Book Publicity Quotes & Sayings

Peanut butter sandwiches go perfectly well with a glass of white wine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. — Matt Haig

A boy has to peddle his book. — Truman Capote

One of the biggest differences between you and a traditionally published author is that a self-pubbed author is responsible for everything. Not just writing the book - but cover design, editing, producing, distribution, and publicity as well. — M.J. Rose

I've only suffered writer's block badly once, and that was during the writing of Chamber of Secrets. I had my first burst of publicity about the first book and it paralysed me. I was scared the second book wouldn't measure up, but I got through it! — J.K. Rowling

We are interested in stifling the sale of this book. We believe that this can be best accomplished by refusing to be stampeded into giving it publicity ... The less discussion there is concerning it the more sales resistance will be created. We therefore appeal to you to refrain from comment on this book ... It is our conviction that a general compliance with this request will sound the warning to other publishing houses against engaging in this type of venture. (Signed) Richard E. Gutstadt, Director. — Madison Grant

It's not at all uncommon for a writer to get a ton of publicity for one book and then not get as much for the next one. I don't worry about that because I try to worry about the one single part of the job I can control: the writing of the book. If I do that well, I feel, good tidings generally will follow and readers will stick with me. — Jeff Abbott

Did you know there are hundreds of sites where you can list your free Kindle book promotions and they will give you FREE publicity and promote your book to avid Kindle readers? — Tom Corson-Knowles

There's a difference between publicity and marketing. A lot of writers don't realize how much marketing goes on beyond the scenes, with sales reps and advanced reading copies, all that stuff that happens months before a book is published. — Victoria Strauss

Archaeology holds all the keys to understanding who we are and where we come from. — Sarah Parcak

Ah yes, the paradox of publicity is that even as we do it, we know it's killing off the chance of another reader happening across our book in the ideal state of innocence. — Emma Donoghue

God is present in the sweeping gesture, but the devil is in the details. — John Darnielle

And I could imagine myself searching for lost time under the tree ... — Ruth Ozeki

It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog. — J.K. Rowling

Intervention continues to be a prominent dimension of the post-cold war world. — Mike Jackson

You just have to sit down and write the next book. I mean, it's not all uncommon for a writer to get a ton of publicity for one book and then not get as much for the next one. I don't worry about that because I try to worry about the one single part of the job I can control: the writing of the book. — Jeff Abbott

What about his style?" asked Dalgliesh who was beginning to think that his reading had been unnecessarily restricted.
"Turgid but grammatical. And, in these days, when every illiterate debutante thinks she is a novelist, who am I to quarrel with that? Written with Fowler on his left hand and Roget on his right. Stale, flat and, alas, rapidly becoming unprofitable ... "
"What was he like as a person?" asked Dalgliesh.
"Oh, difficult. Very difficult, poor fellow! I thought you knew him? A precise, self-opinionated, nervous little man perpetually fretting about his sales, his publicity or his book jackets. He overvalued his own talent and undervalued everyone else's, which didn't exactly make for popularity."
"A typical writer, in fact?" suggested Dalgliesh mischievously. — P.D. James

I suppose also that watching marketing and publicity stuff play out from behind the scenes, making those plans and seeing each piece fall into place or not, each year, for each book, has made me a little more tranquil about the process for my own book than I might otherwise be. — Danielle Dutton

On the other hand, winning awards is cool. Aside from the warm fuzzy, it creates publicity, and that helps spread the word about the book.
Plus, this award was a plaque of some sort. I could have used that for all sorts of things. Obviously it would be useful for decorating the barren walls of my house and intimidating my enemies, but that's just for starters. — Patrick Rothfuss

Leave your story outside. — Kurt Vonnegut

I do need publicity but not for what I do for good. I need publicity for my book. I need publicity for my fights. I need publicity for my movie but not for helping people. Then it is no longer sincere. — Muhammad Ali

It's your choice, what you do with the moment. If you're stuck in a traffic jam, you can get angry and honk your horn, or listen to Mozart. But when you have a very specific expectation of how things should be, then, of course, you end up hurting yourself. — Deepak Chopra

What appears strange and complex becomes stranger and more complicated once you begin to investigate it. That's the true nature of the world. — Bilal Tanweer

I'm not prepared to have someone tell me there is only one view of what Europe is. Europe isn't owned by any of them, Europe is owned by all of us. — Tony Blair

It's not even so much about publicity, it's more just letting people know that things are available, because books aren't a flash in the pan thing. It's more like: "It took 20 years for this book to be done and now it'll be on a shelf for 20 years until the right person finds it." — Ian Christe

It helps when 1 can send the children off to their fathers so I can support my new book with a national publicity tour. I started writing the book when my daughter was 5. It took me almost four years. — Meg Tilly

He never hears the truth about himself by not wishing to hear it. Pope Alexander — Barbara W. Tuchman

As a Shark, I've been in the tank with these entrepreneurs and I can tell you Rachel gets right to the heart of how they succeeded," said Barbara Corcoran in her endorsement of the book. "'Shark Tank MOMpreneurs' is a must read for anyone looking to learn the inside secrets of getting on 'Shark Tank' and landing a deal, or getting the publicity that's essential for any successful business. — Rachel A. Olsen

Fashions change, and with the new psychoanalytical perspective of the postwar period [WWII], child rearing became enshrined as thespecial responsibility of mothersany shortcoming in adult life was now seen as rooted in the failure of mothering during childhood. — Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Publicity doesn't work for books. It really doesn't. All it does is get your name in front of a reader who might then glance at your book. Or not. — Kristine Kathryn Rusch

New York is the place where they bind books and write blurbs and arrange the publicity and print the galleys ... But Chicago is the place where the book is lived out before it is bound and the song is sung before it is recorded. — Nelson Algren

I've actually had a copilot come out of the cockpit on a trip from L.A. to New York and ask me about Charles Manson. — Vincent Bugliosi

Many of my sharpest critics have decided to take a position of ignoring me - because they feel that by attacking me, they would draw attention to my book and give me more publicity and help me sell more books. So I think that they decided that the best thing for them to do is to say nothing. Also, I think that some of my critics simply can't refute my argument - and so it's easier for them to ignore it as well, so that they're not forced to confront the logical contradiction in their own position. — Bruce Bartlett

Some people are meant to fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together. — Scott Neustadter

It is my conviction that the personality of the writer has nothing to do with the literate product of his mind. And publicity in this case embarrasses me because I am acutely conscious of how far short the book falls of the artistry I am struggling to achieve. It's like being caught half-dressed. — Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Whenever I visit Korea she [Kang] buys me lunch and takes me to a gallery. As if all this wasn't enough, she has incredible respect for translation as a creative, artistic practice - she insists that each English version is 'our book', offered to share her fees with me when she found out I wasn't getting paid for translating her publicity stuff, always asks the editor to credit me, and does so herself whenever she's interviewed. Too good to be true. — Deborah Smith

After 20 years of writing in basically a vacuum, I love being part of a community. I've vetted other writers' contracts for them and do publicity for free just because I like a book. Some people think of it as hubris or careerism, but I love to champion books. You can't use your whole sphere of influence just to help yourself. — Jonathan Evison

You have to be smart enough to see the world for yourself and honest. The whole book-publicity thing is not really honest, at base. — Ethan Canin

There's nothing like privacy. You know, I like people. It's nice that they might like my books and all that ... but I'm not the book, see? I'm the guy who wrote it, but I don't want them to come up and throw roses on me or anything. I want them to let me breathe. — Charles Bukowski

He'd had his own book published, Across the High Frontier - the one years before The Right Stuff or Yeager! - so he wasn't shy when it came to publicity. — Donald K. Slayton