Note: This post was published in 2014 to a site that aimed to help self-published authors. In the years since, much has changed in the industry and pulling off a feat like the one described by the author I call “John” has become much harder. My advice to authors looking to self-publish today is much less sanguine. You will always be better off creating the best book you can and trying to sell it to a traditional publisher.
As a publicist, I get a lot of calls from folks who are interested in getting publicity for their self-published book.
The other day I got a call from a lovely older lady, we’ll call her Esther. Esther is an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor who has quite a heroic tale of survival and rebirth in America. She had self-published a memoir at the end of 2012 with Createspace, and despite having lined up a fair number of library speaking engagements and getting a review in Kirkus Indie (a pay-for-review service), she came to me because she said she needed “professional help with publicity to create more buzz and sell more books.”