Heather J. Wood is a Tkaronto/Toronto-based writer and publicist. She is the author of two books, Fortune Cookie and Roll With It. In 2016, she was nominated for a 2016 World Fantasy Award for her work on the international Gods, Memes and Monsters anthology.

First, let’s assume an author has the busiest, most underpaid publicist at a small press. What is the bare minimum that an author can expect that publicist to do for them?

Keep in mind that at a very small press your “publicist” will likely be a Jill or Jack of many trades with multiple duties. At a minimum, you can expect review copies of your book to be sent to some newspapers, literary magazines, and online review sites. Ideally, these review submissions will be done well in advance of your book’s release date, but some presses are unable to do this.

Ideally, your publicist will also pitch you to some festivals and reading series. At some presses, your publicist may promote your book on various social media platforms and may also submit your book for awards.

In a recent webinar you gave to the Writers Union of Canada, you mentioned three stages of publicity: one 4-6 months ahead of publication, an active phase from 1 month prior to 2 months post-publication, and then a potential later stage if the book is a finalist for or wins an award. Can you explain what happens in each of those stages and how an author can help their publicist during these stages without stepping on their toes or committing industry faux pas?

Every publishing house has different procedures, but ideally, much of the major publicity work happens in the background several months before a book comes out—that’s the reason you see reviews and news coverage for some books the week they are released. During this period, publicists will submit ARCs (advance review copies, which can be print or digital) to review outlets that require submissions 3-4 months ahead of a book’s publication date, such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist. Many review outlets such as newspapers will also want advance copies of a book, so that reviews can come out around of the time of a book’s publication. This is less important when it comes to literary journals, as they tend to have long production schedules. During this background period, the author and their book are likely being pitched to various media outlets for possible interviews or coverage and to select literary festivals.

In terms of not stepping on your publicist’s toes, do check with your publicist if it’s OK to contact various media directly. Usually, if you have a connection to a particular reviewer or outlet, directly contacting media is fine and even encouraged. However, directly contacting some major outlets may not be welcome in other cases. Also, very large festivals will usually wish to be pitched by publishers/publicists and not directly by the authors themselves. One big faux pas is ranting publicly about bad reviews. Remember, your publicist needs to maintain good relationships with the media for your sake and that of the other authors at your press.

Do you have any tips or maybe a template for creating the “elevator pitch” for a book?

An elevator pitch should be short and sweet and easy to understand, even to someone who is completely unfamiliar with you or your book. An elevator pitch is meant to hook potential media, but it is not meant to be the last word on your book. So, for instance, a feminist dystopian novel set in a future St. John’s, Newfoundland could be: “The Handmaid’s Tale meets Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club.” A novel about Chinese rail workers being omitted from the Canadian railroad-building history could be: “The Last Spike meets I Am Canada: Blood and Iron.” Remember, an elevator pitch is NOT supposed to be highly intellectual or all-encompassing. It’s meant to get people’s attention and should refer to books, movies, TV shows or other known quantities in contemporary culture. I suggest trying out your elevator pitch on people who know nothing about your book and see if it means anything to them. If they don’t understand it, likely media people won’t either.

In what situations would you suggest an author hire their own publicist and at what stage of the publication process should this be done?

The answer to this question is “it depends.” If you’re being published by a press with limited publicity resources, hiring a freelance publicist may be a good idea if you have the funds. But you need to understand that a publicist can’t make up for a small print run, limited distribution, lack of advertising, and a totally unknown author. Some review outlets are more inclined to review books from publishers who also advertise with them or whose books are widely available across the country. If you’re a poet who has not previously won awards or media acclaim, and you’re bringing out a debut collection with a tiny press who will only be printing 350 copies, it may be difficult for a publicist to get much coverage for you. If this your situation, you might want to wait until you publish a second book to hire an outside publicist.

Also, keep in mind that some books get plenty of publicity but end up selling very few copies, and conversely, some books sell very well with little to no publicity. Freelance publicists can be costly, and you may not get that many additional sales despite the money you end up investing in publicity. If you do decide to hire a publicist, ideally you should do so at least 2-3 months prior to your book’s release, although even a month prior might suffice. If your book is already published and you’ve been nominated for an award or invited to a festival, you can also consider hiring a freelance publicist at that stage instead. In general, the best outcomes happen when the publicist and author cooperate as a team.

In your talk, you mentioned that authors should pitch themselves to smaller, local festivals. Do you have any tips on (a) how to find out about smaller festivals and (b) how to create a pitch for a festival?

Almost all Canadian literary festivals are listed on the Writers’ Union of Canada website. Check out the festival’s site and review their submission requirements. Research the kinds of authors the festival tends to program. If the festival doesn’t have submission guidelines listed, they likely don’t want pitches from individual writers. In general, a festival wants to know that an author can bring in an audience and that the author’s book is relevant to festival’s programming needs. Being local to the festival’s area helps, as well as having a book that meets the festival mandate and/or theme.

In terms of a pitch, write a polite, concise letter that clearly states you want your book considered for the festival. Put your book’s elevator pitch in that opening paragraph. Your pitch should also include a more complete but still brief description of the book along with a bio of no more than 100 words. Include any significant review or endorsement quotes you have for the book. Also note your connections to the festival and your experience speaking/performing in public. Have a friend look over your pitch before you send it.

Once an author’s book is out of that active period (2 months post-publication), what are some suggestions for things they can do to have people notice them and their book?  

Pitch your local newspaper to write an op-ed on a topic that’s currently in the news, even if it’s not directly relevant to your book. Go to reading events that have open mics and read a bit of your work. Decide which social media platforms you feel comfortable on and post intriguing lines from your book. Introduce yourself to your local independent bookstores. Make sure you always carry a copy of your book with you because you never know when opportunity might strike. Leverage your networks—enlist your friends, family, and colleagues to help spread the word about your book. Make friends with your local librarians. In Canada’s small market, word of mouth is key.

Any final bits of advice to authors on publicity? Maybe the number one most important thing you can do?

My number one advice is to be a good literary citizen. Support and promote other writers—buy their books, review their books, attend their events, and reshare their social media posts. If you support other authors, they will be more inclined to support you.