Authors In The Media Q&A With Jessica L. Cozzi 

I have the honor and pleasure of doing this Authors In The Media Q&A with Jessica L. Cozzi. Jessica L. Cozzi recently connected me with New York Times Bestselling author Ace Atkins to do a Q&A with him and was kind enough to mail me a copy of his upcoming release Don’t Let The Devil Ride. On top of being a publicist Jessica has her own debut novel We’ve Hit Turbulence coming out in Spring of 2026. 

Q: I know publicists garner media coverage for authors connecting them with newspapers, magazines, & bloggers and work to secure interviews on radio, podcasts as well as tv. Publicists also work to arrange events at libraries, bookstores & festivals. What is your favorite part of your job as a publicist? 

A: My favorite part of being a publicist is relaying the exciting news to an author about a particular outlet or opportunity that they were looking forward to seeing their book featured in. It’s the best feeling to play a part in helping their dreams come true!

Q: How long have you been a publicist for? 

A: I’ve been a publicist for about two and a half years now – but I was a book blogger for 10+ years prior, so I utilized a lot of the same skills about shouting about my favorite books to convince people to read them! I also interned at HMH (back before the HarperCollins merger) and Hachette prior to my role at Harper, so I got a lot of great publicity experience there, too. 

Q: I know from past publicists I’ve done Q&As with some of them who said they applied for internships. One publicist, Kaitlyn Kennedy said she had a degree in English & Public Relations and then went to intern at one of the big 5 publishing houses. What was your journey like, and would you advise anyone wanting to pursue a publicist career to do what you did? 

A: Both of my degrees – a BA and an MFA – are in Creative Writing, but many of my colleagues came from wildly different academic backgrounds! If you do have an interest in writing, while an MFA isn’t necessary to get published, I’d recommend it because my program made me a lot of fantastic writing friends, and it also taught me a lot about myself as a writer, and taught me new ways to outline, sketch out characters, and draft my stories. It taught me writing tips, tricks, and skills that were important to me and helped my drafts grow. But I know that path isn’t the same for everyone!

If you’re looking to work in publishing, I think my biggest advice is to network, network, network! I swear by the book #ENTRYLEVELBOSS by Alexa Shoen, which taught me a lot of great language and tips for reaching out to people that worked in the industries I was interested in to see if they knew of any opportunities and/or were willing to chat with me about their role. And a lot of those connections stayed with me throughout my career!

Q: Kaitlyn Kennedy told me that for an author to have a publicist they should first have their book finished and then have their agent before having a publicist. Katilyn also said that authors should make sure they find the right fit and not be afraid to ask other authors what their experiences with those publicists were like. Would you give that same advice to any new authors who would want you or anyone else to represent them as their publicist? 

A: I think if you’re looking to hire an outside publicist (AKA not an in-house publicist that works for the publishing company publishing your book), often to work in tandem with your in-house publicist, asking around and getting ideas/tips from fellow authors could be very helpful! A great place to start would be to see which authors you admire in your genre have outside publicists, and if so, who – always a great way to start your research!