FAQ

A book publicist secures earned media coverage that introduces a book and its author to the public conversation. That includes pitching journalists and producers, coordinating interviews and features, managing outreach across print, digital, broadcast, and podcasts, and advising on messaging and positioning throughout the campaign.

At Smith Publicity, our work goes further. We collaborate closely with authors to uncover compelling pitch angles, prepare their brand and platform for media attention, and guide important pre-launch networking strategies that engage their existing communities in supporting and celebrating the book. We also plan around news cycles and seasonality, coordinate and vet the right media opportunities, and report results transparently. Throughout the process, we partner with an author’s broader team—including agents, publishing professionals, and marketing teams—to ensure every effort is aligned strategically.

Book publicity focuses on earned media, including interviews, features, reviews, expert commentary, podcast appearances, and bylined articles secured through strategic outreach and media relationships. Book marketing typically includes paid and owned efforts like advertising, social media, email campaigns, and events.

Publicity builds credibility through third-party validation. Marketing supports awareness and sales through direct promotion. The two work best together as part of a broader, integrated visibility strategy.

Ideally, authors should begin building their book marketing plan 12 to 18 months before they launch a book. Publicity, or media outreach, often starts six months before your publication date, especially when targeting magazines, major media outlets, podcasts or long-lead opportunities that plan coverage months in advance.

At Smith Publicity, we also work with authors earlier in the writing process to build visibility for their expert brand as well as authors whose books have already launched. In those cases, we focus on timely, evergreen, and expert-driven angles that keep ideas relevant and visible long after publication. We view books not as one-time events, but as long-term professional assets that have the ability to continue creating authority, opportunity, and visibility for years.

Publicity is best understood as a long-term investment in visibility, credibility, and opportunity, not a guaranteed formula for immediate sales or viral attention. Strong media coverage introduces you, your book, and ideas to new audiences, builds third-party validation around your expertise, and creates momentum that can lead to speaking engagements, partnerships, professional recognition and opportunities, and ongoing media interest over time.

The most successful campaigns are collaborative and build gradually. Media coverage is earned, editorial decisions are outside anyone’s control, and results are influenced by timing, topic relevance, author engagement, and the strength of the overall visibility strategy surrounding the book. In our experience, the greatest value often comes not from a single placement, but from the credibility and relationships that continue growing long after launch.

Absolutely! While early planning is ideal, at Smith Publicity, we have strategies that build momentum for recently released nonfiction books, Post-launch publicity focuses on timely themes, evergreen ideas, and expert commentary, keeping your work relevant, your ideas visible, and your voice in the conversation long after the release date.

Before starting publicity, it helps to have clarity around your goals, target audience, and key messages, including which topics and angles you’re prepared to speak about in the media, even beyond the pages of your book.

Foundational materials like a professional bio, book description, author headshot, and an active online presence make it easier for media and audiences to quickly understand and engage with your work. 

Refining and strengthening these elements is part of how we begin every engagement at Smith Publicity. We don’t just pitch your book. We make sure everything supporting it is ready for the attention we’re about to bring.

Absolutely!  Publicity is most effective when it’s not treated as a one-time event. Strategic, ongoing media placements establish lasting credibility, increase visibility over time, and open doors to future opportunities.

At Smith Publicity, this is something we feel strongly about. In our experience, a book’s publication date is the starting point, not the peak. When positioned thoughtfully, a book becomes a long-term asset that continues to reinforce expertise, generate media interest, and support speaking, partnerships, and professional growth for years to come. Our campaigns are built with that trajectory in mind from day one.

Yes, and it’s one of the things we do best. We collaborate closely with you to research and uncover the most relevant outlets for your field, from podcasts and newsletters to trade publications and association media, where your ideal audiences are already seeking guidance.

Targeted placements in niche outlets often open doors to speaking opportunities, bulk book sales, and direct professional connections that broader coverage alone can’t achieve. At Smith Publicity, our approach always balances niche credibility-building with high-profile outreach, so our clients build visibility where it matters most and where it reaches the widest relevant audience.

There’s no single standard length. Industry-wide, campaigns typically span several months to allow time for pitching, securing coverage, and coordinating placements across different media cycles.

