Exclusive: A Book Publicist With Penguin Random House Talks Book Publicity
So, let’s say you wrote a book. Congrats! Hope you’re ready to get right back to working hard on the whole thing. That’s right, writing and editing and querying agents and submitting and editing again - all of that is only the beginning. People have to know your book exists before they can buy it (hopefully) and read it (even more hopefully).
How will people find out about your book?
Publicity! Abigail Monti is a publicist with Quadrille, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and she was kind enough to chat with me about book publicity in 2026. If you’re looking for interesting updates on publishing, make sure you follow her right here on Substack over at Unsolicited Manuscript.
Question: In your About section of Unsolicited Manuscript you mention being a “recovering journalist” and moving to New York. Where (broadly) did you move from, and what led to your journey away from journalism?
Image via Unsolicited Manuscript Substack
Abigail Monti: In college, I worked as the co-food editor for our university newspaper. Then, between college and moving to New York for publishing, I worked as a journalist for my hometown newspaper back in California. I primarily covered town events and restaurant openings. While I’ll always have a soft spot for journalism, it can also feel like a very solitary sport. One of the things I love so much about publishing is the opportunity to work closely with authors and other team members to bring a single vision to life. It’s a much more collaborative (and joyful, in my opinion) process.
Q: How did someone with a BA in English Lit and Professional Editing end up as a Publicist at Quadrille, a lifestyle/non-fiction imprint of Penguin Random House?
AM: There’s often a big misconception that you need a BA in English to land a job in publishing—but that’s not necessarily true! In fact, it was actually my experience in journalism that helped me land a role at an indie publicity agency. Publicists work very closely with journalists, and having that background definitely gave me a leg up. Loving to cook also came into play (especially as Quadrille’s catalog heavily skews toward cookbooks). But that’s not to say my skills in editing and writing haven’t also come into play—I’ve been told I write a killer email.
Q: You published an excellent post on your Substack detailing a day in the life of a publicist. How much does the day of a publicist differ when at an independent publisher versus a Big Five publisher like Penguin Random House?
AM: In my experience, quite a bit! One of the largest changes between my two roles has been working with events. When working with indies, the primary focus of my role was reaching out to press and influencers for coverage. In my current role, we spend just as much time planning author tours, especially if our authors are well-known. Events can include book signings, restaurant pop-ups, brand collaborations, and more. I also get the opportunity to approach campaigns more creatively so that they best suit that specific book and author, instead of sticking to a single method.
Q: Social media is obviously a big presence for Publicists and PR. Now that social media is essentially possible from almost everywhere today, tell us some ways this has made your job both easier and harder.
AM: Finding and contacting influencers is such a benefit for publicists. With influencers, you can pinpoint your target audience and directly market a book to them. At the same time, the rise in popularity of social media means that fewer readers turn to traditional press (like magazines, newspapers, and TV talk shows). It wasn’t an overnight flip either—consumer habits change all the time! Take the rise in Substack, even. With new social media platforms popping up all the time, it can be hard to know where best to focus pitching and what’s actually pushing the sales needle.
Q: Related to the last question, how closely are you working with authors on publicity for their work? A lot of writers see/hear things repeated online about how the role of author now requires also being your own publicist.
AM: Great question. It often depends on the type of book. For example, if I were helping to publicize a book that taps into a trend—say, a book on crocheting—then I likely won’t work very closely with the author, as the book’s subject speaks for itself. On the other hand, if I’m working on a cookbook written by a chef whose personal experience really impacts their style of cooking, then I will likely work very closely with the author to coordinate interviews and events.
The truth about publicity is that there is always more you can do. But the harder truth is that publicists only have a limited number of hours in the day, and are often assigned a handful of books to work on at once. Some books might not receive much more than a catalog send-out, if the marketing and publicity (M&P) teams are slammed. Any author whose attempted to do their own publicity will understand that it’s a full-time job. But, if you’re an author who doesn’t have an M&P team but does have time, reaching out to targeted media and influencers can make an enormous difference in getting the word out about your book.
Q: What are your thoughts on “all publicity is good publicity” as a statement often thrown around when badpublicity arises for someone in the public eye?
AM: That’s a tough one. Luckily, when it comes to books, I rarely need to manage “crisis comms” (AKA formulating a timely PR response to protect a client’s reputation). More commonly, “bad” publicity in this industry looks like a negative book review. While it can be heartbreaking to receive a negative review, it’s certainly not the end of the world. There seems to be a misconception that a book with an average 3-star rating simply won’t sell. The fact of the matter is, most books chosen by high-profile book clubs usually have 3-star reviews! If a book is universally beloved, it’s hard to spend a whole hour dissecting it. Plus, from a consumer basis, someone is much more likely to click “buy” on a book with a couple hundred 3-star reviews than a handful of 5-star reviews, which can look forged or unreliable. As with all creative industries, preferences are subjective! I recently read an author on Substack (and I completely apologize for forgetting who it was!) say, “If I knew how many 1-star reviews it would take to make my first million dollars in book sales, I would have wished those 1-star reviews to come faster.” As much as you can, try to keep that mentality.
Q: I’m curious what kind of metrics outside of sales a publicist may be tasked with tracking or attaining. Marketing and publicity are neighbors, if not biological siblings, so how closely related is marketing with book publicity? Are they synonyms or homonyms? This may be a little in the weeds, but I’m curious how book publicity is quantified as successful.
AM: M&P are very similar, but not the same. The main difference is that marketing works with paid placements, and publicity works to earn unpaid placements. For example, the marketing team pays to place Meta and Amazon ads, while the publicity team sends books out for free and hopes the right person reviews them. When tracking book sales, it can be difficult to tell what effort yielded what result, as other teams in addition to M&P (shoutout sales!) are also working hard to get books into consumers’ hands. Sales figures we can track and attribute to publicity typically come after a TV appearance, particularly big review, or social media post go live.
Q: What are some great ways for self/independently published authors to do publicity for their work? Should they hire a freelance publicist?
AM: First things first, set up an author website with a link to your book, any strong reviews, a headshot, and a personal bio. This will make things extremely easier for journalists, should they want to cover your book. Next, make a social media account. I know, I know—social media is a lot of work with often little reward, but at the very least, it gives readers the option to tag you when they share your book online. Other easy publicity moves include reaching out to your local bookstore or library for event possibilities, as well as your local newspaper for a profile (keep in mind that the latter should ideally happen close to the release date).
Freelance publicists can be extremely expensive, but they can also be extremely talented. It’s important to always do research into their past work (asking past clients for their opinion, if possible) and ensure that their fee is within your budget. When considering a freelancer, you must also remember that there is never any guarantees. Publicity is fickle—because we work solely with earned media, we can not promise any specific outcome or bump in sales. Sometimes, the market is simply oversaturated with a specific topic, or is distracted by a larger world event.
Q: What books are you excited about right now? Anything you’ve already read that blew you away? Anything you cannot wait to get your hands on? I know Penguin Random House has shelves for sharing advanced reader copies (ARC), so I can only imagine you have a ton of books on your to-be-read pile!
AM: Ooh, too many to count. We have a cookbook called Chocolate Baking by Edd Kimber coming out next month, and as a chocolate obsessive, I’m over the moon about it. I also recently got my hands on an ARC of TJ Klune’s newest book, so that’s certainly atop my TBR. I just finished The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo, which is far from new, but it was easily my favorite book of 2026 so far.
Thank you to Abigail for giving us all some insights into book publicity in 2026, and to you for reading. Be sure you check out Unsolicited Manuscript, and even some questions I answered about running Moss Heart Books.
-Austin Wilson, Moss Heart Books co-owner/operator
