Go directly to the source by reaching out to reporters who cover your topic. If you’re an author of a business book, you should target reporters who cover business, a cookbook author should contact food writers, and an author of a sports guide should contact sports reporters. See how this works? Don’t waste your time—or the reporter’s time—by reaching out to those who cover general news or topics that have nothing to do with your book.
Once you identify the writers who are most interested in your subject matter, reach out to them. Reporters need authors as much as we need them! They are always on the look-out for story ideas and sources to interview so don’t be afraid to contact them via e-mail (most publications have websites that make it easy to locate and contact reporters).
I recommend sending a brief e-mail to introduce you and your book. Include a short synopsis (one or two paragraphs), a brief bio about you, and ask the reporter if he/she would like to receive a complimentary review copy.
Some reporters will turn you down. Some won’t even respond. This is the reality of the publicity game. However, it’s quite likely that you will end up in their database of sources. Don’t be surprised if you hear from them in the future.
For those who request a review copy, send it promptly along with a brief personal note of thanks. Be sure to follow up within a couple of weeks with an e-mail. Ask if the book arrived safely and if the reporter has any questions for you. This is a good reminder to them to follow-through.
This is excellent advice on how to start the process and see it through. And I especially like the database comment, as it stresses the importance of forward thinking in this business.
Good advice! In addition to my humor blog, I’m a reporter for a local publication in NJ. So, I’ve often been on the receiving end of PR from authors and can offer an additional tip:
PLEASE take a minute to learn the demographic of the publication. Especially in our case, we only review books occasionally and when we do, it’s books by local authors only. Yet we continually get pitches from all over the country. It’s not that they’re not quality or interesting, but rather it’s often outside our local demographic and not relevant to our readers.
Also, in my case, as I am “only” a reporter, I need to run everything by my editors before proceeding. So the more info you provide to the reporter supporting WHY it would be relevant to the particular publication specifically, the better.
Believe me, I know it’s so much easier to just send every publication the same generic blast, but it really does make a difference when you do a little investigating and take a minute to personalize to the specific publication, reporter or editor.
Best,
Christie
Excellent feedback, Christie. Thank you!
This a great article for authors seeking out the media at both the local and national level. As a self published author, I have contacted the media on both a local and national level with mixed results. But I agree, a little extra investigative work can mean the difference between having someone write an article about you and your book or not. Thanks for posting this Stephanie.
Very helpful article. I plan to deliver review copies in person to local media folk. It’s important to imagine who your target audience will be. I emailed the proof copy of my story to several media outlets trying to get reviews for the back cover. Only one responded, but I got a great review from a respected journalist. My story is a true story about a homeless cat who finds a forever home. Will not only try to arrange signings on adoption days (and contribute part of the proceeds), but will also give a copy to my cat’s vet and give a lobby copy to the animal hospital. Would like to read something about how to get into a library and into the school system. What do you think about PTO’s? It’s also helpful to use a local publisher that you can establish rapport with. They are invaluable marketing resources.