Press Releases and creating a buzz?

Hi Keston, and welcome to AW.

I'm going to move this to the Self Publishing forum where I think you'll get the best responses.

Hold on....

keston925 said:

Well I decided after a crazy amount of research that I am not going to put my book into a tailspin of query hell and the publisher taking most of the royalties. So, I decided to Self Publish on both Create Space and well as Lightning Source. I think these boards have been the most helpful by the way in educating me.

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I'm glad you've found AW helpful, but you've still got a bit to learn.

Trade publishers don't take any of your royalties. They pay you royalties, and cover the cost of publishing for you.

If you self publish you will end up with a larger chunk of cash in your hand per copy sold: but out of that you've got to cover all the publishing costs; and you're likely to sell fewer copies, too.

I recognise you're probably using rhetoric to make your post more fun, but let's try to not mislead people who know no better.

I would love your advice..... I am launching my book on May 1st 2014. What would you do?

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Go to our Book Promotion room and read the thread which is titled something like, "how to promote your book like a reasonable human being and not an SEO dweeb". There's a lot of good advice there.

I am going to send out a Press Release (using a service)... and wondering if I should start creating a buzz now and announce its upcoming release date? or wait until I am closer to my launch date?

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Think carefully about this.

Who are you going to send your press release to? Why would its recipients want to buy your book? What sales might result?

Trade publishers send out press packs, not just press releases, to reviewers, bookshops, anyone who might stock their book or review it. It's not uncommon for 150 press-packs (each complete with a print copy of the book) to be sent out for a single title.

As you're self publishing you're unlikely to be working with a distributor, so bookshops are unlikely to stock your book; as you're self publishing, most of the better reviewers won't consider your book; and sending out 150 or more copies of your book might prove too costly for you. But a press release without a book attached isn't going to achieve much, so what are you doing it for?

The reviewers who will consider self published books are going to need plenty of time to read the book, write the review, and schedule its publication. Trade publishers are already publicising their May releases: but they do have a different sales system to self-published writers, so they do tend to start earlier.

BTW:
I did hire an amazing ex Executive Editor from Random House she still free lances for them.. But I found her through THESE FORUMS.... what an amazing wealth of advice. When I read a post here I put an ad out in EFA with my synopsis... I received well over 200 responses and many from big name editors. I dwindled it down to my top 10 and asked them to read my manuscript and tell me what they could do to make it "sing". They all LOVED my manuscript... (It was so encouraging)... I was able to use them as beta readers and critics... from some amazing people in this field. I wished I could have hired them all!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

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Of course they all loved your manuscript. They were all hoping you'd pay them to edit it. I'm glad you found yourself a good editor, though. It makes a significant difference to a good book.

I would love your advice..... I am launching my book on May 1st 2014. What would you do? I am going to send out a Press Release (using a service)... and wondering if I should start creating a buzz now and announce its upcoming release date? or wait until I am closer to my launch date?

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It's impossible to give any useful advice without knowing much more about you, your novel, the topic, your platform and your local media scene.

But speaking as a former reporter now in PR: Generally, most media outlets don't pay a bit of attention to any self-published books. There are simply too many and the quality is so variable that it does not make sense for them to devote resources to it.

The exceptions are nonfiction books with a local angle - a local history, for example - or novels about a local subject. But even those generally do not get attention beyond a specific geographic area. Regional or national media attention? No way. It's hard enough for trade-published books to get coverage; the average self-published book won't get "buzz" in that way.

I strongly advise you not to waste any money on a PR service. You can take a day or two and do web searches for the media outlets that cover your area and would possibly be interested. The pay services are notorious for blasting junk releases to reporters and editors who don't care - pitching a release on a board game from a startup firm in Michigan to a food writer in Georgia, for example. Many of these releases just get caught by spamblockers.

Make sure you've done your research and that your expectations are realistic.

I wouldn't bother with a press release; generally they're going to be eaten by spam filters.

Between now and then, start participating not as an author with a book, but as a writer and, most especially as a reader of books.

Read book blogs and book review sites. Participate on the kboards and the Amazon forums—again as a READER, not an author.

Start making a private list of places that you think might review your book.

Create a reader account on Good Reads, Library Thing, and Book Likes.

When your book is out, offer free book giveaways there.

Basically if you're an interesting poster and reader of books, when your book is released, you can create author profiles on these sites and people clicking through because you like the same kinds of books they do, or you say interesting things may like what they see about your book.

See this thread: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241431

But remember, while you want to sell your book, get it into readers' hands, relentlessly pimping your book will permanently offend potential readers and buyers.

Keston, you are off to a great start. Getting a good edit is a crucial step.

One of the things I plan to do is try and get a professional review. I started a thread HERE with the links I have found. Some of them you can send to for free, and hope they review it. Others you can pay for an honest review, you are guaranteed to get one. It's a bit of a gamble, if they like it great, but if it's a bad review . . . well, you might consider it expensive one on one education.

As I have researched the "paid review" option, most writers seem to be against it. Mostly because they say readers don't really care about that, so it won't increase sales. I think the value in paying for a professional review is--if you get a good review and can use that in your blurb and on the back of your book and if that will help you get a press release or more blog reviews, etc. Then it is totally worth it.

I realize there are a lot of ifs there, but the way I see it all of writing is a gamble. Consider this: we spend hours and hours working on our book in the hopes that we will be able to land an agent and then hope that the agent can find a publisher. Then hope the audience finds you (because success is still not guaranteed at that point). If you self-publish, that is also a gamble especially if you do it right and get professional editing and book cover art.

But that is all my opinion, and I realize that about the paid reviews I'm in the minority.

In my experience, you will have better luck with book review bloggers if you give them more notice. So you might want to push your publication time back.

Best of luck!

Don't pay for reviews.

There's a huge conflict of interests with reviewers who charge for reviews. It's in their interests to give positive reviews. And in general, the places which do charge aren't read by the readership you want to attract.

Thanks Old Hack. That will help me prioritize and narrow down my list (so that I can afford to send print copies.)

Instead of a service I would suggest thinking about journalist you can directly engage who might actually write a story about you. For example: small local papers, specialist publications on topics related to the book, etc.

That certainly sounds like a powerful story! Good luck with everything, and I hope your daughter is doing well.

Since we're talking about PR advice, I should point out that there have been many people who misdirect donations for personal gain or solicit for nonexistent organizations. You may want to beef up the information available about your initiative to distinguish yourselves from that crowd. At present, the website's relative paucity of contact information (no phone number or email address), lack of names of officers or directors, and shortage of details about specific projects or accomplishments may raise questions in peoples' minds. There is also no such organization listed in the IRS' exempt organization database online, so you probably want to clarify if you are waiting for the IRS determination of nonprofit status. I know that can take some time.

Prospective donors will look for that information, as will the media. If there's the slightest question about a nonprofit's status or work, the media in particular will drop thr story like a hot potato.

(You may also want to examine the terminology you're using. 100% of proceeds is different than 100% of net proceeds.)