A book marketing expert I highly respect made an interesting comment recently.
She said most publicists stay away from fiction because it is simply too hard to publicize.
I understand what she means, and I respectfully disagree.
Fiction can be more challenging if the entire pitch is, “Here is a wonderful new novel you should know about.” There’s not much there for a producer, editor, journalist, or podcast host to work with unless the author is a celebrity, or the book already has significant buzz.
But fiction is not too hard for most publicists because the publicity campaign does not necessarily have to be about the novel itself.
Sometimes the best publicity story for a novel is not the novel.
Huh? Let me explain.
Think about the interview itself. What are you going to do, simply ask the author about the plot? You certainly don’t want them revealing so much of the story that there is no reason left for anyone to buy and read the book.
There has to be something more to talk about.
And so a good publicist looks deeper than the story itself.
What did the author have to research in order to write the book? What real-world issue is woven into the story? What does the author know because of their profession, personal experience, family history, or years spent investigating a particular subject? What is happening in the culture or in the news that intersects with the book?
That is where fiction can suddenly become very interesting to the media. It has a nonfiction angle.
Imagine a novel about a woman who takes a DNA test and discovers that the man who raised her is not her biological father.
Yes, it is fiction.
But there may also be a very timely nonfiction conversation about consumer DNA testing, family secrets, donor conception, unexpected biological discoveries, and what happens when someone’s understanding of their own identity changes overnight.
Or imagine a historical novel centered on women working in factories during World War II. The book may open the door to conversations about forgotten women’s history, wartime labor, how women’s roles changed during that period, or some remarkable piece of history the author uncovered while doing the research.
A novel dealing with addiction might contain opportunities to talk about recovery, stigma, family dynamics, enabling, or what loved ones often misunderstand about addiction.
Suddenly, we are no longer limited to book reviewers and literary coverage.
There may be opportunities with digital media, television, radio, podcasts, magazines, websites, and other media that cover those real-world subjects.
That is one of the fundamentals of publicity that applies whether the book is fiction or nonfiction:
It is not about your book.
I talk about this in Media Darling. The book gives you credibility and a reason for being timely, but the media is ultimately interested in what you can give its audience.
That principle does not disappear because someone wrote a novel.
There is, however, an important distinction. Writing about a subject does not automatically make someone an expert on it. They may have lived experience, which is another kind of expertise, but if a novelist writes a medical thriller, that does not make them a medical expert. Unless, of course, they happen to have the appropriate credentials.
But if the connection is real and the author knows the material, there may be a much larger publicity campaign sitting right there inside the story.
So when I look at a novel, I would never ask only, “What is this book about??” I would also ask, “What is inside this book that the media is already talking about?”
That is often where the opportunity begins.
The fiction gives us the story. The nonfiction angle gives us something to pitch.
That is why I do not believe fiction is too hard to publicize. It simply requires us to look beyond the plot and find the real-world conversation that gives the media a reason to care.
Media Darling Moment: Don’t just pitch the book. Find the conversation hiding inside it.
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. With fiction books, you have to Give Them Something to Talk About.
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