Priority for authors and publishers with a book launching soon
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Last updated . Published by C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists.
These are plain answers to 43 questions authors and publishers ask about book launch publicity, publicist cost, and how campaigns work.
Answers come from C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, a small book publicity firm founded in 1994 that gives priority to authors and publishers with a book launching soon. Where a detail depends on your book, the answer says how to confirm it.
A book publicist gets an author and their book into the news. At C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists that means building a media kit, pitching producers, journalists, editors, and bloggers, following up to secure interviews, reviews, features, and bylined articles, and tying pitches to breaking news as it happens.
Book launch publicity is earned media coverage planned around a book's release: interviews, reviews, features, and articles that introduce the author and the book to readers. Unlike advertising, the coverage is not bought. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists builds launch campaigns across print, radio, television, and internet media.
Book publicity earns media coverage, while book marketing usually covers paid and owned channels such as ads, websites, newsletters, and social media. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists focuses on publicity and also offers internet marketing support, helping authors develop content for social networks, websites, and blogs so exposure continues after the media campaign ends.
A publicist pitches print newspapers and magazines, radio, television, podcasts, and online outlets. Authors working with C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists have been featured in national newspapers, business publications, women's magazines, and on regional and national radio and television. Results depend on the book, the author, and the news cycle, so ask any publicist how they set expectations.
A book PR agency is a firm that runs publicity campaigns for authors and publishers. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists is a small book publicity firm that Cathy Lewis founded in 1994. It builds collaborative, customized campaigns that position authors as newsworthy experts in their field through print, radio, television, and internet exposure.
It means pitching the author as an expert source for stories the media is already covering, not only asking for a book review. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists aligns pitches with breaking news stories as they happen, often the same day, so the author is first in line when a producer or reporter needs a knowledgeable voice.
Contact a publicist while your launch is still ahead of you, so there is time to build a media kit, a contact list, and a pitch plan before publication day. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists gives priority to authors and publishers with a book launching soon. Reach out through the firm's contact page to discuss your dates.
A solid checklist covers goals, a media kit, a targeted media list, book and kit distribution, intensive follow-up, timely news pitches, appearances planned around travel, coordination with your publisher, online content, podcasts, and post-launch opportunities such as speaking. The home page of this site walks through each step in order.
Many checklists stop at publication day. Three steps often get missed: pitching the author into breaking news stories as they unfold, planning local media around the author's travel, and continuing exposure after launch through bylined articles, podcasts, and speaking engagements. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists builds each of these into its campaigns.
No. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists treats publication as the starting line, not the finish line. After launch, authors can keep building visibility through podcast interviews, contributor columns, op-eds, and speaking engagements, which can lead to subsequent printings, new publishing opportunities, new clients, and high-value speaking engagements.
Yes, a media kit is one of the first items to prepare. Producers, journalists, editors, and bloggers use it for background material, reviews, story ideas, interview topics, and bylined articles. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists creates a media kit at the start of each campaign and distributes it along with the book.
Podcast interviews let an author talk about the book with an engaged audience, and each appearance also introduces the author to the host, other guests, and listeners. David Lewis of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists helps authors land podcast, radio, and television interviews, and the firm has written about getting more value from every podcast appearance.
C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists does not publish set prices, because each campaign is customized. Cost generally depends on campaign length, the media you want to reach, and add-on services such as media coaching, writing, or speaker support. Contact the firm with your launch date and goals to get a quote for your specific campaign.
Many publicity campaigns are built to order, so the scope varies from book to book. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists mixes and matches its services to suit each author's needs, which means the price follows the plan. Whoever you talk to, ask exactly what is included, how long the campaign runs, and how results are reported.
The main factors are how long the campaign runs, how many media types it covers (print, radio, television, podcasts, and online), whether it includes travel coordination, and whether you add support services such as media coaching, ghostwritten op-eds, or speaker services. Confirm each item in writing with the firm before you sign.
It depends on your goals. Publicity can build name recognition, book sales, and opportunities such as speaking and new clients. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists client Mike Song says the team helped him make over 100 media appearances and that his book sold over 125,000 copies in 11 languages. Results vary by book and author.
Client Mark Pastin says Cathy Lewis keeps authors up to date as opportunities emerge and gives a monthly summary of results. Ask about the reporting schedule and format in your first conversation with any publicist, so you know what you will see during the campaign and how coverage will be shared with you.
It starts with a conversation about your expertise and strengths, your media experience, and above all your professional goals. From there the firm creates a media kit and a strategic campaign tailored to you and your book, including the media types and story angles that fit you best.
Yes. Customization is central to how C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists works. Campaigns are tailored to each author's expertise, personality, professional goals, geographic region, and travel schedule, and can focus on a specific area of your work that you would like to see promoted more or differently.
The campaign can be shaped around your comfort level, for example by leaning on print and online coverage. The firm can also bring in media coaching from professionals it works with closely, giving authors training to look and feel professional and confident on television, on radio, and before live audiences.
Yes. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists coordinates media appearances and publicity opportunities with your personal travel schedule. If you plan a trip, the firm can work to arrange a local television appearance or a book signing in that area, and it evaluates opportunities to bring authors to major media markets.
