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Message |
    
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 06:01 am: |   |
Claudia mentioned something about sending her press kits. Okay, so how do I make one up, what's in it, what format should it be in, i.e. bounds, lose leaf, stabled, etc.
thanks for the help.
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
laurelj
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 06:38 am: | |
I made up some pretty measly press kits at the request of someone in KY who is interested in stocking my book and sponsoring a book signing. I know this is pathetic, cause I don't have much to put in it. I bought grass green pocket folders and put my book, copies of my reviews, and a bio in it along with websites I am featured on, and a book mark.
I don't know if that is adequate, but since I'm not very creative, it was the best I could come up with. 
laurelj |
Vickie Adkins
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 07:07 am: | |
Mine contains a bio sheet, a flyer about the book, bookmarker and review sheet. Really attractive portfolio folders are available as well. It's just according to how much you want to put into it. I use burgundy folders with beige paper that has little burgundy and navy flecks throughout. There's a little slot for a business card and I made good use of too.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Vickie |
Barbie Perkins Cooper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 08:03 am: | |
The media kits I used to promote my book contained:
press release about the book
synopsis
book mark or flyer
business card
endorsement of the book from professional contacts
cover letter
book cover and back cover text
book reviews
blurb about the book
author biography
tip sheet - with a list of suggested questions for interview purposes
All of these items were organized in a portfolio cover, and submitted to many media address contacts, radio, TV, etc. |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 09:14 am: | |
Mine was sort of in-between those listed above.
Emerald Green folders (two pocket, with business card slots) with some info on a label for front of press kit that I made referencing book and size and contact info,
business card in slot,
bookmark on lighter green heavy card stock paper with tassels of emerald green,
heavy card stock paper with book cover info, book cover art, pic of me and ordering info on it,
bio of author sheet,
sheet with some reviews,
first 3 sample chapters of book,
All of it had how to get hold of me, PA, Amazon and B&N and was all in the same colors of book, with the exception of the white paper for the reviews and bio and chapters. Didn't want to make them all the heavy card stock paper, so I just used regular copy paper on those. But everything had color and info to match. Also, I included the size and number of pages and ISBN in all information.
Claudia |
Jan Fields
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 10:12 am: | |
I went to a conference last year and one of the speakers did a great talk on presskits on a budget and how to make the best impression. Here are some of her tips:
* Don't make everything the same color. Different color papers that coordinate well are more eye-catching than all white. She said many authors make the all-white mistake because all our manuscripts, queries, etc HAVE to be on white paper. Press kits are different...use some color. This is especially important if all your stuff is printed with black ink.
* Include a press release that, in some way, targets that media person/buyer/etc. directly. Think about what aspect of your book would interest this media person most? A local slant? A connection with some event or upcoming holiday? A tie to a hot news topic? This takes extra time but it will make a difference in the interest shown at the other end.
* Include MORE than your bio photo. Suppose your press release really grabs them and they decide to run it pretty much as is -- they are going to need art (a photo) that will make it look less like a press release and more like a newsstory. So, at least, send a photo showing you are home doing something that has the flavor of the pressrelease. Caption the photo (which means typing the caption, then cut it out and tape it to the bottom of the photo -- don't write on your photo. NEVER write on a photo. Contact information should be on a sticker on the back of each photo in case they get separated from the rest.
* Most every other possibility has already been mentioned. My presskits also included a CD (since I have a CD burner) with a HIGH-quality photo scan in case they could load straight from electronic (some can). A number of quotes from my book (actually the whole book -- but I know you can't do that with a PA book without permission), and an html file that had clickable links to my website and all the online reviews (since I could only include partial quotes from most of the reviews on my reviews sheets for copyright reasons.)
* I also printed full-color stickers with my book cover on them and stuck them to the front cover of my folders. And the front cover included a second sticker with contact information -- every singe scrap in your presskit should have contact information in case it gets scattered about.
Hope that helps some...it was an eye-opening lecture and I got to see A LOT of presskits reflecting all levels of cost. Personally, I thought some of the cheaper ones were much more interesting (and creative) than the glossy expensive ones. The hi-end press kits tended to look alike and the lecturer said that is one thing you REALLY want to avoid.
Jan |
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 06:34 pm: | |
Hi all, thanks for the great help. Now I get to add another item to my to-do list.
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 06:28 am: | |
Another question please: who am I supposed to send these things to when they are all finished? Besides, Claudia, that is?
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 09:08 am: | |
Bookstores that you can't personally go into, and even one's that you can, so that they have something to look at after you have gone. Newspapers, Radio stations, Libraries, TV stations, pretty much whoever you want too that you think will get you extra notice. I sent mine to the Papers in the towns that I just had signings in and they each gave me a really nice write ups in the papers.
Kitty, your book is about domestic violence, maybe you could send one to the governors liasion for violence in your state. Or County, or local Police organizations, they are always wanting someone to speak on that subject, now that it has started getting media atttention.
Just my two cents worth, today.
Claudia |
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 04:16 pm: | |
Thanks Claudia, I think I've got this figured out now. ARGH!! more work for me.
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
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