While publicists in different industries all learn and hone similar skills, these skills are not always transferable from one industry to another. Take book publicity for example. In the 10 plus years that Over the River Public Relations has been in business, we have worked with a number of authors and publishers, who come to us after they worked with a different publicist and didn’t see many results. In some cases the author was an expert in a particular field and they hired a publicist who specializes in that field. In other cases, the publisher hired a local PR firm hoping they could help out with reviews, interviews, internet outreach, etc. The one conclusion all of these people came to is that ultimately they need a publicist who specializes in books. Book publishing has always been an industry that marches to the beat of its own drummer. It runs differently – for better or worse – than other businesses. So if you are an author out there thinking of hiring a publicist to help promote your book, you should hire a PR company that specializes in book publicity. They will have the contacts, the connections, and the understanding of how the book media works. A book publicist will have the same skills as any other publicist, but he/she will also know the idiosyncrasies of the industry. And that skill only comes with being an insider to this crazy business that we all love.
About otrpr
OTRPR is a PR firm specializing in innovative and individualized campaigns with a focus on electronic and social media, promotional writing, and one-on-one mentoring.Since 2000, we’ve helped hundreds of authors, publishers, non-profits, and small businesses achieve their publicity goals by generating key TV, radio, print, and online coverage.
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