Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 163 - Getting A Creative Edge with Mickey Mikkelson

In this episode Mark interviews Mickey Mikellson of Creative Edge Publicity - a boutique publicity firm specializing in arranging events such as book signings, library or school presentations, online and print media opportunities, and many other events related to the arts in general. Mickey and his firm are advocates for both the traditional and independent artist.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some recent comments from listeners, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, Mark and Mickey talk about:

• The last time Mark interviewed Mickey, for the Kobo Writing Life podcast in Calgary at When Words Collide
• What Creative Edge Publicity does and how they work with authors in terms of setting up interviews, chats, appearances, articles, etc, since 2016
• How it had been Robert J. Sawyer, Mickey's first traditionally published author, who introduced Mark to Mickey
• How Creative Edge Publicity went full-time in September 2020 and doubled their client base in less than a month
• How Mickey got into the business
• The typical services and connections that Creative Edge offers to their clients
• The reality of not being able to guarantee sales, but working on long term building-blocks of opportunities
• Some of the differences now that this business is operating full time
• The rewarding experience of getting to work with highly intelligent and creative individuals on a daily basis
• The difference between a publisher's in-house publicist and an independent publicist
• Mickey's preference towards creating and continuing to build a relationship with an author who is a client, versus short-term, one-off projects
• The ability to continue to publicize back-list titles versus the three month window of publicity that comes with traditional publishing
• The first conversation with potential clients in terms of determining the fit, which is typically one hour
• How Mickey signs authors not based on the content of their books, but more on their personality and how they might fit well within the larger team of clients
• The perspective of the entire client basis of Creative Edge being a team or extended family
• The typical budget range an author working with Creative Edge would be looking at
• The results-based charges currently used for billing clients
• The value of attracting a reader-based audience versus a mass media based audience
• Some of the misconceptions authors have about publicists

Links of Interest:

• Creative Edge Publicity
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
• Mark's NaNoWriMo Profile
• Episode 162 - Happy Accidents with Joshua Pantalleresco
• Episode 161 - NaNo No-No's
• Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black
• Episode 155 - Rebel Reflections with Guest Host Sacha Black
• Episode 145 - Leveraging Your Author IP and Hybrid Publishing with Robert J. Sawyer
• Episode 004 - Optimizing Your Author Brand with Robert J. Sawyer
• Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020)
• Kobo Writing Life Podcast EP 97 - (Mark chats with Mickey, Robert J. Sawyer, and C.C. Humphries)
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Mickey Mikkelson is the founder and brain child behind Creative Edge Publicity.

Graduating from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a Marketing Diploma, Mickey has been in the book industry since 2006 where he started as the Special Events Manager in St Albert, Alberta for Chapters/Indigo, the largest bookstore chain in Canada.

Ten years later, he formed Creative Edge Publicity, an aggressive boutique publicity firm that specializes in advocating for both the traditional and independent artist. Realizing there was a direct need by authors for publicity, Mickey tailored his firm to obtain media for indie authors initially and then spreading out to promoting works by traditionally published writers as well.

In the four years that Creative Edge has been in existence, Mickey has managed to sign some of the top talents in the literary industry including multiple award winners, signing New York Times Bestsellers, and has been able to get indie authors various levels of success with many of them becoming international bestselling authors while working with the Creative Edge brand.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0