Part
I of My Candid Interview with Freelance Publicist Mayra Calvani
By
Dora
Machado
Are you thinking
about employing a book publicist to promote your new release? Are you
considering buying a book promotion package? Are you struggling to decide
between multiple types of book promotion services?
If you are one of the
thousands of authors trying to decide where to put your promotion dollars, you'll
want to get into Mayra Calvani's head. She knows what it takes to market a
novel. As an author, she understands the challenges. As a publicist, she's done
the heavy lifting.
In the first part of
her candid interview today, Mayra defines the qualities and capabilities of an effective
book publicist, the hallmarks of a solid publicity package, and the easiest and
hardest aspects of her job. She also tells us what an author can do to make her
job easier and why reviews are important.
Mayra Calvani, pictured here with Ramses
Welcome,
Mayra. It's a pleasure to have you with us today. I understand that you are a
gifted novelist, but I also know from my own experience working with you, that
you are a very talented and effective book publicist. Tell us your story: Which
came first and how did you go from one to the other?
Thank you, Dora! It's a pleasure being a guest on MB4.
I don't know about “gifted novelist” or “talented
book publicist”—but thank you very much for your kind words!
I've been a writer for most of my life, and I'm a full-time author. But, as you know, authors often need another stream of income
and, until I get that six-figure advance, I'm enjoying doing a little freelance
book publicity on the side.
I just want to make clear from the start that I'm
not a publicist in the traditional sense of the word. I haven't set up a
business nor a website to advertise my services. I only do this on a freelance
basis and my clients are referred to me by word of mouth 90% of the time. I'm
happy with only a couple of clients a month—or, at times, none at all. That's
fine by me. I wouldn't want publicity to get in the way of my writing.
Putting
on your book publicist hat, what kind of services does someone like you provide,
and why should authors consider including services like yours in their
marketing plan?
I offer several promotional packages to build
visibility. I write for over 15 sites and blogs, and I make the posts there.
The packages may be interview only, or profile only, or a combination of
interviews, guest posts, profiles, reviews, and blog talk radio. I secure reviews and serve as an intermediary
between authors and bloggers. I'm quite flexible and work one-on-one with authors
and I'm open to a la carte services.
However, I don't do virtual book tours, per se. That
is, I don't coordinate the posts according to dates. I simply make sure the
posts are up within a specific frame of time (1 or 2 weeks or longer, depending
on the author's preference), and I send the links to the author as they go
live. Once the promo is over, I compile all the links and send them to the
author in a Word document.
An author may have written a masterpiece, but if he
doesn't put himself out there, no one will find out about it. There's just too
much competition. I recently read in Bertram's Blog (http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/how-many-books-are-going-to-be-published-in-2012-prepare-for-a-shock/)
that, according to Bowker's, the company that issues ISBNs, approximately
3,000,000 books were published in the U.S. in 2011. This is a shocking,
staggering number. How can readers learn about an author's book unless there's a
big publisher with a big marketing campaign behind him? One way is by taking
advantage of what the Internet has to offer: interviews, guest blogging, blog
talk radio, reviews, virtual book tours, etc.
That
is a staggering number of books published each year! With that, I've also
noticed that there are a lot of outfits offering book publicity packages. It
gets really confusing for authors, especially newbies, who may be trying to
promote a first novel. In your opinion, what are the qualities that make a book
publicist effective and what are the hallmarks of an excellent publicity
package?
An effective publicist should have a solid pool of
bloggers and reviewers to work with. She should also have access to
high-traffic sites and popular blogs. She should also be clear about her services and not
be misleading, thus creating false expectations. In my case, I make it clear to
my clients that my services are limited to online sites and blogs. I don't do
TV or national radio, nor do I coordinate author appearances in bookstores or
libraries. I don't set up Skype interviews either.
