• The ECC Questionnaire

Ames O’Neill, Publicist, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | March 1, 2012

AMES O’NEILL, publicist, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

What was your first job in children’s publishing? How did you come by publicity?
I was a typical English major who had no idea how my love of books could translate into a job, until someone suggested publishing. I did some research, and applied for internships for the summer between my junior and senior year of college-mostly for children’s publishers since I’ve always loved those books the best. I was applying for editorial internships (the only position I felt I really understood), but when I interviewed for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, they offered me a place in the Publicity department instead.  I very happily accepted, and enjoyed the summer so much that after I graduated, I applied for a full-time job with LBYR and became the Publicity Assistant.

Can you describe your typical day?  
Publicists’ schedules are always in flux from meetings, author events, and last-minute media requests that make you drop everything and messenger books.  Because we’re always working on multiple titles at once, there’s a lot of overlap in campaigns. I can be writing a long lead pitch, calling stores to confirm events, and sending follow-ups to media all in the same day.  I probably spend more time writing and responding to emails than anything else!

What qualities/skills do you think all successful publicists have in common? 
I think one of the most important qualities for a publicist (or any job, really) is to be reliable.  When you consistently get things done on time, and people know they can count on you not to let things slide even when they don’t remind you, you make yourself invaluable.  Staying organized is a big part of that. And always be polite, even when you’re telling someone “no.” The attitude of a cordial but unmovable bouncer comes in handy, especially at trade shows.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of working with authors? 
One of the most rewarding parts is going to an event and seeing kids or teens (or adults!) in the audience who are just so excited to be there, they can’t believe their luck that they’re really getting to meet one of their favorite authors.  Seeing that, and knowing you helped make it happen by arranging the event, is fantastic.

Do you have a favorite campaign that you’ve worked on?
There have been a lot of good ones, I can’t pick a favorite!  A fun campaign last year was for Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell.  He’s great, the book was amazing, and it got a fantastic response from the media and booksellers.  Plus I got to meet Jane Goodall!

While every pitch is different, what do you think makes a pitch most successful? How do you keep ahead of the curve when it comes to innovative pitching?
Making your pitch clear and succinct is very important-media are so inundated that you need to tell them why they should care about THIS book in a relatively short email or letter, and not go on for hundreds of words. To keep up with what’s current and pitch stories the media will find interesting, I follow a lot of different types of news for publishing, media in general, and children’s/teen issues: blogs, Twitter, industry e-newsletters, real print newspapers and magazines.

There is a sense in the industry that often times to advance, you have to jump from house-to-house.  You’ve been at Little, Brown since you were an intern 6 years ago-can you speak to how the experience of staying with one house might be different from moving from house to house?
I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been promoted within my department and so I’ve stayed at LBYR for my whole career.  Seeing how the company has changed and grown in that time has been very educational, and you get a deeper understanding of how a company works when you stay with them for more than two or three years.  The perspective it gives me is really valuable-I can tell people why certain systems are in place, what we did before, and why we changed-so we don’t repeat mistakes.

Tell us about your favorite “author” moment! Any crazy stories? Crowd control?
When Stephenie Meyer was promoting the release of Breaking Dawn, I was helping my boss at her morning show appearance.  I was in charge of keeping the small, but very Twilight-obsessed, studio audience entertained and in control before the interview and between commercial breaks.  It was very exciting, but very stressful!

What is your favorite word?
At this moment: cerulean.  It will probably change tomorrow.

What is your favorite industry-related website or blog?
Forever Young Adult is always entertaining, they really showcase the enthusiasm and sarcasm that YA books inspire in the no-longer-teens who love them.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Job-related: “It’s okay for there to be silence in the car.”  (Advice given by my boss before I embarked on my first tour and I was worried that I would need to entertain the author during every minute of it.  But really most authors want to relax during the driving time, you can take your cues from them on whether they want to chat.)

What are you reading now? Or what was the last book you really enjoyed?
Right now I am in the middle of Pure by Julianna Baggott.  Great characters, very grim post-apocalyptic world, overall a very engrossing and creepy book.

Recent years have seen a rise in picture-book biographies. Were your life ever to be chronicled in such a way-and don’t be modest, now-who would you choose to illustrate it?
There are so many whose work I admire and would love to see their version of my life, like Marla Frazee or Sophie Blackall or Dan Santat.  But I think I’ll go with Sujean Rim, because she would turn my character into someone very chic and stylish-no matter what I’m like in real life:)