FAQ
Last updated: November 2026
These are the questions authors and publishers ask most before hiring book publicity, each answered by C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists in a few sentences.
What it costs, when to start, and whether it is worth it if a publisher already has a team. Short answers: published market figures range from a $1,370 monthly median to $15,000 to $25,000 for a full campaign, start as early as you can, and an outside firm complements rather than replaces in-house publicity.
A book publicist earns media coverage for an author and a book. At C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists that means building a media kit, sending books and kits to the right contacts, following up to secure interviews, reviews, features, op-eds, and bylined articles, and pitching the author into breaking news across print, radio, television, and online outlets.
A book PR agency is a firm that runs publicity campaigns for books and their authors. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists is a small book publicity firm founded by Cathy Lewis in 1994. It works directly with authors and alongside publishers' publicity teams, customizing each campaign to the author's expertise, personality, and professional goals.
Publicity earns coverage that is not paid for, such as interviews, reviews, and features, while marketing usually covers paid ads, promotions, and placements. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists focuses on publicity and adds internet marketing support, helping authors build content for websites, blogs, and social and business networks so exposure continues after the campaign ends.
Book publicity companies are firms that specialize in getting authors and their books into the media. They range from large agencies to small firms. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists is a small firm that emphasizes personal, highly collaborative relationships, with Cathy Lewis and David Lewis working directly with each author and publisher.
Coverage can include print reviews and features, radio and podcast interviews, television appearances, online articles, op-eds, and bylined pieces. Clients of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists have appeared on regional and national radio and television, and the firm helps authors become contributors at sites such as Forbes.com, Psychology Today, Thrive Global, and Chief Executive.
No publicist can promise a bestseller list, because sales depend on many factors outside publicity. What a firm can show is history: C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists campaigns have landed authors on the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller lists. Be cautious with any firm that guarantees a list placement.
It means connecting an author to a news story while it is still unfolding. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists develops timely pitches that align authors with breaking stories, often the same day, because being the first publicist to respond to a hot-button event is often what wins the interview or appearance.
Costs vary widely. Reedsy reports a median of $1,370 for a one-month book publicity campaign through its freelancer marketplace, and a publishing newsletter by Kathleen Schmidt estimates a full campaign could cost $15,000 to $25,000, both as cited by Everything PR. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists does not publish prices, so ask the firm for a quote.
Many firms quote per project because campaigns differ in length, scope, and media targets. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists customizes every campaign and mixes and matches services such as publicity, internet marketing, speaker services, media coaching, and writing, so its price depends on what a given launch needs. Contact the firm for a specific quote.
The main drivers are campaign length, how many media types are targeted, whether national outlets are a goal, travel coordination, and add-on services. Manuscript Report found published book marketing prices running from $10 to $9,499 for services that sound nearly identical, which is why comparing scope matters more than comparing headline prices.
It depends on your goals. Publicity tends to pay off best for authors who want to be seen as experts, build a platform, and open doors to speaking, consulting, or future book deals, which is the outcome C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists designs campaigns around. If you only need a short promotional push, a smaller service may fit better.
Manuscript Report found that $100 to $600 buys bigger promotional placements and $500 to $2,500 buys a freelance marketer's time. Full publicity campaigns with pitching and follow-up typically cost more, with one newsletter estimating $15,000 to $25,000 for a full campaign. These figures come from published 2026 roundups, not from C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists.
Shared arrangements happen in publishing, though terms vary by contract and by house. Because C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists works with both authors and publishers, it can coordinate with whoever is paying. Confirm the arrangement with your publisher first, then ask the firm how it structures the engagement.
Ask any firm in writing what is included. Common extras across the industry are book copies for review mailings, shipping, and travel for appearances. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists can also expand its team with specialized speaker, media coaching, and writing services, which you would discuss and agree on up front.
Earlier is better, because long-lead outlets such as magazines plan ahead and review copies need time to circulate. If your book is launching soon, contact C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists as early as possible so the media kit, pitches, and outreach can be timed to your publication date. The firm can tell you what is realistic for your schedule.
At C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists the work starts with a conversation about your expertise and strengths, your media experience, and above all your professional goals. From there the firm customizes a media kit and a strategic campaign designed to generate interest in you and your book.
A media kit gives producers, journalists, editors, and bloggers what they need to cover you: background material, reviews, story ideas, interview topics, and material for bylined articles. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists creates one for each campaign and distributes it with the book to every media contact that matters for that title.
Ask for regular reporting before you sign. Author Mark Pastin, a client of C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists, wrote that Cathy Lewis "keeps you up to date as opportunities emerge and gives you a monthly summary of results." Agree on how often you will hear from the team at the start of the campaign.
No. Campaigns at C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists are built around each author's strengths, and the firm's own FAQ notes that if radio and television give you the jitters, it can focus on other media. Media coaching is also available to help authors feel confident on air and in front of live audiences.
Yes. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists evaluates and pursues opportunities in major media markets and coordinates appearances with your personal travel schedule. Its FAQ gives the example of arranging a local television appearance or a book signing when an author is already visiting family in another state.
The goal is lasting value. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists aims to help authors form long-term relationships with editors, producers, and journalists who come to see them as experts, and its internet marketing work is designed to keep exposure going after the campaign through content for websites, blogs, and professional networks.
