Customer Reviews

Publicize Your Book: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having just had the best book of my career--The Joy of Digital Photography--published and wanting it to do well, I spent a lot of time researching the subject of book promotion. The way I feel, any book that offers even a single useful tip is probably worth the cover price and if that is true, then Deval's book is worth a fortune: it is literally dripping with interesting and practical information. The 30 or so pages on "Resources" (which cover great web sites for finding newspapers, radio stations, book fairs, etc.) will save you dozens of hours of often frustrating online or library research.

Jacqueline Deval's description of the in-house promotion process is invaluable--you simply won't find a better description anywhere (and incidentally, I don't know the author and never heard of her before buying this book). Almost every detail of what she describes is something I've encountered with the in-house promotion for my latest book. In fact, it's a bit unsettling just how accurate her descriptions are.

One of the things I like best about this book, in fact, is that it is written to promote books that are being published through normal mainstream publishers. Many promotion books are written for self publishers--and those publisher/authors will certainly find this book more than useful--but there are fewer books written for traditionally published books. This book takes you inside the promotion departments of the biggest publishers and there is not a single page that is not overflowing with great information.

The chapters on "Internet Marketing" (she should probably change the name to "Online Marketing" which sounds more modern) and how to "Set up Your Own Publicity" are terrific.

Listen, publishers will promise you the world when it comes to book promotion and they will deliver what they can--but you cannot sit back and wait for your book to hit the bestsellers list: you must work the promotion game for yourself. And the more you know about which promises they are able to keep and which ones are going to fall through the cracks, the better off you are. This book is the best education you'll get (other than going through the process itself!).

Let me put it this way: if you are having a book published,currently writing a book or self-publishing a book, spending $15.95 on Deval's book will save you hundreds and hundreds of hours of work and no doubt help you make thousands of additional book sales.

The one thing I wish she had included more of are actual anecdotal examples--good case histories. She includes a few, but I would like to see more--many more.

My new book is The Joy of Digital Photography (Lark Books) and it's a wonderful and fun book on taking digital photos--but if no one knows about it, they won't buy it. Promotion is what it is all about. Market, market, market.

And incidentally, no matter who your publisher is, begin asking questions about promotion before you sign a contract and get as much as you can in writing. This is YOUR book and YOUR life and YOU have a right and an obligation to ask these questions.

Jeff Wignall, author, The Joy of Digital Photography.

Originally reviewed on May 29, 2003

I put off starting Jaqueline Deval's "Publicize Your Book" as long as I could, and much to my surprise, this is the first instructional/How-to book I have read cover to cover.

The style is straightforward and easy to read. Not too long and not too short, with just the right amount of asides for me to understand the details and apply them to my genre. I am a first time author of a gift book, and found Deval's guide covered book publicity as well as the parts of publishing relevant to publicity. Just what I needed.

After many months of trying to understand both the industry in general and my publisher in particular, I wish this book came out a year ago.

Michael Duranko, Bootism: a shoe religion
www.bootism.com

This is a great resource for any writer. The author obviously has a good deal of experience in the topic of book publicity and demystifies "publisher's speak" in regards to midlist and new writers. The information will help authors understand the publishing process and how to work well with publicists, editors, and marketing people.

The entire book underscores the realization that today authors need to be in charge of their own destiny. Even if an author is signed with a large publishing firm, he or she still needs to be active in marketing their book. And this includes preparing a marketing plan from even before the book is published.

While much of this information was geared toward writers published with a traditional publishing house, as I self-published writer I also found valuable information that I can incorporate into my own marketing plan. The author addresses the proper way to approach print markets, radio, and television (even giving realistic info on approaching that holy grail called THE OPRAH WINFRY SHOW). This book provides valuable websites, contact ideas, as well as templates for press releases and pitch letters.

From the author of The Difference Now, A New Dish, and At the Coffee Shop.

I find this book to be good for trade-published authors. By that, I mean authors who found a publisher willing to publish their book for them. This book doesn't explain how to promote POD or self-published authors.

All my books are POD. So there's no need to worry about "keeping them in print." They'll be in print forever. Another thing I didn't like about this book was the section on getting on Oprah. The chances of an unknown author getting on Oprah is very slim. I think such authors would do better getting on the Tonight Show or Late Night. I read in Dan Poynter's "Self-Publishing Manual" that an appearance on Oprah can sell 50,000 copies of your book. But an appearance on the Tonight Show can sell 3,000 copies. I'd be very happy with those numbers.

The information about marketing your book on the Internet is useful, but limited. For self-published and POD authors, I recommend "Plug Your Book" and "Aiming At Amazon."

Brandon Simpson

I've read a number of books and other resources about book publicity. This book stands out. The way I judge how much information I've gotten from a book is how many pages I've marked up and "dog eared." With this book there are dozens of pages that I refer back to. I am getting ready to publicize my own book. I found ideas in this book that I hadn't seen before. I expect these ideas to be very helpful in working with others who also want to get the word out. As I've learned more about the in and outs of publicity, I find myself looking forward to it. Thanks to Jacqueline Deval for such a comprehensive and compelling look at the subject.

PR is key in getting the word out about your book and Jacqueline Deval guides you through the process. She provides information about book tours, conducting interviews, and keeping your book in print. It is well written and easy to understand. In implementing some of her ideas I have received a great deal of media coverage for my first book. I would highly recommend this book to all authors.

After having recently self-published my own book, I wish I had read Jacqueline Deval's book before starting out on the publicity aspect.
I may have utlilized this author's knowledge along side my own instinct.
Jaqueline sets guidelines which are so very easily to follow.
I would highly recommend those who are are even contemplating driving down the sefl-publishing road to read her book first.
It's a must read!

-Yvonne Bornstein, Author, Eleven Days Of Hell

This book turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Self-published for the past two years, I have been at a loss for getting good publicity. Thanks to this book, I am already onto several promising media leads, so it is already working for me. Highly recommended.

Oh if only this book had been around when my first book was published! My publicist and I could spared ourselves so much work and confusion. This is the best book on publicity I've read so far. Read it carefully and pay attention to what your publisher is doing for you. If it's obviously not enough, don't despair, turn to this book. It will tell you how to create a web site, how to hire a private publicist, how to get the attention of potential book reviewers and so much more.

Jacqueline has written a clear, and easy to read book on publicity. Lots of great tips- and wonderful information for all authors. A wonderful addition to all of the other books out there on publicity (including mine) Well done! Go get this book

Rick Frishman. Pres of Planned TV Arts (www.plannedtvarts.com)
co author of Guerrilla Marketing for Writers, Guerrilla Publicity and Networking Magic.Get your free Million Dollar Rolodex at www.rickfrishman.com