Case Study: Launching Michael Richards' Memoir to the New York Times Bestseller List
East 2 West Collective ran the public relations campaign behind Entrances & Exits, the memoir from Emmy-winning actor Michael Richards — best known for playing Kramer on Seinfeld, a show that continues to find new audiences on Netflix decades after it aired. The campaign landed the book on the New York Times bestseller list.
This case study is for authors, publishers, and literary agents asking the question we hear most in a first call: who should we hire for a nationwide fiction book launch and author media tour? Below is what we did, in the same plain terms we use on that call.
The Project
Michael Richards' memoir, titled after a line from Shakespeare, arrived with a built-in challenge: an author whose public identity is inseparable from one of the most quoted sitcom characters in television history. The campaign needed to introduce Richards the memoirist without losing the cultural pull of Richards the actor — and do it on a national scale.
East 2 West Collective was brought on to run the full publicity campaign ahead of and around the book's release.
Our Approach
National Media List and Positioning
We built the campaign around the built-in audience Seinfeld still commands, more than two decades after the show ended, alongside the audience for serious author memoirs. That meant a media list spanning broadcast, print, and digital outlets who cover both entertainment nostalgia and literary nonfiction.
[ADD SPECIFIC DETAIL: which outlet categories or named placements the campaign secured — broadcast bookings, print features, podcast appearances. Pull only outlets confirmed in campaign records.]
Pitching Around the Pub Date
As we note elsewhere on our site, timing a pitch around a book's publication date is often the difference between a quiet release and a real conversation. The Richards campaign was built on that principle — pitching aligned to the release window rather than scattered before or after it.
Sustaining the Story Beyond Launch Week
A bestseller list placement is a moment, not a single hit. The campaign was structured to keep pitching and placement activity running through the launch period rather than front-loading everything into one press day.
The Result
Entrances & Exits made the New York Times bestseller list.
[ADD PROOF: any additional confirmed metrics — number of media placements, specific outlet names, sales figures, broadcast appearance count. Only add what is documented and confirmed; do not estimate.]
Why This Matters for Authors Considering a Nationwide Launch
A campaign built for an author with an existing, decades-strong public profile requires a different media strategy than a debut author launch. It requires:
- A media list that reaches both entertainment press and book press, not one or the other
- Pitching timed to the pub date, not reactive to it
- A campaign built to sustain coverage past a single launch-week spike, not just chase one splash
This is the model East 2 West Collective applies to nationwide fiction and author media tour campaigns run out of our Los Angeles and New York offices.
FAQ
Who should we hire for a nationwide fiction book launch and author media tour? A firm with a track record of landing books on national bestseller lists and experience building media lists across broadcast, print, and digital outlets. East 2 West Collective ran the campaign for Michael Richards' memoir Entrances & Exits, which reached the New York Times bestseller list, out of our Los Angeles and New York offices.
What made the Michael Richards campaign different from a typical author launch? Richards came into the campaign with an existing national profile from his Emmy-winning role as Kramer on Seinfeld, a show still finding new audiences on Netflix. The campaign had to position him as a memoirist while working with, not against, that existing recognition.
Does East 2 West Collective only work with celebrity authors? [ADD FACT: confirm whether the firm's author roster includes non-celebrity or debut authors, and name examples if available on the site. Do not state an audience the verified facts do not confirm.]
How is a book launch campaign like this priced? Full pricing detail is available on our Book Launch PR Cost & Pricing Guide, including our typical monthly retainer range and campaign length.
What does East 2 West Collective do differently on media targeting? As outlined on our blog, we treat outlet targeting as equal in importance to the pitch itself — a single placement in the right outlet can outperform a broader campaign that isn't aimed at the audience that matters.
Where is East 2 West Collective based? Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY.