Tag Archives: Ad Hudler

The Job of a Book Publicist

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My day job is that I am a book publicist. By saying, “Day Job” that can be kind of misleading because it is actually an all day, all night, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week kind of job. I love what I do because I love working with authors, coming up with original, unique and authentic ways of marketing my favorite of all commodities…BOOKS! However, there are days when I don’t 100% love my job, when the frustrations outweigh the victories. Those are usually the days when nothing seems to be going right. No one is biting. There is bigger news going on in the world and editors and producers don’t seem to care a flying fig about a book…especially if that book happens to be fiction.

Fiction tends to have the wonderful ability to land like a lead balloon on the doorsteps of most editors and producers. They really don’t know what to do with it. And that’s where my incredible originality and overall ingenious ability to turn fiction into the most newsworthy of subjects comes in handy. I am not just trying to flatter myself, I  really am that good.

Who else can turn a book about a stay-at-home dad into a political platform? (Ad Hudler’s MAN OF THE HOUSE) or turn the promotion of a romance novel into a gender issue (Susan Mallery’s SUNSET BAY)? I brought a medical thriller writer into the Hollywood spotlight (Michael Palmer’s THE SECOND OPINION) and turned a columnist into a public promoter (Lisa Genova’s STILL ALICE).

This is why I love my job. I love finding the clever hook that is going to turn a book into a hot topic. I love making people become aware of an author or novel they may have overlooked. I love creating that one spark that can launch a career. (Lori Culwell and Brunonia Barry)

Specializing

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One of the best things you can do when building your writing career is to specialize in a certain area that highlights your expertise. By continuously covering topics in the same area, you will begin to build name recognition and essentially be “branding” yourself as the go-to person for your topic of choice. Specializing helps you to acquire media placements and creates a strong readership eagerly awaiting your next book.

This is essential for non-fiction writers but can also be applied to fiction writers, as well. One of our clients, Ad Hudler, writes about being the stay-at-home dad in two of his most recent works of fiction, HOUSEHUSBAND and MAN OF THE HOUSE. Both books deal with life in the home, whether you are taking on the role of Mr. Mom or trying to bring back your macho nature while still doing all of the household chores. Ad writes about what he knows and it comes across in his work. He is an expert on the life of the American Man/Dad and what that means to his life, his masculinity and his future. He is exploring a similar theme in both of these books and therefore creating his own specialty when it comes to fiction and viewpoint. He recently provided a book review over at GalleyCat on THE SCORE by Faye Flam. The review was a great outlet for Hudler to display his unique perspective and build a following.

The more you specialize in specific areas, the better your chances are for success in publishing.

Man of the House by Ad Hudler