Visibility doesn't always equate to sales, and this
is something not many newbies understand. Other factors, such as an
eye-catching cover, an intriguing blurb, and the book's genre, have a vital
effect on book sales. Great writing doesn't always come into the picture. Based
on my experience working with authors, good storytelling has a heavier impact
on sales than good writing. But still, it's a mystery. Many books have all
these qualities, yet they don't sell well. If I knew the secrets of making a
bestseller, I would be rich.
A good publicity campaign should include variety in
the form of press releases, online interviews, guest posts, profiles, reviews, street
team, blog talk radio—and, of course, national radio and TV appearances, if
possible. All these can be compiled and added to the author's media page on
their website. Of course, publicists handling national radio and TV
will be more costly. As well as those services that include booking in-person visits/signings
at schools, bookstores, and libraries.
Do
you promote all kinds of books or do you specialize in a particular genre? Are
there some books that are harder to promote than others? Is there any credence,
for example, to the idea that nonfiction books are easier to promote than
novels?
I don't work with erotica, war stories, graphic
horror, or religious books. YA novels, romance, suspense, paranormal, fantasy
and mystery are easier to promote. YA fiction is the easiest to promote, by
far. I do some horror, but that's always a tough genre to market, even if it's
soft and not too graphic. I also find espionage novels hard to promote. My pool
of bloggers and reviewers are 99% women, and they usually stay away from this
genre. From the feedback I've received, they seem to have trouble keeping up
with all the different characters and POVs in an espionage novel.
Nonfiction isn't necessarily easier to promote. It
depends on the subject and the pool of bloggers that the publicist works with.
Not many bloggers or reviewers are going to be interested in promoting a book
about income tax, for example, but many may be open to a book on organization
and productivity.
Mayra's
Favorite Tea Room in Brussels, where she lives.
What
is the hardest aspect of your job as a book publicist?
One of the hardest aspects is trying to find bloggers
and reviewers for genres that aren't too popular, such as horror, espionage, memoirs
(unless they have female appeal like Eat,
Pray, Love). It's disheartening to send out a review request to 100
bloggers and only receive two or three responses.
Dealing with bloggers and reviewers who are
unresponsive or don't keep their word can also be quite frustrating.
What
is the most satisfying part of the job?
Meeting new authors and finding out about their
stories, interacting with them and helping them promote their books.
How
does an author make your job easy?
Proofreading their guest posts and interviews before
sending them to me for posting. Following instructions about the size of covers and
author photos. Too many times they send files that are either too large or too
small. Answering interview questions in an informative,
thoughtful manner. Readers and online blogs and publications don't like
cookie-cutter interview answers, and some sites like Blogcritics, for example, won't publish an interview if the answers
are one-liners. I'm not sure why some authors do this, as they really make
themselves look bad. They make the interviewer look bad as well.
Are
reviews important to a book promo effort? If so, why?
They certainly are, especially nowadays when Amazon
reviews seem to have such a heavy hand on how a book is perceived by the
public. Yet, reviews aren't the only criteria and, again,
great reviews don't always equate to sales.As it stands right now, the more reviews, the
better. However, I'm not referring to 2-3 line endorsements obviously given
gratuitously by the author's family members and friends. I don't think this carries
any weight on smart readers. I'm talking about thoughtful reviews that don't
sugarcoat the book.
But you also ask why…
My response is because people want to read what
other people are reading. It's human nature.
Thanks
Mayra. You've given us lots to think about. I look forward to continuing this
very helpful discussion in part two of our interview, coming up next Wednesday.
****
About
Mayra Calvani:
Mayra Calvani writes
fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen
books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and
articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer's Journal,
Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury
Review, among many others. When she's not writing, reading, editing or
reviewing, she enjoys walking her dog, traveling, and spending time with her
family.
About
Dora Machado:
Dora Machado is
the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series and her newest
novel, The Curse Giver, available
from Twilight Times Books. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she
developed a fascination for writing and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime
of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to
her stories. She lives in Florida with her husband and three very opinionated
cats.
When she is not writing fantasy, Dora writes
features and interviews for Murder By Four, an award-winning blog for readers
and writers, and Savvy Authors, where writers help writers.
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