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

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.

• Start out with a tantalizing statement, startling statistic, or arresting question to grab attention. After covering the five Ws, add supportive information in order of importance. As in all promotional writing, state a problem or concern with which the editor and readers can identify. Your book offers the solution. (In the case of fiction, an intriguing synopsis can be the attention getter, or tie into current events if possible.) Do not rave about how good the book is. Such fluff hits the round file. Instead, develop the problem and offer a new solution.

• Include the author’s credentials for writing this book. These should be condensed into one power-packed paragraph. You can adapt or use the author bio you wrote for the cover. Don’t be alarmed if your name is not a household word. A little imagination and brainstorming will soon disclose supportive information about your qualifications. Certainly you are qualified; you wrote the book.

• Don’t overlook pertinent keywords. Try to use them in your headline and in the first 50 words of the release.

Once it’s written, submit it to any number of free or a paid distribution services that will make it available to editors, writers, and consumers at all kinds of news media for use in reporting or feature stories. Remember that even after the initial launch of your book, you can still send out newsy press releases any time there’s a milestone to report, a tie-in to your subject in a larger news story, or if your book has won an award or some other achievement.

About the Author

Self-publishing expert SUE COLLIER is coauthor of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition (Writer’s Digest Books, 2010) and the forthcoming Jump Start Your Books Sales, 2nd Edition (Communication Creativity, 2011). She has been working with authors and small presses for nearly two decades, providing writing, editing, production, and promotions work for hundreds of book projects. Visit her website and blog at Self-Publishing Resources.

Comments

[Sue Collier]

Thanks so much for hosting me, Dana!

[David Therrien]

The article makes sense but how do I find distributin sevices for my press release?
thank you.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

David, for my most important releases, I use the paid service at PRWeb.com. For routine releases, I use the free service at PRLog.com. PRLog is also offering a paid option now, with wider exposure. It's also important to develop your own media list, specific to your own needs. For more PR tips, see http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/resources/book-publicity-tips-for-authors.html

[Tony Eldridge]

Thanks for the advice, Sue. You have given me ideas for using press releases for my own books. I admit, I am one of the authors who under utilize this powerful marketing tool. Dana, thanks for inviting Sue to share her advice with us.

[Shelley Hitz, Self Publishing Coach]

Sue and Dana,

Thanks for some really great tips regarding press releases! I've started using them and found a great list of free sites to submit a PR. Here's the list of 50 free places...http://www.avangate.com/articles/press-release-distribution_69.htm

Obviously you'll get the best impact by submitting to PRweb.com, but it's good to know there are other options out there :)

Have either of you found with your experience that one package or the other is better at PRweb.com (http://service.prweb.com/pricing/)?

Thanks again!
Shelley

[Dawn Carrington]

These are some really great pointers, especially the one about the keywords.

In regards to sending out the press releases, one of the first things I learned when using them was to start small like in the local area. So that's the first thing I do when I send out a press release—I send it to all the local newspapers, giving them the option to pick up the story first. Journalists really appreciate it, and many of our authors have been interviewed locally because of this. Once the locals have all responded (or not), then I move on to PR Web.

Dawn Carrington
CEO Whispers Publishing

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Great tip Dawn - thank you!

[Justin Brown]

I agree with all the points made by author, the tips you provided are good for over-all marketing and website traffic.

[James]

Dana, thanks for inviting Sue to share her advice with us.

[Tessa Stokes]

I found this article and site because it was tweeted, and I am really glad that I did. I had not thought of doing anything like news releases for my books and the advice offered here is great.
Also thanks to the people who have commented with links to other sites.
Self publishers need all the tips they can get,so a big thank you.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Tessa, I'm so glad you found The Savvy Book Marketer and this article was helpful to you. I wish you much success with your book.