The Database Dilemma: Managing the Publicity "List"By Chris Artis - Publishing Perpectives

A book publicist is only as good as his or her Rolodex. That was one of the first things I learned nearly two decades ago, when I was an assistant in a two-person publicity department in a small New York publishing house.
My boss's Rolodex was large and overstuffed with the business cards of editors, reporters, and producers, all of whom he'd developed professional relationships with during the course of his career. It sat next to his phone on an otherwise pristine - and yes, computerless! - desk.
His Rolodex was a totem to what he'd achieved, as well as an essential tool that he relied on to do business.
Likewise, a publishing house's publicity department is only as good as its List, that is, its shared media list. Like a massive Rolodex, the List includes contacts crucial to a book publicist on a daily basis - book editors at daily newspapers, guest bookers at the network morning shows, dozens of NPR producers. (read on...)