Heidi Hormel is a former innkeeper
and radio talk show host. She has always been a writer. She spent
years as a small-town newspaper reporter and as a PR flunky before settling
happily into penning romances with a wink and a wiggle.
Press release are so last millennium. Wrong. Press
releases should have a prominent place in your promo arsenal with an easy-to-share
page of information. (I do mean one page -- about 250 words.)
So I promised fill in the blank, right? Well, there
may be a little more to it than that but not much. Here is the general
structure that can be used in a newsletter, on Facebook, for reviewers, etc.
TITLE: The
title should clearly convey why you’re sending/sharing the release.
Example:
Debut Author Releases First Book, ‘Love Re-ignited’
FIRST PARAGRAPH: The traditional who, what, where, and when will give the info readers need to know.
Example:
Debut romance author Heidi Hormel releases “Love Re-Ignited”* on May 14, a book
that has been noted as “gripping and heart-wrenching” by reviewers.
SECOND
PARAGRAPH: Here’s a good place to add how to get your book, any
discounts, etc. Or for a signing, explain the location and whether an RSVP is
needed.
Example:
Hormel’s book is available through Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and ABC Publisher
in both print and electronic formats. A special release price will be available
through May 31. For more information, visit her website: HeidiHormel.dragon.
THIRD/STORY
PARAGRAPH: A short paragraph about the plot of the
book. Depending on your own personal backstory, this paragraph and the FOURTH/AUTHOR
paragraph could be swapped (Remember the inverted pyramid? The most important
info goes first).
Example:
In
“Love Re-Ignited,” fire-breathing dragons take human form once a millennium to
find a mate. For two dragons who have fought for hundreds of years and are now
mated, there problems have just begun. They must solve the riddle of the Sphinx
to save their race and the Earth.**
FOURTH/AUTHOR
PARAGRAPH: This is the brief bio space, which may be of
special interest to hometown media or others based on your background.
Example:
Hormel
has been named an author to watch by the RT Book Reviews and is a former astronaut who became a writer after three
successful missions to the space station.
FIFTH
PARAGRAPH: This final paragraph is always a
re-iteration of contact info and serves as a call to action—make sure that
readers are clear on what you want them to do.
Example:
To
purchase “Love Re-Ignited” or to find out more about Heidi Hormel, visit
HeidiHormel.dragon; her Facebook page (Heidi Hormel); or her Twitter profile (@Heidi
Hormel).
###***
Easy, right? This is truly the most
basic of releases, but it provides a wealth of uses because you’ve broken your
material into easily read/digested bites. Take the material here and use with
abandon.
Heidi Hormel’s debut contemporary Western, THE SURGEON AND
THE COWGIRL, releases on June 1 from Harlequin American
with a connected second book, THE CONVENIENT
COWBOY, released Aug. 4. Visit her at HeidiHormel.net; on FB, Heidi Hormel, Author; or on Twitter @HeidiHormel.
*Try to follow AP Style if possible that means book titles in
quote marks, for example.
**I write contemporary romance… really … not one dragon
fire-breathing or otherwise.
***Hashtags or -30- are the traditional means of indicating a
press release is finished. This is just the way it is, but I’m sure End of
Release would work, too.
Have you prepared a press release? Did Heidi make it seem really simple? Do you see the many venues you could use this prepared release for your book?
