June 9, 2025 • 50 mins
In this episode, I chat with book publicist Megan Beatie about book publicity in a revealing conversation about the art and science of literary promotion.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience working with authors ranging from Linda Ronstadt to Tess Gerritsen, Megan shares how the publishing landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation since she began her career. She explains the crucial difference between publicity (earned media) and marketing (paid media), and why authors need to understand both to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.
"I'm only as good as what I'm representing," Megan explains, revealing why passion for the books she promotes has been fundamental to her success. This philosophy has served her well, helping numerous clients achieve bestseller status and prestigious awards, including Danielle Trussoni's recent LA Times Book Prize for Best Mystery Thriller, The Puzzle Master.
For debut authors feeling overwhelmed by marketing expectations, Megan offers practical wisdom: start early (ideally a year before publication), maintain an updated website as your "ground zero," choose social media platforms that match your personality rather than trying to be everywhere, and recognize when to seek professional help instead of attempting DIY publicity.
Beyond tactics, our conversation delves into the deeper value of cultivating genuine relationships with booksellers, fellow authors, and readers. Megan challenges the common "is it worth it?" mindset about events and appearances, encouraging authors to see the long-term value in the connections they make. "If you go to a festival and don't sell a single book but you're on a panel with a better-known author who might give you a blurb for your next book, you just never know."
Whether you're a published author looking to elevate your publicity game, an aspiring writer curious about the business side of publishing, or simply a book lover interested in how your favorite titles find their way to you, this episode offers valuable insights into the evolving art of connecting books with readers in meaningful ways.
The Puzzle Master, Danielle Trussoni
The Puzzle Box, Danielle Trussoni
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club, Martha Hall Kelly
The View From Lake Como, Adriana Trigiani
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
You're listening to episode 293.
Hi there, and thanks for tuninginto the Bookshop Podcast.
I have a couple of in-personevents coming up in Santa
Barbara and Los Angeles.
To sign up for the SantaBarbara Lunch with an Author
Literary Series, please go to mywebsite at
(00:56):
wwwmandijacksonbeverlycom.
Forward slash events.
These events requirereservations and prepayment.
So let's begin with SantaBarbara, where I'll be in
conversation with the followingauthors about their latest books
this week Thursday, june 12th,martha Hall Kelly the Martha's
Vineyard Beach and Book Club.
Thursday, july 10th, tovaMervis we Would Never.
(01:19):
Thursday, august 14th, drPeniel E Joseph Freedom Season
how 1963 Transformed America'sCivil Rights Revolution.
In Los Angeles, on July 8th,which is my birthday, I'll be in
conversation with Gillian Flynn.
That's going to be a fun day.
September 9th, paul Rudnickwhat is Wrong With you?
(01:39):
And October 14th, bruceHolsinger Culpability.
For the Los Angeles LiteraryLuncheons.
You'll need to contact me atthebookshoppodcast at gmailcom,
and in the subject line just putLos Angeles Literary Lunches.
Okay, now let's get on withthis week's episode.
Megan Beatty is a veteranpublicist with more than 25
(02:01):
years of experience inpublishing.
She is president and CEO ofMegan Beatty Communications MBC,
a book publicity and marketingagency.
Megan has forged publicitycampaigns for numerous
best-selling authors, includingLinda Ronstadt, adriana Trigiani
, tess Gerritsen, melissa de laCruz, tembi Locke, and launched
(02:24):
the debuts of many novelistssuch as Carolyn Cleveland,
victoria Lee and Amber Smith.
She has represented authors innearly every conceivable genre,
including literary andcommercial fiction, mysteries
and thrillers, science fiction,fantasy and graphic novels, as
well as nonfiction bookscovering pop culture, film,
(02:56):
entertainment, health, lifestyle, parenting and relationships.
Megan is the fifth generationThank you.
With a degree in Englishliterature.
She joined Goldberg McDuffieCommunications as a publicist,
where she spent nearly twodecades rising to the level of
Vice President, director ofPublicity.
While there, she cultivatedstrong, long-standing
relationships with editors,journalists and producers at the
(03:18):
most influential televisionshows, radio programs, magazines
, newspapers, websites and blogsaround the world.
In 2015, she formed her ownnamesake agency so she would be
able to focus on morepersonalized strategies and
outreach opportunities forauthors and books about which
she's truly passionate.
Since then, her company hasgrown to include a talented and
(03:42):
hardworking support staff.
All told, nbc has delivereddramatic results for its chosen
authors and has promoted dozensof bestsellers.
Megan has been a guest lectureron book publicity at Chapnett
University and guest facultymember of UC Riverside, palm
Desert's low residency MFAprogram.
Megan is a fitness nut who hascompleted eight marathons, two
(04:06):
Spartan races and one triathlon.
She currently resides in LosAngeles, where she's outnumbered
in her all-male family by herhusband, their two sons, a dog
and a cat.
Hi, megan, and welcome to theshow.
It's great to chat with you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, it's so nice to be on your show, Mandy.
I'm just really excited to talkwith you and I'm so thrilled
you're actually interested inwhat I do.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Of course I'm interested in what you do, not
to mention.
I love having people frombehind the scenes in publishing
on the show because it remindsreaders of what goes into the
publishing of a book before iteven gets on the shelf in a
bookshop.
It's important.
Before we dive into our chat,can you share a recent moment,
(04:50):
professional or personal, thatsparked joy or inspiration for
you?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Absolutely, and it's one that we shared, which was
Danielle Tressoni winning the LATimes Book Prize for Best
Mystery Thriller last month forher book the Puzzle Box.
I mean, I get emotional justthinking about it, because it's
(05:15):
such a good book and I was soproud to work with her.
She's such a good writer.
She was up against some reallyhefty competition.
I mean, attica Locke is anamazing writer.
Michael Connelly, liz Moore,whose book got every best of, it
seemed, of 2024.
(05:36):
She was just up against suchstiff competition and for her to
win win for the judges torecognize how brilliant her book
is, was just, was, just themost amazing moment.
And just for me personally,when she got on stage and she
thanked me tears came to my eyesbecause, um, almost everything
(06:00):
I do is behind the scenes, isnot seen and for her to
acknowledge me like that wasreally, really meaningful.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Well, those of us who know you personally know that
thank you was well-deserved andit was from Danielle's heart.
Danielle is a sweetheart andit's been fun watching her Mike
Brink series fly and for her tobe recognized as such a
brilliant storyteller and, yes,that was a truly special moment
at the Los Angeles Times BookAwards.
(06:28):
It was really something.
Now I would like to hear yourstory.
You've had a wonderfuleducation, great experience in
publicity, but I want to hearabout that year of schooling you
did at Oxford University.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yes, oh my gosh, that was really.
I mean I still get goosebumpswhen I think about it.
I went to Middlebury College.
I'm a SoCal girl, fifthgeneration Californian.
Both my parents had gone to theEast Coast for college and they
really encouraged me to leaveCalifornia and have experiences
(07:05):
in other parts of the country.
So I went to Middlebury and Ihad always thought I would go to
Spain to work on my Spanish andmy English professor said hey,
there's this basically anexchange program with St Hugh's
College at Oxford and I thinkyou should apply.
They only take one candidatefrom Middlebury every year.
And I applied and I got it andI was basically at Oxford
(07:30):
University as a matriculatingstudent, as opposed to an
exchange Like they really tookme in as for one year you are an
Oxford student and it I meanreally I had to pinch myself
like walking through the streetsand, you know, being in the
center of this old, beautifulhistorical place.
(07:54):
The study was so different thanwhat I was used to.
I mean it was you don't justread a novel by Thomas Hardy,
you read everything ThomasHardy's written and write about
it.
And instead of professors theyhave they call them tutors, and
so my tutor was Anne Wordsworth,who was distantly related to
(08:16):
William Wordsworth, and I wouldgo into her office and she would
look out the window and smokeand just say all these brilliant
things and I just I could notbelieve that this Southern
California girl had thisopportunity.
Two of my best friends of mylife I made from my year at
Oxford was really, really anincredible time.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And after that year did you go back to Middlebury
College to finish another year?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I did, I did and I thought I'm done with the East
Coast, it's the weather, it'stoo winter, it's terrible.
And back to California.
I didn't know what I wanted todo.
I got this marketing job at acompany in Los Angeles.
That was sort of sales andmarketing.
It was management training.
It was really nothing I wasinterested in and I sort of
(09:09):
floundered along for a few yearsand then thought I've got to
find what I really want to do.
I mean, there's more to lifethan just a paycheck and I
wanted to figure out how tobring my passion with something
that I could make a living with.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Was it about that time that you decided to do the
Radcliffe Publishing Course?
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, I thought I had wanted to get into book
publishing but I had no idea howto do it and at the time you
had to be in New York to work inbook publishing.
So I found out about theRadcliffe publishing course,
which is um was run by, uh, thisfantastic uh woman, lindy Hess.
(09:49):
She's since passed away and thecourse has is now a part of
Columbia publishing course.
But, um, yeah, for a summer Iwas a student at Radcliffe
College and this course wasreally, really something.
Lindy had connections with allthese New York publishing execs,
(10:10):
so she would bring in these toplevel publishers and agents to
come to the course and talkabout what they did and then
work with us and then help usget interviews at the end of the
course.
So for me it paved the way togetting to starting a career in
(10:32):
publishing.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
And how long was that course?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I think it was about six weeks.
So Carol Schneider was the headof publicity at Random House at
the time and she came and spoketo us and I had thought, oh,
I'll probably want to be aneditor.
But Carol Schneider came andtalked about what publicity was
and it was like a light bulbwent off for me and I thought
(10:56):
that is what I want to do.
She talked about all the funparties you go to and calling
book review editors and settingup author tours and all these
things where I thought, oh,that's what I want to do.
