BOW 056: Brendan Fredericks: The Man Behind The Publishing Curtain

The Business of Writing Podcast

In This Episode:

Brendan Fredericks has worked in the book publishing industry for nearly twenty years. As a bookseller and events manager with Angus & Robertson he worked with authors from Steve Waugh, Warrick Capper to Jane Fonda.

As in-house book publicist and publicity manager with the prestigious publishers Hachette and Bloomsbury, he promoted and toured luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Germaine Greer, Robyn Davidson, Richard Ford, A.C. Grayling, and Jeff Lindsay.

Now Brendan focuses on his own agency, BFredericksPR, to champion books and ideas to media, festival directors, booksellers, and readers.

His agency represents authors and entertainers and provides standout promotion campaigns, and management for publishers and authors across Australia and internationally.

Join us today as he reveals the secrets of the professional publishing world, the ins and outs of book publicity, and what it takes to be the man behind the curtain.

Episode Highlights

• How Brendan first broke into the competitive publishing world
• The difference between an agent and a publisher
• His key tips for pitching your book idea to a publisher
• The ins and outs of how publishing contracts work (with numbers!)
• What it’s like working with some of the world’s greatest authors like Elizabeth Gilbert and Germaine Greer
• How he transitioned from in-house publicist to owning his own agency
• Why authors need to be very careful about who they choose as their publicist
• The WORST thing you could do when pitching your book to a publisher
• The fun stories behind Brendan’s craziest book campaigns
• What to do when your pitch gets rejected

And plenty more along the way. Get the resources mentioned in this episode below.