Dreams and goals are gas for our fuel tanks. They keep us going. They are essential for life.
But when dreams get muddled with unrealistic expectations, it leads to big disappointments. And in the case of book marketing, often, instead of understanding reality, good publicists get blamed for things beyond their control. Or shady publicists get hired and scam authors so completely that they make all of us look bad.
Just like in life, all I can control are my efforts. I can get your book in front of as many people as possible, but I can’t control if they like it. That’s the hard truth, right? We can’t predict how a book will be received. This depends on things even farther out of your control than the writing, like the circumstances in the world: COVID or wars, for example.
So what are reasonable expectations for hiring a publicist for your book marketing?
Here are five based on my experience as a publicist, a marketing strategist, an author, and a former book blogger.
What to Expect From a Publicist
Hiring a publicist means you don’t have to do all the work yourself.
You’re already busy. You hire a publicist because you don’t want to do all the exhausting legwork yourself.
You’re paying someone like me to send out personalized emails and to follow up several times with individual reviewers, podcasters, producers, or reporters. You’re also paying for strategy sessions and individual coaching.
As a publicist, I do the work for you and can also help with an overall marketing plan and/or specific pieces of a marketing plan, including your author brand, school visits, social media, GEO, and more.Hiring a (good) publicist means you get access to up-to-date databases of hundreds of reviewers, podcasters, reporters, editors, etc.
Publicists like me have extensive, up-to-date, and curated contacts. We also know how to connect with new folks in content-specific areas. (Like my client with a book about veganism. I didn’t have vegan podcast contacts at the time, but I did the research and got her on several vegan podcasts.)
Remember to hire someone who is keeping up.
Writers change. Reviewers quit. Producers move jobs. You need a publicist who stays current with what’s happening in the online world. Ask for a few examples of what outlets they will pitch.Hiring a publicist means you will get pitched to the best media outlets for your book and your author brand.
You want to be pitched to outlets who actually review books like yours or who are interested in your level, theme, genre, or content.
As a book blogger at Imagination Soup, I felt bad for the YA authors whose publicists were pitching me when I didn’t even review YA books.
Remember that pitching does not mean automatically getting reviews or interviews.
If you don’t have a decent-sized social media following or a robust newsletter (or are already a known author), you’ll be harder to book on bigger outlets, particularly on bigger podcasts.Big podcasts want someone who will attract listeners because they’re already known and will share the podcast episode with their followers.
Yes, I can pitch you to David Perell’s “How I Write” or the New York Times “The Book Review” podcast, but you’re competing with famous people like David Sedaris and Anne Lamott. So the odds of landing very popular podcast spots are slim. Not because you aren’t a great writer and a wonderful human, but because of the podcasts’ strategy. Podcast hosts want to attract new listeners with big names. Podcast hosts also want the authors they interview to share the episodes across their (large) social media and newsletter channels.
That said, small and medium podcasts can benefit you more than you think. Every time you’re interviewed and mentioned online, it improves your author brand and your chances of getting into the AI answer (GEO). Plus, you might sell some books. So give all podcasts a chance!
And like I mentioned above. Just because I pitch you to a curated list of top-notch contacts, unfortunately, it does not guarantee they will want to review your book or interview you.Hiring a publicist gets you strategy.
I can advise you on a comprehensive marketing strategy for your author brand, which includes the following areas: website, newsletters, and social media.
For example, one of my authors didn’t have a website or newsletter, so I helped him start a Substack newsletter, which accomplished both. He now has a landing page and a newsletter…for free. This is the first step to building his author brand for his book and speaking.Hiring a publicist may reveal that not all publicists are created equal.
You’ve heard mixed things from your friends. That’s because some unethical publicists use flattery and smoke-and-mirrors to get you to hire them. That feels good. We all want to be loved and admired.
But be aware of manipulation tactics like these. Do you want someone who will tell you what you want to hear? Or someone who will actually get the work done and tell you the truth?
(And most of those over-the-top flattering emails are AI-bot-created.)
I am kind, but I err on the side of bluntness (says my husband), so I will never give clients any BS. That’s just not my style, and it doesn’t align with my integrity.
That’s not to say you can’t have both flattery and competence, but I’ve seen many authors get scammed by flatterers who charge big dollars and get zero results.
The lesson? Ask for referrals. Even better, do your own research and reach out to people you know have worked with the publicist before.
What questions do you have about hiring a publicist?
Finally, I want to say how grateful I am to the exceptional authors who hire me. They want to invest in their marketing and publicity with help to reach reviewers, book podcasts, and improve their author branding.
Thank you to my clients for allowing me to partner with you!
Imagination Soup Consulting offers affordable publicity packages, focusing on 2026 best practices and up-to-date media lists. Get in touch: Melissa at imaginationsoup.net.
I typically assume those AI bot emails are scams anyway. If I can tell someone's using AI, they've already lost my trust and can count on never getting my business and likely getting blocked by me. Cold unsolicited emails rank pretty low on my trust scale anyway, so that's two strikes.