Publicity FAQ

What is the difference between publicity and marketing?
How do you determine the publicity plan for my book?
Do I need my own website?
Do I need to be active on social media?
How does a book get review and feature coverage?
Are there other media possibilities for my book?
Can I write an op-ed or original content to help promote my book?
Can my book be excerpted in the media?
How does a book get onto the New York Times Best Sellers list?
What factors affect the amount of publicity a book receives?
How do you decide if I will do bookstore events?
If I set up a book event, can you arrange for books to be sold?
Can I attend BookExpo or other trade shows to talk about my book?
How do you use galleys?
What is the difference in publishing a debut versus later books?

What is the difference between publicity and marketing?

The publicity team develops the media strategy for your book. We will reach out to the appropriate media outlets to secure reviews for your book and interviews (TV, radio, podcasts, print, online), and we will explore opportunities for placing excerpts or other related writing in major publications. Your publicist will also look into opportunities for events and book tours and help you prepare for your various public appearances. Our publicity department liaises often with the sales department, as the media lineup for the book is instrumental in securing support from our retailers and getting great placements in stores.

The marketing team promotes your book to booksellers, librarians, and directly to consumers. They create sales and marketing materials, including galleys and digital catalogs. They work with the sales team to secure in-store promotions and merchandising, and they develop consumer-facing campaigns to create awareness for your book. Given the complexity of online and offline marketing channels, a typical marketing campaign will involve a mix of tactics, all tailored toward your specific audience. It may include email promotion through our newsletters, social media marketing, influencer outreach, early giveaways to encourage consumer reviews, metadata optimization, promotion through our websites, book club outreach, advertising, the production of promotional items, in-store promotions, and inclusion in our catalogs, for example.

Publishing a book is a highly collaborative process, and all our departments meet regularly to review the details of a campaign and discuss ways to elevate one another’s efforts. Your participation and partnership in the process are critical to the success of our campaign.

How do you determine the publicity plan for my book?

We tailor the publicity plan to the subject, timing, and audience for your book, and we tap into our network of media contacts, booksellers, and other influencers. We work closely with you as we develop these plans. If you have published and promoted a book before, you may have media contacts who will want to interview you. Please tell your publicist about any media or bookseller contacts you have who can help us with exposure for your book (you can share these details and contacts in the Author Questionnaire). If you have ideas for pitching and promoting your book, your publicist will be eager to hear those ideas as early in the planning process as possible.

Do I need my own website?

Every author published by Hachette Book Group has dedicated author and book pages on our corporate Website, hachettebookgroup.com. Our web development team ensures that our book and author pages rank high in searches, are optimized for viewing on different screen sizes, and offer easy navigation and purchase options. Your book and author pages on hachettebookgroup.com can be enhanced through special content and link back to your social accounts. We regularly analyze our web traffic to ensure that our pages are delivering optimal performance.

Many of our authors decide that their pages on our corporate website are sufficient. Developing your own website requires some effort in the initial set up as well as ongoing upkeep. While WordPress and other platforms have made it much easier and cheaper to create a professional-looking website, you may still need to hire a web designer to create a more customized experience.

If you would like to explore options for creating your own website, or are thinking about upgrading an older website, we’re happy to provide advice, recommend online tools, or connect you with designers. We can also participate in the development of your personal site by contributing platform and design advice or by providing content such as book jackets and excerpts.

We encourage all of our authors to be active on social media as a way of connecting with readers and fans. Building a profile on social media not only allows you to speak directly to interested readers, but it can also provide valuable audience insights that our marketers can use to refine your marketing campaign.

It’s also a good idea to follow and engage with other authors, your publisher, your agent, and other industry contacts. By sharing and commenting on their content, you will extend your own reach, be part of the community, and will have more to share with your own followers.

