Working as a literary publicist may appear to be a dream job. For the uninitiated, a career in this field would appear to entail rubbing shoulders with famous authors, attending gala receptions, scheduling television and radio interviews, and participating in highly publicized book signing sessions. However, as with most professions, the truth differs significantly from the fiction. While a small percentage of those who work as literary publicists live the high life, the average publicist works in the trenches. Finding such a job, or at the very least one that pays well, is no easy task.
To work as a literary publicist, you’ll need an education that emphasizes language, literature, and the finer points of grammatical perfection. Because a publicist spends so much of his time trying to persuade bookstores or chains to carry the works offered by the publishing house or literary agency for which he works, you should also have sales or business experience. The sales and publicity departments of a publishing house or agency frequently work together. In smaller businesses, the publicity and sales teams may be the same person.
Gaining experience in three different sectors will give you the best chance of becoming a literary publicist. To begin, you should have a solid understanding of sales. The best salespeople are born with the gift of gab and have the ability to persuade the buyer that their product is essential.
Next, and equally important, you should try to work as an intern at a publishing house or a reputable literary agency for a period of time. Making coffee, typing letters, scheduling appointments, picking up doughnuts, and answering the phone will take up a lot of this time, at least at first. Though it isn’t a glamorous job, literary agents work at a breakneck pace and are quick to delegate ever-increasing responsibilities to their most capable and trusted employees. You’ll make invaluable contacts in the publishing industry as a result of this job, and you might even end up working as a publicist for the agent himself.
Working as an editor or editorial assistant is the final crucial step, which is not required but highly beneficial. Your editing skills will not help you become a literary publicist on their own, but having such a background impresses the human resources people at publishing houses. Always keep in mind that only a small percentage of people begin their careers as literary publicists. Internal promotion, good connections, and an almost superhuman ability to accept large amounts of rejection are the most common ways to land this job.