Last year, I came across an essay called “Book Publishing is Broken” by today’s podcast guest,
.Using her decades of experience in book PR & strategy, Kathleen laid out several reasons why traditional publishing fails writers. (If you haven’t already read that post, you’ll get to hear Kathleen’s reasons in our interview).
And the essay really stood out, not just because Kathleen presented solutions to the problems she diagnosed, but also because her perspective was clear-sighted, well-informed, but also so honest, direct, and personal.
I’ve been hooked on
, Kathleen’s Substack newsletter, ever since. With over 5,000 subscribers, I think of it as one of the must-reads for any writer looking to understand today’s publishing landscape.In our interview, we talk about that landscape, about the utility of hiring an independent publicist, and the value of creating work that reaches beyond traditional media outlets.
We also discuss why memoirs are one of the hardest categories for agents to sell right now, and what authors can consider to make their books more marketable.
Kathleen Schmidt is the Founder and President of Kathleen Schmidt Public Relations, a boutique firm specializing in branding, PR, marketing, consulting, and business strategy for authors, publishers, and booksellers. She also writes and publishes the Publishing Confidential newsletter.
After getting her start in book publishing in the mid-1990s, Schmidt went on to work for several major publishers including Pocket Books, Penguin, Plume, and Gothic Books before becoming VP of Publicity at Atria Books (Simon & Schuster). She has also served as Publicity Director at Skyhorse Publishing, and as a Literary Agent for Empire Literary.
To date, she has worked on 50 New York Times bestsellers, and her clients have continuously appeared in top-tier national print, broadcast, and radio outlets such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, Vogue, Elle, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Sirius XM.
Warning: this episode includes a brief mention of suicidal ideation. If you or someone you love is struggling with a mental health crisis, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). (In Spanish, dial 1-888-628-9454).
Some of my biggest takeaways:
Too many books and lack of marketing support are primary reasons why the publishing industry struggles.
Following up on her Substack post, I ask Kathleen about the state of publishing in 2024. She can rattle off several reasons off the top of her head—chief among these, the fact publishing puts out too many books and hasn’t updated its marketing practices the way other industries have.
“…big publishers rely heavily on the big books to make their numbers and while that's all fine and good it's not a sustainable model because eventually that's not that's going to dry up too. So there needs to be some more experimentation in the industry.”
The ramifications are profound—not just for the discoverability of new titles, but also for the long-term viability of publishing houses themselves.
Schmidt also expresses frustration over the lack of direction regarding advances and acquisitions: "It's all kind of garbled…I feel like if you're not able to pay authors an amount that they can live on, what are we doing?"
If there’s one thing you could do as an author to become better at marketing your work, it’s knowing where your readers live.
Where do your readers live when they’re not reading books? Are they are specific social media channels—Instagram? Tiktok? X (Twitter)? Facebook groups (which ones)?
Schmidt says this is the #1 thing she advises new clients. And once an author has figured this out, she says: start engaging.
“Because more often than not, you know, writers are kind of like, ‘well, I'm getting into writing my next book and that's all I want to do.’ That's great, but your next book isn't going to sell unless you sell the book that's out there right now,” Schmidt says.
If you’re an author seeking an agent and mainstream publishing deal, you’ll need a robust social media presence—or a digital surrogate.
Today authors are constantly reminded that a robust social media presence is necessary. But lives are busy and time is short. Where to concentrate one’s efforts for the biggest return?
Schmidt is a big advocate for targeted strategies and she recommends both Threads and Instagram as effective platforms.
She recommends finding an outlet that feels authentic and one where you want to hang out and engage. And if you don’t? Consider a “digital surrogate”—someone who promote you and your book on their channels.
Market oversaturation is only one reason why Schmidt calls memoir “the hardest genre for agents to sell right now”
From roughly the late 1980s through the years immediately before the pandemic, memoirs seemed to be at the center of publishing. And, well, they still are—but more and more these are likely to be celebrity memoirs, not literary ones like Wild or Educated or Eat, Pray, Love.
Earlier this month in a Substack thread, Schmidt wrote, “Memoir is the toughest category for agents to sell right now.” Given my own love for that form I naturally had to ask why.
Market oversaturation is one reason—as is the rise of social media, especially channels like Tiktok, where people can get the same fix of riveting personal stories that used to be more exclusive to memoir and personal (confessional) essays.
With the market oversaturated by similar stories, distinguishing a memoir requires more than just a riveting life story—it requires a unique angle or an additional layer of resonance such as 'Memoir Plus.”
“Everybody feels like their story is unique and is extraordinary and I don't devalue that at all. We all have our own experiences and we all sometimes feel if we just shared them with other people it would make us feel better… You really have to ask yourself is it a book or is it an essay is it a book or is it some post on social media, because the answer usually is it's just an essay or it's just some posts on social media…”
Writing and sharing personal stories can connect with audiences deeply, but authors should thoughtfully consider the platform and format.
Starting with her brave essay “A Personal Note About Mental Health,” which she published last year, Schmidt has been very open about her struggle with depression. And in fact her vulnerability and honesty are just two ingredients that makes Publishing Confidential—that second word is no accident—so compelling.
In our conversation about the aftermath of publishing that piece, Schmidt talks about the fact that everyone needs to consider their platform when sharing vulnerably.
“I believe in being authentic and as transparent as I can be without disclosing too much about my personal life. I feel like if I was put on earth for one reason and survived all that for one reason, it is to help other people.”
Additional Links:
“Do You Need to Build a Platform?” by Kathleen Schmidt, Feb 6 2024.
“Book Publishing is Broken,” by Kathleen Schmidt, July 19, 2023.
“A Personal Note About Mental Health,” by Kathleen Schmidt, May 12, 2023.
Credits
This episode was produced by Magpie Audio Productions. Theme music is "The Stone Mansion" by BlueDot Productions.
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