Q&A With Kathleen Schmidt 

I’m so delighted to be doing this Q&A with Book Marketing & Communications Specialist & the founder of Kathleen Schmidt Publications, Kathleen Schmidt! 

Q: Kathleen, what made you passionate about the publishing industry? In your bio I read that your firm specializes in creating media & branding strategies for authors in their books! That is so exciting! 

A: I’ve been a reader since I was very young. My love for literature led me to be an English major in college, and I knew I wanted to work in book publishing (even though I barely knew anything about it!). The idea of being surrounded by books sounded terrific to me. One of my heroes was Jackie Kennedy, and I wanted to be an editor…until I was offered a low salary for an editorial assistant position in the late 1990s. A publicity assistant job was published in The New York Times, and I got the job. I was then drawn to connecting authors and books to the media. I’ve been fortunate in my career. I’ve worked with numerous authors to get their careers to the next level. On the flip side, I’ve also worked with authors who have been challenging to break out, but when they do, it is gratifying. 

Q: I want to know your journey about pursuing a book marketing & communications specialist! Did you have to go to college to pursue book marketing and communications or did you apply for an internship?

A: I majored in English Literature in college and thought I’d go to law school (which I almost did). This was in the early 1990s, and being a communications major never crossed my mind. I had no idea what book publicity was until my first job as a publicity assistant. I got addicted to the dopamine hit you get when the book you’re working on gets a lot of media. I’ve always been a news junkie, so that, coupled with my love of books, brought me to the marketing and communications side of publishing.

I never did an internship because I couldn’t afford it. When I got my first full-time publishing job, I had to keep my weekend waitressing job. The industry still needs to do better by offering a living wage to workers.

Q: You’ve collaborated with several authors on every aspect of their publishing journey from book proposals, contracts to publicity campaigns & crisis management! I read on your website you’ve worked on 50 New York Times Bestsellers! Can you give a list of those New York Times Bestselling Authors you’ve worked with? 

A: Sure! I’ve worked with Al Franken, Prince, Marlo Thomas, Mika Brzezinski, Rhonda Byrne (Creator of The Secret brand), Shirley Maclaine, Bill Russell (NBA Hall of Famer), Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi, and Michelle Knight (Cleveland Kidnapping victim), Thug Kitchen brand, Lewis Howes/School of Greatness, Jodi Picoult, Diane Johnson, The Hutch Oven, Michael Cohen, Christine Pelosi, Matthew Dowd, Sammy Hagar, Alan Dershowitz, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dan Savage, The Zodiac Academy Series

Q: Have you ever collaborated with book bloggers to do interviews with authors? If you haven’t yet, you should! I would definitely interview your authors! 

A: I would love to connect with more book bloggers. Publicists face a challenge because a centralized list of book bloggers doesn’t exist. I hope that changes!

Q: What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your career and why?

A: My favorite parts of my career are working and strategizing with authors, cultivating relationships with media, reading manuscripts, and writing my newsletter on Substack, Publishing Confidential.

My least favorite part, hands down, is pitching media. It can be demoralizing because you’ll send 50-100 pitches, and if you are lucky, you’ll get a few responses—the other aspect of the job I dislike is telling authors their book isn’t getting reviews. I feel bad every time I have to do that. 

Q: What lessons have you learned in your years of book marketing & communications that you want us to know about whether we are in the publishing business or not?

A: The biggest lesson I have learned is that publishing is an unpredictable long game. It’s rare that a book takes off right away and has incredible sales numbers. Being in this industry requires patience. 

I’ve also learned that wanting to do things differently in book publishing means having a thick skin. You will hear the word “no” a lot, but you must keep going.

Q:  What’s it like knowing that your clients have been noticed in The New York Times, People, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Today, MSNBC, & USA TODAY? It sounds like a dream come true! 

A: It’s always exciting to have clients in national media, but publicists rarely have time to enjoy it because we are on to the next thing!

Q: If you were to ever become an author, what would your book be about? Would you be your own publicist and marketer, or would you have someone else, do it?

A: I’m probably going to write a memoir at some point. If I did, I’d use my contacts in the media to help get attention for it. I’m unsure if I would hire someone else because I am a self-described control freak!