But it really was a moment Ican remember.
All these years later, a lot ofyears later, almost 30 years
later, I can still take myselfback to that time and hearing
(11:19):
her speak and thinking that'swhat I want to do.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I love that you took a leap of faith by doing that
course.
It's also great when we canlook back at our life when we're
older and actually pinpoint themoments or the people or the
circumstances, the locationsthat actually took us toward a
path that felt like we weremeant to be on.
Yeah, so you've met CarolSchneider and she inspires you
(11:44):
toward publicity and marketing,but did you realize at that
point that it was bookpublishing that you wanted to
focus on?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, at the time the course was half book publishing
and half magazine publishing.
So good, good, I didn't go thatroute Because we have so few
print magazines anymore.
But yeah, I mean I was reallyinterested in going into book
publishing.
And then at the end of thecourse Lindy set us up with
(12:11):
interviews.
The week after I finished thiscourse I had an interview with
the head of publicity at Nortonand the head of publicity at
Putnam and I got job offers fromboth and Norton.
I'll just tell you Norton'soffer for an annual salary in
(12:32):
1996 was $19,000.
And Putnam's was 20, I think itwas 27,000.
And I thought that's the way togo.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I'm guessing sunny Southern California was on
the back burner.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, yeah.
So I went right to New Yorkwith my two, my two closest
friends from the course, and werented a one bedroom for the
three of us.
It was totally cockroach ridden, I mean, it was everything like
.
So it was, it was a thing.
But yeah, we, we all got entrylevel jobs in publishing and
(13:14):
just starved.
But we were so, so happy.
Yeah, we were happy to betogether and we were happy to be
in.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And to be learning and experiencing the book
publishing trade.
Oh, what fun.
Can you explain the jobdescriptions for a publicist and
a marketing professional?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's.
There's a lot of mystery aroundthat because the terms are all
used interchangeably.
Is it advertising, Is itmarketing?
Is it publicity?
And, in simplest terms,publicity is securing earned
media and marketing is securingpaid media.
So with publicity, you'reselling something but no money
(13:56):
is exchanging hands.
So trying to convince ajournalist that the book that
I'm representing would beinteresting to their
listenership or their readershipor whoever that is, and then
marketing advertising fallsunder marketing.
So you would say you know, ifyou wanted to buy an ad and buy
(14:16):
Goodreads, ads like that wouldfall under marketing.
Social media is sort of thelines are blurred because a lot
of publishers keep social mediaunder marketing.
But I do a lot of social mediaoutreach myself, so I'm reaching
(14:37):
out to influencers on Instagramand TikTok.
But if they're saying, sure,I'll feature your book and then
want to charge something, thenthat goes into the marketing
bucket.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Megan, I get the gist that you do a lot of both.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I do, yeah, because 30 years ago there were
dedicated book editors at everysingle newspaper and some
markets had two major newspapers.
When, all those years ago, whenwe'd send an author on tour to
Denver, it would be well shouldwe go after a feature in the
(15:11):
Rocky Mountain News or theDenver Post.
And now there are very fewdedicated book editors at any
newspaper.
So with our kind of traditionalmedia opportunities diminished,
publicists are trying to figureout what else we can do to be
relevant.
In my work I can do a lot ofsocial media influencer outreach
(15:34):
.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Earlier, we were chatting about book publishing
and magazine publishing and howyou were glad you went with book
publishing, and that remindedme of a conversation I had with
Vinnie Brown from CharlieBowen's Bookshop in Galway, and
we started talking about theStinging Fly and other fabulous
literary magazines.
For any listeners who aren'tfamiliar with the Stinging Fly,
(15:58):
I'm just going to read this fromtheir website it's a literary
magazine, book publisher, aneducation provider and an online
platform.
The publisher and chiefexecutive is Declan Mead and I
think they're out of Dublin.
The Stinging Fly is kind ofknown for launching a lot of new
Irish authors through shortstories or poetry that have been
(16:18):
submitted to the magazine.
Anyway, getting back to Vinnieat Charlie Burns, I asked him if
he carried the stinging fly inthe bookshop and he said oh,
yeah, yeah, yeah, of course wedo.
You know people come into thestore specifically to buy
literary magazines, and itreminded me that Ireland has
this great history of literature, but it's still ongoing, so
(16:41):
magazines aren't dead over there, you know, and that's a part of
literature I kind of miss.
We have a lot of onlinemagazines you can get them
through the post, but it's veryrare that you walk into a
bookshop and you actually see acopy of the Sun, for example.
Is that just me?
Am I missing something here?
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
No, I think that's absolutely true.
I used to get so many magazines.
I subscribe to everything.
I still get People magazineevery week and I get the Week
too.
I get Real Simple.
I used to get O Magazine andthat stopped, so they're just.
I think print is just.
People are turning to theirtablets and their phones to read
(17:25):
as opposed to print.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
And what makes this sad for me regarding literature
is that it's always been a greatstepping stone for any creative
.
Whether you're wanting to post,you know, submit a photograph
you've taken or a piece ofartwork, poetry, you know, a
short story, that was always agood way to get your foot in the
door.
It's extremely difficult tohave a submission accepted here,
(17:49):
but you and I spent a lot oftime in Los Angeles and I just
remember magazine stands beingeverywhere.
I would get them for costumedesign and fashion, because I
wanted to see who was designingwhat it was important to me and
I wanted to see the stylizedversions of photography, of
fashion photography.
I really miss not seeing allthose magazine stands and, as
(18:12):
you said, I'm sure we lost a lotof great magazines when they
stopped print and went over toonline magazines.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I completely agree.
Like Book Soup had that wholebig section of periodicals and I
don't even know if I have thatanymore.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And Liz says if you have a favorite literary
magazine, I would love to knowall about it.
So please email me through thecontact form on the
bookshoppodcastcom.
Every day, hundreds andhundreds of books are being
published, and I'm sure you gethundreds and hundreds of
requests every week to askwhether you'll work with a
(18:52):
client.
What steps do you take indeciding to accept a new client,
because we all have to beselective about what we accept.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yes, absolutely, and I'm very, very lucky because I
have the opportunity to choosewhat I work on and truly that's
the most critical aspect of theprocess, because I'm only as
good as what I'm representing,and I've tried to work on a few
(19:24):
books that just haven't been tothe standard that they should be
, and I know I can get people totake a look, but I could never
convince anyone to write aboutsomething or to interview if
it's not good.
So really that's the mostimportant thing that the book is
really good and that I like it,because my work is very
(19:48):
personal to me and if I don'tlove a book, how can I convince
someone else to be interested ina book?
And I have turned down booksthat someone else would jump at
the chance to represent justbecause it wasn't my cup of tea.
Maybe it's great for somebodyelse, but that's a big part of
(20:08):
the decision for me.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And once you've accepted the author as a client,
how early in the bookpublishing process is your ideal
time to begin working with anauthor before the pub date of
their book?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
I like to start way in advance.
Some authors I start close to ayear in advance.
It's interesting because in theolden days the lead times were
very clear cut.
So when you were pitchingmagazines, you had, you know, a
four to five month lead timebecause they had all the time
(20:40):
that they needed to get go toprint.
Now, because there's less ofthose print opportunities and
things, you can pitch somethingand have it show up online the
next day and I've done that.
But, um, the process is still along process and plenty of
authors have contacted me amonth before their books coming
(21:01):
out saying I need publicity, canI hire you?
And I just't.
I can't work like that, becausethe things that will come to
fruition like, for example, I'mworking on a book that publishes
on in two, almost two weeks andI've been pitching a journalist
at the Boston Globe to do astory on this book for months
(21:23):
and I just got the green lightthat the story is going to
happen today, which is thrilling, but it's just, it's an example
of how long the process takesand how far in advance you have
to start, and it's similar withwhat I do.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So if I'm booking for the Lunch with an Author or I'm
booking for the podcast, I needat least a couple of months to
read the book, because we'repretty much booked six to eight
months in advance.
So if a publicist or amarketing team sends me a book
and says the pub date is in twoweeks, is there any way you
(21:58):
could get them?
No, I'm not going to be able toget them on the show and it
makes me sad.
And I know I'm about to say theone thing that most writers or
creatives don't like to hear.
We do look at your authorplatform because we put a lot of
work into doing our show, butif the author and the publishing
(22:19):
team doesn't help promote theauthor's episode, then that's
really disappointing for us.
So my assistant, adrian, makessure that everybody has a good
platform.
If, by chance, it's a newauthor and I just love the book,
then I'll probably bypass thata little bit.
But yeah, you have to plan wayin advance.
Even when you're writing yourbook, you need to be working on
that author platform.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yes, yes, they absolutely are, and I think
that's a difficult shift for alot of authors who have been
holed up alone writing the bookand to have to, like overnight,
go.
Okay, now I have to put on thedog and pony show.
It's difficult, it's reallydifficult, and I think there's a
(23:00):
way to have a balance.
And many authors do hire peopleto run their social media so
they have the time to focus onthe work.
But I do think you, as anauthor, can do it yourself.
You just have to figure out thebalance and not feel like you
have to do everything, like doone or two things really well.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You don't have to be on every single social media
platform.
Choose the one which bestsupports your personality and
the theme of your book.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, last week I had new social media platforms sent
to me and I've never even heardof them.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yes, exactly, and you know, and there's always one
that's the flavor of the monthand it's good to try them.
I hear from so many authorsthat they're loving Substack and
they're finding that as notjust as a way to put out their
content but as a social mediainteractive way.
So, yeah, I think it's good totry them and then settle into
(23:56):
one or two that you really feellike you can do well.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, that's great advice.
And how do you collaborate withauthors, editors and publishers
during the launch process?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It's a great question because it's challenging,
because I'm an independentpublicist and I'm being hired.
