As a book publicist of over two decades, first as communications director at Headline working on the biggest names in fiction and non-fiction and now agency side as deputy managing director at Midas Communications, I always hoped that one of the skills I had was empathy, a willingness to handhold an author through some of the most terrifying parts of the publishing process. After all it sometimes seems like a publicist is often the confidant of the majority of an author’s anxiety, from nasty Amazon reviews to an audience of three in their local bookshop. Sometimes you are touring with an author, spending large amounts of enforced time with them in cars or on trains, and it can get very confessional, you get a clear insight in to the minds of authors. Despite these years of knowledge I now see I never really understood how demanding and exposing the process of being published, of doing PR is.
When it came to my debut novel The Garnett Girls being published by HQ in the U.K., I really thought I knew it all. How to be part of the publishing team, how to work hard, do everything I was asked to do and more. To ask questions but not be pushy, to never send emails with that passive aggressive tone, the tone I had often been on the receiving end of. I wrote stories and articles and features and did endless podcasts. I took a month off work to tour and do events and festivals. I met journalists and retailers and I replied to every single message on socials. I paid for a website, a glamorous launch, for extra PR support, knowing how overworked PR departments are in publishing. I was lucky, I had another career, another income so I could do those things. Also as an extrovert, I had it easier too. I love the industry, I know a lot of people who gave me support and advice, I love socialising. But even as an extrovert it took its toll. Bouncing back from setbacks is hard. Trying to not read Goodreads is hard. Being on Twitter and suddenly noticing other writers’ successes and setbacks is hard, trying to put aside comparisons and envy. Trying to stay a good supportive person. And I had to keep reminding myself of the advice I had always given debut authors. ‘Enjoy all the attention because it won’t happen again’, not let any of the success go to my head.
It was with the US publication of The Garnett Girls with Avon that I had my best insight into how the majority of authors feel about PR. It felt like I was suddenly in the dark. I knew the U.K. journalists, the bloggers, the retailers. I knew the landscape. Who were the influencers, the book bloggers that had impact in the U.S. market? For family saga what were the publications, the reviews that could change the dial on sales? I had to trust my (very good) U.S. publicist as to whether a PR opportunity was valuable or not and for the first time I understood how much I was in my publicist’s hands. The powerlessness felt hard, and feeling like whatever I did was a drop in the ocean. There were less opportunities, no one knew who I was. It was a useful insight into the way debut writers feel all the time, presented by a new, mysterious world.
Publishing is slow and there are big gaps of time. Stretches of silence and no communication as the world moves on to the next hot debut. I’ve learnt that in moments of doubt don’t scroll on socials too much. They’ll never improve your mood. Read as many of the proofs you get sent and support the authors you love, so you are paying it forward. Focus on the writing itself. And find the joy in speaking to readers. Being published may be a rollercoaster journey but readers are there, waiting to be found.
