The Art of Igniting Book Buzz

Feature Interview With Marika Flatt of PR By The Book

The year was 1997. Marika Flatt was hired as a “baby book publicist” at a boutique literary firm after having graduated with a communications degree from Texas A&M University. She and her husband, Doug, were given the opportunity to take over that firm in 2002. This led them to launch PR by the Book, a book publicity firm offering PR campaigns through traditional media, online media, social media, book tours, branding & media training for authors.

With marketing being one of the most important factors in whether a published book meets a certain level of success, we here at “Great Books, Great Minds” reached out to Marika to get her take on what’s emerging in the area of PR for book authors. She also shared a bit about her own personal reading journey. 

Given that there are tens of thousands of books published each year, what are the biggest challenges facing book authors in getting exposure to their published works? 

Yes, it’s extremely important to rise above the noise because there is so much noise out there for each and every author. In our world, we are working every day to get the attention of media outlets for our clients. Here are a few quick little nuggets of what we find moves the needle:

…….develop a strong brand between your website and social media platforms; keep that brand consistent and work on your engagement to build up your following.

…….be willing to write articles to use as a connection point for media outlets. The fact of the matter is, they are all overworked and understaffed. So when they find a really well-written piece on an applicable topic, that is a backdoor approach to media exposure.

…….do not underestimate the power of getting in front of someone who is online with a very large audience. These individuals often referred to as influencers or micro-influencers, are worth communicating with and convincing that you and your book are worth being discussed online.

…….stay in tune with the daily news; look down the road for 3 to 4 months of timely themes that you can use as silver bullets (leveraging points) with your media pitches.

Can you describe your own personal reading journey over the years? 

Oh, this is a fun topic to talk about! My reading preferences have changed over the years, as many do. I have developed a sincere love for self-improvement, non-fiction, and memoirs. Years ago, I would only read fiction for enjoyment and all the rest for work so to speak. But now I like to start every morning with a cup of coffee and at least 10 pages of a nonfiction book.

Are there any particular book themes or authors that resonate with you? Do you have a preferred book medium — hardback/paperback, audio, or digital?

I enjoy different mediums in different environments. For instance, if I can sit in my bed and read, I would prefer a physical copy of a book. However, if I am going on a trip and I know that I might want more than one book, I enjoy reading digitally on my iPad. I also love listening to audiobooks because I can utilize my time doing chores or in the car and be taking in a book in that environment.

Finally, what are the three biggest misconceptions you’re hearing from new and emerging authors about book marketing and PR?

1. That publicity does not provide ROI: When you look at the big picture, you have to think about using your book as a business and everything that it can bring to your brand. That might involve opening doors through media exposure to other opportunities such as speaking engagements, future book deals, growing your business, etc.

2. That their book is unique: Unfortunately, there are very few unique ideas out there in this day and age of books. However, part of the fun of the game with publicity is pulling out those golden nuggets that the media will be interested in, that they don’t hear about all the time. A creative publicist can almost always find unique aspects to a book or an author story.

3. That publicity is something you think about after the book has been published:  You should be thinking about publicity when you begin writing your book. You lay the groundwork within the pages of your book for a solid publicity campaign down the road.