NEWSJ.J. Hebert Is The Celebrity Matchmaker For Books
Dec. 4 2022, Published 3:22 p.m. ET
Renowned entrepreneur, CEO of MindStir Media and Wall Street Journal best-selling author J.J. Hebert is matching celebrities with indie books in an effort to promote those titles onto bestseller lists and generate exposure. According to numerous news outlets, including Tech Times and The Good Men Project, J.J. Hebert — also known as The Self-Publishing Guru — has put together a roster of celebrities ready to help independent authors promote their books through social media.
So far, his team of celebrities includes Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank, Mariel Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway’s granddaughter), Kate Flannery (Meredith) from The Office and Daniel Baldwin. For a fee, any of those celebrities will essentially become a paid spokesperson for an author's book, as long as the celebrity approves of the project.
When we reached out for comment, J.J. Hebert mentioned that there is a vetting process and only a percentage of books pitched to him and his celebrities actually make the cut. Mariel Hemingway is the most prolific of the celebrities in terms of helping authors promote their books through the service offered at MindStir Media, most likely because her famous Hemingway surname attracts a wide range of authors. J.J. added that Mariel is usually working on several books at a time and has promoted over a dozen book projects. A recent book that she promoted, A Flicker in the Water: Inside the Tales by Bob Gonzalez, became an Amazon bestseller a few months back, as per news releases issued by MindStir. Mariel Hemingway wrote the foreword for the book and also filmed a video that MindStir Media published on YouTube and garnered over 10,000 views as part of a service.
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“The celebrity endorsement services my company provides is akin to any business hiring a celebrity to promote a product, a book in this case,” J.J. Hebert explained. “In most instances, the authors we work with are initially unknown and so it helps to add a celebrity to their book. Putting a celebrity on YouTube discussing the book acts like a TV commercial… one that can be embedded on the author’s website or any website and shared all over the world on social media. And having a celebrity write the foreword attaches that celebrity to the book itself, giving the book a sort of celebrity status that can help capture sales and add a level of notability to the project.”
Obviously, one celebrity might be a better fit than another when it comes to the promotion of a particular book. It wouldn’t necessarily make sense to have Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington promoting a book about women’s issues, unless the book had a business angle. Similarly, one wouldn’t look to Kate Flannery to promote their book on accounting.
“I try to match my clients’ books to celebrities that make sense for that particular topic,” J.J. confirmed. “ Mariel Hemingway is a great fit for books related to nature, self-help, memoirs and fiction in general — so on and so forth. Then you have Kevin Harrington for books based on business and entrepreneurship. Daniel Baldwin is great for horror, thriller, suspense, and other mainstream genres. Kate Flannery, as a comedian and co-star of a major sitcom, should be matched with humorous books for the most part. My colleagues joke that I’m like a celebrity matchmaker … for books, that is.”
J.J. Hebert and his company MindStir Media also assist authors with paperback, eBook and audiobook publishing and distribution. J.J. writes for Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine where he shares book publishing and marketing advice and tips. Those interested in receiving a celebrity endorsement for their book can learn more at mindstirmedia.com.