At Smith Publicity, scope and duration depend on your book, your goals, and how publicity fits into your broader visibility strategy. We’ll always be transparent about what a realistic timeline looks like for your specific situation.

The book review landscape has changed significantly, and it’s important to go in with clear expectations. 

Traditional standalone reviews with trade publications are increasingly hard to secure. Major national outlets reserve review space for books with wide distribution reach, and even then, selections are editorially driven..

Reviews can still provide credibility and visibility, especially within publishing, bookselling, library, and literary circles. But for many nonfiction authors, particularly those building expert brands, target audiences are more often discovering books through podcasts, newsletters, social platforms, and trusted niche communities than through traditional review sections alone.

That doesn’t mean book-centric coverage isn’t available. It simply looks different today. 

At Smith Publicity, in addition to traditional reviews, we pursue coverage that creates genuine engagement, including excerpt placements, book round-ups and listicals, feature articles tied to timely themes, podcast interviews that allow for deeper conversation, and blog, Substack and newsletter coverage.

Our approach is always to pursue the formats most likely to reach your audience and create meaningful, lasting impact. We see book-centric coverage as one piece of a much broader visibility ecosystem.

We don’t manage the logistics of launch events, but we’re absolutely a strategic partner when it comes to making the most of them.

Launch events are primarily attended by an author’s existing professional and personal networks, and from a media standpoint, coverage is unlikely unless the event is tied to a larger, public, newsworthy element. That’s not a reason to skip one. It’s a reason to approach it with the right expectations.

The most valuable asset a launch event can deliver is a content engine. Capturing photos and video, encouraging social sharing, publicly recognizing partners and contributors, and creating reusable marketing assets all extend the life and reach of the event well beyond the evening itself. With the right approach, a launch event becomes a relationship builder and a momentum accelerator, not just a celebration.

Book publicity plays a distinct and powerful role in your overall marketing mix. 

While advertising, social media, email campaigns, and events focus on direct promotion, book publicity builds awareness and credibility through earned media, meaning trusted outlets are independently recognizing your expertise and validating your voice.

At Smith Publicity, we work closely with you and your broader teams to make sure publicity isn’t operating in a silo. When integrated thoughtfully with everything else you’re doing, it amplifies your message, reinforces your authority, and supports long-term brand growth in ways that paid promotion simply can’t replicate.

This is one of the most common questions we hear, and it deserves an honest answer.

Publicity is a powerful credibility builder, but it’s one part of a broader ecosystem that supports book sales. Media coverage generates visibility, validates your expertise through third-party voices, and introduces your ideas to new audiences. That said, sales are influenced by many factors working together, including distribution, timing, the author’s platform strength, audience readiness, marketing follow-through, and social proof.

Authors who see the strongest sales results typically integrate publicity into a comprehensive strategy, mobilizing their networks for early support and reviews, leveraging email audiences for pre-orders, exploring bulk sales opportunities, and incorporating the book into speaking and business development.

Beyond book sales, our clients consistently find value in the form of new business opportunities, speaking invitations, partnerships, and professional visibility that extends well beyond the launch window. When publicity is paired with your engagement and outreach to your communities, the impact compounds in ways that go far beyond a sales number.

Book club outreach, particularly for clubs tied to well-known public figures, operates very differently from traditional media pitching, and it’s not something publicists typically include as part of the strategy.

Club selections are typically determined months ahead of publication and are part of much larger publishing and retail strategies. Many of the most recognizable clubs don’t accept outside submissions at all. Oprah’s Book Club, for example, publicly states that selections are personally chosen by Oprah herself. 

This isn’t a limitation of our relationships. It’s simply the reality of how these programs work. Our focus is always on the pathways where strategic outreach can genuinely move the needle for your book.

What truly makes a nonfiction author compelling to the media isn’t just a book. It’s the expertise, perspective, and value they bring to ongoing conversations. Journalists, podcast hosts, and producers are looking for voices who can help audiences better understand a topic, solve a problem, or offer timely insight in a clear and engaging way.

The authors who resonate most are those with strong ideas, actionable insights, professional or lived expertise, and the ability to connect their message to real-world conversations beyond the pages of the book. Helping you identify and sharpen those intersections is central to everything we do. We don’t just find angles. We build the narrative positioning that makes the media want to come back to you again and again.

