M.J. Rose conveys several stories about how some authors can be dismissive of both publicists and journalists. While 95% of the authors and publicists I have dealt with have been nothing less than amicable and accommodating, even when an author cannot be produced for an interview, I have, nevertheless, experienced a few variations on these tales myself.

I also wanted to followup on Ron’s item from this morning. While I did not receive a return phone call back from the publicist, I think it’s likely that the September 28 interview in the Washington Post may have been set up already, and that the “all interviews are cancelled” line may have applied to any interviews that had not already been set in stone. Again, I don’t blame anyone here, nor do I take it personally. I’ll be the first to confess that I’m not the Washington Post. As an online outlet, I am pretty low on the totem pole. And as long as I’ve written for online outlets, even as a professional, this has always been the case. Some publishers understand websites and blogs and podcasts, and some don’t. Or simply won’t.