Create media kits that scream ‘Read me!’

Back in September, just before McGraw-Hill published Maria Grace’s book “Reel Fulfillment: A 12-step Plan for Transforming Your Life Through Movies,” Maria worked with me to create a media kit that would scream “Read me!”

She joined The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, and I helped her with the eight items that needed to go inside the media kit so that she’d make it as easy as possible for the media to cover her.

Today, four months later, she’s a media darling. Her impressive list of media hits includes The New York Times, Marie Claire magazine, the Orlando Sentinel, the Boston Herald, Publishers Weekly, the New York Daily News, plus dozens of radio interviews with stations all over the United States. You can read the entire list of media that have covered her. 

Her media kit has the essential elements that authors MUST have, such as the standard news release, a mock book review, the book sell sheet, a catalog sheet and a sizzling bio. You can see two versions of the entire kit—one for print journalists and one for broadcasters.

In fact, her publicist at McGraw-Hill liked the media kit so much, that she’s using it when she pitches the media on Maria’s behalf.

Most authors who call me asking for help with their publicity campaigns miss this critical step. They want to start pitching reporters before the media kit is completed. In fact, many of them have no idea that they’re supposed to create things like a sell sheet. And they’re horrified when I suggest that they write their own mock book review.

“I’d never, ever write my own review,” one of them said. “That would be unethical.”

Dawn Josephson, who was my guest during a teleseminar last year titled “How to Create Eye-opening Promo Pieces That Sell Books,” disagrees.   In fact, she’s a former magazine editor. And she said most media people don’t have time to read your book. If they want to write about it, they need a quick summary of what it’s about and how it will help their audience. The review provides that information. Many journalists, most of them ethical, will pick up the review verbatim and print it. 

So if you’re writing your first book, or your next one, don’t forget about writing your own review so you make a journalist’s job easy.