I need to you know, like goingback to school terms show my
work.
So you know, so much ofpublicity is your pitch like you
could pitch 100 people and youonly hear back from five.
(24:30):
So how do you convey to theclient, publisher, author,
whoever look, everybody, I'mdoing my work, but just this has
come through.
So I try to find a balance.
I want to work with people whotrust me, who know my work, who
know I will do everything foryou, so that I can not feel like
(24:54):
I have to be showing every stepI take.
But I do find again, olden days,we publicists used to be very
much like we don't show ourpitches, we don't reveal our
hand to anyone, we just like doour thing.
And then here are the results.
I really try to be with theauthors I work with, be very
(25:14):
much like look, we're partners,we're in this together.
You know, here's my pitch, whatdo you think?
And then they can give me theirfeedback and give me some ideas
.
So I do try to really let theauthors in to the process.
The publishers, you know, theyknow what the process is so.
They're really more about likelet me know what the results are
(25:34):
.
We don't have time to see everysingle thing you're doing.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
And are you hired mostly by publishers or authors,
or a little bit of both?
It might be 50-50.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
It really depends.
Some publishers will say, likeone of our publicists is going
on maternity leave, can you jumpin or could you take this on?
And then many authors you knowthey just want to find a way to
distinguish themselves.
And it's really hard whenyou're a mid-list author and
there's so many books being putout.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
And for authors who are signed with publishing
companies, is it right to saythat they get about six weeks of
publicity and marketing?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Well, I do think that the in-house publicists they're
pushing farther ahead than that.
But it can often, you know, bepart of a list.
You know here, here are myspring titles, or here are my
summer titles.
So I really try to make surethat my list there's no one who
(26:34):
would be in direct competitionand hopefully they complement
each other.
So I worked on a Southernthriller in the spring who was
pretty well known, and then I'mworking with a debut Southern
thriller for the late summer andso a lot of the media contacts
that I you know therelationships that I developed
(26:55):
with the first one I'm going tobe able to leverage for this
debut.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Can you walk us through the design and
development process of marketinga book?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Sure, yeah.
So really, the first part of itis I do two things With the
author.
I send a written Q&A, so withquestions such as what are the
inspirations, why did you writethis book?
Because there's alwayssomething.
There's always something intheir lives that sparked the
story and those are things Iwant to pull out to use for to
(27:30):
entice the media.
So I try to get what, find outwhat those things are and then
find out who they know.
So you know where do they live.
So let's look at their localmedia.
Where did they go to college?
Their alumni magazine, whatother kind of niche aspects are
(27:58):
there to them and to the book?
That we can, instead of justsort of this is a great book and
sending it out to everyone, wecan kind of drill down on the
connections, because there'salways connections, on the
connections, because there'salways connections.
So many of the you know media inChicago or Milwaukee or
wherever it may be, they wantlocal.
So if your author's from there,if the book is set there,
(28:20):
that's going to give you a legup over all the other books that
that person might be beingpitched.
So I really try to figure outlike, what's the?
I mean, what's the backstory tothe book, what?
Where did it come from?
Because that will inform thepress materials I write and I
really try to highlight who theauthor is as much as what the
(28:44):
book is about, because I justdon't think it's enough to say
hey, so and so this is a greatbook.
It's, you know, a page turner.
You know all the words that I'msure you see when you're
pitched.
You know these kind of wordsthat are used over and over.
So I really try to take ajournalistic approach with my
press materials and not use alot of fluffy adjectives but say
(29:07):
like I'm trying to think of agood example.
A historical novel I'm workingon for the fall is inspired by
the author's family history inthe Philippines and Italy during
World War II.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
So those are really interesting aspects to this
novel that I'm going tohighlight when I'm pitching it
out, yeah, and after everythingall the publicity and the
marketing is done, it is stillimperative that the author
builds relationships with theirreaders face-to-face, one-on-one
, you know, at book fairs orauthor events at indie bookshops
(29:43):
.
You know I'm a huge supporterof independent bookshops and I'm
always amazed at the ideasindependent bookshop owners and
booksellers come up with to helppromote authors.
But the thing is, before you dothat as an author, you need to
build up a relationship withyour local indie bookshop.
In other words, where do youbuy your books?
(30:04):
And I'm hoping you're saying Ibuy them from my local indie
bookshop.
But anyway, chris Stibe, who isthe owner bookseller of Transom
Bookshop in Tarrytown, new York, had this great idea he invites
authors to come in and be abookseller for a few hours in
the bookshop and I thought, wow,what a fantastic idea.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Oh my gosh, oh, what a great idea.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, it's a truly innovative idea.
I mean they get help sellingbooks.
They put it out in advance sothat you know the local reading
community know that such andsuch an author is going to be
selling books in their store forhalf a day.
It's a win-win situation.
And one more idea I think iskind of imperative you and I
were recently at the Los AngelesTimes Festival of Books, which
(30:50):
is a huge book fair, and as youwalk down the aisles, every
single booth has something to dowith books.
It might be an author and theirbook collection, or it could be
a store that sells bookisht-shirts and bookmarks and
candles.
But one of the things I foundthat made me look and take
(31:10):
notice of each booth are thebooths where the author is
standing out front of theirbooth engaging with people, or
if they're behind their table,they've art directed their booth
so that it represents theirbook.
For example, perhaps it's aWorld War I or World War II
historical fiction book.
(31:30):
Consider having model airplaneshanging from fishing line from
the ceiling of their tent.
Or, if it's horror, haveslightly melted black candles I
don't know cobwebs, somethinglike that decorating the tent.
But a table with just books onit and empty space around isn't
going to do it.
I mean, I am so impressed withsome of the art direction of
(31:54):
these booths.
It just draws me in and that'swhat you want readers to do.
You want readers to beinterested enough that they can
walk over to your tent and startchatting with you, and don't be
that author who is sittingbehind their table on their
phone.
There is nothing moreoff-putting than that.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Yeah, totally agree, and you said it right.
And you have to get out in theworld as an author.
And we had the ultimateshutdown with the pandemic where
no one was out and um, and thatthat was something for me
personally.
Once we were free again, Ithought I'm gonna get out in the
(32:34):
world as much as I can and goto book festivals and it's been.
I mean just for me as apublicist.
It's been.
I mean you and I would havenever have met, if you know I
hadn that the San Diego WritersFestival, exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
And I'm so glad we met.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah.
So for authors it's critical.
I would say to authors youcan't get hyper-focused on well,
is it worth it?
Because I get asked that allthe time.
Well, is that podcast worth it?
Is that event worth it?
Is it worth it?
I don't know, it might be, itmight be, and if you go to a
(33:10):
festival and you don't sell asingle book but you're on a
panel with a better known authorwho might give you a blurb for
your next book or invite you tosome other event, you just never
know.
So I just think it's soimportant to say yes to things
(33:30):
and to get out in the world and,like you say, interact with
readers and other writers.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Yes, I love what you just said about building
relationships with other writers.
You know, there's a couple ofauthors that I've worked with
over the years and my hat goesoff to them.
I've never seen authors work ashard as these two to promote
their books, but also to promoteother authors.
Look, I'm sure that every newauthor who has just finished
(33:58):
their book thinks great, it'sout there, someone else is going
to take care of that.
I'm just going to go on merrilyand write my next book.
Hopefully that's what they'rethinking about writing the next
book.
But the thing is it doesn'twork like that, I know, and also
, it's not always about you.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
That's a key point.
Yes, absolutely, you can't justbe.
I call it me, me, me, me me.
You can't do that.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
It's definitely reciprocal.
Okay, back to what you do.
How has book marketing andpublicity evolved over the past
decades, and which platforms doyou think authors and publishers
need to be focusing on rightnow?
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah, well, you know, as we were talking about before
, print is so diminished.
It's interesting, though Ithink in the minds maybe it's
just for the older, the eldersof publishing print is still
feels more, just feels morespecial.
But so much has gone digitaland I mean, let's face it,
(34:57):
digital is so shareable so youcould have a print clip and show
it to all your friends or youcan have a link that you can
post and it can be shared andshared and shared and go
everywhere.
Digital media is certainly keyIn terms of platforms.
The most basic thing forauthors, just, you know, have a
(35:20):
good website and keep it updated.
It's sort of mind boggling tome how many authors you know
they're all over their Instagram, but then I go on their website
and they still have theirevents up from 2022.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Wow, that's such a turnoff and it doesn't look good
.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
No, no, because your website is your ground zero and
if someone wants to knowsomething about you, they're
going to start at your websiteand then maybe go.
You know, look at yourInstagram link, look at your
Facebook link, look at TikTok orwhatever it might be.
So that's really important.
And, like I mentioned before,substack I'm hearing from so
many authors they're lovingSubstack.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
And I just don't know a lot about it yet.
Yeah, I don't know too muchabout it either.
I want to dip my toe in it, butyou're just so busy with
everything else right, yeah,yeah, exactly, Exactly so.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
But it seems to me a good, good way of sort of the
like how we used to do blogging.
And, like you say, Instagram, Ithink is still really important
, and Facebook is.
You know you can share thingsand you know you can put links
come out better on Facebook andthere's still there's a lot of
readers on Facebook, so and Idon't know what your thoughts
are on this, but I think thereare a lot of older women on
(36:34):
Facebook.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
So if your novel is a historical fiction novel, then
you need to be on Facebook,exactly.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Agree.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Okay, what advice would you give to debut authors
navigating marketing for thefirst time?
Hire you.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Well, I think it's you don't.
When you're a debut author, youdon't know what you don't know.
So I think you have to educateyourself so that you're in a
position to make decisions, andwell in advance.