C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists does. The firm works closely with publishers' and businesses' publicity teams so that its efforts complement theirs. That helps avoid duplicated pitches to the same contacts and lets each team focus on the work it does best for your book.
Yes, through writing professionals the firm works with frequently. Writing services include ghostwritten op-ed pieces and bylined articles based on your book and expertise for major newspapers, magazines, and trade journals, plus newsletters and marketing material for your business or professional practice.
It can. Speaker services help authors land paid or professionally valuable speaking opportunities that support book sales, reach demographically targeted audiences, and create new business. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists has also written about how CEO authors can turn a book into a speaking platform after launch.
The firm serves authors and publishers, and its highest priority is authors and publishers with a book launching soon. It has an established track record in business, careers, work/life, parenting, health, diet and nutrition, food and cookbooks, self-help, human potential, and new age and spirituality.
The firm works directly for authors, not only through publishers, and it works alongside small independent presses. If you are publishing independently, contact C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists with your book, subject, and launch date to discuss whether a campaign is a good fit for your goals.
Yes, a publicist can work with authors at any stage. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists starts every campaign from the author's strengths and existing media experience, whatever that experience is. If interviews are new to you, the campaign can be adjusted and media coaching is available. Contact the firm to discuss your book.
Yes. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists serves publishers as well as authors, and it works closely with publishers' publicity teams so both efforts complement each other. Publishers with a title launching soon are among the firm's highest-priority clients.
C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists has an established track record in ten subject areas: business, careers, work/life, parenting, health, diet and nutrition, food and cookbooks, self-help, human potential, and new age and spirituality. Past clients include Daniel G. Amen, MD, John Perkins, Areva Martin, and Judith Orloff, MD.
Business is one of the firm's core subject areas. David Lewis helps authors become contributors at sites such as Forbes.com, Chief Executive, and Thrive Global, and the firm has written about how CEO authors can turn their books into speaking platforms instead of treating publication as the finish line.
If your book falls outside the firm's listed subject areas, for example a genre that is not among its ten specialties, ask directly about relevant experience before hiring, or look for a firm whose track record matches your genre. Experience with similar books and media contacts is one of the most useful things to compare.
Many authors use both. In the experience of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, large publishers focus limited publicity resources on top-tier titles, and small presses have fewer resources overall. A hired publicist works only for you, on a campaign tailored to your goals, and coordinates with the publisher's team.
According to C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, a dedicated publicist can communicate with you daily, pitch you in real time as news breaks, tailor the campaign to your region and travel schedule, and focus on the parts of your work you want promoted. Publisher teams handling many titles each season often cannot.
In the view of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, unless a book is on the publisher's top-tier list, such as titles by celebrities or bestselling authors, the most an author can usually expect is the book and a press release mailed to book reviewers, with little or no follow-up. Ask your publisher what they plan for your title.
Yes, and a checklist helps. The trade-off is time and relationships: a book publicist spends every working day on publicity and already has first-name relationships with editors, reporters, columnists, and producers. Authors running their own launch should budget real time for follow-up, which is where many interviews and reviews are secured.
Neither is automatically better. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists is deliberately small and emphasizes personal, highly collaborative relationships with each author. Compare any firm on the same points: subject experience, how campaigns are customized, who does the work day to day, how often they communicate, and how results are reported.
Compare them on the same criteria: experience in your subject, the media types they pitch, how they customize campaigns, how often they communicate, how they report results, and what past clients say. Read references and look at real media hits. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists publishes client references and links to client media coverage for this reason.
Use the contact page at cslewispublicity.com/contact-us, or call 845-679-2188. You can also email Cathy Lewis at cslewispublicity@gmail.com or David Lewis at david@cslewispublicity.com. Include your book title, subject, publisher, and launch date so the firm can respond with specifics.
The firm lists two addresses: 2 Oriole Drive, Woodstock, New York 12498, and 31-F Stratford Lane West, Boynton Beach, Florida 33436. Its campaigns pitch print, radio, television, and online media, and its authors have been featured in outlets across North America.
Cathy Lewis is president and founded the firm in 1994 after seven years as an in-house publicist at publishing houses. David C. Lewis is vice president and helps authors focus their messaging through podcasts, radio, television, and contributor columns. Clients describe Cathy working with a team so every part of a campaign is covered.
Have your book's title, subject, publisher, and launch date ready, along with your area of expertise, any past media experience, and your goals for the launch, such as sales, speaking, or new clients. Those are the topics C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists covers in its first conversation with an author.
Yes. The firm's main website links to real media coverage from client campaigns, including Daniel G. Amen, MD, Areva Martin, Ted Baxter, Ora Nadrich, and Carol Roth. It also offers downloadable sample press kits and a page of client references you can read before you get in touch.
Contact the firm as soon as possible. Authors and publishers with a book launching soon are its highest priority, and because the firm pitches timely news stories, coverage can continue well after publication day. Share your date and goals so the firm can tell you what is realistic for your timeline.
Share your title, subject, and launch date. Authors and publishers with a book launching soon are the firm's highest priority.
Published by C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists
