Promoting Your Book - A No BS Guide For Authors and Small Publishers

Blog Post Summary: If you want to get an article, interview or review in the newspaper, start small.

I live in the boonies. A gated community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains NE of Sacramento on the way to Lake Tahoe. Gorgeous out here. Also far from any major city.

This can, of course, be a good thing.

There are a couple of smaller local papers: I doubt the combined circulation is 6000. So I called the senior editor/general manager of both papers. They both answered their own phones.

Me: Hi <editor’s name>, my name is ~ and I saw on your website that if had anything I thought was newsworthy to give you a call…do you have a few minutes

Editor: Sure, what’s up?

Me: I am a local author and I have just written a book on generating lifestyle-based income…having your quality of life drive the type of job and income you want to create in your life and not the other way around. There is a lot in the book about how I believe that everyone should be a bit more entrepreneurial (I go on a bit more about troublesome economy, housing crisis, retiring baby boomers, lack of adequate funds for retirement, etc).

Editor: Sound interesting, I’ll have a reporter call you. Can you send (some info - blurb on the book, cover graphic, contact information, etc)?

Me: Sure … I’ll send it right over.

The two conversations were similar with a few variations but the results were the same: they liked what I had to say and agreed to follow up. So, some pointers:

1. Do your research. Start at the top if you think it will work. Know who covers the topic area where your book would fit (e.g., lifestyle or business would have been my choices).
2. Make it interesting to them: why do they care … or more importantly, why do their READERS care.
3. I can say that my topic is pretty compelling to start with but I also tied it into current events, and that makes it news.

Something, in theory, the newspapers are in business for reporting. My first interview is in two days.

I’ll get back to you then.

Tags: book reviews, local publicity

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 2:25 am and is filed under book reviews, general book promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.