So I think it's you get the layof the land from your publisher
what they're going to do, whatthey're not going to do.
If you can get a clear pictureof that, then you know what is
(37:11):
going to really be on you as theauthor, whether it's hiring
your own publicist or gettingyour website designed or having
someone help you with socialmedia.
There are lots of things as anauthor you can do yourself.
There are a lot of things thatyou really need to leave to
professionals.
You cannot pitch the New YorkTimes yourself.
You could set up a book signing.
Plenty of authors do that.
There are some publicists whoare offering kind of DIY
(37:34):
packages to authors.
You know, do all these thingsand you can market your book
yourself, and I don't recommendthat.
I've been honing this craft for30 years and it's you know.
I still learn every day.
I'm still learning things everyday.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
One bit of advice I would like to give to authors
out there.
I don't take on hardly any.
I think there's maybe been acouple of self-published authors
and one of the main reasons is,if you're emailing me and
asking to be on the show to beinterviewed, please get my name
right.
It's Mandy.
(38:10):
Just hi isn't going to cut itBecause more than likely I will
delete your email immediately.
You've obviously not listenedto the podcast.
You've obviously not listenedto the podcast.
You've obviously not done yourresearch and, honestly, it's
just rude and lazy.
The other thing is, when youhire a publicist, they know how
to write up an author fact sheetthat goes out to people like me
(38:30):
to tell them about the authorin the book, and they know my
name and they know they listento the podcast, so they know
what kind of books and authors Ilike to speak with.
I am not going to speak withany self-published author whose
books aren't available inindependent bookshops, because,
hello, that's what I promoteindependent bookshops.
There's a lot of things likethis that you have to think
(38:53):
about and I can tell you fromexperience, megan Beatty,
communications are pros.
They do it really well.
Thank you, fadi.
Communications are pros, theydo it really well, thank you.
It amazes me and alsofrustrates me that authors don't
even Google.
You know how to approach apodcaster about my book, how to
approach a blogger for my book.
You can just start there.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
That's going to really be helpful.
Yeah, that's absolutely true,and my education in publicity
was I learned from manyfantastic publicists about how
your job is.
To make your job, Mandy, themedia their job as easy as
possible, so don't make themsearch for things.
(39:36):
Be clear, succinct.
Here's what it is and here'swhy it's great.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
And this takes me back to something you said
earlier in our conversation.
I asked you how you collaboratewith authors and editors and
publishers and you said well,first up, I send the author a
questionnaire about their book,about them, and I'm going to
tell you, from the flip side ofthat, why that matters.
Before I agree to have anauthor on the podcast, I'll
(40:03):
obviously read their book andthen sometimes I'll read their
backlist if I have time, whichisn't that often, but I always
research them, you know, on theinternet, and I look for a
thread, something that brings ustogether, something that I know
we can talk about apart fromthe book, because personal
threads and the author's storyare what makes people remember
(40:28):
you in an interview.
And for authors, when you hirea publicist, if they're a good
publicist, they're going tofigure all this out, so that I
don't have to Mind you.
I probably will do it anyway,because I love to do it.
I love going down rabbit holesand really learning about people
and discovering things aboutthem that we can talk about.
(40:49):
As Megan said, your job is tomake my job a little easier.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yes, it's not just about getting an email address
and sending a generic pitch.
You know when I, when I do mywork, like the great thing, one
of the great things about theinternet is there's so much
about people online.
So if I'm pitching someone at alocal TV station, I'll look
them up.
I'll read their bio.
I see like, oh well, they'relike a huge historical fiction
(41:15):
fan.
So that's something that I canhighlight.
There's so much work below thesurface when it comes to
publicity.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Yeah, and as an author you can't do it all, you
just can't, okay.
Now, if you're looking back atyour career, is there a campaign
or book launch you'reparticularly proud of?
I realize that's a really toughquestion because I know you and
I know how hard you work forevery campaign.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
It is because there's so many, you know I think back
of.
You know there's so many I'mproud of.
The famous authors are so funto work on because the doors
open more easily.
It's almost like the debutsthat I'm so proud of because no
(41:58):
one's heard of them and I'vebeen able to open the doors for
them.
You know, I sort of think aboutlike I just finished working on
Tess Gerritsen's Martini Clubseries.
You know that's sort of on mytop of mind because she's been
such a you know she's one of myauthor idols and to have been
(42:21):
able to work with her and to youknow I love her Martini Club
series so much.
So I'm sort of I guess todayI'm feeling really proud of
working on that one.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Yeah, congratulations , that's great.
Okay, what are you currentlyreading?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Yeah, so I just finished.
The Lion Women of Tehran byMarjan Kamali.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Oh how funny, I just bought this book.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Oh good, yes, yes.
So my book club.
We met last night.
We just discussed it.
My friend who hosted had allPersian food.
We had such a good discussion.
I love the book so much.
Everyone had something to sayabout it and then different
tangents.
It was really, really special.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
I think having conversations with our friends
who have read the same book is.
It's hard to beat.
That's pretty fun.
Did you ever watch thedocumentary Join or Die?
No, I'll put the link in theshow notes.
Basically, the premise of thedocumentary is why you should
join a club and why the fate ofAmerica depends on it.
Anyway, it made me think a lotabout the importance of being in
(43:25):
a book club and just gatheringto speak about books.
It lifts us up when we're partof something that everyone is
excited about, and I definitelygot excited about a book you
recently sent me which Idevoured in one or two sittings,
of course.
Then I had to go out and get abar of chocolate, because the
author's description ofchocolate is just your mouth
(43:48):
starts to water.
They are so delicious andthat's a big hint about what
this book is about.
Megan, can you tell us allabout the author and all about
this delicious book?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Yes, okay.
So 25 years ago Chocolat byJoanne Harris came out and the
book was beloved.
And then the film starringJuliette Binoche and Johnny Depp
a bunch of other famous actorswas.
I think it got an Oscar nom andwas a huge, huge hit.
(44:19):
Then Joanne Harris, she's inthe UK.
She wrote a few other booksafter Chocolat.
Now, 25 years later, she'swritten the prequel to Chocolat.
So it's six years before thestart of Chocolat, and it's
basically Vianne.
It's her origin story, and Ithink origin stories are so cool
(44:43):
and I love.
So.
This is really how Viannebecame the magical chocolatier
that she is in the book, how shecame to France and through her
friends she learned about theart of chocolate making.
So the book is just.
It's so lyrical, it's sobeautifully written and then,
(45:03):
like you say, the descriptionsof the chocolate are to die for.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
And what's the pub date here in the United States?
Speaker 2 (45:12):
September 2nd.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
And you also sent me this little beauty by Martha
Hall Kelly, the Martha'sVineyard Beach and Book Club.
Such a delightful read and youand Martha are my guest this
Thursday at the Lunch with anAuthor literary series in Santa
Barbara.
I cannot wait.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Yes, so it's so fun.
We were talking about bookclubs because Martha Hall Kelly
today wrote an essay that waspublished on People Digital
about her mother's.
That book was inspired by herown family growing up on
Martha's Vineyard and hermother's book club.
The essay was about how hermother had this book club on the
(45:53):
vineyard and now her daughterhas a book club and how, like
you were saying, how book clubsbring us together and we talk
about books but we talk aboutthe things going on in our lives
and our fellow book clubmembers lift us up and help us
keep going.
So, yeah, so Martha Hall Kelly,martha's Vineyard Beach and
(46:13):
Book Club is set on Martha'sVineyard.
It's set in the present day, onthe vineyard and during World
War II.
And it's set in the present day, in the vineyard and during
World War II and it's about Ididn't even know that these Nazi
subs came and were like lurkingoutside the island and actually
invaded.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Yeah, I'm like you.
This book had me going down arabbit hole of research about
Martha's vineyard and World WarII.
It was really interesting.
But I also love Martha'sdescriptions of people, places,
and she's just a sweet writer.
It's just beautiful, a lovely,lovely book.
Okay, now here's another bookand author, if you can tell me
(46:52):
about them the View from LakeComo.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Oh, the View from Lake Como.
I think this is going to be thesummer read of 2025.
Adriana Trigiani is a force ofnature.
She's been writing novels for20 years.
She writes about theselarger-than-life
Italian-American families inhistory and now.
(47:15):
So this book is a contemporarynovel set in New Jersey.
So I had no idea that SouthBelmar, new Jersey, the name got
changed not that long ago toLake Como, new Jersey.
So this Italian American familyis living on Lake Como, new
Jersey, and it's a young woman.
(47:37):
She's recently divorced, she'sjust at a loss, and she ends up
going to Italy, to Lake Como,and basically finding herself.
So it has like a little bit ofthe you know, eat, pray, love,
vibe and there's a little bit ofmy big fat Greek wedding and
you know, it just fills you up.
So, yeah, coming out July 8th.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
What a great day.
That's my birthday, you up.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
So, yeah, coming out July 8th what a great day.
That's my birthday, oh, yay,okay, good, good, well, and I
must tell you so, adriana isdoing this.
It's called the Lake Como Tour.
It's all on sort of the Easternseaboard, new Jersey, rhode
Island, connecticut, but she'sdoing these performances.
So she's not.
It's not just like stand up anddo a reading, she's going to do
(48:22):
a comedy act.
She has her, her brother's bandcoming in to play music.
There's going to be thisinteractive aspect where the
audience's family photos aregoing to appear on screen in the
finale.
It's.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
These shows are really so, oh my goodness, they
sound like a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
Yes, yes, so you can find out about her shows.
The tickets are sellingactually pretty fast, so, um,
you can go to her adrianatrugianicom, and um, you know,
look, look for a city near youwill she be coming out to
southern california?
I'm working on it yes, yes,great.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Well, keep me posted.
Well, megan, we have talked fornearly an hour and could
probably talk for another hour,uh, but thank you so much for
being on the show.
Thank you for sending me thesefabulous books.
I trust your recommendations.
I think authors are lucky tohave you as their publicist
thank you, mandy.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
it's been, it's been really fun to talk to you and
I'm so glad to know you.
I mean, this is why I love whatI do is finding and making
friends like you.
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
You've been listening to my conversation with Megan
Beatty, President and CEO ofMegan Beatty Communications NBC,
a book publicity and marketingagency, and I will make sure to
put links for Megan in the shownotes To help the show reach
more people, please shareepisodes with friends and family
and on social media, andremember to subscribe and leave
(49:52):
a review wherever you listen tothis podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, Instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
(50:14):
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, Mandy
Jackson-Beverly, Theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,Adrienne Otterhahn, and graphic
(50:37):
design by Frances Farala.
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you next time.
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
You're listening to episode 293.
Hi there, and thanks for tuninginto the Bookshop Podcast.
I have a couple of in-personevents coming up in Santa
Barbara and Los Angeles.
To sign up for the SantaBarbara Lunch with an Author
Literary Series, please go to mywebsite at
(00:56):
wwwmandijacksonbeverlycom.
Forward slash events.
These events requirereservations and prepayment.
So let's begin with SantaBarbara, where I'll be in
conversation with the followingauthors about their latest books
this week Thursday, june 12th,martha Hall Kelly the Martha's
Vineyard Beach and Book Club.
Thursday, july 10th, tovaMervis we Would Never.
(01:19):
Thursday, august 14th, drPeniel E Joseph Freedom Season
how 1963 Transformed America'sCivil Rights Revolution.
In Los Angeles, on July 8th,which is my birthday, I'll be in
conversation with Gillian Flynn.
That's going to be a fun day.
September 9th, paul Rudnickwhat is Wrong With you?
(01:39):
And October 14th, bruceHolsinger Culpability.
For the Los Angeles LiteraryLuncheons.
You'll need to contact me atthebookshoppodcast at gmailcom,
and in the subject line just putLos Angeles Literary Lunches.
Okay, now let's get on withthis week's episode.
Megan Beatty is a veteranpublicist with more than 25
(02:01):
years of experience inpublishing.
She is president and CEO ofMegan Beatty Communications MBC,
a book publicity and marketingagency.
Megan has forged publicitycampaigns for numerous
best-selling authors, includingLinda Ronstadt, adriana Trigiani
, tess Gerritsen, melissa de laCruz, tembi Locke, and launched
(02:24):
the debuts of many novelistssuch as Carolyn Cleveland,
victoria Lee and Amber Smith.
She has represented authors innearly every conceivable genre,
including literary andcommercial fiction, mysteries
and thrillers, science fiction,fantasy and graphic novels, as
well as nonfiction bookscovering pop culture, film,
(02:56):
entertainment, health, lifestyle, parenting and relationships.
Megan is the fifth generationThank you.
With a degree in Englishliterature.
She joined Goldberg McDuffieCommunications as a publicist,
where she spent nearly twodecades rising to the level of
Vice President, director ofPublicity.
While there, she cultivatedstrong, long-standing
relationships with editors,journalists and producers at the
(03:18):
most influential televisionshows, radio programs, magazines
, newspapers, websites and blogsaround the world.
In 2015, she formed her ownnamesake agency so she would be
able to focus on morepersonalized strategies and
outreach opportunities forauthors and books about which
she's truly passionate.
Since then, her company hasgrown to include a talented and
(03:42):
hardworking support staff.
All told, nbc has delivereddramatic results for its chosen
authors and has promoted dozensof bestsellers.
Megan has been a guest lectureron book publicity at Chapnett
University and guest facultymember of UC Riverside, palm
Desert's low residency MFAprogram.
Megan is a fitness nut who hascompleted eight marathons, two
(04:06):
Spartan races and one triathlon.
She currently resides in LosAngeles, where she's outnumbered
in her all-male family by herhusband, their two sons, a dog
and a cat.
Hi, megan, and welcome to theshow.
It's great to chat with you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, it's so nice to be on your show, Mandy.
I'm just really excited to talkwith you and I'm so thrilled
you're actually interested inwhat I do.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Of course I'm interested in what you do, not
to mention.
I love having people frombehind the scenes in publishing
on the show because it remindsreaders of what goes into the
publishing of a book before iteven gets on the shelf in a
bookshop.
It's important.
Before we dive into our chat,can you share a recent moment,
(04:50):
professional or personal, thatsparked joy or inspiration for
you?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Absolutely, and it's one that we shared, which was
Danielle Tressoni winning the LATimes Book Prize for Best
Mystery Thriller last month forher book the Puzzle Box.
I mean, I get emotional justthinking about it, because it's
(05:15):
such a good book and I was soproud to work with her.
She's such a good writer.
She was up against some reallyhefty competition.
I mean, attica Locke is anamazing writer.
Michael Connelly, liz Moore,whose book got every best of, it
seemed, of 2024.
(05:36):
She was just up against suchstiff competition and for her to
win win for the judges torecognize how brilliant her book
is, was just, was, just themost amazing moment.
And just for me personally,when she got on stage and she
thanked me tears came to my eyesbecause, um, almost everything
(06:00):
I do is behind the scenes, isnot seen and for her to
acknowledge me like that wasreally, really meaningful.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Well, those of us who know you personally know that
thank you was well-deserved andit was from Danielle's heart.
Danielle is a sweetheart andit's been fun watching her Mike
Brink series fly and for her tobe recognized as such a
brilliant storyteller and, yes,that was a truly special moment
at the Los Angeles Times BookAwards.
(06:28):
It was really something.
Now I would like to hear yourstory.
You've had a wonderfuleducation, great experience in
publicity, but I want to hearabout that year of schooling you
did at Oxford University.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yes, oh my gosh, that was really.
I mean I still get goosebumpswhen I think about it.
I went to Middlebury College.
I'm a SoCal girl, fifthgeneration Californian.
Both my parents had gone to theEast Coast for college and they
really encouraged me to leaveCalifornia and have experiences
(07:05):
in other parts of the country.
So I went to Middlebury and Ihad always thought I would go to
Spain to work on my Spanish andmy English professor said hey,
there's this basically anexchange program with St Hugh's
College at Oxford and I thinkyou should apply.
They only take one candidatefrom Middlebury every year.
And I applied and I got it andI was basically at Oxford
(07:30):
University as a matriculatingstudent, as opposed to an
exchange Like they really tookme in as for one year you are an
Oxford student and it I meanreally I had to pinch myself
like walking through the streetsand, you know, being in the
center of this old, beautifulhistorical place.
(07:54):
The study was so different thanwhat I was used to.
I mean it was you don't justread a novel by Thomas Hardy,
you read everything ThomasHardy's written and write about
it.
And instead of professors theyhave they call them tutors, and
so my tutor was Anne Wordsworth,who was distantly related to
(08:16):
William Wordsworth, and I wouldgo into her office and she would
look out the window and smokeand just say all these brilliant
things and I just I could notbelieve that this Southern
California girl had thisopportunity.
Two of my best friends of mylife I made from my year at
Oxford was really, really anincredible time.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And after that year did you go back to Middlebury
College to finish another year?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I did, I did and I thought I'm done with the East
Coast, it's the weather, it'stoo winter, it's terrible.
And back to California.
I didn't know what I wanted todo.
I got this marketing job at acompany in Los Angeles.
That was sort of sales andmarketing.
It was management training.
It was really nothing I wasinterested in and I sort of
(09:09):
floundered along for a few yearsand then thought I've got to
find what I really want to do.
I mean, there's more to lifethan just a paycheck and I
wanted to figure out how tobring my passion with something
that I could make a living with.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Was it about that time that you decided to do the
Radcliffe Publishing Course?
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, I thought I had wanted to get into book
publishing but I had no idea howto do it and at the time you
had to be in New York to work inbook publishing.
So I found out about theRadcliffe publishing course,
which is um was run by, uh, thisfantastic uh woman, lindy Hess.
(09:49):
She's since passed away and thecourse has is now a part of
Columbia publishing course.
But, um, yeah, for a summer Iwas a student at Radcliffe
College and this course wasreally, really something.
Lindy had connections with allthese New York publishing execs,
(10:10):
so she would bring in these toplevel publishers and agents to
come to the course and talkabout what they did and then
work with us and then help usget interviews at the end of the
course.
So for me it paved the way togetting to starting a career in
(10:32):
publishing.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
And how long was that course?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I think it was about six weeks.
So Carol Schneider was the headof publicity at Random House at
the time and she came and spoketo us and I had thought, oh,
I'll probably want to be aneditor.
But Carol Schneider came andtalked about what publicity was
and it was like a light bulbwent off for me and I thought
(10:56):
that is what I want to do.
She talked about all the funparties you go to and calling
book review editors and settingup author tours and all these
things where I thought, oh,that's what I want to do.
But it really was a moment Ican remember.
All these years later, a lot ofyears later, almost 30 years
later, I can still take myselfback to that time and hearing
(11:19):
her speak and thinking that'swhat I want to do.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I love that you took a leap of faith by doing that
course.
It's also great when we canlook back at our life when we're
older and actually pinpoint themoments or the people or the
circumstances, the locationsthat actually took us toward a
path that felt like we weremeant to be on.
Yeah, so you've met CarolSchneider and she inspires you
(11:44):
toward publicity and marketing,but did you realize at that
point that it was bookpublishing that you wanted to
focus on?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, at the time the course was half book publishing
and half magazine publishing.
So good, good, I didn't go thatroute Because we have so few
print magazines anymore.
But yeah, I mean I was reallyinterested in going into book
publishing.
