I'm honored to introduce Erin Mitchell of RLM PR, the latest addition to the Hey Dead Guy team! She blogs at her own site as well and you can find her on twitter as @erinfaye. So without further ado...
What drew you to PR?
If I was going to “PR” my answer, I’d come up with some hogwash about it being my mission in life to communicate. The truth, though, is that it was an accident of fate. My dad was dating a woman who ran film programming at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and through her I learned that they needed someone to do the ever-glamorous job of stuffing press kits, and I needed a job. Twenty-five years and a million paper cuts later, here I am.
What types of clients do you represent?
I’m a generalist, and so they really do run the gambit, from technology to healthcare to political candidates to publishing.
Describe yourself in 5 words – no more, no less.
I try to stay interesting.
What are your 3 desert island books? And no cheating by saying, “The Jack Reacher series”
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
EIGHT BLACK HORSES by Ed McBain
JOLIE BLON’S BOUNCE by James Lee Burke.
But for the record, if I could only have three books, I would drown myself.
Favorite debut novel you’ve read this year?
Tough call between THE TERROR OF LIVING by Urban Waite and DELERIOUS by Daniel Palmer. Very different books, but both excellent and show incredible promise on the part of the authors.
What piece of advice would you give an author trying to increase sales and expand name recognition?
Remember that you are an entrepreneur, and as such, seek expert advice on brand management without restricting yourself to experts in New York. Don’t leave sales in the hands just of (immensely talented, but often vastly overworked) publisher marketing departments.
What do you prefer, Twitter or Facebook?
My preference vacillates. Right now, it’s Twitter.
Police procedurals or amateur sleuths?
Police procedurals. Definitely.
Joe Pike or Elvis Cole?
Elvis Cole
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate. And again, chocolate. And once more for good measure: Chocolate.
Pizza: deep dish or thin crust?
Thin crust. Tried to convert to deep dish during many happy years living in Chicago, but to no avail. My failure at this conversion had nothing to do with my leaving Chicago, though.
What does the future of publishing hold?
I think this is where I’m supposed to say, “Change! And more change!” But I actually think the future of publishing lies with readers. The biggest change I’ve seen recently is perhaps best characterized as a power shift in the publishing ecosystem, because readers have ever-more venues for acquiring, formats for reading, and forums to discuss and recommend books. I also think librarians have a bigger role in the future of publishing than Conventional Wisdom might have one think (at the moment).