The best publicity partnerships start with honest alignment, and we take that seriously from the very first conversation.

Smith Publicity works best with nonfiction authors, experts, and thought leaders who have a clear area of expertise, a defined audience, and a genuine commitment to the process. Our clients come to us ready to engage actively, show up for media opportunities, and think beyond a single book launch toward long-term visibility and credibility.

We’re not the right fit for every project, and we’ll tell you that directly if we don’t think we can deliver meaningful results for your work. What we look for in a strong partnership includes a compelling, well-defined point of view, a book or body of expertise with clear media angles, readiness to invest time and energy alongside our team, and goals that align with what earned media can realistically achieve.

If you’re exploring whether Smith Publicity is the right fit, we welcome that conversation. Our goal is never to take on every project. It’s to build thoughtful partnerships where strategy, expectations, and opportunity are genuinely aligned.

Smith Publicity is exclusively focused on nonfiction authors, experts, and thought leaders for business, lifestyle and public affairs . We don’t dabble. This is all we do, and we’ve been doing it for decades.

Our work prioritizes credibility over hype, substance over promotion, and strategic collaboration over transactional approaches. We help you build a media presence that not only supports a strong launch but positions their book as a lasting professional asset, one that continues to generate visibility, authority, and opportunity long after publication.

The vast majority of our clients are traditionally or hybrid published. We do occasionally work with self-published authors when the fit is strong, evaluated based on platform, audience, credentials, and goals rather than publishing path alone.

Successful publicity starts before the first media pitch goes out. Early in the process, we work closely with authors to assess how their book, bio, brand, platform, and network are positioned to support upcoming attention.

Through consultation and strategic review, we provide guidance on areas such as the website and book landing page, social media messaging and timing, speaker positioning, audience communication, and pre-launch network engagement strategies to help you mobilize support around your book. 

When needed, we also connect you with trusted industry partners, including website developers, social media specialists, branding professionals, speaking strategists, and bulk book sales teams.

The goal is to ensure that when media attention and new audiences arrive, your platform and network are aligned and ready to support long-term momentum.

Every engagement begins with understanding your goals, expertise, and message. We partner you with the right team–with layers of support–with deep experience in your genre. 

From there, we strengthen your author brand and offer network strategies, clarify your positioning, develop compelling media angles, and conduct targeted media research and outreach tailored to your audience and objectives.

Throughout the campaign, we secure and coordinate podcast and broadcast interviews, print and digital features, contributed content including bylines and op-eds, expert commentary, and book-centric coverage such as excerpts, reviews, and recommendations. We also place strong emphasis on vertical marketing opportunities through association media, trade outlets, organizational platforms, and niche communities — helping you build visibility directly within the industries and audiences most aligned with your work and speaking goals. Strategy adapts as opportunities evolve, and ongoing communication is built into everything we do.

At Smith Publicity, we partner closely with the full ecosystem surrounding your book and brand — from literary agents, editors, publishers, and content creators to speaking partners, marketing teams, and bulk book specialists. We share detailed updates, hold in-depth strategy conversations, and work collaboratively to maximize visibility for your ideas, expertise, and long-term platform.

Absolutely, and we consider it one of the most important parts of what we do.

A book launch rarely succeeds in isolation. It takes coordination across many moving parts, and at Smith Publicity, we place a strong emphasis on collaboration with everyone involved in your project. That includes your publisher’s editorial, marketing, and publicity teams, your literary agent, your speaking bureau or manager, your social media and content team, and anyone else who plays a role in your visibility and platform.

When communication flows freely across your team, we can move faster, align strategy more effectively, and make sure every effort is working toward the same goals. We proactively share updates, flag opportunities, and coordinate outreach so nothing falls through the cracks and no one is working at cross-purposes.

This level of collaboration isn’t an add-on at Smith Publicity. It’s central to how we work.

Building a strong media strategy is intentional from the start and stays agile throughout the campaign.

At the beginning of every engagement, we develop your Media Deep Dive, a research-driven process where we identify and prioritize the outlets, journalists, producers, podcast hosts, association media, and industry platforms whose audiences and editorial focus align with your book, expertise, and long-term visibility goals. This ensures we’re not pitching broadly. We’re pitching strategically.

