WaterBrook Press Publicist Kelly Blewett ~ Interviewed

Kelly Blewett works in the publicity department of WaterBrook Press. She is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where she earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband Ken (returning home from Iraq!!!), reading, brewing delicious pots of coffee and organizing blog campaigns!

Of all the creative author marketing and publicity you've encountered what effort has provided the most effective results for both the publisher and the author?

I’m not sure exactly how creative this is, but it’s definitely effective for an author to consider all the types of readers who will be interested in their novel--and then formulate specific strategies to publicize to those folks. Sometimes when we ask authors about their target market, we hear "all women between twenty and fifty." That's fine, but it's more effective to say "Well, there's a strong pro-life message in my story, and one of my characters is in the military." That's what Bob Elmer said about his recent release, Like Always, and that helped me form a specific plan to approach pro-life outlets as well as websites for military personnel.

Of all the marketing and publicity angles you've seen – what would you suggest that an author not do or not invest in?

Don’t approach media directly without talking to your publicist! There seems to be a strong emphasis on novelists taking the lead on their publicity. While being a self-starter will produce results, I recommend working closely with your publicity team to make sure efforts don't crossover. I recently had an author who contacted a well-known blogger to review her book-and I had already sent along a review copy! These crossovers just make the author and the publicist look out of sync and unprofessional.

Do you see a difference in book success between an author who lets the publicity department run with the book, vs. an author who works to make their book known?

I think an author should ALWAYS do both: Let the publicity department run with the book (after all that is our job!) AND work to make your book known. As Liz said in her interview, the best publicity campaigns almost always involve the author and the publicist working hard together. Understand what you can bring to the table: the deepest and most profound understanding of your book (you know how it connects to your life, where it came from, why you wrote it), and contacts from a variety of sources (reviewers from a hometown paper, a list of radio stations that you’ve been on in the past, a high-profile person who may be uniquely interested in promoting your story).

By thinking broadly and creatively about how the book could be positioned, and who you personally know that can help the campaign, you’re prepared to equip your publicist to run a better campaign for the book. In turn, the publicist will bring a huge list of media contacts, experience in promoting novels and hopefully savvy spins to make your topic especially relevant for various kinds of media.

Are there any personal touches that you can recommend to authors who might be very introverted and begin palpitating at the thought of crowds?

I suppose it would depend on what kind of crowd you're facing! Remember the reason you’re connected to these people. If you’re at ICRS and panic at the thought of leaving your hotel room, remember that everyone in that room LOVES books and is a fellow Christian. If you’re nervous before a signing, remember that the people you’ll be meeting are there because they love your book! If you attend a writers conference and clam up at the thought of sharing your work, remember that the people there are fellow writers and future friends. I think we work in a very kind industry, filled with people who are available and with whom you probably have a great deal in common.

What kind of results are you seeing from your blog tours?

I love blog campaigns! It’s such a fun way to raise an author’s online profile. But beyond creating buzz, I do think that blog campaigns lead to book sales. We’ve noticed, particularly with one campaign, that blog readers bought the book, resulting in a large buy-in from Amazon. While it’s hard to say how much blog campaigns lead to sales, there is a correlation there. It’s an excellent grass-roots publicity tool, both for writers and for readers looking to stay informed about the newest releases.

What have you learned since you started blog tours?

I’ve learned not to put your bloggers in a box! Our WaterBrook Multnomah blogger list has enjoyed reviewing everything from fiction books, to parenting books to devotionals. These bloggers are just avid readers, ready to give an opinion on almost any kind of book. It’s fun to work with such passionate readers.

What changes have you noticed in fiction recently? Do you find these changes good or not so good, explain your answer.

The consensus seems to be that Christian fiction is a higher quality now than ever before—the books are not nearly as “cookie cutter” nor the characters as one-dimensional as perhaps they once were. I also think the writing is all-around better J. I find these changes to be satisfying, and I think fiction from Christians is reaching more readers than ever before.

Bonnie Calhoun recently wrote that Christian fiction is the largest growing segment in the publishing industry. That’s a great thing for all of us who love to read, write and promote it!

What one or two things could you share with Novel Journey readers that might surprise them regarding bookselling?

It seems that many Christians are going to Barnes & Noble and Borders these days to pick up new inspirational reads--and correspondingly these major chains are really interested in the newest Christian fiction. Check out The Christian Book Reader, a free magazine distributed at Borders nationally that features new Christian books (produced by Strang).

Even though this development is cool as it indicates that our market is widening, it dismays many wonderful booksellers who own Christian independents. Keep shopping locally!

Personally -- what are your favorite genres?

Honestly I’ll read just about anything! I love coming-of-age stories, sassy stories of young women caught in an improbable situation, sweeping romances, spare poetry and especially a well written essay collection. But I’ll take memoirs, biographies and mass market suspense titles, too.

Favorite books or authors?

You should know better than to ask a publicist! I truly enjoy our WaterBrook titles—Cindy Woodsmall’s books I read in giant gulps (then long for more!). Jane Kirkpatrick’s gutsy women inspire me. Lisa Samson and Geof Wood are deliciously quirky, and Jeffrey Overstreet turns a wonderful sentence. But beyond the WaterBrook faves, I’d have to add that I love the humor of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, and almost anything written by Jerry Spinelli makes me smile (especially Stargirl). Mary Oliver, Annie Dillard, Anne Lamott and Barbara Kingsolver have been wonderful companions for the journey, too.

If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists what would it be?

Keep writing!