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Publicity
The Publicity Staff manages the publicity efforts for your book including:
- Presenting the season’s books during appointments with major media.
- Distributing the upcoming seasonal catalog to an extensive list of publicity contacts.
- Following up on media requests for review copies and author interviews.
- Capitalizing on publicity opportunities as they arise.
- Targeting pitches to radio, TV, and other media, when appropriate.
- Offering guidance for conducting your own publicity efforts.
For general-interest "trade" titles the Publicity Manager will send advance reading copies (referred to as galleys) to reviewers approximately four months prior to the publication date. The number of advance copies sent out depends on the size and nature of the book's audience. These advance copies are produced from uncorrected page proofs and are perfect-bound just like a paperback book. UIP typically sends advance copies to book-trade publications such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews and to a few general-interest publications that require advance copies.
For specialized and academic books, demand is slight for advance copies, and the finished book generally serves reviewers just as well as galleys. For example, Choice only will assign a review from the finished book. Therefore, UIP rarely goes to the expense of making and sending out advance reading copies for monographs. If a journal requests a galley to meet a forthcoming issue's deadline, we will send the journal a photocopy of the uncorrected page proofs.
Copies of your printed published book will be sent to a number of reviewers four to six weeks before the publication date (see "Important Dates" on Sales and Distribution page). The list of reviewers is compiled after considering suggestions from your MQ and utilizing our extensive media database of journals, magazines, newspapers, other national and regional media, and freelance requests.
As a courtesy, publicity staff also will send you copies of any major trade reviews immediately following their publication and will then send copies of additional reviews to you every three to four months.
- Contact your college or university alumni offices about putting a notice of the book in their next newsletters or magazines.
- Consider writing an Opinion/Editorial piece for your local paper about your book’s subject. Find out who the features editor is at your local paper and drop the editor a note with a catalog explaining that soon there will be a new book available from a local author.
- Be aware of colleagues in your discipline who write reviews for major media and provide those suggestions (with mailing addresses if possible) in your MQ.
Author Events and Appearances
Please consider these factors before scheduling a bookstore appearance:
- Is your book currently available? If not, please check with the Sales Manager or Publicity Manager on the projected publication date. Once the event is booked, please check back with UIP once a month to ensure that your book is still on schedule.
- Is the topic of your book appropriate for a bookstore event?
- Are you known at the bookstore you are considering, and is the store known for conducting well-advertised, successful author events?
- Will you have time to assist in the promotion by sending postcards or e-mail messages (well in advance) to friends, family, and colleagues to bolster attendance at your event?
- Are you prepared to read or provide your expertise to an audience that may not contain any actual book buyers?
You may have opportunities to speak at universities and other academic organizations or to specialized interest groups at libraries, museums, and clubs. Such events have built-in audiences and can be fruitful places to focus your energy. If you decide to schedule a reading, signing, or appearance, please plan the event to coincide with or follow the publication date (not the dock date) of your book (see "Important Dates" on Sales and Distribution page).
UIP does not schedule reading or signing opportunities for authors, but it can offer basic support for events that you arrange by ensuring that books are ordered and shipped for the signings and by providing promotional materials. For any events you schedule, please send complete information about them to the Publicity Manager. Include the date, time, bookstore or organization name, its full address, and the event coordinator’s phone number and e-mail address.
