A publicist speaks

Colleen Lindsay, the publicity director for Del Rey, reveals some of the dos and don’ts about author publicity over at the Mupsimus, which covers the science fiction in a similar way to what I do here for crime fiction. Lindsay explains why editing is all about the book, but publicity and promotion is all about the author:

Now, as for PR, well, I am here to tell you: PR is all about the writer and not about the book. When I have to make a judgement to determine which of my new authors I get to spend my meager publicity and marketing budget on, I look at the following things:

:: The book itself

:: The author’s physical appearance: Is he or she well-groomed? I know two authors who have terrible body odor problems; when you are near them, you don’t think about the book or how great a writer he or she may be, you just think about how fast you can get aay from them. Sad but true. Is the author significantly overweight? If so, will this be a physical hindrance to the person if I need to send them on a rigorous tour schedule? (As someone who is very overweight myself, I know the strains this can put on one’s body is one is routinely inactive.)

:: The author’s bearing: Does he or she bear themselves with dignity and grace, or does he /she give the appearance of walking like a victim? This is the kiss of death in front of a crowd of eager fans.

:: The author’s voice: Does he or she have a radio-appropriate voice? Does he or she have an accent that will hinder an audience’s comprehension when he/she reads? Does he/she have an unpleasant voice in general? If you have an unpleasant voice or vocal habits, by golly, hire a voice coach and get rid of them.

There’s more, and it’s well worth reading, even if it may be fairly eye-opening for some…

(link from Bond, Gwenda Bond)