What are some upcoming trends for the next year?

One of the trends that I’m noticing in the media is the media is really paying more attention to small press titles in a way that they haven’t in the past. Authors with a name and a platform are gravitating toward small presses more as well. This warms my heart because small presses are scrappy; I adore working with them; and they publish incredible books that deserve mainstream attention as well as readers of all stripes.

What book/genre/topic would you like to see cross your transom?

I just want a story that hasn’t been told before and the right author to tell said story. I tend to read and gravitate toward mainstream nonfiction that will teach me something, kind of a hybrid of personal story with history and an unusual twist thrown in. My fiction tastes skew a bit quirkier—think Karen Russell, Kelly Link, or George Saunders. But I like everything: I work with novelists, memoirists, writers of YA and middle-grade fiction, and I do a lot with graphic memoirs and graphic novels as well—overall, I like a variety and I like something different.

What do you want to change about publishing?

I do wish that the publishing process was a bit more transparent. I find myself explaining to first-time authors why things are done a certain way (why things take so long; why you need to plan so far in advance), which can seem utterly baffling to them, especially in a world that is becoming more and more about instant gratification. It makes sense in the industry, but outside of publishing, some of the things we do can seem mind-boggling.

In terms of personal hills to die on, I also wish we could move toward reviews and criticism and expanding book review sections with dedicated book review editors. I want readers to know why they should pick something up and be given a bit of context. There are incredible critics out there who are so eager to cover books, but the space for reviews is so limited, and that is frustrating for us (the publicists), the critics, and the authors as well!

What’s unique about your corner of the publishing industry?

My job is very hands-on and collaborative. I like to work closely with my clients to come up with campaigns that they’re comfortable with while being very personal and relatable to the audience we’re trying to find for them.

Anything else you’d like to add?

When it comes to book publicity, know what your goals are. I have found that when I ask that question of an author, the answer is always different, and the answers I get are sometimes surprising and heartwarming to me. Everyone’s goal is not to get on the bestseller list or to be interviewed by Oprah (although everyone jokes about it; some more seriously than others). Sometimes their goal is to get a second printing for their latest book or another book deal or to help cement their platform in a new field. So I hope authors will go into the process knowing what they want out of it!

Also, be nice to your publishing team. Everyone works very hard for very little money. They’re in it because they love it, they love books, and they want to find readers for you, and they’re trying to do what is best for you and your project.

Beth Parker founded Beth Parker PR in 2014. She has almost two decades of PR experience working in-house and freelance at Penguin, Random House, Houghton Mifflin, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster in both adult and children’s trade fiction and nonfiction. She has worked on numerous New York Times bestselling campaigns and strives to collaborate closely with both the author and the in-house team to create a well-rounded campaign, timed to run at the sale date of the book for maximum impact.