Cherry Hill, NJ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/05/2019 --Smith Publicity, the premier book marketing and book publicity in the publishing industry, is providing authors with important information and guidance about selecting the book promotion firm that is best for them.
"Aside from Smith Publicity, there are a good number of book marketing firms available to help authors promote their books," says Smith Publicity CEO Dan Smith."When we take on authors as clients, we do it after carefully ensuring that we believe we are the right fit for an individual author, and after advising an author to make sure they believe we are best for their book and goals."
"Different agencies are right for different authors," adds Smith. "No single book marketing company is best for all authors. We always encourage authors to speak to multiple firms."
Smith identifies four key elements authors should consider before hiring a firm:
1.) Personality: "This is the intangible consideration," notes Smith. "Beyond results, track record, etc. and author should think about how they 'feel' about the company they're considering hiring. How does their company culture and personality seem?"
Smith says some questions related to personality authors should consider include:
-Did the author connect with the person he or she spoke to at the firm?
-Was the person friendly, too pushy or just bland?
-Did the representative seem genuinely excited about the author's book?
"This is a 'gut' feeling," Smith says. "Authors should pay attention to it and let it play a major role in their decision."
2.) Track Record: "This is a straightforward one," notes Smith. "How successful has the firm been promoting books, more specifically, an author's specific type of book? Do they have many testimonials from happy clients?
Smith notes that authors should ask for some brief case studies of work they did for other authors in the same genre.
3.) Size Matters: "There are pros and cons to both larger and smaller book marketing operations," says Smith. "A larger agency, like Smith Publicity, affords authors a team approach to their project. Additionally, unlike sole operators or two or three person shops, a larger company ensures there is always backup should a publicist become unavailable for any reason."
Adds Smith, "There are many small book marketing firms as well, sometimes just a single person. These can be attractive for authors, because they can feel they will receive very personalized service and will always be dealing with the same person. But there are drawbacks. With a sole operator, that person is an author's book publicist, but also handles billing, new business development, and every other small business function. Agencies with a few publicists can face the same kind of problem."
4.) Be wary of promises and guarantees. Smith says that no book publicist can absolutely guarantee specific levels of media coverage, such as guaranteeing national TV interviews or coverage in a national publication.
"There is an exception to this guarantee rule," notes Smith. "There are firms that sell set 'interview packages' where they will guarantee, for example, a 20 interview radio tour. These are legitimate services and could be a good fit for an author, but it's important for authors to know what type of shows they will be interviewed on. Other agencies have the same 'print coverage' packages."
The bottom line,according to Smith, is that authors should always do their due diligence when selecting a firm, and ultimately, go with their instincts when deciding.
About Smith Publicity
Smith Publicity is the most prolific book marketing firm in the publishing industry. Since 1997, the firm has promoted over 3,500 books. An "equal opportunity" book marketing operation, Smith Publicity promotes books from major publishers as well as quality self-published titles of all genres. Website: www.SmithPublicity.com. For additional information email: info@smithpublicity.com.
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