Book publicist Lissa Warren remembers September 23 last year when she was sitting in the studio at WBUR-FM, the National Public Radio station out of Boston. She was listening to host Tom Ashbrook interview her clients, authors Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, during the talk show "On Point."
Ann and Liv, the first women to cross Antarctica on foot, were discussing their new book "No Horizon is So Far," their 1,700-mile trek and how they traveled much of the way on skis powered by wind sales.
The interview was still underway when someone handed Lissa a slip of paper. It included contact information for an editor at Sailing magazine who was listening to the NPR show, immediately called the station, and was eager to interview Ann and Liv. The resulting article then appeared in the February issue.
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"If you can get a solid national NPR booking, you can use that to get print coverage and sometimes, if it's controversial, TV coverage," Lissa said. "It's not just a benefit of the NPR hit that you get. It's what grows from that hit."
Because many NPR shows are broadcast nationwide, the chances of a print editor listening to the interview multiply.
One of the biggest mistakes publicists and authors make when trying to get an NPR booking is failing to listen to the show before pitching.
"With the Web, there's no excuse for that," Lissa said. "You can listen online. You can even get bios for the hosts and the producers from the show's website."
Lissa ought to know. She has booked more than 100 clients on NPR shows such as "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross and "The Diane Rehm Show" as well as the popular "Morning Edition." She shared the secrets of how she places so many authors on our new audio CD titled "How to Get Booked on National Public Radio" This audio CD is perfect for authors, speakers and experts, as well as for anyone who wants to place get on an NPR show.
Posted March 05, 2004
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