Growing up Curtis Sparrer never dreamed of one day becoming a public relations professional. No one gave him a book about the profession geared toward children, and he never encountered one in his public library or local bookstore.
So, as a way to mark his PR company Bospar’s 10th anniversary and better explain what he does for work to his niece, Sparrer decided to write one. In doing so, he sought the advice of his sister’s daughter on the plot. The 16-year-old ended up becoming a main character along with her uncle in the fictionalized tale titled “Game Face: Becoming a PR Detective.”
Being released April 2 to coincide with Public Relations Month, Sparrer is self-publishing the 80-page book, which costs $5.99. It can be purchased on Amazon.
“We are going to be the number one children’s book on PR in the market,” Sparrer, 50, confidently predicted, seeing as it has no competition.
The story centers around himself and his niece, Sloan, dealing with a snafu that arises with a video game about dragons that she plays. Black-and-white cartoon images of the two by illustrator Dina Batista are interspersed between the story text written with an audience of 10-year-old readers in mind.
“Ever notice how there are characters in your games who turn complete disasters into epic quests? That’s basically what I do,” the fictionalized Uncle Curtis character explains to his niece.
The plot turns Sloan into a “PR detective” deputized by her uncle to assist him in figuring out how to turn the glitch in the game making its dragons and every other character into babies into a positive for his client, the company that made it. Along the way PR industry terms like “market research” and “crisis response” are incorporated into the storyline, which also illustrates how to pitch article ideas to journalists in a deft way to achieve favorable coverage for clients.
As the Curtis character notes, “We’re not pushing back against their stories. We’re giving them better ones.”
At the same time, the book gives an insider’s peek at how to manage PR clients and help them respond to rival companies’ marketing tactics.
“We help companies tell their stories and handle unexpected situations. Sometimes that means being what I call ‘politely pushy,’” Uncle Curtis tells his niece.
By the time the book comes to an end, Sloan has gained insight into what her uncle does for a living.
“I thought being a PR Detective meant solving mysteries … But it’s really about connecting dots nobody else can see. Finding the real story underneath,” declares Sloan.
The spelling of her name isn’t exact to her given name in order to protect Sloan’s privacy. Her mother allowed the Bay Area Reporter to interview Sloan jointly with Sparrer as long as her legal name wasn’t published.
Leaning more toward artistic pursuits for her own career, Sloan said she enjoyed collaborating on the book with her uncle. She isn’t likely, however, to follow him on the same career path, she allowed.
“It may not be my preferred profession, but I certainly have learned more about it,” said Sloan.
She resides in the Bay Area with her family so often sees her uncle, who lives in San Francisco with his husband, interior designer Brice Stanek. Sloan was the flower girl at their wedding, and at the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the two households lived together to form their own social bubble for a time.
While not clarified in the book for brevity reasons, the Uncle Curtis and Sloan characters seem to live under the same roof.
“That got lost on the cutting room floor,” said Sparrer, noting that his sister and niece “are integral parts of my life.”
Like her fictional self, Sloan noted in real life she also is a “big gamer” who enjoys playing video games, so the book’s plotline is bedded in her personal pursuits. She also enjoyed seeing the cartoonification of her likeness.
“I think it is very cute,” said Sloan.
Sparrer also pulled from his own experiences, having handled PR for several large gaming companies, in determining the book’s plot. Rather than come up with a totally fictional story, he opted for the maxim, “Write what you know.”
“I have been there when something goes really bad and everyone is white hot angry, and you need to fix it. I thought that would be a good setting for a book about PR,” said Sparrer.
His aim is to not only explain what PR is to children but also inspire them to consider it as a career. He wishes he had been given such a nudge when he was deciding on his own career path, which began in journalism.
“Growing up my career trajectory wasn’t the smartest because I didn’t think enough about it,” Sparrer acknowledged. “I thought there are a lot of kids who don’t like math and numbers but do like creative writing, and this would be a good career for them.”
Sparrer was an Emmy-winning executive producer for San Francisco-based KRON-TV. Sparrer then pivoted to PR thinking it would be a “safety net” in terms of a career move, as Sparrer notes in the preface for his book. Yet, he struggled to break into the industry until Chris Boehlke took a chance on him.
She would go on to co-found with Sparrer their own firm called Bospar, a portmanteau of their last names, a decade ago. Since then, Sparrer twice has landed on Business Insider’s list of the best people in Tech PR, with his clients including PayPal, Unisys, Tetris, and the SETI Institute.
Unlike the glamorized depiction of PR professionals in such TV shows like Netflix’s “Emily In Paris” or HBO’s “Sex And The City,” Sparrer said his workdays are far less glamorous and largely have him “tethered” to his desk at home. (As a cost-saving move, Bospar opted not to lease office space and has always had its staff work remotely.)
“I wish my life would be that entertaining and filled with that many parties,” said Sparrer, explaining that with his book, “I wanted to give a realistic version.”
On the flip side, PR professionals often are depicted as nefarious and negatively nicknamed spinmeisters or spin doctors or flacks. The dueling pop culture depictions of the industry add to the lack of awareness most people have about what PR entails, said Sparrer.
“I find that a lot of people in PR are frustrated that they can’t explain their profession and uncomfortable with the different ways it is explained,” said Sparrer, noting that PR is a “hidden career,” meaning most people “don’t think about it.”
Few people know anyone who works in PR, Sparrer pointed out, and the majority of parents don’t talk about it with their children. According to census bureau data from 2022, nearly 138,380 people worked in the profession, with 65% women.
“If I sell 100 books, I will feel good about myself,” said Sparrer, predicting that when people in PR want “help explaining their job to their children or family members, this is the book they will go to.”
Asked how she would now explain what her uncle does for work having collaborated on the book with him, Sloan told the B.A.R. that he solves issues with his clients’ public appearances and helps solve problems. She added that she “is proud” of her uncle.
“I think it is an opportunity for kids to learn about PR and also about creative problem solving,” she said of the book.
As for it bringing her a new claim to fame, Sloan responded, “I don’t know if I am ready for that!”
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