“Let me put you in touch with my publicist, she handles that.”
Tatiana Radujkovic graduated from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing. She has previously worked for Europa Editions and brands such as Theory, Blue Bottle Coffee, Opening Ceremony, and many more. Last year, she joined Blackstone Publishing as a Publicist and has been absolutely loving it! Really, she’s missed working with books and authors. She lives in New York City and enjoys solo traveling, her coffee black (no cream or sugar, please), running (mostly walking) in Central Park, re-watching Mamma Mia! an obscene number of times with her friends, trading k-drama recommendations with her dad, and talking books and theater with her mom. She has also been an absolute joy to work with, and provided by far the most thorough answers of anyone I have interviewed for the Beyond Words series so far. Just take a look!
Oh wow, this is a fun question! And a difficult one at that. My career has had a lot of fun turns: I started in book publishing before I switched industries and worked in the fashion/brand space. I did that for two years–working for some unbelievable brands like Jordan, adidas x Pharrell Williams, Opening Ceremony, Theory, Blue Bottle Coffee, Tony’s Chocolonely…and so many more.
One of the coolest things I’ve had the honor of being a part of was bringing Pharrell’s auction house JOOPITER to life. The team there was wonderful, the archival pieces were moments of pop culture history at my fingertips (and behind protective glass), and it was an incredible lesson in the power/importance of PR. Not to mention, I got to meet Pharrell himself. Easily one of the nicest individuals I’ve ever come across!
Tied for that was getting my first shout out in the acknowledgements section from an author. I was just a freshly graduated intern at the time, still reeling from the fact that I had landed a lucrative opportunity in publishing, and BOOM! There it was. My very own name, printed in a book, getting a thank you. I still have the copy on my shelf, on display, and ready for me to pull out at any time when I want to show somebody.
Overall, though, my job in and of itself will forever be the coolest thing. Who else gets paid to read books and talk about them for a living? If you told five-year-old me I’d be doing that as a job, she probably would’ve looked at you weird and in disbelief, thrown a new vocab word she just learned at you (because I was reading my mom’s David Baldacci books at the time), and then ran off to annoy her big sisters.
As we conduct this interview, it’s still very early in the marketing campaign for The Recruiter, but I’m already impressed by the strategy you and the rest of the team have laid out. Does that strategy vary from book to book, or is there a template you work off and just sort of tweak depending on the project?
For example, a campaign for a debut will look very different from a campaign for a heavy hitter /long-time author. A campaign for a celebrity memoir / biography will look very different from a campaign for a politician or scientist memoir / biography. Literary fiction outreach will differ from genre (mystery, romance, SFF) outreach. How we approach our contacts may change if the author is connected to an editor, bookstore, festival, etc. as compared to if they’re not.
On top of all that, the media landscape has changed drastically to what it is now from what it was during the pandemic and before the pandemic. It’s a much smaller landscape now; publicists must be incredibly specific and particular in the media contacts we reach out to.
It’s a lot to keep in mind, but so fun to work through! And it helps when you have the most wonderfully supportive and amazing team like I do.
What are some do’s and don’ts first time authors should know in terms of working with a publicist?
I try to encourage myself to stay away from a ‘don’t’ mindset so I can keep the process positive and keep myself open to creative opportunities. Some of my favorites ‘dos’ for a first-time author would be:
Do engage with your network! Especially for debut authors, it’s crucial to lean into your connections for blurbs, event attendance, retailer reviews, and sharing your book with their own network where possible. Your network is your best friend because word of mouth is a book’s best friend! The more often someone hears about a book, the more likely they are to buy it. So get your friends, family, coworkers, hair stylists, grocers, etc. to talk, attend, review, and share!
Do remember your audience! Growing your audience is the best way to boost publicity and even sales. It’s a bit of an outdated mindset to believe a New York Times or WaPo book review alone will be the thing to sell books. People sell books. Readers sell books. The more you connect with your reading community, the more they will stay and buy your books. Interact! Have fun on socials and in stores! Readers love engaging with authors as much as authors love people reading their books.
Do ask questions! Especially for first-time authors who are still learning how the whole publishing business works, it is always great to ask questions: does this connection matter? Does it make sense for us to send an ARC here? Is it possible to do an event at this particular bookstore? Is this a good essay idea we can pitch? There are no such things as stupid questions!! We know the time leading up to publication day can be overwhelming and a bit anxiety-inducing as you wait for your creation to come out into the world–and we are here to help!
Books are very much a long game, and we find that most readers won’t purchase a book after the first review they read or the first ad they see. They need to continually engage with the book and its author before they feel motivated to buy. After all, what reader doesn’t have a giant TBR pile they are already working through? So, it’s the job of Marketing and Publicity to cut through all that noise, as best as they can, to make Your Book “The Book” everyone should be reading.
But on top of that, your favorite booksellers are some of the true heroes! Connecting with local booksellers can go a looooong way. As a former bookseller myself, hand-to-hand selling plays a major role in which books are read and sold. Those relationships matter, for both the reader and the publicist. That’s why publicists meet with booksellers all the time! We love to introduce ourselves, set up events for our authors, and get into these stores as much as we can. We often encourage our authors to go to their favorite local independent bookstores or local B&N so they can introduce themselves to the people working there.
I’m a firm believer that a personal touchpoint (a face to a name, a hello, etc.) will have a strong, positive impact. It certainly did for me back in my bookselling days! When I conduct my work as a publicist, I do my best to put myself in the shoes of all of these different people I’m interacting with: the author, the reviewer, the editor, the bookseller, the consumer… What do they want? What are they doing in their daily routines? What is their bandwidth for new reads? And where does this all intersect?
There’s a LOT that comes into play when making a book a bestseller; and while Marketing & Publicity is certainly one slice of it, it isn’t the whole pie!
Time’s yours! As a thank you for sharing your expertise, please take this space to say whatever you feel like. Plug an upcoming project, offer any advice we didn’t already cover, or just tell us all what other superheroes you may have worked with in the past.
One thing I keep in mind for myself is that the heart of publicity is the people. I so strongly value the relationships I build with my colleagues, with my media contacts, with the booksellers I interact with, with my authors… And I hope to ensure that their experience working with me is a positive, fun, and fulfilling one. I find that that kind of thinking can take you very far in the world of publicity!
As for my own stuff? You may start seeing my name around online (soon I hope)! Specifically, if you’re into reading about traveling! I solo travel quite often and like to write about the journeys I take. The next trip is a big one: six weeks in Europe with nothing but a suitcase, my laptop (you never know when a publicity opportunity for a book will arise), and an IV drip of coffee.
Lastly, everyone go pre-order and buy THE RECRUITER! YOU WON’T REGRET IT! And if you are in New York, you can catch Gregg live and in-person for the first time in May at The Mysterious Bookshop in TriBeCa where he’ll be moderating a hilarious and cool talk. Thanks for having me, Gregg!
