Hopefully you’ll have some authors in mind right off the bat—ones who’ve had some measure of success in the same genre as yours if you’re writing fiction or well-known experts in your book’s subject area if you’re writing nonfiction. But you should also be thinking about genre-adjacent folks that may not be the first people who’d jump to mind. For example, if you’ve written a crime novel that centers around technology, of course you’re going to think first of James Patterson or Dennis Lehane, but consider also someone like Alec Ross, a successful author who also happens to be a technology policy expert.

Dial down your inner critic.

The most important thing to remember when you’re drawing up your endorser wish list is this: THINK BIG. There’s a tendency for most writers to undersell themselves and their talent, like, “Oh, who am I, who cares about my little book anyway, etc.” If you want ANYONE to give a shit about your book, now is the time to stop thinking like that. In the legendary Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott coins an expression for your inner critic that still haunts me–in a good way–to this day: a radio station called KFKD (or K-Fucked).

Out of the left speaker will be the rap songs of self-loathing, the lists of all the things one doesn’t do well, of all the mistakes one has made today and over an entire lifetime, the doubt, the assertion that everything one touches turns to shit, that one doesn’t do relationships well, that one is in every way a fraud, incapable of selfless love, that one has no talent or insight, and on and on and on.

You’re gonna need to turn that speaker off—or better yet, just throw the goddamn thing away—in order to reach out to writers whose work you admire.

Once you have that wish list, the investigations begin. Especially if you’re trying to reach a celebrity or a very high-profile author, you’re going to have to wade through websites, social media channels, and, most likely, an agent or a publicist. Admittedly, this can take a huge chunk of time, but it’s worth its weight in gold if you do end up securing a blurb.

Personalize your request—but in the right way.

Keep the letter brief, but also, make sure that it’s personalized. Ask me how much I hate it when someone sends me an email that begins “Dear Connie” or “Dear Corrine” or “Dear Karen.” IT DRIVES ME UP THE FUCKING WALL BECAUSE NONE OF THOSE ARE MY NAME. So I can only imagine how infuriating it problably is for Roxane Gay to get emails that begin “Dear Roxanne.” Yes, I know, it’s one letter off, but it shows a lack of attention to a very simple thing to get right, and could very well cost you an incredibly powerful endorsement.

Also, make sure you draw some personal connection between you and the person you’re asking for the endorsement. Don’t just say “I’m a big fan of your writing,” or “Your book changed my life,” because you can bet they’ve heard that at every book signing they’ve ever been to. Think deeply about why their work matters so much to you; cite a personal experience if you think it’s warranted. The big names get more requests for endorsements than they’d ever have time to answer, but relating on a personal level is an easy way to get yours to stand out from the crowd.

Make it easy for authors to blurb your book.

And finally, do some of the work for them. Send them a synopsis, a summary, a few chapters–even a handful of blurbs you’ve written yourself from which they can choose, or augment in some way. Every little bit of work you do gets you one step closer to an endorsement that could mean a sale.

So, with these tips in mind, go forth and email with reckless abandon! Not every big-time author remembers what it was like to be one of the little people, but you’d be surprised at how many do.

The post How And Why to Solicit Book Endorsements first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post How And Why to Solicit Book Endorsements appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

So you’ve written a book. Congrats!

The easy part is over! Now it’s time to take your baby into the marketplace and sell, sell, sell!

Most authors are less than enthused about this part, usually because they don’t want to seem like they’re bragging or too excited. Heaven forbid you be proud of the fact that you’ve spent YEARS laboring to get the story in your head onto paper and that a publisher liked it enough to put it out in the world for readers to consume. But you know what? You SHOULD be proud! You should be screaming it from the rooftops! Or from Twitter, at the very least.

So, in an effort to help authors market their book as effective as possible, may I present the following tips on what NOT to do (and one thing that you definitely should do that many authors—bafflingly—do not):

Number 1: Don’t piss off your publicist by emailing her every day to ask if she’s gotten you onto The Today Show yet.

Believe me, your publicist wants your book to succeed. She wants you to be happy. But by writing her every day to ask if she’s pitched THIS outlet or THIS outlet or hey, what about THIS outlet??—you’re not helping, and probably just making her sigh heavily every time your name shows up in her inbox. Odds are she’s already pitched all the outlets you mentioned, followed up with them, followed up with them again, and probably one more time for good measure. She’s been told that they’re not interested, or the book doesn’t fit with any upcoming articles/segments, whatever. And she’s probably bummed about it too.

But one thing you SHOULD know is that just because an outlet might not be interested at this very moment, that doesn’t mean that a journalist/producer/blogger won’t hold on to the pitch and look it up again when they DO have a need for it. All is not lost! And if you see an outlet/read a story in a publication that seems tailored made to feature you/your book, absolutely tell her. Just not every day. (Can you tell I used to be a publicist?) And, whatever you do, do NOT sic your agent on her. (This actually happened to me! And the agent was very mean! And made me cry! So. Don’t do that.)

Number 2: Don’t have completely unrealistic expectations for your book, aka Harry Potter Syndrome.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint” is the truest cliché of any to describe book promotion. You know who sprints? Stephen King. James Patterson. Nicholas Sparks, as much as it pains me to write that. And I guarantee that, for at least their first few books, their marketing manager was sharing the same cliché with them. So take every opportunity you’re offered graciously, whether it’s from a blogger who has 10 regular readers or an event that has only a handful of attendees. Every little bit helps, and word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool in the book-selling arsenal.

Number 3: Don’t be allergic to social media.

Ideally, you’ll have a decent following by the time your book comes out, but if you find the pub date inching closer and you’re still just overwhelmed by the mere thought of the Twittersphere and so just go about your business and pretend like it doesn’t exist, take heart. You do NOT need to be an expert at any social media channels to be effective on them, so don’t feel like you need to be perfect! Just start. It really is one of those things that becomes second nature much sooner than you’d think. Book Twitter especially can be a very welcoming place for new writers.

However—DO ask everyone you know or have ever met on the planet to review your book!

Yes, this feels sort of disingenuous. I know, and your family and friends will PROBABLY leave glowing reviews, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. Reviews can absolutely make or break a potential sale, and the more five-star ones readers see on Amazon or Goodreads, etc, the closer you are to earning out that advance.

In conclusion: Holy shit, you wrote a fucking book! And then someone published it! BE PROUD OF YOURSELF AND TELL THE WORLD!

The post How Not to Market Your Book—Wisdom from 15 Years of Book Marketing and Publicity first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post How Not to Market Your Book—Wisdom from 15 Years of Book Marketing and Publicity appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

Emily and Corinne interview publishing consultant and book publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek about her eclectic career working in the Bay Area and beyond. She tells us about the trifecta that makes for the perfect publicity campaign and some of her most cherished projects. Emily and Corinne also discuss a recent Buzzfeed piece about the self-help bestseller Girl, Wash Your Face.

All opinions are our own and do not reflect those of our employers.

Books and articles mentioned on this episode:

• Laura Turner’s article on Girl Wash Your Face
• A Stone Boat by Andrew Solomon
• A Century of November by W.D. Wetherell
• Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
• Stranger than Life by MK Brown
• List of Books by Laurie Colwin
• All the News I Need by Joan Frank

The post Episode 10: Interview with Publishing Consultant and Book Publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 10: Interview with Publishing Consultant and Book Publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

It all started, as it does for many book people, during childhood trips to the library. Since then, Corinne Kalasky’s publishing career has taken her all over the United States. She went from a “state school” in Seattle to working in New York amongst the East Coast Ivy League kids. She hob-nobbed her way into Harper, and then changed it up with a move to Nashville.  And after a stint in the Bay Area, she’s back in Portland, OR working as marketing coordinator with Beyond Words Publishing.

And she’s one of the only people I know who can actually pull off blunt bangs. (Please don’t go through my old Facebook photos for the love of God.)

In addition to being a coworker, Corinne is now also on board as Co-Host for the Hybrid Pub Scout podcast. Click play below to listen to us laughing into our microphones. I promise the compression will keep it from hurting your ears.

When you’re done listening, please subscribe to our newsletter for book recommendations and, saucy takes on publishing topics, and bonus material that nobody else gets!

Thank you, please!

The post Interview with Corinne Kalasky of Beyond Words Publishing first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Interview with Corinne Kalasky of Beyond Words Publishing appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.