PUBLICITY
http://www.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020^23returns to Cambridge to rediscover hope in
life and help others do the same.
Or in Rebecca Tinnelly’s excellent
debut novel Never Go There...
There is a town full of your husband’s secrets.
As with both those examples, the
opening line should make the journalist
want to read on and find out more.
Once you’ve got the hack hooked,
they’re much more likely to get in touch
to arrange an interview.
The headline
If you can come up with a powerful
headline for your press release, it can
be a great asset in helping to get your
story covered.
The challenge here is that you only
have very few words to play with.
So think along the lines of newspaper
headlines, and try to find something
which is really striking.
How about this for an example?
007 Is Dead
That was the headline Harper
Collins used to announce the
publication of Anthony Horowitz’s
second James Bond novel.
(And don’t worry, it refers to the death
of the agent who bore the famous 007
designation before the Bond we have
come to know.)
Use the headline as the title of the
email you send out to news organisations,
as an attention grabbing one will make a
journalist open it up to find out more.
Another good example includes this,
also from Harper Collins...
The Queen’s Personal Adviser on the
Impact of Royal Fashion Through the Years
Curiously, headlines and titles are
often the hardest part of the news
release to write, as you have to be so
clever and concise.
But persevere, as they’re very important
and worth the effort.
Structuring your release
It’s a rule of the news trade to put your
most important information first.
So after your flag waver of an opening
line, try to build on that with more
alluring details.
The release for The Editor went like this:
A mysterious advert appears in a local
newspaper –
Have you lost hope in life? Wondering
what’s the use of going on?
When did you last really smile?
Would you like to restore your sense of hope?
Also, it’s important to say what you
need to say and then stop.
One of the most off-putting things
you can do is to include pages and pages
of information.
Faced with a wall of text, many
reporters will quickly reach for the
delete key.
Keep it short and simple, just include
the important facts, and intrigue rather
than allure.
This is a good example, from
Bloomsbury, on their republication of
The Gentle Art of Tramping:
Know how to tramp and you know
how to live...
Know how to meet your fellow-
wanderer, how to be passive to the beauty
of nature and how to be active to its
wildness and its rigour.
The adventure is not the getting there,
it is the on-the-way. It is not the expected;
it is the surprise; not the fulfilment of
prophecy but the providence of something
better than prophesied.
If you need a guide about what details
to include in your release, look no further
that the great Rudyard Kipling, and his
wise words from The Elephant‘s Child:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Answer those points, and you’ve said
enough.Quotes
Quotes add spice to a story.
The job of the reporter is to outline the
facts, but the feelings are down to you,
the creator.
It’s a common failing here to be too
modest, or robotic. Don’t!
Instead, let the feelings flow. That
makes for much better copy, and means
the reporter is going to be far more
interested in talking to you.
It’s a maxim of the news trade that
good interviewees make for good stories.
Tell us how fulfilling, rewarding, or
uplifting it was to write your book, and
the impact you hope it will make with
the message you want to send.
Here’s what I said about The Editor:
‘This was a book which finally helped
me come to terms with the darkness in
my past.
‘It was tough to write sometimes, but
ultimately incredibly rewarding. I hope
the reader will understand and feel the
same way.’
And this was Anthony Horowitz onForever and a Day, his prequel to Casino
Royale, Ian Fleming’s first 007 novel.
‘I very much enjoyed exploring what
might have been Bond’s first mission and
imagining some of the forces that might
have turned him into the iconic figure
that the whole world knows. I hope Ian
Fleming would have approved!’
Make your quotes interesting and
intriguing, and you are much more likely
to land an article.Photos
It’s perfectly possible, in these days of
cutbacks and understaffed newsrooms,
for your news release to make it straight
to print or online.
That means you need to include
some photos.
Firstly, of the cover of your book, and
reasonably high resolution, preferably a
few megabytes.
But you also need to include a good
quality photo of yourself.
These days, a smartphone picture is
usually adequate.
Make sure the phone is set to high
definition, and that whoever takes it
focuses it on you.
If you don’t know how to do that, look
it up online. Happily it’s not difficult, and
only requires a couple of taps of the screen.
An interesting backdrop also helps. Not
just your study, but out somewhere visually
attractive, preferably that’s mentioned in, or
helped to inspire your book.
Photos also tend to look much
better when taken in good light,
preferably sunshine.
And feel free to smile. That’s a much
more appealing expression than a moody
writer’s frown.
You’re celebrating the publication of
your book, after all.The basics
Finally, don’t forget to include some basic
details in your news release.
List your mobile phone number, as
journalists can need to talk immediately,
and you wouldn’t want to miss the
opportunity of appearing in print.
Include the address of your website, or
where to buy your book as well.
Then send the release out to all the
local media and good luck.
But if the mainstream media way isn’t
for you, don’t worry.
Next month, we’ll look at some more
unusual ways to get publicity for your
book and writing.