In a contemporary literary landscape with ever-shifting trends, how can writers chart a clear course to achieve publicity success that evolves with your goals? How do you create buzz for your work when there are simply not enough high-profile reviews to go around? How do you stand out in a noisy social media environment? 

In this course, leading literary publicist Lauren Cerand will show you how to craft a message and communicate it to your ideal audience through media. She will provide a fundamental understanding of what publicity is and how it functions. She will also offer practical strategies for publicity operations in a variety of contexts, from presenting yourself as an author to attracting and keeping the attention of an audience, and what publicity work entails on an everyday level in both creative and technical tasks. You will come away with an understanding of how to achieve effective publicity, whether you're a writer trying to build a platform (we’ll talk about exactly what that is and how to go about it) and attract an agent, or are a few books in and are looking to get back in the game (we have a plan for that, too).

Each of the course’s four sessions features a distinguished guest with a range of expertise and insights, and in-class exercises designed to incorporate new knowledge and immediately apply it to your publicity needs. 

The first session features campaign strategist Andre Banks, who has spent the last 20 years organizing marginalized communities that have been left out of public discourse. We will explore questions such as: What is the story you’re actually telling? How can writers use political messaging to communicate more effectively with many possible readers?

In the second session, Dan Sinykin, author of Big Fiction, will help dispel persistent myths and fantasies about the structure of the publishing industry. You will gain strategies from Dan’s non-fiction book campaign success and investigate why you should learn about your competition and how to promote your work in the context of seismic shifts in the marketplace.

In the third session, Kathleen Schmidt will provide insight into how publicity operates in-house: how publicity is assigned, how you can understand what the publisher is going to do for you, and her perspective on building Publishing Confidential on Substack, her successful newsletter with over 7,000 subscribers.

Finally, Sonya Chung, novelist, critic, and director at Film Forum, will help us understand how to develop an audience beyond reviews, including strategically cultivating relationships with organizations and how to "fill seats" for your work.

This course will take place on Zoom on Wednesdays October 2-23 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. EST. Participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the course as well as a recording of the course afterward. We cannot offer refunds once the course has begun. Please email courses@offassignment.com with any questions.

A limited number of scholarships may be available for this course; please send a brief statement outlining how and why a scholarship would impact your ability to attend to courses@offassignment.com by September 10th and we’ll get back to you by September 20th.

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Off Assignment’s Masters’ Series courses are unique four-session courses on in-depth writing topics that harness the perspectives and craft tactics of a lead instructor plus celebrated guest lecturers, such that participating writers gain a wealth of input while benefiting from the cohesive leadership of one renowned writer in a particular niche of nonfiction.