After you sign with a press, your editor -- or, more likely, his or her assistant -- will ask for a list of contacts, people you know who might help publicize your book. However, don't sit back passively waiting on an overworked publicist to get those review copies out. Take the initiative to get your book reviewed yourself. Here's how.
Before you sign your contract, increase the number of author copies you'll receive. The extra copies cost the publisher little, so this is one thing they'll probably be willing to give you. If they do protest, explain that you will use them to publicize your book.
Then make a list of reviewers, bloggers, and journal editors who tend to review works like yours. (Self-publishing? Check out Self-Publishing Review for sure.) Include a wide range of writers on your list, not just the big boys and girls. And don't ignore your local media.
Next, draft a letter pitching your book, based on the query letter you sent to agents, and hunt down their contact info. These days, you're more likely to find email addresses, which is fine. Email them asking if they'd like a review copy. With any luck, you'll get some responses, and then a mention or a review. If nothing else, it's one more person in the literary world who will have heard your name.
Return to "Book Promotion for Creative Writers."