Press Kits & why you need one + grants, controversies, & a literary call to arms
What's in a press kit; grants; bookstore pride; literary reflections; peonies; books banned & unbanned; controversies & obits; 100 years of WW Norton; indigo tea
Greetings readers & writers,
I get a lot of questions about marketing actions that writers can take right now, whether they’re already a published author or planning to be. I always advise preparing for the day when someone wants to feature you: in a podcast, at an event, on a blog, etc. That’s where a press kit comes in.
A press kit is a collection of documents and images that contain promotional material about you and your projects. They are used in conjunction with a promotional pitch to media and event outlets. You can have these documents collected in a folder on your hard drive or, even better, have them downloadable on your website or a cloud server, like Dropbox. Having a well-organized press kit is a double win: it makes your life easier and shows that you’re professional and invested in your own self-promotion.
As an event coordinator, as soon as an author queried me about hosting an event, I would ask for the following information:
Book details (ISBN, publisher and/or distribution channels, pub date)
A press release OR brief description of the book/project1
A brief bio (<100 words)
An author photo (high and low resolution)
A cover image of your book (high and low resolution) 2
Contact information (for author and/or publicist)
This information would help me make a prompt decision about whether or not the book/event was right for our store. Having the press kit would also allow me to begin prepping the materials for our own marketing purposes as soon as we scheduled the event. This is the same information I request of my Book Marketing Now authors so that I can make sure I’m getting all the details right about their work.
Beyond the basics, it’s also helpful to have at hand:
Upcoming events
Praise for you/your new book or project
Links to social media accounts for you and/or your book
Any useful collateral materials (excerpts, educator resources, book trailers, websites, etc.)
Backlist titles and publication details3
But isn’t this a publicist’s job? You’re not wrong! Most publicity departments will create a press release or press kit for a new title, and have the various files your marketing partners will need. But it’s helpful for you to have these files as well for times when your publicist is inaccessible, if you want to take the lead on certain marketing efforts, or once your book shifts to backlist and is less of a publisher’s priority.
A press kit allows you to control, as best you can, the language and information that is used to market you, your book/projects, and any events you do. Make sure your bio is up-to-date and concise, your publications information is current, etc. so that when a media outlet is looking to attribute something to you, they have accurate information.
Do you have a press kit? How have you found it helpful in your marketing?
I had the distinct honor of interviewing poet and essayist Camille T. Dungy for this month’s upcoming issue of Book Marketing Now. Don’t miss our discussion of her new book, Soil: A Black Mother’s Garden, plus writing with trust, marketing at different levels of scale, working with a speakers bureau, + marketing while parenting.
Last month:
Writing/Marketing Resources
Happy Pride everyone! Support LGBTQ+-owned bookstores year round, as well as bookstores and libraries hosting drag queen storyhours.
The application window is open for the We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Grants for unpublished kidlit writers and illustrators, with new grants designated specifically for disabled writers and trans writers and illustrators. Deadline is June 30th!
Take up this “literary call to arms” from K. Tempest Bradford, co-founder of Writing the Other workshops and author of Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, on why, especially in 2023, representation in stories is critical.
Spend a few moments with Kasey LeBlanc’s reflections on how our writings change as we change: “Our Selves and Our Stories: Snapshots in Time” {Writer Unboxed}
ICYMI, Seattle Public Library has joined Brooklyn Public Library in their Books UnBanned initiative. {NPR} Readers age 13 - 26 can apply for a free SPL a/o BPL e-library card, no matter their location in the U.S., and have access to those libraries’ virtual collections.
Industry News
Illinois has officially banned book bans. {Book Riot}
Open Road Integrated Media, an ebook marketing and newsletter powerhouse, is launching an imprint specifically for re-publishing and re-vitalizing out-of-print titles. {New York Times — free link}
W.W. Norton celebrates one hundred years of independent publishing {New York Times — free link}
Cormac McCarthy, Author of ‘No Country for Old Men,’ Dies at 89 {The Hollywood Reporter}
Tea
It’s iced tea season, rejoice! And what better way than with Harney & Son’s Indigo Punch Iced Tea, which comes in easy-to-brew satchels. Its main ingredient is everyone’s favorite color-changing herb, butterfly pea flower which would make the tea a lovely bright blue except here it dances with lemongrass, lemon peel, and hibiscus, which turns it this lovely purple. With hints of berry and honey, this tea tastes as bright as it looks.
Check in with a writer buddy today. What are y’all working on? Give your muse a little space and see what comes of it.
~Allison
Writer & Marketing Coach
Keep Writing, Keep Connecting! Substack | Facebook | Website
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Press release: a promotional document, usually a single page, concisely describing an upcoming book, event, or project. Often contains relevant images, blurbs, and bio(s).
Resolution: the amount of data contained in an image, i.e. the dots-per-inch (dpi). High resolution is usually 300 dpi and used for printed documents. Low resolution is usually 72 dpi and used online.
Frontlist titles are the latest book(s) released by an author or publisher. Backlist titles are any books released prior to the current one(s).
Thanks for introducing the "press kit" to authors - ie. book promoters! Quick tip: if you are printing out the press kit items and mailing (I know, I know - email and all that) but still, sometimes mail is used - make sure that you print on bright white paper. There is nothing worse that getting a press release on paper that you can see through.