Publicity: What’s an Author to Do?

I'd be interested in seeing an example or case studies of what the author's responsibilities are for marketing after a book is published. Will the publisher set up local radio interviews and the author has to show up? Or provide the author with certain tasks that the author has to follow through with?

Well, I’m not sure about any case studies, but I can tell you that your publisher will (or at least should) be publicizing your book months before it’s even released.

Your publisher should have a marketing plan for your book. To be clear, this marketing plan probably won’t be available as soon as your book is acquired, but there should be one available for you months before your release (the timeline varies depending on the publisher). What the plan entails will of course depend on your book, the marketing budget, and of course you as an author. Publishers will likely invest more in authors that have impressive sales records than debuts who have no record (though there are definitely exceptions). And of course the more they invest, the more likely it is for them to set up appearances, interviews, and events for you. Some events include conferences like ALA, TLA, BEA; book tours (especially for high-profile authors); radio or even television interviews; and school visits just to name a few. The publisher will set these events up for you and will give you guidance on what you need to do and what is required of you.

Now let me be completely clear: not every author will be given the same opportunities. As I said above, it all depends on the marketing budget.

Does this mean that publishers won’t do anything for you if you have a quieter book, a more modest sales record, or an unknown name? Let’s hope not.* But if you’re able to coordinate school visits, blog hops, interviews etc. then by all means go for it! Just make sure to let your publisher know. And if you need any additional guidance, reach out to your publisher. Hopefully they’ll already have an author outreach package for you to use as a resource.

Any questions?


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*And if your publisher isn’t doing anything to market your book…