All authors know how difficult it is to market books. It takes enormous amounts of time and money. But there is one relatively easy way to get some free exposure for your work--getting an article in your town's local newspaper by sending them a press release.
Now, it helps if you live in a relatively small town. You Manhattanites may be out of luck. I live in a suburban city of about 100k, and I have no trouble getting the paper to print an article every time I have a book come out or win an award. You can check out two of the articles here and here.
How do I do it? By writing an effective press release.
The key to an effective press release is to write it as if it were a proper article, complete with a relevant and interesting headline and your own quotes to drum up interest. It must be well-written and concise with no errors. You want the reporter to be able to cut and paste it right into the newspaper. The less work the reporter has to do, the more likely your article is to get printed.
Here is the text of the press release for my Hexborn Kindle Scout campaign in 2018. Note how similar it is to the finished article linked above.
Award-winning Livermore author A.M. Manay tries something brand new with her latest novel, Hexborn. Manay creates an imaginary world whose characters contend with both magical and political peril and whose geography is based on our own San Francisco Bay Area.
“Unlike my previous paranormal series, which had a contemporary, urban setting, Hexbornis a more traditional ‘sword and sorcery’ fantasy. But the characters in this magical realm face problems familiar to us all: chronic illness, school bullies, difficult bosses, jealous exes, greedy enemies,” Manay shares.
The author is also trying something new on the publishing side, having entered Hexborn in the Kindle Scout competition.
Manay explains, “Kindle Scout is a process used by Amazon to choose titles for its in-house publishing imprint, Kindle Press. It’s akin to crowdsourcing, in that readers get the chance to influence the direction of the publishing industry by choosing books to nominate for publication.”
Following a thirty-day voting period, editors at Kindle Scout choose which books to publish and provide free copies to readers who nominated each winning book. Readers can learn more at http://bit.ly/hexbornscoutor http://www.ammanay.net. Hexborn will be live on Kindle Scout through March 9th.
Always include a picture of the book cover and a head shot of yourself. Depending on space constraints, those may or may not get printed.
I also include a blurb, bio, and social media links. Those don't typically get printed, but you want whoever is writing the article to have those things in front of them without having to go looking.
Finally, you want to address your release to someone by name-- no "to whom it may concern." Find out who is in charge of the arts and entertainment section and address your email to that person with the press release attached. And make sure you proofread your email! You don't want to make a careless error and have your message wind up deleted.
There you have it. It takes about a half hour of work and earns you free local publicity. It's certainly worth a try. Best of luck, and happy writing!
How do I do it? By writing an effective press release.
The key to an effective press release is to write it as if it were a proper article, complete with a relevant and interesting headline and your own quotes to drum up interest. It must be well-written and concise with no errors. You want the reporter to be able to cut and paste it right into the newspaper. The less work the reporter has to do, the more likely your article is to get printed.
Here is the text of the press release for my Hexborn Kindle Scout campaign in 2018. Note how similar it is to the finished article linked above.
Award-winning Livermore author A.M. Manay tries something brand new with her latest novel, Hexborn. Manay creates an imaginary world whose characters contend with both magical and political peril and whose geography is based on our own San Francisco Bay Area.
“Unlike my previous paranormal series, which had a contemporary, urban setting, Hexbornis a more traditional ‘sword and sorcery’ fantasy. But the characters in this magical realm face problems familiar to us all: chronic illness, school bullies, difficult bosses, jealous exes, greedy enemies,” Manay shares.
The author is also trying something new on the publishing side, having entered Hexborn in the Kindle Scout competition.
Manay explains, “Kindle Scout is a process used by Amazon to choose titles for its in-house publishing imprint, Kindle Press. It’s akin to crowdsourcing, in that readers get the chance to influence the direction of the publishing industry by choosing books to nominate for publication.”
Following a thirty-day voting period, editors at Kindle Scout choose which books to publish and provide free copies to readers who nominated each winning book. Readers can learn more at http://bit.ly/hexbornscoutor http://www.ammanay.net. Hexborn will be live on Kindle Scout through March 9th.
I also include a blurb, bio, and social media links. Those don't typically get printed, but you want whoever is writing the article to have those things in front of them without having to go looking.
Finally, you want to address your release to someone by name-- no "to whom it may concern." Find out who is in charge of the arts and entertainment section and address your email to that person with the press release attached. And make sure you proofread your email! You don't want to make a careless error and have your message wind up deleted.
There you have it. It takes about a half hour of work and earns you free local publicity. It's certainly worth a try. Best of luck, and happy writing!
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