MSI Press Blog

It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is about publicists. Do you need one?  What can you expect from one? What should you not expect from one? How should you go about finding one?  So, let's take each question separately. Do you need a publicist? Is your book selling?  Yes. You probably do not need a publicist though in some cases a publicist can help your book sell more copies. No. Consider hiring a publicist. Is this your first book? Yes. If you have a mentor or a strong editor to guide you, you may not need a publicist. No, and feel lost about how to go about getting your book noticed. Consider hiring a publicist. Do you have a strong

(photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to talk turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. While every traditional publisher, such as MSI Press LLC, accomplishes promotion and marketing activities, no press can pay exclusive attention to any one book -- and once a book gets long in the tooth, it often becomes unprofitable for a press to dedicate significant resources to promoting it. So, the question frequently arises, even with traditional presses, as to whether an author should spend the money to hire a publicist. Or, can you, as author, handle the publicity on your own? Some of the MSI Press authors have hired publicists; others have decided to try to make it a go on their own. This is a

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  This week's conversation seeks to answer a question that authors often ask me. Should I hire a publicist? The answer is, it depends. Let's take a look at three factors: value-added, cost, and timing. (Of course, there may be other things you want to consider as well, such as the strength of your platform and how much skill and experience and connections you have for personally marketing your book -- for example, how large is your mailing list? Value-Added Reasons for Hiring a Publicist A book publicist can significantly enhance your book’s marketing efforts by leveraging their expertise and industry connections. Here are some key val

(photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is about book launches. A book launch, planned and carried out well, is a great opportunity to introduce and market your book to a large number of people. So, what are the ways books can be launched? What is the best way to launch a book? What are the benefits and risks of various kinds of book launches? So, let's take each question separately. What are the ways in which you can launch your book? A typical launch for a high-powered author is a tour of bookstore signings; a typical launch for a low-powered author is a book signings at one, perhaps two, local bookstores.  High-powe

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic looks at the differences between books that sell well long-term and those that fizzle out.  Recently, I decided to analyze two kinds of books that experience good sales to see if there is some general guidance for authors; the long-term steady sellers and the first-year wonders. Book niches and author individualities vary widely, but perhaps some general information could be insightful if you are trying to make some decisions about how to market/promote your book. Criteria. In analyzing both sets of  books , I looked at the following 15 categories of criteria: ARC, prepped followers, platform, social media presence, recogni

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  This week's conversation addresses the hopes that authors bring to their writing and the realities they get handed. Perhaps some of those hopes should be called delusions (too harsh a word for sure, but the kinds of expectations -- I have written a book that is going to make me rich -- some authors bring with them in seeking publication really do not match reality, and it is sometimes hard for publishers to help them understand objectively how difficult book sales are. When authors find out the reality, many give up, which hurts authors and publishers alike. Let's take a look at what is really going on. Marketers claim that authors a