While many of our authors have learned to leverage social media as a powerful audience development and marketing tool, we recognize that social media can be time-consuming and sometimes intimidating. Don’t spread yourself too thin; start by focusing on the network that feels most intuitive to you. Try to find a way to have fun with the medium and be authentic, while keeping in mind that everything you post on social media is very public and will be shared beyond your circle of followers. If you’re still on the fence about joining social media, check out some of your own favorite authors and see if their use of social media provides a blueprint you would want to follow. Your marketing team will be able to help you weigh the pros and cons and determine a good strategy.

HBG’s Social Media Guide for authors provides for more detailed best practices.

How does a book get review and feature coverage?

The publicity department aims to get maximum exposure for your book at the time of publication through print and online reviews, interviews, features, and other coverage of the book. Your publicist solicits reviews of your book in all relevant newspapers and magazines and on all appropriate websites. Your publicist sends galleys (an early bound version of the book) with a pitch letter for long-lead media and for early reviews in trade magazines such as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. They will send out finished copies of the book a few weeks before the on-sale date with a press release to media who have requested a finished copy. Since the pandemic, many of our reviewers work from home, so we don’t do a blanket mailing of review copies, rather a targeted one to media that have responded to our pitches asking for a physical copy of the book.

The extent of your review coverage depends in part on the genre of your book and the outlets that are open to covering that genre. Your publicist will pitch your book broadly but knowing your personal and professional connections—where you live, for example—also makes a difference in getting your book reviewed (we gather those important personal details in your Author Questionnaire). Your publicist aims to use every possible angle to set your book apart for book review editors who sift through hundreds of books each week.

A publicist may get confirmation of a review months before publication, just a week before the publication, and sometimes not until a review goes live (certain outlets never confirm coverage ahead of time). Your publicist will keep you informed about progress on pitches and confirmed review coverage.

Are there other media possibilities for my book?

Besides seeking reviews, the publicity department solicits every kind of media appearance and publicity event that they think will be effective in selling your book. Let them know if you have any questions about their strategy and key media targets. The most critical times in terms of your availability for publicity are typically the month before and six weeks after the on-sale date. There may be a few exceptions for monthly magazines, which require longer lead times. The publicity team keeps its eyes and ears open for breaking news stories that may tie in to your book, and you should always feel free to share your own ideas with your publicist.

Can I write an op-ed or original content to help promote my book?

Publishing an op-ed or posting original content related to your book’s topic or to current events can be an effective way to gain exposure for your book. You’ll want to work closely with your publicist as well as your editor on the content, channel, and timing.

Can my book be excerpted in the media?

If we have first serial rights, the publicist will talk with you, your editor, and your agent about magazines, newspapers, and websites in which it might make sense to try to license excerpts, if they see an opportunity. We’ll use the manuscript and bound galleys to solicit interest, and we will coordinate any serial excerpts with the publicity campaign.

How does a book get onto the New York Times Best Sellers list?

If we present and package and sell a book as effectively as possible and put it in the hands of the widest audience of readers, we consider that a successful publication. Taking it a step further, if we’re able to stimulate enough sales with our publicity and marketing campaigns to hit the New York Times Best Sellers list, considered the “gold standard,” that’s even better! We always set our sights high, and we believe every book has a chance. The New York Times tracks sales of virtually all HBG titles (USA Today runs an influential weekly best sellers list, as well, and they track all of our books).

According to the New York Times website, “Rankings reflect sales at almost 4,000 bookstores plus wholesalers serving 50,000 other retailers (gift shops, department stores, newsstands, supermarkets), statistically weighted to represent all such outlets nationwide.” You can read more about the NYT’s methodology here.

What factors affect the amount of publicity a book receives?

Every book publication is different—factors including timing, current news events, and an author’s platform all affect a book’s publicity campaign. Some authors have written for a particular publication in the past and that connection leads to media coverage for their books. Again, it’s important to share your media contacts and relationships with your publicist, because every connection helps! Your publicist’s job is to position your book as early and as persuasively as possible, but ultimately it’s the decision of the publication’s editor or producer whether or not to cover a book.

