2. write the press release for the book
If you want the media to respond to your press release, it must be properly formatted.
They don’t want to put a lot of effort into modifying it for syndication.
You are reading: Sample press release for books
A good press release follows these guidelines and includes these parts:
write in the third person
Your press release should sound like news, not an advertisement.
Journalists use the press release as the basis for their coverage. they won’t take any more time to rewrite pieces written from an “i” perspective.
title of press release
This is your hook. use your perspective of the news to grab the reader’s attention.
keep it short and to the point. aim for fewer than 20 words.
If you get stuck, think about what kinds of headlines grab your attention.
It might also be helpful to remember when you came up with the title of your book. many of the same rules apply.
subtitle
This is a sentence that gives a little more information about your book. your purpose here is to broaden your news angle.
If the title is like a movie trailer, the subtitle is like the trailer. the headline grabs the reader’s attention, while the subheading gives them a more important reason to keep reading.
date
Insert your city, state, country and the date of the press release.
this goes in square brackets before the first paragraph.
intro
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This is one of the most important parts of your press release. lead with an impactful statement. then get to the point.
Editors receive dozens of press releases a day. If you want yours to stand out, you have to show them from the beginning why they should keep reading.
What benefits does your book offer your audience? what problems does it solve?
The purpose here is to inform, not promote. If your press release looks too much like a sales pitch, you will lose credibility.
remember, journalists want news.
They’re not in the business of reviewing. they are not advertising your book out of kindness. they need a real hook.
quote
can be a quote from your book or an endorsement.
what you choose will depend on the book you have written. you can choose something interesting, funny, controversial or important.
Whatever you choose, it should be attractive and newsworthy. avoid soft, generic, or dry quotes. something can be interesting in context but boring on its own. for a press release, you should choose a powerful stand-alone statement.
This quote is representative of his entire book. the point is to choose something that matches the tone and theme of the book. don’t choose a comic punchline if you wrote a book about loss.
brief author biography (also known as “boilerplate”)
unless you’re known as steven king or j.k. Rowling, most people who buy your book won’t know who you are or what to care about. you have to tell him.
“Author’s reputation” is consistently mentioned as one of the main factors influencing the decision to buy a book. if you are considered an authority on the subject of your book, journalists will pay more attention to you.
Mention your credentials and include accomplishments that build your credibility as an author. Mention your author’s website and any books you’ve written.
do not overdo it. only include things that enhance your author brand and convince readers to trust you. put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself: “does this fact really matter to anyone other than me?”
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For a press release, the template must be less than 100 words.
For more tips, check out the author bio rules in my post.
book information
The book description is your argument to the reader as to why they should be interested in your book. Just as a great cover design grabs your attention right away, every good book description you see is engaging from the first line.
Once you have their attention, describe the current pain the reader is in. What unresolved issues do they have? Or, what great unfulfilled aspirations do they have?
then tell them what the book does to help them solve this problem. or even better, what will the reader get from reading the book: how will his life be transformed by this book?
Be clear about the benefits. you are selling the reader a result, not a process (although your book is the process). explain exactly what the book is about, in clear and obvious terms.
many authors want to put everything about their book in this section. don’t think of the book description as a synopsis.
Instead, it’s an advertisement or an elevator pitch. it’s designed to make people want to read your book.
keep the writing simple. use short, clear sentences. and be brief: 1 or 2 paragraphs maximum.
contact information
Include your website, email, phone number, and any social media handles you use regularly.
For most self-published books, the author is the point of contact for review copies. but if you’ve delegated that task to someone else, make that clear.
call to action (cta)
what do you want to happen after someone reads your press release?
should they visit your author website? Are you inviting them to attend a special event? Do you want them to blog about your book? invite you to an interview?
be clear about your objective.
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