industry
Publicity & PR
services
Brand Strategy
Website Copyedit
voice
Relational Knowledgable Insightful
Red Pencil Publicity
and Marketing
It’s a special treat when I get to work with professionals who I held a pre-existing admiration for. After hearing Helena Brantley moderate a panel at PageBreak, a multi-day panel hosted by the Publishing Professionals Network (PPN), I was struck by her poise, graciousness, and razor-sharp intellect.
Luckily for me, I had a chance to introduce myself and talk with Helena about the intersection between publicity and copywriting, and, even more luckily, found out that she was looking for a strong writer to finalize the copy for her new website.
Introduction
Helena Brantley is a publicist who specializes in promoting nonprofit books. Before founding her publicity firm Red Pencil Publicity + Marketing, she worked for HarperCollins and managed campaigns for a number of national and NYT bestsellers.
the client
Helena connected with me through PPN looking for a copyeditor to assist with the launch of Red Pencil’s new website. She needed someone who was familiar with both the book publishing and publicity industries and who could provide insider strategy to analyze and clarify her market positioning.
We kicked off Helena’s project with my bespoke onboarding processes, including questionnaires, analyses, and strategy. This allowed us to hone in on her Unique Selling Points (USPs) and accurately develop Red Pencil’s brand voice. After a few key rounds of feedback, this information was used to edit and rework her existing draft.
The final product was polished, impactful copy that was web-ready for Helena’s designer to integrate. She also received a brand strategy slide deck that encompassed the onboarding work we’d done, outlining Red Pencil’s USPs, tone, and best practices for writing. It powerfully represented her reputation in the industry, outlined her unique expertise, and gave prospective clientele a strong understanding of her unique process.
the project
industry
Publicity & PR
services
Brand Strategy
Website Copyedit
"She is a rising star, and is no doubt primed to leave her mark on the industry."
"As someone used to driving the work I do with authors and publishers, it was such a delight to sit in the passenger’s seat and have someone else drive– someone who I grew to trust from the start to the end of this project.
I knew exactly what was happening and what was needed from me at every point, and was struck by the thoughtfulness of her client experience. Hannah’s combination of skill, process, and thoughtfulness really helped me move from being stuck and unsure on different pieces to having a final product that I was really pleased with. I will enthusiastically hire her again.”
– Helena Brantley, Publicist