by Lisa Warren

Carroll & Graf, February, 2004.
Paperback, 253 pages.
ISBN: 0786712759

Lisa Warren, who has worked in the publicity departments of David R. Godine, Houghton Mifflin and Perseus Publishing, opens the doors to the inner workings of a book publicity department in her new book, The Savvy Author's Guide to Publicity. Her book covers everything an author needs to know about book publicity, presenting numerous ideas to help authors promote their books and start generating sales. Ms. Warren does not sugar-coat the difficult task of getting publicity for a book. She tells authors how and why the publicity campaign provided by the publisher often falls short of an author's expectations. She also explains how in-house publicists often fear outside publicists, even though the freelance publicist could benefit both the author and the publisher.

Ms. Warren helps authors overcome common promotion obstacles: she explains how to create "buzz", how to approach the media for interviews and reviews, and what not to do. She offers sample galley letters, sample tour schedules and copies of book press releases. The book includes lots of helpful material about contacting the media, doing interviews and what to expect. The complexities and expenses involved in arranging a book tour are explained and suggestions are given about how to manage one effectively. The book also covers the Internet, including an interesting explanation of the Amazon.com rankings that authors watch obsessively. The Savvy Author's Guide also contains contact information for outside publicists and author escort services. This is an absolutely terrific resource that every author should have on her bookshelf. Highly recommended.

The Savvy Author's Guide to Book Publicity is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the March-April, 2004 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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