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Promoting your book is a key part of publishing. Gemma Finlay could have written 10,000 words about publicity, but has focused here on the media side of things.

Holding a finished copy of your new book feels like the end of a long road for many authors, but there’s just as much work still to come. If a book is to enjoy sales success, readers need to know about it and that means publicity. If you’re doing this yourself, here are some simple steps to follow.

Step one: before you begin

Time in reconnaissance is seldom wasted and that’s never truer than when you’re promoting a book.

Before you start conjuring images of prime-time TV interviews and dashing off press releases, the very first step is to establish who your reader is. Think carefully about your book and have a clear idea in your head of who your book will appeal to and where you will find that person. This will help you be targeted in your approach and gives you a reference point to come back to.

You then need to work out your angles. Having excellent blurb copy that sells your book is crucial, but what’s just as important and often overlooked is having an angle into your story. Think of these as key points that will pique curiosity and give a journalist a hook for an interview or a festival director a basis to programme you.

If you’ve written non-fiction, then chances are your angles are in your work, but with fiction it’s harder. More specialist book media aside, mainstream publications don’t want to interview someone about the plot of a fictional tale. Think about the process of writing your book, the backstory to getting it published and the parts of your life that informed your writing and that’s where you’ll find your angles.

Step two: now what?

Starting a publicity campaign can feel overwhelming. Again, the best place to start is with a bit of a planning. There’s no set format for a publicity plan, but a simple grid that lists the media outlet, the contact and the angle to approach them with works well. It will become your WIP document so a space to include notes and updates is important. It should also detail events you might also be doing and include a social media strategy. This is the time to really solidify your angles and craft your pitch.

You’ll also need a media release. This will differ a bit from the blurb copy you’ve used earlier in the publishing process, although it provides a good starting point. A media release should be about a page long (and definitely no longer than two). There’s a bit of freedom with format, but common practice is to include the book’s title, author, publishing info (RRP, publication date, ISBN) and contact details for the person handling media queries. If your book is available through specific outlets, make sure this is stated. If you’re feeling a bit unsure of how to get started, a good structure is an eight paragraph news story (if you Google the “Inverted pyramid” you’ll get lots of resources).

Use a catchy intro that utilises your key angle of interest and weave in a bit of your blurb copy. Finish the page with an ‘About the Author’ paragraph which provides your bio and might detail things like career info, other books published or awards won. It should also state the town or city where you live.

A book release will generally have a cover pic embedded into it and a good publicity photo of the author. If you’re doing a more news style release, designed to get pick up in the news cycle (something that only works for certain titles) you would be more likely to include the cover as an attachment.

As an aside, imagery is essential for media coverage. As well as a high res cover shot, a good author photo is key. It should be colour, rather than black and white, high res and look professional. Grainy shots, selfies, or photos where you’ve clearly cropped out other people just don’t work. Media often don’t have resources to take their own photos, so rely on the supply of usable images. If applicable, having some pre-cleared photos from your book that can be used by media is also a good idea.

Step three: media approach

All right, you’re ready to go. But who exactly are you going to? Understanding what media to pitch your story to is essential to avoid wasting your time or theirs. Before you approach an outlet make sure you have a good understanding of what they do and whether they’re a realistic option for an interview or review. The easiest way to do this is by consuming lots of different media and noting bylines of journalists you think might suit your book.

A publicist’s media database is their most prized possession, but if you don’t have access to one a bit of detective work should help you find contact details. An email is always a good approach in the first instance. Attach your media release and use the body of the email as a short covering letter, with a few very succinct paragraphs that specifically detail what you can offer. Think carefully about an enticing subject line.

Allow a reasonable amount of time to pass before you follow up. Journalists receive large numbers of unsolicited emails every day and if you’re approaching someone cold that you have no relationship with, there’s every chance you’ll only get a response if they are interested.

If they do come back to you, make sure you respond in a timely manner, provide any further details asked for and have a copy of your book that can be quickly supplied to them.

A quick word on exclusives: If you find yourself with a hot book that everyone is clamoring to feature, you may have to walk the minefield of exclusives. Any high profile outlet will want assurance that they have the first interview. For a publicist, this is where a lot of delicate negotiation comes in to secure as much coverage as possible, while at the same time ensuring everyone is kept happy. It’s always good to clarify if someone is asking for an exclusive in their medium (i.e. a print exclusive) or an overall media exclusive and how much of an exclusive period they want.

Step four: beyond media

While the media side of publicity is what people generally think of first, there are other aspects as well. Festival appearances, book store events, other speaking opportunities, online influencers and social media all work together under the publicity umbrella and should be incorporated into your plan. Approach these avenues just the same as you would media.

Good luck!

- Gemma Finlay has worked in publicity for over a decade, running high profile campaigns for a number of publishers.