Podcast Episode: Book Promotion - Part Two w/ Publicist, Kathleen Schmidt
This podcast episode is Part Two of my interview with Kathleen Schmidt, creator of the popular Substack, Publishing Confidential. You can listen to Part One of the Interview HERE.
Kathleen Schmidt has worked in the publishing industry for 25+ years. She’s been a literary agent, editor, ghost-writer and publicist, including being a Publicity Director at Skyhorse Publishing (WOW) and creating unique book marketing ideas for the best-selling book, YOU are a BADASS, by Jen Sincero. Kathleen owns her own publicity firm, KMSPR, and writes about publishing and her experiences to help authors, newbie and seasoned, to understanding publishing and do right by their books on her Substack at KathleenSchmidt.Substack.com.
She offers listeners the opportunity to reach her directly at publishingconfidential@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to chat about hiring her as your publicist.
In Part Two, of our two-part podcast interview, Kathleen shares…:
…her opinions on book reviews: industry trades and other book reviews… do they move the needle to book sales? The post that she mentions on air that covers book promotion is Book Publicity: What Works and What Doesn’t
…why sales and publicity must align in your book marketing plan
…the story behind the publicity for YOU are a BADASS by Jen Sincero (on the best-sellers list for for over 100 weeks.
…why an unknown author needs to “think out of the box” and come up with a creative publicity idea. Kathleen shares examples!
..some examples of book promotion that does NOT work in Kathleen’s experience.
… warning signs for book promotion services that are predatory.
… more examples of the services she provides for authors!
Kathleen has 25+ years in the book publishing industry. She is president of KMSPR, a strategy, marketing, PR and branding firm focusing on authors, publishers, and publishing adjacent entities.
I found Kathleen by searching “book promotion” on Substack and found a post that mentioned Jon Hamm and that was it for me… It is titled What Book Publishing Can Learn from Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Confess Fletch. Have a notebook by your side as you read her substack because each post is chock full of great information, resources, book recommendations and other fun stuff.
Thanks for listening and tune in for more great guests with information and tips on publishing and book marketing and promotion.
You can contact me with any questions at wjcwolk@gmail.com.
Finally, a reminder for writers out there who are ready to start to write their book! Now is the time to Sit & Write!
The Annual Sit & Write Course, with Kate Brenton (Rebirth, The Golden Thread) starts Sept 7th - sign up today … learn all about it at the link. If you are ready to get started on your book and learn a bit about book marketing as you write to get ahead of the book publishing and sales game, follow the link to sign up today.
What A Publicist Can Do For Your Book, Pt Two