Spotlight Profile
November 2007
As with most things, PJ Nunn's career started out as something else entirely.
With a Masters degree in psychology, she left a job teaching at Dallas County Community College District in the mid-1990's to become a freelance writer, but found that a few favors she was doing for friends-writing press releases and setting up book signings-was better suited to her talents and her drives.
In 1998, she founded BreakThrough Promotions, now a national public relations firm helping authors, mostly of mystery novels, publicize themselves and their work.
Even in such a short period of time, BreakThrough Promotions has become a respected firm, representing many distinguished authors, like Rhys Bowen, Elaine Viets, Julia Spencer-Fleming and Denise Hamilton. The client list sometimes reaches 70 at a time, and BTP's staff has been as large as 15 associates.
Nunn says she is most proud of the fact that BTP has grown each year it has been in business, and her fondness for authors means her client list has become something more than that-in a way, PJ Nunn is still helping her friends.
PJ NUNN is the founder and president of BreakThrough Promotions. She lives with her husband and some of their five children near Dallas, TX.
IC: Can you tell us a little bit about your experiences with Sisters in Crime?
PJ: I first joined SinC over ten years ago when I first found out about the organization and had just finished my first novel. My career choices have evolved somewhat but I've been a member ever since.
IC: What can you tell us about that first novel? Was it published?
PJ: Long story short, I did find an agent and ultimately a publisher for Angel Killer, my first novel, but then my agent wanted me to pull it from the small press because she hoped to sell the series to a larger publisher. It went back and forth, through rewrites etc. and then the editor left the publishing house and the series kind of dropped through the cracks. By then I'd done enough promotion that I wasn't sure how to proceed. I'm considering reworking it a bit and letting my agent start shopping it around again.
IC: So you're still writing? Are you working on anything now?
PJ:I do still like to do a bit of writing and am doing research on a new series now.
IC: How did you become interested in crime writing?/What intrigues you about it?
PJ: I first fell in love with mystery as a child, reading Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames. As I grew up, my tastes broadened but mystery/suspense remained my favorite. Writing research papers for grad school spawned non-fiction freelancing, but I progressed to writing mystery for pleasure and one thing led to another. After working with the local police and child protective services as a counselor, I think the desire to write mystery stems at least in part from the need to be able to control the outcome in hard situations.
IC: What do you read (and whom do you read) for pleasure?
PJ: I love a wide variety of authors and writing styles, so picking any one is hard. Bob Crais was a great encourager and influence in my early writing days and will always be among my favorites, but I'm discovering new favorites all the time. Some of my more recent finds include Chris Grabenstein, Zoe Sharp, Jan Burke and a plethora of others.
IC: All wonderful mystery writers! I couldn't help but notice the clients you mentioned in your bio are also mystery authors. Do you represent authors from other genres as well?
PJ: Yes, I represent a variety of genres and non-fiction, but a huge majority of my client list falls into the mystery/suspense/thriller categories and probably always will.
IC: What influenced you to become a publicist, and why did you choose your particular niche as a publicist for writers?
PJ: Honestly, I kind of stumbled into it. I became a freelance writer by necessity when my oldest son was seriously ill and I had to stop teaching/counseling to stay home with him (he's fine now). At the same time, I was searching for an agent to represent my own novel. I was fairly active in online writers circles and had a friend whose first novel had just been released. She balked in trying to set up signings for herself so I offered to try it to see if I could help. I was able to get that first signing set up almost immediately and a second a few phone calls later. Doing similar favors turned into a hobby of sorts until a friend helped me turn it into a business. Early on, I tried marketing a few other products, but I was most familiar with books and the industry. It's what I love so it was a natural choice.
IC: Do you find being a publicist for writers more fulfilling than writing, less fulfilling, or equally fulfilling but in different ways? How so?
PJ: It's a different thing. At this point in my life, being a publicist is my "day job," and one that I enjoy a lot more than just about anything else I've done. Writing is also extremely fulfilling, whether I'm writing press releases or articles about clients or writing fiction. Kind of a "best of both worlds." Sooner or later, I'd love to see my novels in print, but it's not nearly as high a priority to me right now as helping my clients fulfill their goals.
IC: Do you ever work with other kinds of clients (i.e., clients who are not writers)?
PJ: Yes, I do work for some law enforcement and film experts.
IC: You sometimes work for law enforcement. What kinds of publicity to you generally do for them? How does it differ from what you do with authors?
PJ: Right now the only law enforcement officer I represent is Mike Witzgall, who's also a partner of sorts. He's a retired Dallas Police Officer who owns Charley-Mike Enterprises Inc. which runs several SWAT training schools per year and serves as a training consultant to law enforcement offices nationwide. He's also partner in a dive/rescue firm.
Most of what I do for him, and others along the way, is connect him with journalists who are seeking expert consultation for articles or broadcast pieces, and assist in placing articles he's written for appropriate markets. We also occasionally book broadcast interviews for them.
I've also worked with sports figures and agents on occasion such as Dwayne Levels, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals and Ernie DiStefano, who's an international sports agent and rehab consultant for the NY Parole system.
Honestly it doesn't differ a lot from what I do for authors - it's just usually promoting a business or service rather than a book.
IC: What is the best part of your work?
PJ: I'm not sure there's just one best part. First, I love working with authors. It's extremely satisfying to assist them in their efforts to let people know about their work. It's also fun to discover a new (to me, anyway) talent - especially in the form of series - and to be able to watch the author and the series grow. For the most part, I enjoy all of the different markets and people I work with every day. I've met and formed friendships with editors, publicists, journalists, radio hosts, tv producers, agents and of course booksellers all over the country. It's great fun and the mystery industry in general is quite a fascinating group of people.
IC: And what's the worst?
