Putting Together a Press or Media Kit

***This is the second article in a series covering the elements of effective public relations.

When attempting to garner attention for your book, it is important to market your title in a way that is relevant to the audience.  Many audiences will request that you send a media kit (often referred to as a press kit).  Media kits are collections of material about you and your book which you package and send to representatives of the media. The media kit should promote both you and your book by including news, marketing materials, and background information. A typical media kit might include:

• A cover letter, personalized for the recipient. Your cover letter should introduce you and your book and very briefly explain the purpose of this contact; you might be writing to ask for a book review or to arrange for an interview, for example. Your cover letter should specifically highlight the unique benefit of your book for readers and for the audience of the media outlet you’re contacting. You can supplement this with a personalized Post-it note with a short, personal message to the recipient, stuck in a conspicuous place in or on the kit.
  
  
• Relevant press releases and press clippings about you and your book. If you’ve published articles or interviews, be certain to include copies of those as well.
  
  
• An author bio sheet that contains interesting and engaging information about your background and experiences; again, you can customize this information to appeal to specific markets.
  
  
• Sample questions and answers, particularly if you’re writing to request an interview about your book.
  
  
• A fact sheet about your book that lists its basic information, including the book’s title, publisher, ISBN number, page count, publication date, and price.
  
  
• Flyers, bookmarks, clipsheets of artwork from the book, or other marketing materials used to promote your book.
  
  
• A schedule of appearances, book signings, and events.
  
  
• Author portrait photo or photos taken of you during appearances at events.
  
  
• Review copy of your book, when appropriate; otherwise, a sample chapter or excerpt, along with cover art. Only send review copies to contacts that can result in news stories or other media coverage. Sending review copies to bookstores, libraries, schools, and other non-media sources won’t generate media coverage, and therefore isn’t an efficient use of your marketing resources.
  
  
• If you aren’t certain the recipient will be interested in a review copy of your book, you instead can include a review copy request card; recipients can return the card to you or call the number on the card to request a review copy of your book.
  

As you collect news clippings and quotes about your book, you can copy these and include them in your media kit. Put your kit in a simple but nice folder, and pack the information in a way that makes the material easy to look through and the smaller marketing pieces easy to find. And again, be prepared to customize the contents of your media kit to match the market into which you’re sending it.

***Adapted from Your Voice in Demand: The AuthorHouse Guide to Marketing and Promoting Your Book  (AuthorHouse, 2005)