Katz And Other Tales: Monday Writers Craft Online: Attracting Press Coverage Part 2

Katz Tales by Ellen Whyte Book front cover image

Logomania by Ellen Whyte Book front cover image

I have two new books out! Click on the images above for free sneak peeks.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Monday Writers Craft Online: Attracting Press Coverage Part 2

I'm in the middle of writing a children story, Mystery of the Demon Caves, and so I am totally frazzled. I'm also pushing Katz Tales with media releases this week so I'm going to give you short notes.

And speaking of media releases, here are some tips on using them for Attracting Press Coverage.

When an newspaper is short of material, they sometimes push in a press release... as long as it's well written.

1. A simple press release has a strong focus, a quote or two, and a picture. Put extra and background information at the end. The idea is that the end bit may be cut, without the release losing its message.

2. Make sure you've got your name and contact on the release. And date it!

3. To find out who to send it to (and how! by fax, email etc) contact the company and ask. This may take some calling around but it's worth the effort.

4. If it doesn't work, don't despair. Just write another one. Sometimes it takes familiarity before your press release is pushed onto the top of the stack of stuff to be used next. Also, it may tempt someone into inviting you for an interview.

5. If the group has a policy of not using press releases (and they'll tell you this when you phone) ask about taking out an ad. All companies always favour advertisers over non-advertisers.

If you have a good publisher, they should be doing quite a bit of this media release stuff. However, not all books get the same attention, so it's worth co-ordinating your efforts.

That's all for this week. But good news, I'm arranging for a successful American author to give us tips on e-publishing next week. So stay tuned!

Labels: Monday writers craft online

posted by katztales @ 8:59 AM | 7 comments

Comments:

Thanks for the great press release tips, Ellen! Your children's book sounds intriguing. Does it have cats and dogs in it too?

# posted by

~Covert_Operations'78~ : 12:48 PM

Good luck Katztales on the children's story. :)

Good tips on attracting press coverage. Coverage also depends on the amount of space available as well as the efficiency of the sub-editor.

# posted by

The Chair Speaks : 1:28 PM

Mystery of the Demon Caves? Sounds like the sort of thing I would have picked up when I was a kid! :-)

# posted by

Dennis the Vizsla : 1:50 PM

Klinkt allemaal spannend Ellen :-)
Succes met je boek !!!!

Een knuffel voor iedereen
Kareltje =^.^=

# posted by

Anya : 3:53 PM

Covert: it has a civet and a demon!

# posted by

katztales : 3:57 PM

Good luck on the children's story! It sounds like one of the Trixie Beldon books I loved as a kid.

# posted by

Pam : 11:54 AM

Love this!

# posted by

Jenny : 9:28 AM