If you’ve written a book, you probably have spent many months toiling over the book proposal, negotiating with the publisher, writing the book, rewriting it, preparing your marketing materials and determining how to sell it. If you’re self-published, you’ve probably done even more.

The choice of who to hire to do your publicity—or help with a portion of it—will be one of the most important decisions you will make. Don’t blow it by hiring the first publicist you hear about. You can turn over the entire job of promoting your book to a publicist. But the more actively involved you are, the better

For more information on how to hire a publicist that’s right for you, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.