To Whom it May Concern, by Carol Wyer

Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines recently won a Reviewers Choice Award from Readers Views. A large certificate and shiny new stickers are headed in my direction and my book will proudly display this new accolade. I can call myself an award-winning author which of course, does wonders for my publicity. I have sent out a whole new batch of emails to local press telling them about the next J.K. Rowling who is under their noses.

It’s a difficult job though getting your emails read and picked up by a reporter or show producer. I found most of my emails were going directly into people’s trash. Reporters aren’t too keen on receiving emails from authors shouting about their latest work, even if it has won an award.

How can you craftily get them to acknowledge you? Well, you have to make them believe you are more than an author. The best authors have publicity agents who sell them to the press. In the absence of the few thousand pounds that this can cost you I have devised a simple yet effective way of coming across professionally. I have my own personal press agent!

Before you fall off your chairs in surprise let me elaborate. My PR agent is actually a friend and neighbour. She doesn’t do anything though. I am her. I checked with her first to she was okay about me using her name and occasionally pretending to be her. She thought it was hilarious. Now, I sign my letter with her name; let’s call her Miranda Farquharson for arguments sake. I can send emails which refer to me in the third person:

‘Dear Sirs,

I represent Carol E Wyer, a humorous blogger and award winning author whose best-selling novel has just been ….

Yours faithfully,

Miranda Farquaharson

PR

Email: [email protected]’

I follow up my emails by phoning the reporter and pretending to be Miranda.

‘Good afternoon,

My name Miranda Farquharson. I represent the bestselling author Carol E Wyer. I am phoning about the email I sent on Wednesday about the article she has written on Irritable Male Syndrome? Did you receive it? Oh good, you did. Would you be interested in interviewing her at all? She is tied up next week with interviews in The States but I have a few gaps for the following week.’

Being a mimic I usually make Miranda a Scot. They have nice clear lilting tones and people listen better to that accent than any other.

One further point. I got a professional email address. Hotmail or Gmail just doesn’t get you noticed. I have linked mine to my website so that it is once again, professional. I have [email protected] as one of the five email addresses I use.

So, if you haven’t been left a decent legacy from a rich relative recently then I suggest you employ the same devious tactics as me if you want to get noticed.

_________________________

Carol E Wyer is a humorous blogger and award winning author of Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines and Surfing In Stilettos. Further details about Carol can be found at www.carolewyer.co.uk and her Amazon Author page.

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