Thursday, March 16, 2017

What Does A Great Book Promoter Look Like?



Every writer believes he or she has cornered a truth, an idea, or a story that no one else has told or can tell as well as them.  It’s not that the writer sees him or herself as the only one capable of penning such a book, but deep down the writer feels his story must be told and believes in it.  This conviction, confidence, and deep belief inspires the writer to keep on writing, to succeed against the odds.

Book publicists and marketers operate the same way.  They believe in themselves.  They are infused with confidence, passion, and a sense of determination.  Even when they doubt the book or author that they are promoting, they will their way to achieve.  Sometimes they thrive on the challenge of promoting something they feel is below a certain standard.

Merit doesn’t always take you far, but operating under the frame of mind that you can succeed and will not accept any other outcome will.  When you have both – a meritorious book, written by a credentialed writer from an established publisher on a timely subject AND a confident, connected, and courageous book promoter working on your behalf, you have the best of all worlds.

When I take part in hiring decisions for the book publicity firm that I work for, I often look for certain personality traits over what’s on a resume, and certainly over whatever GPA they scored at college.  You want someone who has certain skills and training, some experience and a certain level of street savvy, but PR is best served by someone who doesn’t intellectualize the process.  You want someone to employ strategy but not to second-guess everything.  You want them to think and act their way through an obstacle, but not to be crippled by analysis, insecurity, or fear.

So, just as the best-written book is not always the one that wins awards or becomes a best-seller, the book publicist with the high I.Q. or 3.92 GPA is not always the one who generates the biggest media hits or the highest volume of media placements.

This may all sound counter to what should happen.  In a perfect world, the smartest person or the best writer should be the one that by far becomes a publishing icon.  But the best books go nowhere without publicity or strategic book marketing.

And you don’t make a book famous or establish an author’s brand with a book marketer or promoter who has that right blend of friendly personality, a bullshitter who doesn’t come off as such, a disciplined but aggressive style, one who is organized, methodical, and persevering, a person who can pitch ideas that are off the page, an individual who feels validated only when he gets a ton of great media coverage.

This translates into other aspects in life. You don’t have to date the prettiest girl to have the best sex.  The muscular guy doesn’t always become the best athlete.  The costliest car is not necessarily the best one and the biggest dog doesn’t necessarily make the best guard dog.

The best book promoter will combine a high level of the following:

·         Great Communicator
·         Very Assertive
·         Excellent Researcher
·         Idealistic
·         Visionary
·         Optimistic
·         Competitive
·         Idea Generator
·         Outgoing
·         Likes A Challenge
·         Experienced
·         Connected
·         Knowledgeable About The Media
·         Passionate About Your Subject Matter

When you find the right fit, it’s amazing.  A writer can see her career soar when she lands the right book promoter. Having a great book publicist rules all.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs 


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