How To Pitch Your Book To Glossy Magazines, Newspapers or Radio: Top Mistakes Authors Should Avoid

Many authors wrongly assume that their book isn’t important enough, or that only celebrities and famous writers, will get media coverage. This just isn’t true. Radio stations (particularly local radio stations) have many hours of airtime to fill each week. Similarly, most print publications are also looking for inspiring, topical, or controversial human interest stories to entertain their audiences.

You may be thinking: ‘Why bother – it’s too much effort.’ But here’s why it matters: many newspapers and magazines have audiences that run into millions. SAGA Magazine, which has just snapped up the first serialisation rights to my book Celebrity Authors’ Secrets has a readership of 1.8 million. The Huffington Post, for which I am now a blogger, has over 30 million readers globally. Many other newspapers, magazines and radio stations which are running features and reviews for my book have similar-sized audiences.

This phenomenal coverage costs nothing, zilch, other than your time and energy. Yet, in return you can build a massive following for your book even before it’s launched. So it makes sense – enormous sense in fact – to spend time on mastering this.

When authors do approach the media, a common mistake I see is that the press release ends up sounding like a ‘pitch-athon’ for the book. Most journalists don’t have time to read books. They may not even be interested in your book, period. But what they are interested in is you, the story of what inspired you to write your book, or the fact that you’re an expert who can comment on a similar topic that’s in the news. In other words, your book is not necessarily the reason why you will get media coverage. It does however give you a big reason to attract the media’s attention.

Another common mistake is to write the same press release for all publications. Many of SAGA Magazine’s readers are over 50 and interested in writing books – so a press release about publishing secrets works fine. However, when approaching women’s magazines or celebrity magazines, I angle my press release on more personal (rather professional) aspects of famous millionaire authors’ lives. So I look at interesting ‘trivia’ about their day-to-day lives and the sacrifices they make to write their books. This is much more in keeping with the ‘gossipy’ nature of these magazines and what their audiences like to read.

All authors can use this strategy to get publicity for books. It’s remarkably simple and you can do it in a weekend. It’s just a matter of writing a one-page press release and identifying where to send it.

In my next blog, I’ll reveal tricks for high-impact book promotion that even professional publicists are missing.

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Be one of the first people to grab a copy of Celebrity Authors’ Secrets, by pre-ordering a copy right now on Amazon.

     “Anyone setting out to write a book should thank their lucky stars for Stephanie’s outstanding inspirational guide. I’m astonished by just how much insider information and personal experience the world’s top million-selling authors are prepared to share.” 

– Sue Price, Arts, Culture and Books Editor of SAGA Magazine

 

Beverly Hills Book Awards Finalist: 2014

Publication Day – The Most Disappointing Day Of Your Life?

I was chatting to a senior commissioning editor at a publishing house this week.

“What we really should be telling authors is that the day their book comes out will probably be one of the most disappointing days of their life,” he said.

Why – when publication  considered is the ‘pinnacle’ of success for so many writers?

Sadly, for many authors, publication is a huge anti-climax.

Amidst all the hype about getting a book published, this is something that’s rarely talked about openly.

This is because many authors, when they hand over their manuscript, also hand over responsibility for marketing and PR of their book.

They may be hoping for lots of reviews in mainstream media or a flurry of readings. But these don’t always materialize.

Too often these days, I hear from disillusioned authors who feel that their editor or agent has done “next-to-nothing” to publicize their book.

Or they don’t like the marketing angle or the ‘genre’ chosen by the marketing team.

The solution? Take matters into your own hands at least three months before publication date.

Compile a list of people to send review copies to. Write your own press release and get interviews on national and local media.

Leave posts about your book on relevant forums. If you haven’t done it already, contact celebrities to get endorsements for your book.

Learn as much about marketing and PR as you can – and apply it. Write a blog. Set up your own newsletter. Organise a virtual book tour.

Give away sample chapters or free reports to mailing lists that are likely to be interested in your subject matter.

In short, create hype and excitement in the run-up to your launch.

Your book is your baby. No-one else is going to love it, nurture it, or cherish it as much as you are.

Never leave the responsibility for promoting your book in someone else’s hands, even if they are a mainstream publishing house.

Make sure your publication date is a day of excitement and celebration – the big event it deserves to be.

Writing a book does not end with its publication – this is exactly when the hard work begins!