Episode #76: Publicizing Books During a Pandemic
Grace and Alvina are joined by guest Siena Konscol, Associate Director of Publicity at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. They discuss what a publicist does, and how that job has changed during the pandemic.
But first…”How have you been?”
Alvina has been great because she is spending time in Vermont now while she works remotely. Her older cat survived the car trip! She even got to stop by and see Grace on her drive up!
Alvina holding one of Grace’s chickens!
Grace just found out that her daughter’s school is going into full remote mode which has made some decision making a little bit easier now. Her new printer just arrived so that is exciting news!
Siena has been visiting safely with some friends, dodging the tropical storm Isaias, and recently attended a bachelorette zoom party!
Publicizing in the pandemic…
Siena opens with a little explanation of her job as a publicist before the pandemic and what has changed a bit now. The biggest change is how most of the events have gone virtual. There are some benefits to that. These publicity events used to be geographically based, so now people from all over the place can join them instead of just those from that specific location. Grace asks, “Do you think the virtual events are more effective?”. Siena comments on how it’s a little harder to track book sales to a particular event, but there’s more room for discoverability. For example, people can easily share a link to the event, the book, etc…The events stay online for awhile so that spreading the word becomes very easy.
Another question from Grace, “How do you make events distinctive in their own ways?” We learn from Siena that this is the key to separating events from one another since there are so many out there now. She told the book friends that they basically try to come up with special themes or make them interactive with games. They talked about zoom fatigue and how crucial it is to set yourself apart if you’re having a virtual event. This reminded Siena of the Aaron Reynolds videos that he made for kids that were really funny and creative! She mentioned that anything where authors can be “relatable” to their readers is very helpful like artists showing fans where they work, their homes, their pets, etc…
Alvina asks Siena if she thinks anything will change permanently in the publicizing world. Her answer is that yes, there probably will be some events that remain virtual just because of the accessibility. Sometimes people can’t travel so virtual events will still be appealing. Alvina mentions the SCBWI event that she and Grace just did a Q&A for and that had so many more viewers (online) than if they had held the event in-person like normal.
“Are there certain books you find easier to publicize now more than others?” Grace asks Siena. She explains that true crime is on the rise and anything that takes people to a different world for sure.
What we are grateful for…
Grace is grateful that her nostalgic book, Dim Sum for Everyone, won the Phoenix Picture Book Award from the Children’s Literature Association! First presented in 2013, the Phoenix Picture Book Award will be given to the author and/or illustrator, or the estate of the author and/or illustrator of a book for children first published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award at the time of its publication but which, from the perspective of time, is deemed worthy of special attention.
Alvina is honored and grateful to be on the jury for the Society of Illustrator’s Original Art Show! Grace is also the assistant chair!
Siena is continuously grateful for her partner and the cat that she has been living with through the pandemic. She’s grateful for her friend that lives close by and for everyone trying to stay connected through all of this.
Other books and media mentioned in this episode:
