• Publishing Tips Newsletter
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  Getting the Word Out – News Releases

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  Need help deciding how best to publish your book? You can email Walt@FiveRainbows.com or call him toll-free at 866-341-3705 to discuss your project. Initial consultations (email or phone) are always f*r*e*e.

  You can sort them out by using the f*r*e*e How-to-Publish Quiz at FiveRainbows.com. You may be surprised by the answer!

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  NOTICE – DISTRIBUTION CHANGE: Just a reminder that Publishing Tips is going to be biweekly through at least the end of the year. Next year, I might get back on the weekly schedule.

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  Walt's Notes

  Everywhere I look and everything I read about publishing leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the times they are definitely a’changing, folks.

  The e-book market is growing about as fast as the stock market is falling, at least 80% this year so far over the same period last year.

  First, we had Amazon’s release of the Kindle, then Sony’s announcement that its Reader would support the EPUB format (making it readily accessible to all publishers). Now, it seems that over 300,000 people with iPhones have installed the Stanza software that allows them to read e-books in a variety of formats (including EPUB) on their iPhones.

  I have been learning how to use and implement a total XML workflow for our book design and production work. Why? Because I can then easily produce e-books in a variety of formats plus create print books in various aggregations of content…all from the same basic XML files.

  As I have said many times, publishers should no longer consider themselves in the book business but, instead, the information business. We must be prepared to produce content in whatever format and aggregation our customers want it.

  Moral: As the world turns and publishing evolves, we can either bemoan the erosion of the printed book market or we can learn how to adapt to a changing publishing and reading environment. Your choice will affect your success. Choose wisely.

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  Getting the Word Out – News Releases

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  The following is  excerpted in part from a lesson in our Self-Publishing Success Program, delivered in 20 weekly installments direct to your inbox via email for only $149.

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  You need at least three email distribution lists for local outlets to use for sending any book-related news releases. You want to be able to send news to these outlets with as little fuss as possible since you will want to send releases frequently, thus the distribution lists.

  Media: As a minimum, you want a distribution list for your local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers. Use the internet and/or phone books to find the information. Most of those media outlets have websites with information, including email addresses, on how to submit news items or press releases.

  Bookstores: Assemble a list of local bookstores and verify the appropriate contacts (names, phone numbers, email addresses). You might have to pick up the phone and call to make sure you have the right contact information. Expand your definition of local to include areas where action in your book takes place and places you've lived, not just your immediate geographic area. You can find them via Internet searches and the trusty phone book (printed and afterwardp>

  Libraries: Put together a similar list of libraries and branches within driving distance. Make sure you have verified the library directors’ names and contact information, either by calling them or visiting their websites. Most libraries will sponsor book signings, readings, or other book-related events and then allow you to sell books afterwards.

  Brainstorming: Now dream up some news release items. Think about telling a story that a newspaper editor would consider of interest to his readers. You should be able to find at least three stories you could write that can be tied-in to your book and you as its author. What you want to come up with are (1) stories that an editor could run exactly as you send them and (2) stories that will pique his interest enough that he'll send a reporter to interview you.

  One way to help you craft these releases is to spend time reading news stories, especially ones that are promoting people and their products. If you read them carefully, you will realize that many are nothing more than somebody’s news release being run as a news story. And that’s what we call publicity. People will put more trust in those stories than in any of the paid advertising in the same publication.

  Writing: Now is your opportunity to tell your story the way you want it told. And it is VERY important to make it a real story – with a beginning, middle, and end – providing solid reasons why anyone should care. Don’t just say “John Smith announces the publication of his new novel…” A typical reader reaction, unless she already knows John Smith, is “so what?”

  Center your news release’s story around some aspect of your life (preferably as it relates somehow to your book) or your book’s background, research, or tie-in to a current news story. Is there a unique story behind why you wrote a book or why you wrote this particular book? Make it an interesting story and send it as a news release. Will readers benefit in some way from reading your book? Center your release on those benefits or, even better, take a problem-solution approach. Read a lot, on and offline, and pay attention to trends that you can relate, even remotely, to you and your book.

  Make it newsworthy. Make it interesting. Give people a reason to care. Follow the standard journalistic inverted pyramid structure (most important stuff at the top).

