Q&A With Leah Paulos

So excited to be doing this Q&A with the founder of Press Shop PR www.PressShopPR.com & Book Publicity School www.BookPublicitySchool.com & Book Publicist Leah Paulos! Leah has been in the book publicity business for over twenty-five years! 

Q: Leah, welcome to Book Notions! Did you always want to be a book publicist?  And where did your love of reading come from? 

A: Thrilled to connect with you and your readers! No, I didn’t even seriously consider committing to literary publicity until several years into my career journey. Even after I began navigating the world of media from the promotion side, I was working with brands and organizations for a while before establishing a regular client base of writers and publishers. But it does feel like I’ve found the perfect niche for what I love to do and know how to do well. I love the fast pace, how many human relationships are involved, and the challenge of navigating an overcrowded media ecosystem to help authors reach their target readers in all the most effective ways. My work exposes me to so many incredible writers and books that I genuinely believe have the capacity to improve the world—from environmental scientists with books explaining their research on curbing climate change, to novels I can’t put down (even after hours), to educational and parenting psychologists whose books share tips that have changed my perspective on how I connect with my two boys…I feel so lucky to have found this path.

Q: Did you go to college or apply for an internship to become a publicist? 

A: I majored in English at Cornell and applied for an editorial internship at a magazine right after I graduated. That internship turned into a three year stint at a small arts and entertainment magazine. From there, I worked for Condé Nast before branching out independently as a writer and editor for several national magazines. I use the skills I learned as a writer and editor every day as a book publicist. It’s the same stuff — storytelling, compelling writing, creating polished copy that’s ready to meet the world. As an editor I fielded pitches from publicists, so I got my experience from the other side of the publicist-journalist relationship.  In that role I was extremely demanding about what would get my attention, and I applied those same exacting standards to publicity. I also learned the things that make it easier for an editor to cover a book and the things that make it harder, and that’s such a big part of being a publicist: make it as easy as possible for a journalist to spotlight what you want!

Q: Over the last twenty-five years as a publicist, what have you learned that you want everyone to know—whether they want to become a publicist or for an author to get a publicist? 

A: For better or worse, the media landscape has changed dramatically. A lot of the traditional gatekeepers are no longer in charge of all the “modes” of outreach or places to contact, and therefore there are a lot of new opportunities. Instead of a few monolith ‘top tier’ book coverage outlets, it is now essential for authors to think about pitching media coverage to a range of different modes: topic or genre or craft-of-writing or author-story coverage for print and online outlets, audio formats like radio and podcasts, and personal newsletters. It’s also worth it to do some of your own posting to Facebook groups, event listings, etc. The biggest thing authors need to know is that there’s a lot they can do AND that it does take some time and effort. I know this isn’t an appealing concept for many writers, but it is important to think of themselves as business people and their book as a new product they’re launching. Give media outlets a hook beyond ‘publication of a book’ and make sure—in all things—you’re being as concise and punchy as humanly possible. 

Q: If you were to become an author yourself, what would your book be about? Would you become your own publicist, or would you hire someone to represent you?

A: We do so much work at Book Publicity School sharing the insights we’ve learned from being on the frontlines of publicity, so we have considered putting it all together into a book for authors. That might be something that’s coming down the pipeline in the next couple years. And I’d absolutely lead my team as the publicists on the project. One of the things that’s necessary to be a good publicist is to deeply engage with the project and have it in the back of your mind all the time, so you come up with new ideas when you’re reading articles, on social media, walking down the street, etc. And that comes naturally to me. 

Q: Leah, would you talk a little bit about Press Shop & Book Publicity School? 

A: Press Shop PR offers independent book publicity campaigns to authors and publishers. My team and I harness our expertise in crafting effective pitches, our long list of journalist contacts, and our ability to navigate the rapidly changing media world in order to line up as many reviews, articles, excerpts, and podcast/radio/TV interviews as possible. Our publicity campaigns regularly help authors gain national coverage in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, TODAY, The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and countless spots on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, SiriusXM, BBC, and CBC, plus hundreds of other top-tier print, TV, radio, and digital native outlets. I’ve spoken about book publicity at many venues, including the Columbia School of Journalism and the Authors’ Guild and on podcasts including Brad Listi’s Otherppl and Let’s Talk Memoir. 

Book Publicity School brings professional book PR support to authors and academics in the form of workshops and coaching. Powered by Press Shop PR, we leverage our years of in-the-trenches literary publicity experience to give writers the tools, strategies, and know-how they need to successfully advocate for their work. I founded and led both companies to be able to fully support a wide range of authors writing about diverse topics and across many genres.

Q: I love asking publicists this next question! Can you give a list of authors who you represent as their publicist? 

A: Some authors we’ve been delighted to advocate for include Rachel Cockerell, author of Melting Point; Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, and Melissa Febos, author of Abandon Me. We’ve also worked with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tom Nichols, and on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s final book. Other books we’ve promoted, across a range of genres, are highlighted on the Press Shop PR website. 

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite part of publicity & why? 

A: As publicists, every book we work on is like a course: we get to read the book, learn about its topic and space, and get to know the author. I love that element of job in particular, building a relationship with the author and strategizing with them to find readers and give the book its best shot

The news cycle is insane and has been for the past number of years. With everyone’s attention span being shot and inboxes being full, it’s more challenging to land hits and doing so requires more time and effort than ever before to break through the noise. But that’s one of the keys to being a good publicist: having tenacity and a good attitude!