Our campaigns are built around two complementary approaches: identifying timely news moments and emerging conversations where your perspective can add immediate value to current conversations, while also proactively creating new conversations around the themes, ideas, and expertise at the center of your work. This balance helps clients stay both relevant and distinctive in a fast-moving media environment.

Media cycles move quickly. News hooks evolve. Opportunities surface unexpectedly. 

At Smith Publicity, we continually assess what’s landing, sharpen angles, and adapt in real time. The most successful campaigns aren’t rigid plans. They’re dynamic partnerships. When communication flows freely between our team and yours, we can move faster, seize time-sensitive opportunities, and keep building momentum together.

In a typical campaign, our first two months are spent building momentum, developing initial interest, pitching strategically, sharing review copies, and laying the groundwork for coverage. Results often begin to tip from interest to confirmed placements around month three, with select results potentially coming through earlier–and some later.

Timing depends on factors like news cycles, topic relevance, and your availability for interviews. The faster we can confirm scheduling, content, and commentary follow-through together, the quicker placements come in. Publicity is best understood as a momentum-building process, not an instant outcome.

Success in publicity isn’t defined by a single metric. We look at the quality and relevance of media placements, consistency of visibility over time, and how well coverage supports your broader goals, whether that’s credibility, industry recognition, speaking opportunities, or professional growth.

Publicity outcomes are cumulative by nature. The impact compounds over time, which is why we take the long view on every campaign we build.

On average, clients should expect to commit five to seven hours per week to support campaign momentum. Some weeks will feel lighter, others, especially around your publication date, may require a bit more attention.

That time typically includes ongoing communication with your publicist, interview preparation and appearances, drafting or outlining contributed articles, responding to expert commentary requests, and regular strategy calls. At Smith Publicity, we understand you are busy. With advance notice of travel or blackout dates, we’ll always work around your schedule.

You should expect to write, and we’ll make sure it’s worth your time.

Byline articles, guest essays, op-eds, and expert commentary are among the most effective tools we use to build thought leadership visibility and expand your reach. These pieces reinforce your authority, deepen your message, and open doors to audiences that interviews alone can’t always reach.

Our process is intentional and collaborative. We work through angles with you, identify timely opportunities, and pitch concepts to our media contacts first. When editors express interest, they’ll often indicate the topic they want developed, so you know who you’re writing for and why it matters. We’ll also help you prioritize requests so your time and energy go where they create the greatest impact.

A note on AI and written content: AI tools can be useful for brainstorming, outlining, and refining ideas, but we cannot submit fully AI-generated articles or commentary as final work. Many outlets use detection tools and will decline submissions that appear heavily AI-written before they reach an editor’s desk. Written contributions need to reflect your authentic voice, intellectual authorship, with your human eye to ensure accuracy. If AI is part of your workflow, we’re happy to talk through how to use it in ways that support rather than jeopardize your media opportunities.

National TV is one of the most competitive spaces in media and is rarely where a publicity campaign begins. More often, it’s the result of sustained visibility and strategic momentum built over time.

National producers frequently ask for recent media clips before considering guests, which means visibility elsewhere matters first. Regional television appearances, podcast interviews, digital features, and targeted print coverage all help build the credibility and media presence that make national opportunities more likely.

At Smith Publicity, we focus on building a thoughtful pathway toward larger visibility opportunities, starting with placements that align with your message, expertise, and audience. If national television is a realistic goal, we approach it strategically from the beginning.

Our podcast guest booking starts with identifying shows that are the right fit for your expertise, target audience, and platform. No two clients are the same, and the podcast landscape is constantly evolving, so our approach is tailored, aspirational, and realistic.

We pitch hosts with relevant story angles, coordinate interviews once interest is confirmed, and help you communicate effectively in the podcast format. We balance ambition with timing. For some clients, top-tier shows are within reach immediately. For others, strategically chosen earlier opportunities build the credibility and clips that open doors to larger platforms over time.

We pitch podcasts that align with your expertise, audience, and long-term goals, from business and professional programs to consumer lifestyle shows, health and wellness platforms, and news and current events podcasts. Our focus is always on connecting you with audiences who are actively seeking insight, solutions, and guidance directly related to your work.

