[And thank my old publicist.]
Being a publicist for a little-known author/speaker/performer is challenging. Pitches go unanswered. The response is a stream of NO, whether it be abrupt or snide or gruff or toneless or even filled with regret, mixed with a dash of yes. Publicity is finding new ways to pitch old things, pivoting in advance of every change in the market, building buzz for new things, being in the right place at the right time, making a place when everyone says you’re in the wrong place, and paying attention to 10,000 details nobody else really considers.
Being a publicist is hard. Ask any author HOW hard, because we’re all expected to be one these days.
For almost two years, I was lucky to keep the same publicist on my team. Rebecca Powell joined me fresh from college. I wasn’t her full-time gig, but I kept her busy. She never met a closed door she didn’t try to kick open and push me through. I always knew she’d move on. She’s too good at her main job. But I’m grateful she shoved me in front of as much of the world as she could for a little while.
Welcome my new publicist, Rhiannon D’Angelo.
Today, I’m happy to welcome my new publicist, Rhiannon D’Angelo. Fresh from Boston, she moved down south with her husband after spending more than a decade in the Boston-area PR scene. She crafts impressive media pitches that have already opened some doors, and she brings daunting experience to this position. I’m equal parts terrified of what she’ll make me do next, stoked about what’s possible, and afraid of the day she says I’m too tiny for her.
Aaaaaaaand I’m having a hard time checking my enthusiasm at the door. I could send an idea-a-minute, because I am a bright-shiny object machine. Right now, I’m trying to sit back and let her learn what I’m doing, look at my business with fresh eyes, and kick me to another level.
And speaking of another level……
I’m in Dallas, Texas this week for NINE appearances. Check out the event calendar below for intel on one.
8 Comments
Yep. If I could afford a publicist, I’d probably give it a whirl. My efforts have been spectacularly ineffective. I’m resigned, at the moment, to just embrace my $100-a-year writing income. Sometimes, if a national publication buys a story, I get lucky and it jumps an order of magnitude, but that’s rare.
Even with investments in publicity, selling books is a brutal business. (As you know from multiple friends who’ve said so.) Increasingly, I’m targeting the publicity toward speaking and making book sales a residual. I’m still going to write books, and I’m still going to believe that one of them will be a massive hit someday.
Welcome Rhiannon – what a beautiful name!!!!!
It is!
best of luck to you and your new teammate -)
Thank you!!
Rhiannon will undoubtedly be an excellent partner. I’ll be eager, as will we all, to see what fresh perspective and ideas she’ll offer. And I hope you are met with enthusiasm in Dallas. I am certain you will be giving it your all. 🙂
She’s already challenging me which is a good thing.
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