I guess I’ve been teasing this one since several people have asked me on rotation, “Did you write that piece about hiring an assistant?” Well, I had not, but here it is!
As you may know, and which I will not hesitate to repeat, 2023 was my debut year for my young adult novel, Forgive Me Not. I had edited an anthology that was released in 2018, but that was and was not the same. I felt like a Mama Bear with Everyday People, whereas I felt like a one-woman enterprise for Forgive Me Not. Hell, it took me 8 years to write the book, no way was I letting this moment pass by in a blur. I took what I learned from Everyday People as well as advice & thoughts from authors who were kind enough to speak to me directly or on my podcast. I blended this up along with my own publishing experience, and decided to roll with it as my pub date was finalized.
Two things stood at the forefront as I tried to get sorted a year ahead of pub date: (1) I needed help not just with the book stuff, and (2) I didn’t know if a freelance publicist would be the best way to go for me due to #1. I did speak to a few publicists and one even said to me, “I don’t know that I’d do more than your publisher would do for you.” My desire was to get support from someone who would tap into, yet go beyond, book-specific media spaces or opportunities. The several people I spoke with didn’t seem a fit or in one case was well-booked when I circled back, and in another case, if I’m being honest, didn’t express interest in my book at all and took a call as a “favor.” Which really didn’t sit well with me.
Let’s take a beat to reflect on that last sentence, shall we? Lack of (freelance) publicity interest is also something I experienced for Everyday People. I conducted rounds of calls with folx who clearly weren’t into the themes of the book. Which is totally fine. Same as with any partnership, you want to make sure they are a fit for you and vice versa. But me being me, and being a woman of a certain age at this point in my life, to an extent I can appreciate a polite openness to take a call or a consult because this is part of the business. At the same time, I do wonder how everyone’s time may be better spent when it’s clear someone may not have the time or be aligned with the content, and this being said upfront? Don’t @ me, y’all, I’m just asking questions!
Anywho, mulling on those meetings and the fact that I also did need support for my podcast self—which I was struggling to maintain in 2023 with a new full-time job, freelance projects, and teaching—I decided it’d be best to hire an assistant to collaborate on my ideas alongside my “brand” (it’s so weird for me to say that).
The Assistant Search & The Role
My pub date was set for mid-August 2023. In mid-April, I put out a call on the interwebs. Facebook was where I received several viable candidate recommendations. I only had the capacity to speak with 5 people total. All wonderful people, but ultimately I hired someone who was in grad school, local, had an open schedule and a deep interest in kidlit, particularly YA, and was well-read in that genre. Plus, she was eager to pursue a full-time career in publishing, specifically editorial. This was all helpful because I didn’t have to explain as much and everything they’d learn would be transferable in some ways to a desired FT pub job. As I considered the people I’d spoken with and what I also had bandwidth for, one friend said to me, “Jenn, I think you may want to also mentor someone.” The person I hired started in early May and a new person transitioned into the role in late September.
Here’s the gist of what I asked both assistants to help me with from May 2023-February 2024:
Promotions Support
Copied on all correspondence with my publisher to help receive promotions & other requests and help review items, where necessary
Researching and pitching to relevant media & festivals – My assistant scored me an interview on Pod Save the People, which was nicely done!
Created a media kit
Created a postcard design and put in a print order for distribution at events
General Administrative Tasks
Organizing media received into a spreadsheet, collating all media links, updating book’s web page where necessary
Creating a spreadsheet of festivals in the Northeast for pitching/submissions
Podcast Help
Reviewing transcriptions for posting
Hired someone to redo podcast logo for 10th anniversary
Communications - Main contact on all things book related. Attended some in-person events and took photos/video
(Light) Social Media - I handled all my personal social media and when I needed more of this for the podcast post-pub, which wasn’t of interest and not part of the job upfront. I would say, if you do need social media help, hire someone who loves doing this and can help make a content calendar to start.
I paid $30/hour at 15 hours a week max, the hourly rate was negotiable based on experience. I also covered costs for local travels to events, say a visit to my publisher to do a video or for a local festival, and we met virtually every week, if not every other week, to go over ideas and actions. (If they traveled for something I asked them to invoice another hour to cover food or I paid for the meal.) The assistant set their own hours, which were usually during the day and we had a formal contract for a specific amount of time that was open to extension by agreement from both parties. I also set up their own email account, which I did not have access to during their tenure. This way they could work freely and keep this role separate from their personal account. (Once each person departed, I was given the password and security login to be able to share with the next assistant as well as have access to files they created.)
In terms of costs out of pocket, both assistants came under the hourly cap (of 15 hours) every week. Overall, I compensated both assistants no more than $6,000 for 9-10 months of contracted work.
Should I hire a (book) publicist?
As an author, well as a person, consider what you need. Is it solely publicity contacts & media visibility if it happens that your publisher won’t be able to do this for your book? Kathleen Schmidt notes things to consider when hiring a publicist on her substack. (Poets & Writers also has some good posts on publicity, but these are subscription based.) Consults may be free or there may be a fee, this is their time too, so account for that and have your Qs ready. Also, know your budget upfront. As others have written, the price of a freelance publicist can cost thousands of dollars for a span of a few months depending on their campaign lengths. Yes, I said thousands, and so did Kathleen. And that’s just publicity. Publicity is the media, we’re not even talking marketing, which is different. If you want to work with someone who can do both or specialists in either area, we’re talking money.
Do I want to brand myself?
If so, that may well be a different type of PR person (or agency), not a book publicist, per se, but someone who understands more about personal or business brand management/strategy. And in the case of “brands” they may also have some social media/design capabilities as well.
But, if you’re thinking “outside the box” and want to go beyond book specific media/placement, I’d encourage you to ask a publicist, or anyone, if they can do this and what that entails, especially in relation to the content of your book. Currently, I’m meeting with people for administrative support now that my paperback is out. My main asks this time include research, partnerships, pitching, and social media planning. I am paying more per hour ($35-40) based on experience. And I still only have bandwidth to talk with 3-4 people for consideration despite many wonderful resumes sent my way.
From Forgive Me Not’s hardcover pub date to now, it was very important to me that more social justice spaces engage with this book where applicable and, of course, young readers who are at the center. Publishers may or may not be able to do this when we dig into specific content. A mission-based publisher may already have this as part of their strategy. Everyone has their own set of contacts that may or may not overlap from your book publicist to a freelance publicist. Which is why it was very helpful that one publicist said to me that she didn’t know if she’d help me in the ways I wanted and conveyed that she had similar contacts to my publisher. I deeply appreciated her honesty.
In the end…
The biggest benefits of hiring an assistant for me was simply having help. There were so many things on my list I needed someone who understood how each task was helping set up my whole “brand” (still not used to saying that) as well as providing them a front-seat view of how the publication process worked. On top of that both assistants read my book and told me they enjoyed it. What was so nice is their moms also purchased my book because they were excited their offspring was working in “the biz.”
If you’re hiring anyone to help you, be it for book-related stuff or not, deeply reflect on what would be of most help to you. Sometimes this becomes more apparent post-hire or earlier on in the interview process as you hear more about their background and expertise/interests. Make a list of what you’d like to take off your plate and what you’d like to compensate someone to aid with. We outsource a lot already, but if you can also make this a role that aids someone eager to get into, or interested in, the same industry this can be a win-win for both parties. If you need help with emails or travel arrangements, add that to the list, and be specific on security of funds. If you need help with researching places to pitch, add that. And make sure you’re upfront about what this would be as I was. (Both assistants knew one would be helping more pre-pub and the other post-pub.) Also, feel free to ask what others have needed when they hired assistants for specific areas of their life/work.
Some other practical and maybe obvious things?
Have a contract that outlines all the things: payment structure/rates, duties, timeframe of work, confidentiality, responsibilities between both parties, and termination. (My contract clearly states both parties can terminate at any time and there’s a confidentiality clause in terms of sharing any of my work they have access to.)
Also, be clear on goals as well as performance. How will you let someone go if things don’t work out?
Be prepared to send a 1099-NEC in January to ensure they have a tax record and you do as well—hiring NEC is considered a tax write-off for you in terms of your business as an author. (You will need their SSN or EIN and mailing address.)
Estimate & budget how long you’d want someone to be on board. If you want to reup, do so (add that as a clause)! That way if you have 2 months and find you’re vibing, extend for longer. But again, be clear on what this will look like, how you’ve set them up to help you, and how frequently you’ll need support.
Okay, that was a lengthy, but I hope helpful post!
PS: I’d like to post more regularly this year about things that would be helpful to you! If you have a question I may be able to help with, lemme know in the comments.