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SUSAN WEINSTEIN PUBLIC RELATIONS I
have worked in the field of public relations for more than a decade. I specialize in books, nonprofits, arts, political and
social issue campaigns. Combining traditional and social media campaigns, I research online outlets to place material
on appropriate sites and pitch national and local TV and radio. I solicit print features and engage
in social media on a variety of platforms. Creating presence online influences traditional media and the reverse. My
specialty is to write press materials--releases, interviews, short features, bios, OpEds and blogs--pitch
material that translates complex ideas into understandable prose. I do proposals for specific campaigns. My fees are
based on the time involved to do the job. I can also quote on facets of a campaign to fit a publishers' budget.
I do not usually work with self-published books, because of the credibility issue with mainstream media. Though on occasion,
I've arranged a blog tour for a genre title. I more often work with university presses. CAMPAIGNS Among notable campaigns
are the 2015 books PRIVILEGE AND PREJUDICE: The Life of a Black Pioneer (Michigan State University) the autobiography of Clifton
R. Wharton and THE LIGHT IN CUBAN EYES (Lake Forest College) Madeleine Plonsker's collection of photography from
the “special period” w/exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery, NYC. 2014 saw the event to commemorate the
Albanian rescue of Jews during WWII, a history documented in print for the first time by The New York Times. Other notable
publishing campaigns are TRACKING MEDICINE by the Founder of the Dartmouth Atlas, THE ICE ROAD, first account
of the Stalinist labor camps in Siberia, LEMONY SNICKETT (Harper Collins Children). Controversial titles include
ARMED ANND FEMALE, no time to think: the Menace of Media Speed (Continuum), THOMAS JEFFERSON & SALLY HEMMINGS:
An American Controversy by Annette Gordon Reed (Virginia Press), Noam Chomsky’s WORLD ORDERS OLD AND NEW
(Columbia U.Press), RED, HOT 7 BLUE: the American MusicaL (Smithsonian Press), The CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE. Bestsellers include ANGELS IN AMERICA: Part 2 Perestroika, Jane Goodall's VISIONS OF CALIBAN(Little
Brown), GRAPES OF WRATH (Vintage). I also initiated TCG’s “Plays are Literature” campaign. Corporate
includes Taxattack.com, Crane Paper and Evian Water, as well as the history of NOVARTIS . Among my non-profit
work are events for The Borough of Brooklyn and a theater fundraising gala at Cartiers.
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HOW
I WORK
I am a one person business and I work
with a variety of staffs and budgets. I do all research, writing, pitching, consulting, and coaching, as well as the extensive
follow-up that can be pivotal to a campaign's success. Though I have employed clerical help, many publishers prefer to
use their own staff. Though I have worked with almost every
kind of book published, I don't choose to work on every book. It must be one I feel can attract publicity. I work on a pitch that feels comfortable
for the author yet has a good chance for success. My campaigns are customized. Within specific budgets, I work to
obtain maximum coverage, sometimes coordinating with in-house publicists on specific parts, such as follow-up
on their galley mailing.
FEES AND PROPOSALS
If you are shopping for a publicity
campaign, I can give you an idea of what I can do on your budget. My fees are based on the time involved and the complexity
of the project. I charge on a per project basis or monthly retainer. I write proposals for projects at no charge, assuming the concept is important to decision-making
and a client is serious. I charge a small fee (150.) for the time involved to write a proposal, when a
client is using a proposal to gather information for the future.
PRESS KITS Pitch letters are the short form of a project, the "why" it should be taken seriously by media. Crafting
a pitch, I often look for a news link to make a book relevant. A Q&A interview provides outlets with insight on a
topic & the spokesperson. My kits have shown up in print, TV news, wire services and on RADIO AND air.
Press releases are representative of the book. A good one should work with the pitch letter, as
an in-depth form of the content. Both show what's essential to people who may not read a book. Bios show the credentials
of a person to write about their subject. |
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My
office is located in the Union Square area.
