Q&A With Elyse Rosenberg 

While it’s always an honor and pleasure doing Q&As with authors, we often don’t realize authors have a team of people who help them get their stories out in the world for us to read. It is why I also enjoy doing Q&As with agents, marketers, editors, publicists and others with different roles in the publishing industry! Today’s Q&A is with publicist Elyse Rosenberg! 

Q: Elyse, when did you know that being a publicist was what you were called to do in life? Did you always have a passion for books? 

A: I have had a passion for books my entire life. However, I spent many years not knowing what I could do with that passion. When I researched and learned about working in publishing, I knew that publishing was where I am meant to be. 

Q: I did a Q&A with Emi Battaglia who’s also a publicist almost two years ago where she told me the difference between a publicist and a literary agent. The agent helps authors secure a publishing deal and get their stories into publishing houses. The publicist helps secure earned media coverage whether it’s tv, radio, online, & magazines etc. What is your favorite part about being a publicist and why? 

A: My favorite part about being a publicist is connecting authors with readers, and I absolutely love working with debut authors! I’m still new enough to publicity that I get excited when I see the books I’ve worked on get great media coverage, especially excited when there’s a bigger media outlet like The New York Times. 

Q: I know each publicist and agent’s journey is different so I’m always curious and interested. Did you go to college to become a publicist, or did you apply for an internship? 

A: I attended college for a completely different career path, but I chose to return to school and get my master’s in publishing from Pace. While I was at Pace, I applied for internships to determine if publicity was the right path for me. 

Q: For aspiring authors what is your advice to them on getting you or anyone as their publicist?

A: There are so many fantastic publicity firms! Publishing Trends puts together a yearly list:

https://publishingtrends.com/category/contact-sheets/

Q: How long have you been a publicist for? What wisdom over the years have you learned that you would want all of us to know? What is your advice for future publicists to get their foot in the door?

A: I have been a publicist for about two and a half years now. My advice would be to network as much as possible and to be curious about what’s going on in the publishing world. Strong verbal and written communication skills are also immensely helpful skills to have when being a publicist. 

Q: If you were ever to become an author, would you represent yourself as your own publicist or would you get someone else to do it? Would you write nonfiction or fiction? A memoir, a topic, a mystery or romance? 

A: If I were to become an author, I couldn’t be my own publicist, my expectations would be too high for myself. However, I would try to reach out to the contacts I have made in my time as a publicist for coverage! My book would be a fictionalized memoir about my life as a ballroom dancer.