We think big and we think strategically. The short answer is: it depends, and we’ll always be honest with you about what’s realistic and what it takes to get there.

Top-tier podcasts with massive followings are extraordinarily competitive. Producers receive high volumes of pitches and curate their guest rosters carefully. Credibility, topical relevance, strong platform, existing media visibility, and having a level of personal relationship with the host like speaking at the same conference or serving on the same board, for example, all play a significant role. Hosts at that level typically book guests who already have substantial national exposure and strong cross-media presence.

That doesn’t mean it’s out of reach. It means it requires preparation, positioning, and time. These shows also record four to six months in advance, so early planning is essential.

To be considered for top-tier podcasts, you need a strong library of recent interview clips (producers will ask!), compelling talking points that align tightly with the show’s audience, and a message that feels timely and culturally relevant.

Our approach is to strategically layer your podcast presence, building credibility and clips through well-chosen opportunities that open doors to larger platforms over time. The goal is always to build the kind of momentum that gets you in front of the biggest audiences.

Yes, and the impact  often extends well beyond the episode itself. Podcast appearances introduce new audiences to your work and expertise, supporting book discovery, speaking opportunities, and professional connections.

Podcast hosts are often industry experts and connectors themselves, and building relationships with them has opened meaningful doors for many of our clients. Episodes also have lasting value. Listeners frequently discover and engage with segments months or even years after they first air.

We help you clarify key messages, develop talking points, and approach each interview with confidence and clarity. After the episode airs, we also guide you on how to promote it effectively, maximizing reach and extending the visibility of each appearance long after the recording date.

Thought leadership PR positions an expert as a trusted, go-to voice in their field through earned media. Rather than promoting a single title or announcement, it builds credibility and authority over time through commentary, bylines, interviews, and ongoing media engagement.

Our goal is to create recognition that compounds, making you the person journalists, event organizers, and audiences turn to when your topic is in the conversation.

Yes. While a book is often a powerful credential, we work with many executives, experts, and thought leaders who don’t have one. In these cases, publicity focuses on professional expertise, lived experience, research, and perspective, positioning clients as credible voices without relying on a title as the primary hook.

At Smith Publicity, we help experts become media sources by clarifying their authority, connecting their insights to timely conversations, and securing the interviews, commentary, and features that build trust with journalists over time.

We also guide clients on cultivating those media relationships directly, so that reporters and producers begin to see them as accessible, credible, reliable sources they can return to.

Experts become newsworthy when their insight is relevant, timely, and genuinely useful to a broader audience. This typically comes from experience, research, leadership, or a clear and distinctive point of view that helps explain what’s happening in the world.

We help clients frame their expertise in ways that align with real media needs and editorial priorities, making it easier for journalists to say yes.

Thought leadership visibility builds over time. Some opportunities emerge quickly in a matter of days when there is a timely news hook, a well-placed pitch, a journalist looking for exactly your perspective. Other media placements develop gradually through consistent media engagement and repeated exposure.

The timeline depends on your goals, availability, subject matter, and the current media landscape. Thought leadership is best understood as a cumulative process, not a single moment.

Thought leadership PR includes expert commentary, interviews, bylined articles, essays, Q&As, podcast appearances, features, and broadcast segments. These placements emphasize the voices behind the ideas and your expertise rather than promotion of a company, organization, or a specific service.

Speaking opportunities most often come from a combination of referrals, professional reputation, and credibility built through exposure. Event organizers frequently discover speakers through media coverage, expert commentary, and thought leadership content, which is exactly what a strategic publicity campaign is designed to create.

Publicity builds the third-party credibility that is appealing to event organizers. Media features, interviews, and expert commentary signal authority and make it easier for conference planners, associations, and corporate audiences to trust your perspective and presence on a stage.

We support the visibility and positioning that leads to speaking opportunities, including conferences, panels, keynote talks, corporate events, and association gatherings. While we don’t operate as a speakers bureau or booking service, our role is to build the media presence, industry credibility, and audience recognition with the right media that make speaking opportunities more likely to find you.

We research target industry media, including association and organizational outlets and trade publications, and strategically position you with the right audiences, building the kind of authority that attracts the best opportunities over time.