We’ve been fans of Brad Listi’s Otherppl Podcast forever — his incredible guests, the freewheeling literary conversations … his mellifluous voice! All this made it extra thrilling for Leah to join him for one of his Craftwork episodes on the inner workings of publishing. They took a deep dive into all things book publicity, including:

When to start thinking about promoting your book (spoiler: it’s sooner than you think)
How to pitch yourself to media outlets and get over the fear of putting yourself out there
How to write attention-grabbing pitches
How to advocate for your work in this insane media environment
How to treat your book promotion like a mini business
How we demystify the publicity process through our workshops at Book Publicity School

Some takeaways:

Promoting your book takes a big mindset shift — make sure you’re thinking like an entrepreneur, and put on your business hat. Publicity isn’t personal, and it’s not a time for being shy or modest!

Traditional outlets aren’t as powerful anymore — look into regional radio, podcasts, newsletters…get in front of your readers in as many different ways as possible. The more times people hear about your book, the more likely it is to stick in their minds.

Start generating language about your book as early as possible! Chat with friends about it and see what’s compelling to them, give your elevator pitch to your colleagues, draft an email to a relative, etc. Give yourself a lot of text to edit down & refine — and pay attention to what’s resonating with others. What do they say ‘wow’ about? What prompts them to ask follow-up questions?

Otherppl Podcast: Key Takeaways

When To Break The Rules

The 7 Most Important Words You’ll Write