And then at the end of thecourse Lindy set us up with
(12:11):
interviews.
The week after I finished thiscourse I had an interview with
the head of publicity at Nortonand the head of publicity at
Putnam and I got job offers fromboth and Norton.
I'll just tell you Norton'soffer for an annual salary in
(12:32):
1996 was $19,000.
And Putnam's was 20, I think itwas 27,000.
And I thought that's the way togo.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I'm guessing sunny Southern California was on
the back burner.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, yeah.
So I went right to New Yorkwith my two, my two closest
friends from the course, and werented a one bedroom for the
three of us.
It was totally cockroach ridden, I mean, it was everything like
.
So it was, it was a thing.
But yeah, we, we all got entrylevel jobs in publishing and
(13:14):
just starved.
But we were so, so happy.
Yeah, we were happy to betogether and we were happy to be
in.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And to be learning and experiencing the book
publishing trade.
Oh, what fun.
Can you explain the jobdescriptions for a publicist and
a marketing professional?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's.
There's a lot of mystery aroundthat because the terms are all
used interchangeably.
Is it advertising, Is itmarketing?
Is it publicity?
And, in simplest terms,publicity is securing earned
media and marketing is securingpaid media.
So with publicity, you'reselling something but no money
(13:56):
is exchanging hands.
So trying to convince ajournalist that the book that
I'm representing would beinteresting to their
listenership or their readershipor whoever that is, and then
marketing advertising fallsunder marketing.
So you would say you know, ifyou wanted to buy an ad and buy
(14:16):
Goodreads, ads like that wouldfall under marketing.
Social media is sort of thelines are blurred because a lot
of publishers keep social mediaunder marketing.
But I do a lot of social mediaoutreach myself, so I'm reaching
(14:37):
out to influencers on Instagramand TikTok.
But if they're saying, sure,I'll feature your book and then
want to charge something, thenthat goes into the marketing
bucket.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Megan, I get the gist that you do a lot of both.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I do, yeah, because 30 years ago there were
dedicated book editors at everysingle newspaper and some
markets had two major newspapers.
When, all those years ago, whenwe'd send an author on tour to
Denver, it would be well shouldwe go after a feature in the
(15:11):
Rocky Mountain News or theDenver Post.
And now there are very fewdedicated book editors at any
newspaper.
So with our kind of traditionalmedia opportunities diminished,
publicists are trying to figureout what else we can do to be
relevant.
In my work I can do a lot ofsocial media influencer outreach
(15:34):
.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Earlier, we were chatting about book publishing
and magazine publishing and howyou were glad you went with book
publishing, and that remindedme of a conversation I had with
Vinnie Brown from CharlieBowen's Bookshop in Galway, and
we started talking about theStinging Fly and other fabulous
literary magazines.
For any listeners who aren'tfamiliar with the Stinging Fly,
(15:58):
I'm just going to read this fromtheir website it's a literary
magazine, book publisher, aneducation provider and an online
platform.
The publisher and chiefexecutive is Declan Mead and I
think they're out of Dublin.
The Stinging Fly is kind ofknown for launching a lot of new
Irish authors through shortstories or poetry that have been
(16:18):
submitted to the magazine.
Anyway, getting back to Vinnieat Charlie Burns, I asked him if
he carried the stinging fly inthe bookshop and he said oh,
yeah, yeah, yeah, of course wedo.
You know people come into thestore specifically to buy
literary magazines, and itreminded me that Ireland has
this great history of literature, but it's still ongoing, so
(16:41):
magazines aren't dead over there, you know, and that's a part of
literature I kind of miss.
We have a lot of onlinemagazines you can get them
through the post, but it's veryrare that you walk into a
bookshop and you actually see acopy of the Sun, for example.
Is that just me?
Am I missing something here?
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
No, I think that's absolutely true.
I used to get so many magazines.
I subscribe to everything.
I still get People magazineevery week and I get the Week
too.
I get Real Simple.
I used to get O Magazine andthat stopped, so they're just.
I think print is just.
People are turning to theirtablets and their phones to read
(17:25):
as opposed to print.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
And what makes this sad for me regarding literature
is that it's always been a greatstepping stone for any creative
.
Whether you're wanting to post,you know, submit a photograph
you've taken or a piece ofartwork, poetry, you know, a
short story, that was always agood way to get your foot in the
door.
It's extremely difficult tohave a submission accepted here,
(17:49):
but you and I spent a lot oftime in Los Angeles and I just
remember magazine stands beingeverywhere.
I would get them for costumedesign and fashion, because I
wanted to see who was designingwhat it was important to me and
I wanted to see the stylizedversions of photography, of
fashion photography.
I really miss not seeing allthose magazine stands and, as
(18:12):
you said, I'm sure we lost a lotof great magazines when they
stopped print and went over toonline magazines.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I completely agree.
Like Book Soup had that wholebig section of periodicals and I
don't even know if I have thatanymore.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And Liz says if you have a favorite literary
magazine, I would love to knowall about it.
So please email me through thecontact form on the
bookshoppodcastcom.
Every day, hundreds andhundreds of books are being
published, and I'm sure you gethundreds and hundreds of
requests every week to askwhether you'll work with a
(18:52):
client.
What steps do you take indeciding to accept a new client,
because we all have to beselective about what we accept.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yes, absolutely, and I'm very, very lucky because I
have the opportunity to choosewhat I work on and truly that's
the most critical aspect of theprocess, because I'm only as
good as what I'm representing,and I've tried to work on a few
(19:24):
books that just haven't been tothe standard that they should be
, and I know I can get people totake a look, but I could never
convince anyone to write aboutsomething or to interview if
it's not good.
So really that's the mostimportant thing that the book is
really good and that I like it,because my work is very
(19:48):
personal to me and if I don'tlove a book, how can I convince
someone else to be interested ina book?
And I have turned down booksthat someone else would jump at
the chance to represent justbecause it wasn't my cup of tea.
Maybe it's great for somebodyelse, but that's a big part of
(20:08):
the decision for me.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And once you've accepted the author as a client,
how early in the bookpublishing process is your ideal
time to begin working with anauthor before the pub date of
their book?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
I like to start way in advance.
Some authors I start close to ayear in advance.
It's interesting because in theolden days the lead times were
very clear cut.
So when you were pitchingmagazines, you had, you know, a
four to five month lead timebecause they had all the time
(20:40):
that they needed to get go toprint.
Now, because there's less ofthose print opportunities and
things, you can pitch somethingand have it show up online the
next day and I've done that.
But, um, the process is still along process and plenty of
authors have contacted me amonth before their books coming
(21:01):
out saying I need publicity, canI hire you?
And I just't.
I can't work like that, becausethe things that will come to
fruition like, for example, I'mworking on a book that publishes
on in two, almost two weeks andI've been pitching a journalist
at the Boston Globe to do astory on this book for months
(21:23):
and I just got the green lightthat the story is going to
happen today, which is thrilling, but it's just, it's an example
of how long the process takesand how far in advance you have
to start, and it's similar withwhat I do.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So if I'm booking for the Lunch with an Author or I'm
booking for the podcast, I needat least a couple of months to
read the book, because we'repretty much booked six to eight
months in advance.
So if a publicist or amarketing team sends me a book
and says the pub date is in twoweeks, is there any way you
(21:58):
could get them?
No, I'm not going to be able toget them on the show and it
makes me sad.
And I know I'm about to say theone thing that most writers or
creatives don't like to hear.
We do look at your authorplatform because we put a lot of
work into doing our show, butif the author and the publishing
(22:19):
team doesn't help promote theauthor's episode, then that's
really disappointing for us.
So my assistant, adrian, makessure that everybody has a good
platform.
If, by chance, it's a newauthor and I just love the book,
then I'll probably bypass thata little bit.
But yeah, you have to plan wayin advance.
Even when you're writing yourbook, you need to be working on
that author platform.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yes, yes, they absolutely are, and I think
that's a difficult shift for alot of authors who have been
holed up alone writing the bookand to have to, like overnight,
go.
Okay, now I have to put on thedog and pony show.
It's difficult, it's reallydifficult, and I think there's a
(23:00):
way to have a balance.
And many authors do hire peopleto run their social media so
they have the time to focus onthe work.
But I do think you, as anauthor, can do it yourself.
You just have to figure out thebalance and not feel like you
have to do everything, like doone or two things really well.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
You don't have to be on every single social media
platform.
Choose the one which bestsupports your personality and
the theme of your book.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, last week I had new social media platforms sent
to me and I've never even heardof them.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yes, exactly, and you know, and there's always one
that's the flavor of the monthand it's good to try them.
I hear from so many authorsthat they're loving Substack and
they're finding that as notjust as a way to put out their
content but as a social mediainteractive way.
So, yeah, I think it's good totry them and then settle into
(23:56):
one or two that you really feellike you can do well.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, that's great advice.
And how do you collaborate withauthors, editors and publishers
during the launch process?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It's a great question because it's challenging,
because I'm an independentpublicist and I'm being hired.
I need to you know, like goingback to school terms show my
work.
So you know, so much ofpublicity is your pitch like you
could pitch 100 people and youonly hear back from five.
(24:30):
So how do you convey to theclient, publisher, author,
whoever look, everybody, I'mdoing my work, but just this has
come through.
So I try to find a balance.
I want to work with people whotrust me, who know my work, who
know I will do everything foryou, so that I can not feel like
(24:54):
I have to be showing every stepI take.
But I do find again, olden days,we publicists used to be very
much like we don't show ourpitches, we don't reveal our
hand to anyone, we just like doour thing.
And then here are the results.
I really try to be with theauthors I work with, be very
(25:14):
much like look, we're partners,we're in this together.
You know, here's my pitch, whatdo you think?
And then they can give me theirfeedback and give me some ideas
.