Mailing address:
Susan Weinstein PR
41 Union Square West,
Ste. 919
NY, NY 10003
I started a book review blog in 2011, because I am an incessant reader and like the discipline. I
have reviewed theater for The Christian Science Monitor, published essays and fiction on Akashic Press' site and Maglomaniac.com.
I was offered syndication by Before It's news, an online news service. I review literary classics and new ones
that might make that standard. This blog is not necessarily for my clients. Sometimes their book works for my lit purpose and
I include it. I write pieces that look at a book from a different angle than blogs whose sole purpose is marketing.
I want what's unexpected, often about a book we think we know. For instance, Great Expectations with the hindsight
of Tartt's The Goldfinch. A former Times editorial person found it "edgier" than the NYBR. I admire
the service they do books, publishers & authors but my function is different. I am also, at this point in time, exploring partnerships
with publishers since these days the Internet mantra is monetize or perish. But independence will always be foremost in my
reasons for the existence of this blog. Take a look. Love to hear comments.
My book blog is:
Biography of Susan
Weinstein Public Relations
I
started doing publicity as part of a scholarship I received to write plays at the the Iowa Writers workshop. I came to New
York and worked at Scribner Associates and at Warner Communications, as sole departmental writer. I began my company in the
1990's, because I wanted to have some control over the books I publicized. Publicity requires an emotional commitment
if the work is to succeed. I have orchestrated a number of successful campaigns, but do not work in a mechanical way.
Susan I. Weinstein
(Because of the number of people with my name, I use the Initial.) Besides my PR work, I have published
two novels, THE ANARCHIST'S GIRLFRIEND considered an underground classic, and PARADISE GARDENS, a
Dystopian novel compared to Orwell, DeLillo and Upton Sinclair. These novels were published in 2013 and 2014, after serialization
on-line, in paper and ebook by Eat Your Serial Press, the fiction outlet of the entertainment site maglomaniac.com. TALES
OF THE MER FAMILY ONYX (for children and adults) is a story collection about a family of Merfolk. As an admirer of E.Nesbitt
I did not make this for a certain age or other commercial requirements. This was no obstacle for BOOKS OF WONDER in NYC,
who publish the original Oz books. Contact me if you have interest in reprints or a new edition. I also
have written a number of plays, which have been produced by ACT, Providence Rep, Harold Clurman Theater and others.
I received a scholarship to write plays at Iowa City's Playwrights Workshop. Readings have occurred at The Public
Theater and other venues. 2014, THE WAPSHOT WHATEVER, a short play from the point of view of 2 computer
programs in their language at Truant Arts. That year my adaptation of Anderson's THE LITTLE MERMAID was
produced in Williamsburg with Bun Rak-u puppets. I have recently finished THE STRANGE AFTERLIFE OF HARRY HOUDINI & SIR
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. I have a BFA in Fine Arts from Temple Univ's Tyler School of Art. I paint for the love of it, in oils,
water colors, and mixed media. I have done illustrations for San Francisco Magazine, drama posters. In 2012 I was awarded
a Special Achievement Award at the LBI Foundation of the Arts.. 2014, My painting Portal was selected as part of the Curate
NYC project and shown at Gallery Brooklyn. Mixed media drawings of the Village Piers Pre and Post Sandy were given a solo
show at The PATH Café in NYC. I have a variety of work on the Saatchi Art site, a couple paintings are in Gaetano's
in the West Village and Wildflowers 2 in LBI. Philosophy
I am a believer in the Free marketplace
of ideas. Words are a powerful tool to influence the world. And books remain a major means of education. As a publicist,
I am aware that working to "get the word out" means I, the author and publisher we are also responsible
for the ideas presented. My objective is to make a living, while disseminating useful and meaningful information.
Client list and
press kit samples are provided on request.
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Susan Weinstein Public Relations
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