Tag: news release

Some Tips on Press Releases for Independent Authors

mickie kennedyGuest Post
by Mickie Kennedy

So you’ve written your book and self-published. Time to get started on the next book, right? Wait, wait, wait — hold up. You’ve missed a step. After your book is out there in the world, you can’t just leave it hanging.

When you’re looking to tap into new markets without the benefit of a publisher marketing your book for you, you’re obviously going to need to put some time and effort into making the international community aware of your work. Continue reading “Some Tips on Press Releases for Independent Authors”

Setting the Hook

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how to craft a news release. If you missed it, you can find it here. And Kat wrote a post about distributing your release, which you can find here.

But writing the release and distributing it are only part of the battle; what you want is to hook an actual reporter, so that he or she actually reads the thing and writes a news story about it. We’ve had a few posts about hooking the media on your story idea – in fact, here’s one. But while theory is nice, I thought it might be helpful to watch hook-setting in action. Continue reading “Setting the Hook”

How to Write a News Release

Back when I was a journalist, I saw more attempts at eye-catching news releases than you could shake a stick at. Releases in color-coordinated folders, accompanied by a pile of color brochures on slick paper. Releases accompanied by little giveaway items, like a pen or paperweight graced (of course) with the sender’s corporate logo. Sometimes we’d get really good swag, like a t-shirt or a CD, with a news release.

But tchotchkes don’t make a story newsworthy. If you want a reporter to do a story about your announcement or event, the only thing you have to send is a good news release. (I’m using the term “news release” instead of the more common “press release” because I worked in broadcasting, and broadcasters – ahem – don’t have presses.) Continue reading “How to Write a News Release”