Industry Watch: Literary PR Agency
July 2005

Q&A with Marika Flatt, Owner, PR by the Book

Q: How long have you been in PR?
I've been in public relations for eight years. After graduating from college, I worked at a literary agency for almost seven years. Then three years ago I started my own business, working with small business publicity. I started out by moonlighting.

After I left the literary agency a year and a half ago to work full time in my own agency, my business mushroomed. I still do small business publicity, but there's a real demand for literary PR.

Q. What was the path you followed to launching your own PR agency?
Five - six years ago, a number of people said I could have my own agency. I said no at the time because I didn't think I was entrepreneurial enough. But I watched my old agency grow to 20 people very quickly. Along with being the "face" of the agency to the media because of the relationships I developed, I managed a huge team, so I gained the experience. And I have a lot of faith in my skills. I watched a friend start her own business and modeled myself after her, waiting until my company was functioning well before I resigned from my job. I was never scared because by then I knew I would be successful.

There are things about running my own business that are not my favorite, but I'm fortunate because my husband does the business side - the information technology, invoices, operations, et cetera. That leaves me free to work the PR side and manage the publicists.

Q: What does a typical workday look like for you?
I spend a lot of time talking with potential clients. I do the sales for my agency, traffic books to media, check in with clients, and manage and delegate. Plus I do the media, most of it by email because I've developed relationships and the media people trust me. I spend four hours or more a day on email. I spend another two hours with potential clients or the publicists. I also do a lot of editing of press releases. It easily adds up to an eight-hour day.

Q: Tell us about some of your clients. What are some of your favorite events or launches?
Books and authors are a dime a dozen, and we compete by focusing on expertise and what an audience can get out of a book. One of my clients is Tom Mast who wrote "Over a Barrel: A Simple Guide to the Oil Shortage" (2005). Our publicity campaign began in January of this year and gained steady momentum. It's a very timely topic, and the media need Tom's expertise to talk on the oil issue. Last week Tom spoke at the United Nations.

Another client is Ann Kulze, M.D. who wrote "Dr. Ann's 10-step Diet: a Simple Plan for Permanent Weight Loss and Lifelong Vitality." Diet books have glutted the market and there's a lot of competition, so the challenge was to make her book stand out. We sell our people to the media. Much of what we accomplish is a result of the relationships we've formed with the media. Then the media reaches consumers. This campaign was unique because of how long it has lasted - 12 months. We've been successful because we've gotten Dr. Ann and her book featured in a number of national women's magazines. I'm really proud of that.

I'll mention one other client, a small business called the Old Glory Ranch located in the hill country of Wimberley, Texas. My agency began working with the owner in November. Her one goal was to have coverage of her daughter's wedding at the ranch in a national wedding magazine. We got peripheral media coverage during the campaign, but it took seven and a half months to get confirmation from "Bride's Magazine" that they would cover the wedding. The goal was pretty smart because Old Glory is in business to host weddings, receptions and other events.

Q: What would you describe as the high point so far of your career? How about the low point?
The high point was working on a very specific campaign for "Revolve." The campaign started two and a half years ago when I was still with the literary agency. We landed the product, a bible that looks like a teen magazine. It was so far out there that no one knew how the campaign would go. But it was wildly successful. There have been a lot of spots on TV and radio about it and now the company has a whole of line of bible magazines, similar to what's happened for the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, which has 101 titles. Revolve's success has been a real turning point for me. It gave me the confidence to run my own company.

I can't name a low point. I've been very lucky. I worked for a company for seven years where I had a lot of freedom and got my wings. With my own company there's been steady success.

Q: What are some of the best practices you see in PR today? Have you seen changes in best practices from when you began in PR?
A big difference I see from eight years ago is developing email relationships with media. There are people I have never talked with on the phone and have never met who trust me. It's all through email. Yet eight years ago, I didn't even have an email address.

Another change is, there are more and more PR people out there competing to get attention. You have to be more creative and do more of the media's job for them, such as pitching ideas to them or bringing in experts to be guests on shows.

Q. What skills are absolutely essential for a budding PR Professional to survive in this field?
They have to be very organized, detail-oriented and thorough. They have to get used to having a lot of balls in the air without dropping any. Being approachable is very important - being someone the media and clients enjoy talking with. Also, clients need to feel that their publicist is there 24/7 for them and cares about their success.

Integrity and ethics are very important. All we really have is our reputation. I do feel that if you wrong someone it will come back to haunt you.

Q: What changes do you predict for the PR industry over the next few years?
More outsourcing. Telecommuting. Freelancing. Consulting. Publishing House PR Departments are shrinking, but there are more books than ever, and outsourcing is a good economical choice for them. So there are more and more at home contractors. Starting an at-home office is very easy.

I also see fewer mailings. Eight years ago we sent out many press kits and press releases via mail. Now we have virtual press kits, and we do little mailing except by request. Much is done by email.

Q. Anything you would like to add?
From day one I have always loved my job. It fits me like a glove. Not many people can say that, so I know how lucky I am.