Tips for Writing Effective News Releases for Your Self-Published Book - The Savvy Book Marketer

Tips for Writing Effective News Releases for Your Self-Published Book

Posted: 05 Apr 2011 03:44 AM PDT

For today's guest post, I'm delighted to host Sue Collier on the virtual book tour for the 5th edition of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing.

A major step toward generating free publicity for your self-published book is effective and timely news releases. These short news pieces are simple yet enormously productive—and they are vastly underused by most self-publishers. In the old days, these brief news stories were sent to media outlets and were often the lifeblood of harried editors who want to keep their readers abreast of what's new but didn't have the editorial staff to cover such things themselves. Today, they should be written not only with the media in mind; consumers are getting their news online now more than ever.

Most PR experts claim that 300 to 500 words is the ideal length. Be sure to include contact information, including the full title and subtitle of the book, the author name, price, ISBN and LCCN, number of pages, trim size, binding, and publishing company information (address, phone number, email address, and website). Don't forget a contact name for editors who want more information or who want to request a review copy. (Note: Use a pseudonym rather than the author's name here if you want to look like a publishing company.) Also include the number of illustrations and tables, as well as back matter or resources included.

Here are additional tips to write a power-packed press release:

• Write a provocative headline. (Some headlines have twice the interest of the products or events they promote.) You need to grab readers' attention and make them want to read on.

• Cover the five Ws—who, what, where, when, and why—in the first or second paragraph. Editors will frequently cut releases to fit available space. Although some editors rewrite the release, most will not. But they will keep cutting material from the bottom until it fits the space.