PJ: Hmmmmmmm. That's a little harder to define. It's always hard when I can't get a book or author the attention I'd like to get, for whatever reason. It's not all about talent, unfortunately. Sometimes it's timing; sometimes the chips just don't fall right. Sometimes it's a lack of knowledge on the author's part. Book promotion is a conglomeration of a wide variety of factors and it's very hard to identify which cause will consistently produce which effect. Even when I've done all I could with what I have to work with, it's hard when the author's disappointed with the results.
IC: How can a publicist help a writer's career?
PJ: The best things a publicist brings into the author's career are objectivity, knowledge and contacts within the industry, and professional credibility. We can all fall prey to the "can't see the forest for the trees" scenario concerning our own work sometimes. A publicist sees your work from another perspective and that can help. There aren't a lot of things I can do that an author couldn't do for him or herself, but the time factor is usually the difference. Established contacts and acquaintances can definitely improve the outcome of promotional efforts. And, however unfair it is, speaking highly of someone else's work is usually received better than speaking highly of one's own work.
IC: Are there any pitfalls involved in working with a publicist?
PJ: There certainly can be. Just like with agents and editors, and sometimes even publishers, there are a lot of scams out there. While I'm well aware that there are few guarantees in promotional work, I don't have a problem speaking knowledgably about what I can and can't do for any particular author/work. So it bothers me to see so many "publicists" who charge exorbitant fees with few guarantees. There are many who charge thousands and tens of thousands but with few results. Frankly even if they get you one or two significant interviews or events, it's not likely that the return on those will come near justifying the cost. Anyone experienced in marketing knows that it's repeat, extended exposure that builds lasting name recognition, not a quick media flash that's over almost as soon as it begins. Also be careful of those who promise online marketing campaigns that sound extensive but again, don't guarantee follow-up or results. Email addresses change constantly and while it's nice to think that your book is so enticing that a press release sent to thousands is bound to provoke a generous response, in reality it rarely does.
IC: It sounds very involved. So how can writers choose a good publicist?
PJ: Your best bet is to know, going in, what you need. Working with a book publicist is, or should be, a joint effort. In order to do my best work for a client, I have to have a good idea of what the client wants, expects, and is capable of doing. I don't have to have frequent contact with him or her, but I do need to have good communication, especially in setting up the campaign in the first place. So make sure you talk to the candidates you're considering - ask lots of questions. And it's a good idea to make contact with some references as well.
IC: What is the one thing you'd like writers to know?
PJ: While writing is a very personal thing, selling, publishing and marketing your writing is business. Those who make a successful, long-term writing career must learn to treat it as such.
IC: What are the best things authors can do when marketing their books?
PJ: While the concept of quality over quantity has merit in many ways, in book marketing, it's more important to get and maintain repeat exposure in a variety of venues. Quality is good, but quality without quantity is generally ineffective.
IC: When you say quality without quantity is generally ineffective, do you mean that the quality of the book is not enough-there must be a quantity of marketing opportunities? Or do you mean that, when it comes to publicity, you need both quality and quantity? Or both?
PJ: When I said that, I really meant quality of the promotional opportunity, but quality of the book isn't enough either. There may have been a time when having a good book was enough, but I haven't worked the market when that was so. What good is a good book if no one knows about it?
As for quality of the promotional opportunity, what I was trying to say was that some authors think if they could just get on The Today Show or Oprah, or get one big break, it should be enough, and there's no arguing that the exposure from one great opportunity like that would be good. But I don't believe it's enough to build a career. In the long run, it's much more effective to have your name/title heard or seen in a larger number of smaller markets over a period of time. Of course you want to seek quality markets, but it's repeat exposure in a variety of venues that will get you noticed.
If I had to choose between placing a client on an interview on one fairly popular Los Angeles radio show, or ten radio shows in a variety of different markets across the country, I'd probably recommend the ten over the one. The primary reasoning behind that is that as large as the LA market is, there's proverbially a celebrity on every corner, and an interview in such a large market isn't nearly as likely to produce a domino effect as it might in smaller markets. By domino effect, I refer to the possibility that stores in the area may be inclined to order in books by authors featured on shows in their area, or local journalists and reviewers may be intrigued enough by what they hear to pick up a copy and mention it in a column. Even if the sum of listener demographics for the ten doesn't quite match the one, it covers a much larger geographic area and the possibilities for further interest are increased.
When you get right down to it, book promotion is something of a numbers game.
IC: Can you give us some examples of quality publicity?
PJ: It's probably different for everyone, but let me try for a few examples. Paid advertising isn't bad per se, but I'm not sure how many people have run out and bought a book based solely on seeing an ad for it. If I had to choose between a paid ad in the NY Times or a short article or review in the Chattooga Press, I'd probably go with the article because it looks more like news than something you paid for.
IC: If balancing quality and quantity is one of the best things an author can do, what are the worst?
PJ: There are a lot of myths about book marketing floating around the internet, spoken by those who are quite eloquent sometimes. Be careful what you believe. Do your research and always consider the source. The most frequent problems I run across include authors who:
- Wait too long to get started
- Think there's no point in doing much promotion on a first or second novel because nobody knows them yet (how do they think people get to know them?)
- Spend thousands on a publicity campaign with no guarantees, expecting the publicist to make them famous
IC: You're in the spotlight. Is there anything you'd like to add or address that I haven't asked about?
PJ: Sisters in Crime is a good organization and provides many networking opportunities you might not have otherwise. Take advantage of it, get to know the industry, and write what you love. But if you'd like to make a career of writing, you'll need to go beyond that. Research the industry, attend conferences and spend positive time networking. Build a business of which you can be proud.
This interview was conducted for SinC-IC
by Elizabeth Terrell.
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