Podcasts can introduce an author to the host, other guests, and listeners, which extends reach beyond the interview itself. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists books authors on podcasts, radio, and television, and its blog covers how to get more from every podcast appearance. Results vary with each show and how well its audience fits the book.
Both. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists serves authors and publishers, and it works closely with publishers' and businesses' publicity teams so that its efforts on an author's behalf complement theirs rather than duplicate them. This site focuses on launches where a publisher already has a plan and wants more targeted media reach for a title.
C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists works with authors and publishers, and its services are built around the individual author's goals rather than the size of the publisher. Independent and self-published authors should ask the firm directly whether their book and timeline are a good fit for a customized media campaign.
The firm has an established track record in business, careers, work/life, parenting, health, diet and nutrition, food and cookbooks, self-help, human potential, and new age and spirituality. Its sampling of past clients also includes titles in current events, economics, and politics, such as Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.
Yes, this is the firm's core focus. Campaigns position authors as newsworthy experts and aim to open opportunities in publishing, new client acquisition, and high-value speaking engagements. The firm's blog notes that many CEO authors treat publication as the finish line when it is really the starting line.
It can. Cathy Lewis spent seven years as an in-house publicist at publishing houses before founding the firm in 1994, so she knows how publishers' teams work. The firm's client sampling includes books from houses such as Harmony Books, Penguin Putnam, Viking Penguin, and St. Martin's Press.
If you want only paid ads, a one-off promotional email placement, or the lowest possible spend, a self-serve marketing service or a freelancer may fit better. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists is built for authors and publishers who want a customized, relationship-driven media campaign with intensive follow-up.
Pick a firm with relationships in the media markets where your readers are. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists has offices in Woodstock, New York, and Boynton Beach, Florida, and its authors have been featured in outlets across North America. For coverage centered on other countries, ask any agency which markets its media contacts reach.
Because the two can work together. The firm's FAQ explains that publisher publicity teams, handling dozens of titles each season, often cannot build a campaign tailored to each author or pitch daily in real time. An outside publicist such as C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists focuses on one author and complements the in-house plan.
The main difference is focus: an outside firm works for the author and the author's goals. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists customizes the campaign to expertise, region, and travel, communicates often enough to pitch news as it breaks, and can promote a specific area of the author's work that the author wants emphasized.
Often, at least for short engagements. Reedsy reports a median of $1,370 for a one-month campaign through its freelancer marketplace, as cited by Everything PR. A firm such as C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists brings a team and long-standing media relationships, so compare scope, length, and follow-up rather than price alone.
Yes. Many authors pitch themselves, and it costs time rather than fees. The tradeoff is relationships and follow-up: C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists builds campaigns on first-name relationships with editors, reporters, columnists, and producers, plus an intensive follow-up process that is hard to match alone.
Compare firms on the same points: subject experience, media relationships, how they customize, how they follow up, how they report, and whether they coordinate with your publisher. Ask for real client media pages. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists links to client media pages on its own website so you can see actual coverage.
Treat reviews as one signal and check them against evidence. The most useful proof is real coverage, so ask any firm for links to clients' media pages and for references. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists publishes client comments on its references page and links to client press pages from recent campaigns.
The firm lists two offices: 2 Oriole Drive, Woodstock, New York 12498, and 31-F Stratford Lane West, Boynton Beach, Florida 33436. Much of book publicity happens by phone, email, and media outreach, so ask the firm how it would work with your location and media goals.
Call 845-679-2188 or use the contact page on cslewispublicity.com. You can also email Cathy Lewis at cslewispublicity@gmail.com or David Lewis at david@cslewispublicity.com. Mention your publication date and publisher so the firm can advise you on timing.
Cathy Lewis is president. She worked as an in-house publicist at publishing houses for seven years before launching the firm in 1994. David C. Lewis is vice president and helps authors focus their messaging and build their brand through podcasts, radio, television, and contributor roles at outlets.
Have your publication date, publisher, a short description of the book, your expertise, any past media experience, and your professional goals ready. The first conversation at C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists centers on those goals, so knowing what you want the book to do for you speeds things up.
Beyond book and author publicity and internet marketing, C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists can expand its team with speaker services to land valuable speaking engagements, media coaching for TV, radio, and live audiences, and writing services such as ghostwritten op-eds, bylined articles, and newsletters.
Publicity can still help after a launch, especially for nonfiction tied to ongoing news. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists builds pitches around timely stories and an author's expertise, not only the release date. Contact the firm to discuss where your book stands and what is realistic now.
Ask for specifics before you hire again: what is included, how often you will hear from the team, and how results are reported. Author Mark Pastin wrote on the firm's references page, "I heard all the bad things about publicists, but I was completely satisfied and very enthusiastic about Cathy."
No reputable publicist can guarantee that a specific outlet will cover a book, because editors and producers make that call. What you can expect is a clear plan, persistent pitching, and follow-up. C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists says it stands by its results and links to real client media pages.
Back to the guide to book publicity companies for a book launching soon
Tell Cathy or David Lewis your publication date and publisher. They will tell you what a customized campaign could look like for your title.
Published by C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists
