Thoughts on Book Publicists

Some get it, some don't. I'm going to try to make this into an article and publish it somewhere.

How to handle reviewers. I'm sorry, but dealing with us is a bit like herding cats, or at least greased pigs.

But here are the dos and don'ts

Do

1) Get us the galley/xerox/PDF as fast as possible. It's more important that we have something in hand than that we have something pretty.

2) Put the pub date at the top of all publicity materials. Preferably in large print. Actually, we'd like it in flashing neon, if you've got it.

3) Tell us if the pub date slips.

4) Let us know the book's genre in the first two sentences.

5) Be respectful of our contracts, many of which have strict ethics guidelines about contact with the publisher, disclosing information to the publisher, meeting authors, and accepting gifts.

6) Send books to PO Boxes. Many of us don't have doormen and do part (or full) time work apart from our writing. So we have PO Boxes. (If this is a problem or a huge expense, let us know: there may be some wiggle room.)

7) Have faith in us. Most of us do this because we like telling people about good books they should be reading. That's what gives us our buzz.


Don't

1) Ask us if or when a review will run. Often we don't know, and often our contracts stipulate that we aren't supposed to discuss the inner workings of the places where we review. Sometimes we mention it, sometimes we don't. Please leave it to our discretion and don't inquire.

2) Introduce us to the author. We aren't supposed to know the people whose books we review.

3) Send us gifts or freebees that aren't books. Many contracts stipulate that we can't accept gifts.

4) If you ask us out to lunch, and we refuse or ask to split the bill, don't be offended. Some of our contracts say we can't accept meals.

5) Omit the pub date.

6) Require that we fax review copy request on letterhead. Freelancers often don't have access to letterhead.

Love and rules,
The Red Pooka!