MPA Exclusive:
Hearst’s Kleiman Co-Authors Book on Self-Promotion

Can PR skills help you snare a new job, get promoted and improve your professional life?  Jessica Kleiman, Hearst Magazines’ VP, Public Relations, believes so strongly in the power of PR that she co-wrote a book about it:  “Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired and Rewarded at Work.”  In her 10 years with Hearst, she’s been a tireless advocate for the company, its brands and all magazine media.  MPA wanted to learn more about her book (available at Amazon) than we read on her website, so we conducted this email interview.
 
 

MPA:   You have strenuous day job and a family.  How did you find time to write a book?
Kleiman:  My writing partner, Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, and I actually got the book deal the week before my now one-year-old daughter was born so 2010 was quite a busy year! I didn’t nap much on my maternity leave and tried to write as much as possible while Emma was sleeping. Then after returning to work, I spent my nights and weekends researching, interviewing, writing and editing.  I’m lucky to have a very supportive husband!

Why is it so important for individuals to stand out now and promote themselves?  Doesn’t excellence get noticed?
In a tough job market, it’s essential that you stand out from the crowd and show your value in the workplace. Hard work and results are extremely important, of course, but if no one knows about your talents and contributions, they may go unnoticed when it comes time for a promotion or a new job opportunity.

beyourownbestpublicist.com/

Okay…..long story short.  What’s the single critical message that readers can take away from this book?
Celebrities and politicians carefully craft an image for themselves, often with the help of a team of PR pros, but anyone can use the art of self-promotion to develop a personal brand and attract attention in a positive way at work.

You have a co-author for the book (Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, who formerly handled PR for such magazines as Working Mother, ELLE and ELLE Decor).  How did you divide the labor?  Did she do all the writing and did you get have all the fun by talking to the media and going to lunch at Michael’s?
Luckily, Meryl and I had written a proposal that helped sell the book so we had a pretty clear outline and idea of how the book would flow. We split up the writing and interviewing, then edited each other’s chapters, which worked well. And, believe it or not, we got through the entire process without one meal at Michael’s (although we did give Starbucks a lot of business!).

You started each chapter with a smart, provocative quote from a famous person.  What’s your favorite quote in the book?
It would have to be a tie between Oscar Wilde’s “There is only one thing worse in the world than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” and Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

So who’s publicizing your book?
Our publisher hired a PR firm in Boston to help us promote the book but, as Meryl and I have 30-plus years of PR experience between us, we’re of course leveraging our relationships with the media as well.  It’s been interesting being on the other side of where we typically are – in front of the camera instead of behind the scenes – so that has taken some getting used to.  It’s a lot easier to prepare others to do great interviews than do them yourself!