So I do try to really let theauthors in to the process.
The publishers, you know, theyknow what the process is so.
They're really more about likelet me know what the results are
(25:34):
.
We don't have time to see everysingle thing you're doing.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
And are you hired mostly by publishers or authors,
or a little bit of both?
It might be 50-50.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
It really depends.
Some publishers will say, likeone of our publicists is going
on maternity leave, can you jumpin or could you take this on?
And then many authors you knowthey just want to find a way to
distinguish themselves.
And it's really hard whenyou're a mid-list author and
there's so many books being putout.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
And for authors who are signed with publishing
companies, is it right to saythat they get about six weeks of
publicity and marketing?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Well, I do think that the in-house publicists they're
pushing farther ahead than that.
But it can often, you know, bepart of a list.
You know here, here are myspring titles, or here are my
summer titles.
So I really try to make surethat my list there's no one who
(26:34):
would be in direct competitionand hopefully they complement
each other.
So I worked on a Southernthriller in the spring who was
pretty well known, and then I'mworking with a debut Southern
thriller for the late summer andso a lot of the media contacts
that I you know therelationships that I developed
(26:55):
with the first one I'm going tobe able to leverage for this
debut.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Can you walk us through the design and
development process of marketinga book?
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Sure, yeah.
So really, the first part of itis I do two things With the
author.
I send a written Q&A, so withquestions such as what are the
inspirations, why did you writethis book?
Because there's alwayssomething.
There's always something intheir lives that sparked the
story and those are things Iwant to pull out to use for to
(27:30):
entice the media.
So I try to get what, find outwhat those things are and then
find out who they know.
So you know where do they live.
So let's look at their localmedia.
Where did they go to college?
Their alumni magazine, whatother kind of niche aspects are
(27:58):
there to them and to the book?
That we can, instead of justsort of this is a great book and
sending it out to everyone, wecan kind of drill down on the
connections, because there'salways connections, on the
connections, because there'salways connections.
So many of the you know media inChicago or Milwaukee or
wherever it may be, they wantlocal.
So if your author's from there,if the book is set there,
(28:20):
that's going to give you a legup over all the other books that
that person might be beingpitched.
So I really try to figure outlike, what's the?
I mean, what's the backstory tothe book, what?
Where did it come from?
Because that will inform thepress materials I write and I
really try to highlight who theauthor is as much as what the
(28:44):
book is about, because I justdon't think it's enough to say
hey, so and so this is a greatbook.
It's, you know, a page turner.
You know all the words that I'msure you see when you're
pitched.
You know these kind of wordsthat are used over and over.
So I really try to take ajournalistic approach with my
press materials and not use alot of fluffy adjectives but say
(29:07):
like I'm trying to think of agood example.
A historical novel I'm workingon for the fall is inspired by
the author's family history inthe Philippines and Italy during
World War II.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
So those are really interesting aspects to this
novel that I'm going tohighlight when I'm pitching it
out, yeah, and after everythingall the publicity and the
marketing is done, it is stillimperative that the author
builds relationships with theirreaders face-to-face, one-on-one
, you know, at book fairs orauthor events at indie bookshops
(29:43):
.
You know I'm a huge supporterof independent bookshops and I'm
always amazed at the ideasindependent bookshop owners and
booksellers come up with to helppromote authors.
But the thing is, before you dothat as an author, you need to
build up a relationship withyour local indie bookshop.
In other words, where do youbuy your books?
(30:04):
And I'm hoping you're saying Ibuy them from my local indie
bookshop.
But anyway, chris Stibe, who isthe owner bookseller of Transom
Bookshop in Tarrytown, new York, had this great idea he invites
authors to come in and be abookseller for a few hours in
the bookshop and I thought, wow,what a fantastic idea.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Oh my gosh, oh, what a great idea.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, it's a truly innovative idea.
I mean they get help sellingbooks.
They put it out in advance sothat you know the local reading
community know that such andsuch an author is going to be
selling books in their store forhalf a day.
It's a win-win situation.
And one more idea I think iskind of imperative you and I
were recently at the Los AngelesTimes Festival of Books, which
(30:50):
is a huge book fair, and as youwalk down the aisles, every
single booth has something to dowith books.
It might be an author and theirbook collection, or it could be
a store that sells bookisht-shirts and bookmarks and
candles.
But one of the things I foundthat made me look and take
(31:10):
notice of each booth are thebooths where the author is
standing out front of theirbooth engaging with people, or
if they're behind their table,they've art directed their booth
so that it represents theirbook.
For example, perhaps it's aWorld War I or World War II
historical fiction book.
(31:30):
Consider having model airplaneshanging from fishing line from
the ceiling of their tent.
Or, if it's horror, haveslightly melted black candles I
don't know cobwebs, somethinglike that decorating the tent.
But a table with just books onit and empty space around isn't
going to do it.
I mean, I am so impressed withsome of the art direction of
(31:54):
these booths.
It just draws me in and that'swhat you want readers to do.
You want readers to beinterested enough that they can
walk over to your tent and startchatting with you, and don't be
that author who is sittingbehind their table on their
phone.
There is nothing moreoff-putting than that.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Yeah, totally agree, and you said it right.
And you have to get out in theworld as an author.
And we had the ultimateshutdown with the pandemic where
no one was out and um, and thatthat was something for me
personally.
Once we were free again, Ithought I'm gonna get out in the
(32:34):
world as much as I can and goto book festivals and it's been.
I mean just for me as apublicist.
It's been.
I mean you and I would havenever have met, if you know I
hadn that the San Diego WritersFestival, exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
And I'm so glad we met.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah.
So for authors it's critical.
I would say to authors youcan't get hyper-focused on well,
is it worth it?
Because I get asked that allthe time.
Well, is that podcast worth it?
Is that event worth it?
Is it worth it?
I don't know, it might be, itmight be, and if you go to a
(33:10):
festival and you don't sell asingle book but you're on a
panel with a better known authorwho might give you a blurb for
your next book or invite you tosome other event, you just never
know.
So I just think it's soimportant to say yes to things
(33:30):
and to get out in the world and,like you say, interact with
readers and other writers.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Yes, I love what you just said about building
relationships with other writers.
You know, there's a couple ofauthors that I've worked with
over the years and my hat goesoff to them.
I've never seen authors work ashard as these two to promote
their books, but also to promoteother authors.
Look, I'm sure that every newauthor who has just finished
(33:58):
their book thinks great, it'sout there, someone else is going
to take care of that.
I'm just going to go on merrilyand write my next book.
Hopefully that's what they'rethinking about writing the next
book.
But the thing is it doesn'twork like that, I know, and also
, it's not always about you.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
That's a key point.
Yes, absolutely, you can't justbe.
I call it me, me, me, me me.
You can't do that.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
It's definitely reciprocal.
Okay, back to what you do.
How has book marketing andpublicity evolved over the past
decades, and which platforms doyou think authors and publishers
need to be focusing on rightnow?
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah, well, you know, as we were talking about before
, print is so diminished.
It's interesting, though Ithink in the minds maybe it's
just for the older, the eldersof publishing print is still
feels more, just feels morespecial.
But so much has gone digitaland I mean, let's face it,
(34:57):
digital is so shareable so youcould have a print clip and show
it to all your friends or youcan have a link that you can
post and it can be shared andshared and shared and go
everywhere.
Digital media is certainly keyIn terms of platforms.
The most basic thing forauthors, just, you know, have a
(35:20):
good website and keep it updated.
It's sort of mind boggling tome how many authors you know
they're all over their Instagram, but then I go on their website
and they still have theirevents up from 2022.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Wow, that's such a turnoff and it doesn't look good
.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
No, no, because your website is your ground zero and
if someone wants to knowsomething about you, they're
going to start at your websiteand then maybe go.
You know, look at yourInstagram link, look at your
Facebook link, look at TikTok orwhatever it might be.
So that's really important.
And, like I mentioned before,substack I'm hearing from so
many authors they're lovingSubstack.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
And I just don't know a lot about it yet.
Yeah, I don't know too muchabout it either.
I want to dip my toe in it, butyou're just so busy with
everything else right, yeah,yeah, exactly, Exactly so.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
But it seems to me a good, good way of sort of the
like how we used to do blogging.
And, like you say, Instagram, Ithink is still really important
, and Facebook is.
You know you can share thingsand you know you can put links
come out better on Facebook andthere's still there's a lot of
readers on Facebook, so and Idon't know what your thoughts
are on this, but I think thereare a lot of older women on
(36:34):
Facebook.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
So if your novel is a historical fiction novel, then
you need to be on Facebook,exactly.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Agree.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Okay, what advice would you give to debut authors
navigating marketing for thefirst time?
Hire you.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Well, I think it's you don't.
When you're a debut author, youdon't know what you don't know.
So I think you have to educateyourself so that you're in a
position to make decisions, andwell in advance.
So I think it's you get the layof the land from your publisher
what they're going to do, whatthey're not going to do.
If you can get a clear pictureof that, then you know what is
(37:11):
going to really be on you as theauthor, whether it's hiring
your own publicist or gettingyour website designed or having
someone help you with socialmedia.
There are lots of things as anauthor you can do yourself.
There are a lot of things thatyou really need to leave to
professionals.
You cannot pitch the New YorkTimes yourself.
You could set up a book signing.
Plenty of authors do that.
There are some publicists whoare offering kind of DIY
(37:34):
packages to authors.
You know, do all these thingsand you can market your book
yourself, and I don't recommendthat.
I've been honing this craft for30 years and it's you know.
I still learn every day.
I'm still learning things everyday.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
One bit of advice I would like to give to authors
out there.
I don't take on hardly any.
I think there's maybe been acouple of self-published authors
and one of the main reasons is,if you're emailing me and
asking to be on the show to beinterviewed, please get my name
right.
It's Mandy.
(38:10):
Just hi isn't going to cut itBecause more than likely I will
delete your email immediately.
You've obviously not listenedto the podcast.
You've obviously not listenedto the podcast.
You've obviously not done yourresearch and, honestly, it's
just rude and lazy.
The other thing is, when youhire a publicist, they know how
to write up an author fact sheetthat goes out to people like me
(38:30):
to tell them about the authorin the book, and they know my
name and they know they listento the podcast, so they know
what kind of books and authors Ilike to speak with.
I am not going to speak withany self-published author whose
books aren't available inindependent bookshops, because,
hello, that's what I promoteindependent bookshops.
There's a lot of things likethis that you have to think
(38:53):
about and I can tell you fromexperience, megan Beatty,
communications are pros.
They do it really well.
Thank you, fadi.
Communications are pros, theydo it really well, thank you.
It amazes me and alsofrustrates me that authors don't
even Google.
You know how to approach apodcaster about my book, how to
approach a blogger for my book.
You can just start there.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
That's going to really be helpful.
Yeah, that's absolutely true,and my education in publicity
was I learned from manyfantastic publicists about how
your job is.
To make your job, Mandy, themedia their job as easy as
possible, so don't make themsearch for things.
(39:36):
Be clear, succinct.
Here's what it is and here'swhy it's great.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
And this takes me back to something you said
earlier in our conversation.
I asked you how you collaboratewith authors and editors and
publishers and you said well,first up, I send the author a
questionnaire about their book,about them, and I'm going to
tell you, from the flip side ofthat, why that matters.
Before I agree to have anauthor on the podcast, I'll
(40:03):
obviously read their book andthen sometimes I'll read their
backlist if I have time, whichisn't that often, but I always
research them, you know, on theinternet, and I look for a
thread, something that brings ustogether, something that I know
we can talk about apart fromthe book, because personal
threads and the author's storyare what makes people remember
(40:28):
you in an interview.
And for authors, when you hirea publicist, if they're a good
publicist, they're going tofigure all this out, so that I
don't have to Mind you.
I probably will do it anyway,because I love to do it.
I love going down rabbit holesand really learning about people
and discovering things aboutthem that we can talk about.
(40:49):
As Megan said, your job is tomake my job a little easier.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yes, it's not just about getting an email address
and sending a generic pitch.
You know when I, when I do mywork, like the great thing, one
of the great things about theinternet is there's so much
about people online.
So if I'm pitching someone at alocal TV station, I'll look
them up.
I'll read their bio.
I see like, oh well, they'relike a huge historical fiction
(41:15):
fan.
So that's something that I canhighlight.
There's so much work below thesurface when it comes to
publicity.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Yeah, and as an author you can't do it all, you
just can't, okay.
Now, if you're looking back atyour career, is there a campaign
or book launch you'reparticularly proud of?
I realize that's a really toughquestion because I know you and
I know how hard you work forevery campaign.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
It is because there's so many, you know I think back
of.
You know there's so many I'mproud of.
The famous authors are so funto work on because the doors
open more easily.
It's almost like the debutsthat I'm so proud of because no
(41:58):
one's heard of them and I'vebeen able to open the doors for
them.
You know, I sort of think aboutlike I just finished working on
Tess Gerritsen's Martini Clubseries.
You know that's sort of on mytop of mind because she's been
such a you know she's one of myauthor idols and to have been
(42:21):
able to work with her and to youknow I love her Martini Club
series so much.
So I'm sort of I guess todayI'm feeling really proud of
working on that one.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Yeah, congratulations , that's great.
Okay, what are you currentlyreading?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Yeah, so I just finished.
The Lion Women of Tehran byMarjan Kamali.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Oh how funny, I just bought this book.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Oh good, yes, yes.
So my book club.
We met last night.
We just discussed it.
My friend who hosted had allPersian food.
We had such a good discussion.
I love the book so much.
Everyone had something to sayabout it and then different
tangents.
It was really, really special.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
I think having conversations with our friends
who have read the same book is.
It's hard to beat.
That's pretty fun.
Did you ever watch thedocumentary Join or Die?
No, I'll put the link in theshow notes.
Basically, the premise of thedocumentary is why you should
join a club and why the fate ofAmerica depends on it.
Anyway, it made me think a lotabout the importance of being in
(43:25):
a book club and just gatheringto speak about books.
It lifts us up when we're partof something that everyone is
excited about, and I definitelygot excited about a book you
recently sent me which Idevoured in one or two sittings,
of course.
Then I had to go out and get abar of chocolate, because the
author's description ofchocolate is just your mouth
(43:48):
starts to water.
They are so delicious andthat's a big hint about what
this book is about.
Megan, can you tell us allabout the author and all about
this delicious book?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Yes, okay.
So 25 years ago Chocolat byJoanne Harris came out and the
book was beloved.
And then the film starringJuliette Binoche and Johnny Depp
a bunch of other famous actorswas.
I think it got an Oscar nom andwas a huge, huge hit.
(44:19):
Then Joanne Harris, she's inthe UK.
She wrote a few other booksafter Chocolat.
Now, 25 years later, she'swritten the prequel to Chocolat.
So it's six years before thestart of Chocolat, and it's
basically Vianne.
It's her origin story, and Ithink origin stories are so cool
(44:43):
and I love.
So.
This is really how Viannebecame the magical chocolatier
that she is in the book, how shecame to France and through her
friends she learned about theart of chocolate making.
So the book is just.
It's so lyrical, it's sobeautifully written and then,
(45:03):
like you say, the descriptionsof the chocolate are to die for.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
And what's the pub date here in the United States?
Speaker 2 (45:12):
September 2nd.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
And you also sent me this little beauty by Martha
Hall Kelly, the Martha'sVineyard Beach and Book Club.
Such a delightful read and youand Martha are my guest this
Thursday at the Lunch with anAuthor literary series in Santa
Barbara.
I cannot wait.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Yes, so it's so fun.
We were talking about bookclubs because Martha Hall Kelly
today wrote an essay that waspublished on People Digital
about her mother's.
That book was inspired by herown family growing up on
Martha's Vineyard and hermother's book club.
The essay was about how hermother had this book club on the
(45:53):
vineyard and now her daughterhas a book club and how, like
you were saying, how book clubsbring us together and we talk
about books but we talk aboutthe things going on in our lives
and our fellow book clubmembers lift us up and help us
keep going.
So, yeah, so Martha Hall Kelly,martha's Vineyard Beach and
(46:13):
Book Club is set on Martha'sVineyard.
It's set in the present day, onthe vineyard and during World
War II.
And it's set in the present day, in the vineyard and during
World War II and it's about Ididn't even know that these Nazi
subs came and were like lurkingoutside the island and actually
invaded.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Yeah, I'm like you.
This book had me going down arabbit hole of research about
Martha's vineyard and World WarII.
It was really interesting.
But I also love Martha'sdescriptions of people, places,
and she's just a sweet writer.
It's just beautiful, a lovely,lovely book.
Okay, now here's another bookand author, if you can tell me
(46:52):
about them the View from LakeComo.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Oh, the View from Lake Como.
I think this is going to be thesummer read of 2025.
Adriana Trigiani is a force ofnature.
She's been writing novels for20 years.
She writes about theselarger-than-life
Italian-American families inhistory and now.
(47:15):
So this book is a contemporarynovel set in New Jersey.
So I had no idea that SouthBelmar, new Jersey, the name got
changed not that long ago toLake Como, new Jersey.
So this Italian American familyis living on Lake Como, new
Jersey, and it's a young woman.
(47:37):
She's recently divorced, she'sjust at a loss, and she ends up
going to Italy, to Lake Como,and basically finding herself.
So it has like a little bit ofthe you know, eat, pray, love,
vibe and there's a little bit ofmy big fat Greek wedding and
you know, it just fills you up.
So, yeah, coming out July 8th.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
What a great day.
That's my birthday, you up.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
So, yeah, coming out July 8th what a great day.
That's my birthday, oh, yay,okay, good, good, well, and I
must tell you so, adriana isdoing this.
It's called the Lake Como Tour.
It's all on sort of the Easternseaboard, new Jersey, rhode
Island, connecticut, but she'sdoing these performances.
So she's not.
It's not just like stand up anddo a reading, she's going to do
(48:22):
a comedy act.
She has her, her brother's bandcoming in to play music.
There's going to be thisinteractive aspect where the
audience's family photos aregoing to appear on screen in the
finale.
It's.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
These shows are really so, oh my goodness, they
sound like a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
Yes, yes, so you can find out about her shows.
The tickets are sellingactually pretty fast, so, um,
you can go to her adrianatrugianicom, and um, you know,
look, look for a city near youwill she be coming out to
southern california?
I'm working on it yes, yes,great.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Well, keep me posted.
Well, megan, we have talked fornearly an hour and could
probably talk for another hour,uh, but thank you so much for
being on the show.
Thank you for sending me thesefabulous books.
I trust your recommendations.
I think authors are lucky tohave you as their publicist
thank you, mandy.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
it's been, it's been really fun to talk to you and
I'm so glad to know you.
I mean, this is why I love whatI do is finding and making
friends like you.
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
You've been listening to my conversation with Megan
Beatty, President and CEO ofMegan Beatty Communications NBC,
a book publicity and marketingagency, and I will make sure to
put links for Megan in the shownotes To help the show reach
more people, please shareepisodes with friends and family
and on social media, andremember to subscribe and leave
(49:52):
a review wherever you listen tothis podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, Instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
(50:14):
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, Mandy
Jackson-Beverly, Theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,Adrienne Otterhahn, and graphic
(50:37):
design by Frances Farala.
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you next time.
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