Every author wants to sell books.  Loads of them.

Every publisher wants every author to sell books.  Loads of them. 

The competition is fierce.  Thousands of books are released every month.  How can anyone possibly “stick out” from all the rest?  There is no easy way to get noticed, but there are seven simple things you can do to help the process.

Have a media page on your website.  You DO have a website, right?

On your media page include a brief bio (500 words or so).  Your bio should include a photo and any special credentials you have.

Next, include information about your product…for authors that would be your book(s).

A third thing to include is to share ideas that the media could use to base a story around you.  Were you almost kidnapped in a foreign country?  Did you overcome a handicap of some sort?  Did you participate in an unusual activity or do something special at an unusual age (like Grandma Moses starting to paint late in life)?

The media also likes it when you lessen their work, so a fourth thing to include are interview questions and upcoming personal appearences if you have them.  You can use these questions to guide the media in getting the information you want covered out to the public.

Fast facts about you is yet another item to include on your media page.

Testimonials are another thing the media is interested in.  Has your novel given someone encouragement? Did a reader write in to say how much they were touched by your story?  Those are testimonials.  Gather them, ask for them, post them on your media page.

Have you had other media coverage? Blog talk radio, newspaper articles, interviews?  Other media release information is item number seven to include on your media page.  Have this information available in a number of formats…something that can be downloaded in a PDF version, stored digitally on your computer so you can send the info electronically, and on-line so someone researching you can access vital information including upcoming appearances.

No one thing can guarantee success especially in the publicity realm.  Being prepared through having information readily available to a producer looking for that special “human interest” or “local angle” for a story will put you ahead of others; those who think a writer isn’t supposed to do anything to get noticed. 

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Marketing and Publicity. 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.