  Have several people read your draft release and tell you whether it would interest them if they came across it in a newspaper. If not, ask them why not and what you could do to improve it. Or you can hire a professional to create (or just edit and refine) your release for you, but expect to spend $100 or more. We at Five Rainbows can write and make initial distribution for you – visit <http://www.FiveRainbows.com/newsrel.php>. Regardless of who you choose, it may be money well spent unless you have experience writing effective news releases.

  For links to excellent information about creating and using news releases, visit our website at <http://www.FiveRainbows.com/references/news.php>. Check back often as we will be adding some new items to that page soon.

  Now, you need to start planning future news releases. Ideally, you should plan to release one at least monthly plus every time you have a scheduled appearance (book signing event, on-air interview, etc.) or receive an award or get some publicity related to the book. And every release should be posted to the media page on your website and mentioned in your blog (you are blogging, right?) or your Twitter account (don’t Tweet? Check it out at <http://www.Twitter.com>.

  OK, now get busy and write some dynamite news releases. Next time, I’ll give you some hints for keeping track of your results.

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  Do you have a question or comment on the above or something else related to publishing, writing or book design and marketing? Email me at Walt@FiveRainbows.com and I may include it, with my answer, in an upcoming newsletter.

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  You can buy many of our books in downloadable e-book format from our Slipdown Mountain Publications website and read them right away!

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  >>View From the Publishing Trenches blog – Latest Posts

  Sony Upgrades Ebook Reader
  Well, everyone's been expecting Sony to release an updated version of its more-or-less popular ebook Reader. According to Publisher's Weekly, they did just that at a press conference last night in New York City.
  Read more…

  My Inital Stab at Basic XML
  Spent a couple of hours yesterday learning how XML can be exported from and imported into Adobe InDesign and what it all really means. I already had a basic understanding of XML and what it could do, but these initial hands-on exercises really began to pull it all together.
  Read more…

  Indie Bookseller's "Call to Arms"
  At the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association recent annual convention, outgoing president Carol Besse threw down the gauntlet and proposed open warfare against Amazon.com. She even suggested encouraging authors to remove Amazon links from their websites. The good fight? Or self-serving whining?
  Read more…

  Whither EPUB E-books?
  As the International Digital Publishing Forum and its members press onward toward the goal of implementing a standard e-book format, the IDPF has released some interesting statistics. Seems EPUB, even without Amazon's Kindle, is making rapid progress as an international standard.
  Read more…

  Another Mixed Sales Month for Books
  The Association of American Publishers reported that, based on sales from its 300 member publishers, August book sales were almost flat (with only a 0.6% increase over August 2007) while sales for this year-to-date are still trending down (by 1.4%). However, the news is not all bad.
  Read more…

  Using MS Word & Excel for XML
  I finally bit the bullet and bought Microsoft Office 2007. Why? Primarily because of its native support of XML coding. I spent some time experimenting with it...and am pleasantly surprised (even if I am still not sure the new user interface is actually an improvement).
  Read more…

  Should Book Publishers Produce More Videos?
  The current hot topic among publishers and authors is how -- or whether -- to jump on the book promo video bandwagon. Video, after all, is viral and the current online craze. But will it sell books?
  Read more…

  Another Fault With Amazon's Kindle
  Don't get me wrong. I still love my Kindle (well, I like it a lot, anyway). But, like most products, it does have its faults. One that has begun to bug me is that it is designed as a single-user device.
  Read more…

  Amazon Kindle Work-Around
  After blogging yesterday about another fault with the Amazon Kindle, I think I've come up with a work-around even if not a complete solution. My goal is to always have the latest items appear at the top of Kindle's directory listing of items.
  Read more…

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  Looking for solutions to your publishing dilemma? You can get a no-obligation quote for any of our many publishing solutions on our Five Rainbows Services website. You can find a wide range of solutions for editing, book design and typesetting, cover design, indexing, mentoring, PCIP data, news releases, ghostwriting, and Kindle formatting with easy online forms to request a price quote. If you don't see exactly what you need, just use any of the contact options at the top of every page.

  If you have a publishing need or problem, we have a solution!

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  If you’ve missed some newsletters or only recently signed up, you can read the back issues of the Publishing Tips newsletter in the online archives.

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  Be sure to visit our Slipdown Mountain Publications website to see our wide range of fiction and nonfiction books. You can also find our books at Amazon.com with many available in the new Kindle e-book format. And don’t forget our downloadable PDF e-books.

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  October 17th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

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