Beginning to End – Hard Mouth: Publicity, Alisha Gorder
Beginning to End is a series from Spine following a book from writing through acquisition, design and on to publication and publicity. For our second "season," we're looking at Hard Mouth, Amanda Goldblatt's debut adventure novel. We’ve spoken with author Goldblatt, her agent, Caroline Eisenmann, book cover designer Nicole Caputo and Jennifer Alton, assistant editor at Counterpoint Press and editorial lead on Hard Mouth. For our final piece we spoke with Counterpoint Senior Publicist Alisha Gorder.
Photo: Lena Moses-Schmitt
When Alisha Gorder arrived at the end of Hard Mouth, Amanda Goldblatt’s debut adventure novel about a woman struggling to face her father’s slow dying, she “immediately texted [Counterpoint Press] editor Jenny Alton in all caps, and with more crying emojis than words. I was devastated by the ending,” she told Spine. “And also that the book was over.”
Fortunately, Gorder had an outlet for the swell of emotion: getting word out about the book, part of her job as Counterpoint’s senior publicist. “The best part of being a publicist is that I got to take that energy and put it somewhere, which meant, in the context of my job, reaching out to everyone I could think of and convincing them to read and review the book.”
Publicity efforts for Hard Mouth began around six months before its publication date, when Gorder sent out a slew of galleys (AKA advanced review copies, or ARCs). She included pitches designed to highlight the book’s particular qualities — something often accomplished by including comparable titles — and tailored to people she thought might really like the book.
“I’m coming up on three years since I started at Counterpoint, and during that time I’ve been able to develop relationships with a wide variety of people in the media industry, and have become familiar with their taste, which made it very gratifying pitching Hard Mouth and feeling like not only did I trust myself in the sense that I knew I was pitching a special book to the people that would appreciate it, but also that my judgment was being trusted, too.”
While Gorder was reaching out to magazine and newspaper editors, literary sites, radio producers and more, she was also working with Goldblatt to increase her visibility via author interviews and well-placed personal essays. Finally, a month before publication date, Gorder sent out another big mailing, this time with finished books.
Ultimately, a publicist can only control what she does for a book, and not how the book is received. “Sometimes you can pour your whole heart into working on a book and it just won’t land the way you want it to.” In the case of Hard Mouth, Gorder’s book landed solid, with a favorable review in The New York Times Book Review. “It’s a big deal for a debut novel to get that kind of attention, and I was so excited for Amanda.”
Alton, the book’s editor, was excited for Amanda, but also for Gorder’s efforts to place the piece. She presented Gorder with a framed copy of the review. “It’s hanging on the wall next to my desk now as a sweet reminder of what brought me to this job in the first place,” Gorder said. “I chose publishing for the chance to champion the books and authors I believe in, which is ultimately what all of the day-to-day details—the mailings and meetings and emails—add up to, and I feel very lucky because of that.”
Find Alisha Gorder on Twitter @alishabgorder.
Spine Authors Editor Susanna Baird grew up inhaling paperbacks in Central Massachusetts, and now lives and works in Salem. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Boston Magazine, BANG!, Failbetter, and Publishers Weekly. She's the founder of the Salem Longform Writers' Group, and serves on the Salem Literary Festival committee. When not wrangling words, she spends time with her family, mostly trying to pry the cat's head out of the dog's mouth, and helps lead The Clothing Connection, a small Salem-based nonprofit dedicated to getting clothes to kids who need them. Online, you can find her at susannabaird.com and on Twitter @SusannaBaird.