cover image THE SAVVY AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLICITY: A Comprehensive Resource from Building the Buzz to Pitching the Press

THE SAVVY AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLICITY: A Comprehensive Resource from Building the Buzz to Pitching the Press

Lissa Warren, . . Carroll & Graf, $14 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-7867-1275-5

An author's work doesn't end when a book is written—at least, not if the author wants the book to sell. Warren, now senior director of publicity for Da Capo Press, has learned this over the course of a career publicizing well-known and unknown authors, and she shares her wisdom in this practical, information-packed volume. Authors who aren't already in the publishing industry should read this just for the crash course in jargon it provides, but there's so much more. Warren covers all the topics authors might be wondering about, from publicity basics to working well with your publicist and creating buzz in the media, plus plenty of areas many authors might not consider, such as doing a "big-mouth" mailing of a book and what to wear for a TV interview. Simply reading this won't guarantee publicity for a book, but it will give authors an understanding of just how hard they have to work to accomplish that key element to a book's success: "Get the customer to go to the store and buy it." (Feb.)