Tom Hudock: Sr. Publicist at Author Solutions
While in the online Entertainment Business Bachelor's Degree program, Tom was able to apply his daily lessons to his job daily
Creative people tend to gravitate toward their careers early in life, and for Tom Hudock, that drive started in high school, where he began honing his skills in public relations at his local television and radio stations after class.
“I never wanted to be the one in the spotlight, but I wanted to make those people look good,” Tom says. “It was just something I was always drawn to. I like the spectacle, and being able to help entertain people and get them out of their realm – and have fun doing it.”
A decade on, that dedication has helped Tom land his current gig as Senior Publicist at Author Solutions, a self-publishing house based in Bloomington, Indiana, that works with unsigned authors to produce and promote their work. Intrigued by their business model, Tom started with the company while still a student in our online Entertainment Business Master's Degree Program – a move that helped him in both fields as he worked his way through his career and his graduate degree.
“Working and going to school was an interesting experience,” he says. “A lot of the weekly assignment and projects I was assigned throughout [the program] I applied in my daily job. I actually brought in a lot of things that we talked about in class, articles and that sort of thing. So the whole Full Sail mantra of real world education – I used a lot of my coursework in my position and I think it honestly helped to get me where I am.”
Tom was originally brought on board as an entry-level publicist, but was promoted to Senior Publicist, the supervisor of the company’s promotional services, after graduation. This managerial role has him helping develop marketing and promotional materials for the company’s roster of clients across their various imprints, including AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris and Trafford.
“We’re an avenue for all sorts of new writers to publish their books,” he says. “We’ll give someone the opportunity to publish and then offer a full realm of marketing services, which are the different aspects of publicity for an author and their book. We have marketing and publicity products ranging from creating a standard press release, to actually taking that press release and distributing it on the national newswire.
“I oversee a department of eight to ten publicists, and I’m responsible for assignments and new product development for authors. On a daily basis we get a lot of customer feedback, and we get to tailor-make products and services that will help that particular author. It’s definitely interesting dealing with all different kinds of people and addressing their needs.”
Like other entertainment industries, the publishing world is also in a transitional phase, adjusting to changing trends in print distribution. Tom and his team are working to embrace this evolution, utilizing the latest technology and consumer trends to help their roster of clients reach a wider audience.
“We’re really leading the indie revolution in terms of publishing,” he says. “We use new avenues like social networking to sell books, and try to adapt to demographics and what people are into right now. We also use search engine optimization to get our news up front, and 10 years ago that wouldn’t have been around. It’s fun seeing the business and the technology and how that’s going to play out in the future.”
Only two months after graduating from Full Sail, Tom is already coming up on his first year at Author Solutions, which has seen him create successful campaigns for dozens of up and coming authors. Practicing for the PR world since high school, he’s looking forward to helping develop the careers of even more artists as he continues to grow in his own field.
“It’s been really interesting to be on the successful end of the industry and to be doing so well,” he says. “Knowing early on that I wanted to do something like this and pursuing it, it’s been an amazing experience. And I know I want to do something in entertainment for the rest of my life, and it’s something that will never get old because it’s always developing in every aspect.”
“I never wanted to be the one in the spotlight, but I wanted to make those people look good,” Tom says. “It was just something I was always drawn to. I like the spectacle, and being able to help entertain people and get them out of their realm – and have fun doing it.”
A decade on, that dedication has helped Tom land his current gig as Senior Publicist at Author Solutions, a self-publishing house based in Bloomington, Indiana, that works with unsigned authors to produce and promote their work. Intrigued by their business model, Tom started with the company while still a student in our online Entertainment Business Master's Degree Program – a move that helped him in both fields as he worked his way through his career and his graduate degree.
“Working and going to school was an interesting experience,” he says. “A lot of the weekly assignment and projects I was assigned throughout [the program] I applied in my daily job. I actually brought in a lot of things that we talked about in class, articles and that sort of thing. So the whole Full Sail mantra of real world education – I used a lot of my coursework in my position and I think it honestly helped to get me where I am.”
Tom was originally brought on board as an entry-level publicist, but was promoted to Senior Publicist, the supervisor of the company’s promotional services, after graduation. This managerial role has him helping develop marketing and promotional materials for the company’s roster of clients across their various imprints, including AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris and Trafford.
“We’re an avenue for all sorts of new writers to publish their books,” he says. “We’ll give someone the opportunity to publish and then offer a full realm of marketing services, which are the different aspects of publicity for an author and their book. We have marketing and publicity products ranging from creating a standard press release, to actually taking that press release and distributing it on the national newswire.
“I oversee a department of eight to ten publicists, and I’m responsible for assignments and new product development for authors. On a daily basis we get a lot of customer feedback, and we get to tailor-make products and services that will help that particular author. It’s definitely interesting dealing with all different kinds of people and addressing their needs.”
Like other entertainment industries, the publishing world is also in a transitional phase, adjusting to changing trends in print distribution. Tom and his team are working to embrace this evolution, utilizing the latest technology and consumer trends to help their roster of clients reach a wider audience.
“We’re really leading the indie revolution in terms of publishing,” he says. “We use new avenues like social networking to sell books, and try to adapt to demographics and what people are into right now. We also use search engine optimization to get our news up front, and 10 years ago that wouldn’t have been around. It’s fun seeing the business and the technology and how that’s going to play out in the future.”
Only two months after graduating from Full Sail, Tom is already coming up on his first year at Author Solutions, which has seen him create successful campaigns for dozens of up and coming authors. Practicing for the PR world since high school, he’s looking forward to helping develop the careers of even more artists as he continues to grow in his own field.
“It’s been really interesting to be on the successful end of the industry and to be doing so well,” he says. “Knowing early on that I wanted to do something like this and pursuing it, it’s been an amazing experience. And I know I want to do something in entertainment for the rest of my life, and it’s something that will never get old because it’s always developing in every aspect.”
