Some
may say all of PR for authors is crisis PR because many authors find themselves
feeling stressed out about their PR campaigns. Some are never happy and others
are fearful they’ll actually get the PR they’d hoped to get. But true crisis PR
rarely involves authors. Crisis PR is about people or brands caught in a lie, a
loss, or a negative event, rumor or claim. Think oil spills, Wall Street
scandals, or tawdry affairs being outed. Still, many authors need guidance on
how to handle their crisis moments.
Let’s
redefine a crisis for an author. I would say authors are rattled when any of
the following happens:
1.
They
are misquoted in an interview.
2.
They
receive a bad review.
3.
An
interviewer asks a tough question in a way that sounds like the author is being
attacked.
4.
When
a negative moment or past situation is uncovered.
5.
When
the author’s personal life impacts media coverage.
6.
When
the author is asked questions he or she feels unqualified to answer.
7.
When
the media outlet doesn’t sound like they read your book or know much about you
while you are grilled by them.
8.
When
an author appearance or media interview is cancelled or delayed due to bad
weather, disaster, breaking news, etc.
9.
When
your pants rip, your lipstick runs, your shirt gets stained or you feel
exhausted right before a major media appearance.
There
are solutions to each of these setbacks. The key is to prepare for them and
where possible, take steps to avoid the problems from coming about in the first
place.. here are the ways to combat the above-referenced dilemmas:
1.
Authors
and politicians, businesses, crime victims, and others get misquoted. When
it happens, you just have to move on. If you think the error was so awful,
contact the outlet and ask for a correction. To avoid misquotes you can simply
not give interviews, but then where would you be? However, when answering a
journalist’s questions, try to be clear and repeat yourself when necessary. If
you can, follow up your interview by e-mailing key points and quotable
statements that may get used for the article.
2.
Bad
reviews will happen. It’s the risk you take when you solicit reviews. In the
long run, you should expect way more positive reviews than negative ones.
Consider the critical reviews as aberrations, but if possible, learn from what
they say. Further, look for a few positive words in the review and quote them
in your reviews/testimonials.
3.
Sometimes
the media has an agenda and beneath a question is an editorial or an opinion.
Don’t worry about it. You just see the question as an opportunity to make the
points that you want to make. Don’t feel obligated to get into an
argument -- unless you feel the topic is controversial and you feel at ease
getting into a verbal sparring match.
4.
The
more famous you become, the more people dig up about you and unearth the wrongs of
your life. No one’s perfect. It’s unlikely someone will dig up negative dirt
right away but if you know you have a skeleton in your closet, think about what
you’ll do and say once it is exposed.
5.
No
doubt things will be going on in your life when promoting your book, including
relationship issues, money problems, family affairs, health setbacks and any
number of things that pop up in life. You’ll need to find a way to shut those
things out while you are promoting your book. Don’t use personal life
shortcomings as an excuse not to promote your book but sometimes major events
happen -- death, divorce, sickness or job loss that simply will overshadow or
burden your PR efforts.
6.
If
you’re asked a question you don’t feel you can answer or are not qualified to
answer, say so. Better to be honest than to bullshit your way into possibly saying the wrong thing.
7.
Don’t
worry what an interviewer knows or what they read -- just give them the key points
to help shape the article or interview.
8.
Stuff
happens that’s out of your control. Try to reschedule missed interviews or move
on and hope to replace it with something equally as good, if not better.
9.
We
all find ourselves not looking or feeling our best during crucial moments.
Bring backup clothes and check yourself in a mirror. And drink lots of coffee, to put a jolt in your step.
The
only crisis authors need to worry about is if they aren’t generating a quantity
of quality media coverage. But even that has a solution: keep trying, change
what you’re doing and seek professional help (I don’t mean a psychiatrist).
Good
Luck!
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter.
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 © 2013
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