The Complete Guide to Book Publicity (Paperback)

by Jodee Blanco (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Publicizing a book, whether it's your own or someone else's, can be a daunting task. With books piled precariously high in editors' and producers' offices, how do you possibly make yours stand out? Relax. "There's no such thing as an author or book that isn't publicizable," says Jodee Blanco, who has been promoting books for nearly 20 years. "You have to be willing to tailor the campaign to fit the situation." Blanco's approach is to read the book, interview the author, then explore all possible angles. Some books are best publicized from the national level down; others fare better with grassroots campaigns. In The Complete Guide to Book Publicity Blanco explains the ins and outs of writing press kits, conducting media research, making pitches, tailoring and running publicity campaigns, and organizing book tours. She divulges the secrets to interview success, which include the author's knowing as much about the interview as possible ahead of time (it also helps, she says, not to wear plaid and not to hawk the book too blatantly). Most important, though, Blanco knows how to get a media contact to read her mail, and even to return her phone calls. Sometimes, she says, she'll "messenger [a] note with a flower or piece of chocolate. A touch of human kindness works wonders." --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
The nuts and bolts of book promotion are covered for fiction, nonfiction, hardcover trade, mass market, and trade paperbacks. Readers are told how to tailor campaigns to reach differing consumer, trade, and special-interest audiences; how to pitch the media and arrange author tours with print, television, and radio interviews; and how to produce headline-grabbing promotional events.

Jodee Blanco has spearheaded campaigns for more than a dozen New York Times best-sellers. President of Blanco & Peace, a Chicago-based public relations firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, and a faculty member of New York University's Center for Publishing, she splits her time among all three cities.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581150466
• ISBN-13: 978-1581150469
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,080,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authors Promote Books, August 28, 2000

By	Dan Poynter "Author-Publisher-Speaker" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Whether you sell out to a publisher or publish yourself, the author must do the promotion. This is not a general publicity book; it is for authors and book publishers. Anyone with a book to promote will be more successful with the detailed advice given here.

The Complete Guide to Book Publicity provides a thorough explanation of both print and broadcast media. Chapter six takes you step-by-step through a book publicity campaign. Blanco's explanation of buzzwords (Talking the Talk) will make you sound like a professional. This book is full of inside tips and tricks only an experienced professional could know. She even discusses budgets and costs for publicity campaigns--with formulas.

To get maximum exposure for your book, buy this book . . . and/or call Jodee Blanco in Chicago. [e-mail]

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" for the library of any author, January 20, 2003

By	T. L. Cooper (Albany, Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews

The Complete Guide to Book Publicity explains not only what needs to be done to publicize a book but also how to do those things including writing press releases, putting together a press kit, approaching media outlets, and building a campaign in an efficient and cost conscious manner. Blanco also includes a chapter on deciding whether to hire a publicist or publicize your book yourself. This book is a "must have" for the library of any author performing any or all of his/her publicity

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I learned a lot from this book, January 7, 2001

By A Customer

great tips- and a lot of fun. Another good one is Guerrilla Marketing for Writers (Levinson) and How to Get Publicity (Bill Parkhurst) Read all three and you will have publicity under your belt!