Print, online, TV, and radio outlets all help to raise awareness about you and your book. We work every channel and aim to leave no stone unturned. National, regional, and local media, in combination with bookseller and influencer excitement, stimulate word-of-mouth enthusiasm and book sales.

Your publicist can work with you to get the most coverage possible in the media, and if one outlet doesn’t cover the book, there are more possibilities to explore. The most appropriate audience for your book might not be consuming traditional media outlets like print newspapers and radio shows. Depending on the genre of your book, your readers might find out about new authors through online publications, social media, or podcasts. Your publicist will always be working to secure the right kind of coverage that will reach the widest audience of potential readers.

How do you decide if I will do bookstore events?

Publicity works closely with the HBG sales force to determine appropriate bookstores and venues for book signings and author events. National tours have become less common as competition for readers’ attention increases, making it harder for bookstores, authors, and publishers to ensure a substantial turnout for bookstore events. For a bookstore to commit to an event, they are usually looking for at least forty to fifty people to attend; there’s a lot of effort that goes into hosting an event, so your publicist will make sure it’s the right investment both for the store and for you. The best events tend to be local or in locations where you have a personal connection; be sure to tell your publicist anything that might be relevant.

For some books (nonfiction in particular) there are non-bookstore opportunities—a lecture, conference, or corporate talk—where you can reach a larger captive audience. Your publicist may be able to arrange for the host organization to purchase books for everyone in the room or to sell books after the talk.

If a more extensive multicity tour is part of the promotional plan for your book, your editor or publicist will advise you several months in advance. When planning out a forthcoming season, the publicity team will receive a list of event requests that have been submitted directly from bookstores. Based on this information, they will select the best tour markets.

If I have set up a book event, can you arrange for books to be sold?

Let us know as early as possible about any events you have scheduled on your own. We will liaise with the hosting organization to see whether books can be sold.

Can I attend trade shows to talk about my book?

Regional trade shows: HBG’s sales force is very involved in selecting appropriate authors for regional trade shows, gatherings of booksellers that take place primarily in the fall and feature authors whose books go on sale in the early part of the following year. Most of those potential events are group author events like breakfasts or mingling events. Your editor and publicist can explain how those events are handled by your publishing imprint and will keep you posted on potential opportunities.

Comic-Cons: Participation in consumer-facing conventions like Comic Con varies by imprint. If you are interested in promoting your book at a convention, let your publicist know as soon as possible, and they will be able to tell you if there are good opportunities for you. Often, this kind of convention features author panels and signings, and there is typically a great deal of competition for relatively few slots.

How do you use galleys?

We produce galleys in limited quantities for the majority of the books we publish. Exceptions could include books containing major news revelations that will not be released before publication to media and reviewers, and later books in long fiction series; also, heavily illustrated titles usually have other advance materials like color spreads in lieu of full galleys.

Your publicist typically receives a quantity of print galleys several months ahead of publication. These are usually printed from the first pass of typeset pages, so there may be errors or changes to the text, but we always include a prominent disclaimer that urges the media to check any facts with the book’s publicist or against the finished book (which they receive a month or so before publication).

Galleys are often reserved for outlets that decide on coverage far in advance, such as publishing trade publications (e.g., Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal), long-lead magazines, major newspapers’ book reviewers, and broadcast producers. Digital galleys are also used to broaden our outreach to certain media and influencers, such as bloggers or librarians. If you have personal connections to media contacts, let your publicist know early so they can consider including them in the galley mailing.

What is the difference in publishing a debut versus later books?

If this is your first time publishing a book, your publicist will walk you through the process and answer any questions you have about publicity. If you have already been published, either at HBG or another publisher, you will have an understanding of how the publicity process works—but keep in mind that the industry and the media landscape are always evolving. The media process starts over with each book, and we can’t guarantee that every book you publish will get the same breadth of media coverage—but we always want to know about your previous publicity experiences and make sure that we are reaching out to the media who know your work, as well as newcomers who can help expand your reach and audience.