Make it News

Every week I receive a newsletter from Angela Hoy at WritersWeekly. Today's issue includes an article about approaching news releases from a different angle. I hope all you writers find this as interesting as I did.
~ Sandy N.


Press Releases Are Boring - News is Not 

By Angela Hoy

     Just about every journalist and periodical editor has received countless press releases by email, fax and mail. While at WritersWeekly.com we don't publish press releases, and never have, we are still inundated with them on a daily basis for everything ranging from publishing services to insurance for the self-employed. But, we get far more "new book release" press releases than anything else. And, let me tell you, even though I'm an avid book reader and buy several books each month, it is very rare that I receive a new book press release that keeps me interested past the first sentence.

     The biggest mistake you can make is to begin the title of your new book press release with "New Book", or "Just Released", or some other boring line like that. Since the proliferation of self-publishing companies, there are now so many new books released each day that nobody really cares anymore.

     What you absolutely MUST do to get the press and the public interested is to make your press release a news story. And, news stories, good ones anyway, don't simply announce new books that have come on the market. They make the book or the author today's news.

Let's use a real book as an example. BookLocker.com author Melanie Bowden wrote Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me? True Stories of New Motherhood. Her book includes stories from women whose post-partum experiences were far from ideal. Rather than distributing a press release that just mentions her book is available, she could, instead, create a news story based on recent headlines involving post-partum depression.

     She doesn't need to rely on the headlines to get attention, however. Melanie could make her own news story and use any or several of the women in her book as subjects for that news story. From colic, to unexpected c-sections, to breastfeeding problems, Melanie could create a variety of press releases that would be of interest to publications serving women and parents.

     When you write an "article" that is, in essence, promoting your book, it is a press release. When you make that press release an article, the press is much more apt to grab your story and run with it. You've not only given their readers a great story (and only a tiny, subtle marketing blurb), but you've also made a journalist's job much easier that day! They won't need to rewrite what you've written, and may only need to make a few changes, or none at all. What more could a journalist (and a hopeful author) want?!

     Okay, let's look at another book. What's Your Anger Type was written by Peter Sacco, Ph.D. It teaches people how to learn to identify, control and modify their anger immediately. He could attempt to get press when violent acts make national headlines, when the perpetrators were, obviously, angry at someone or about someting before acting. When you're an expert in a certain area, as Peter is, it's not only easy to get press for a new book (provided your press release is a newsy article), but you may also be added to the journalists' experts database where they can call on you for future interviews when news stories require that type of expert.

     When releasing fiction, you can almost always think of a newsy slant, not only concerning the book, but also about you, the author. Perhaps comments you've already received from readers might give you some help? Cheryl Hagedorn, author of PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder, could start her press release with something like this:

"Readers Object to Author's Use of Banana as Murder Weapon" (Click HERE for more information if you're curious.)"

     If you just can't think of anything, you can send out a fictitious news release/article that teases readers. For example, for the book Olsegon: Wolfwood Forest & Massacre Island, author Bill Boudreau's press release could begin with something like this:

Fictional Town of Olsegon Stunned - Location of Missing 14-Month-Old Boy Revealed

Coming up with these types of hooks is actually quite fun! If you're having a hard time finding a newsy slant to your book or about yourself, ask people who have read your book if they have any ideas. And, of course, don't discount your fellow writers! I can imagine a flurry of creativity if an author were seeking this type of help on the WritersWeekly Freelance Forum.

Always remember: Press releases are boring. News is not.

Angela Hoy is the co-owner of WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com. WritersWeekly.com is the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday. According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker.com is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

This article may be printed/redistributed freely as long as the entire article and bio are included.

BOOK REVIEW: Off Season

Briefly, Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons is the story of Lilly who returns to her family's cottage on the Maine shore after the death of her husband. Alone, she revisits her memories of summers spent there as a child and young adolescent and reevaluates her life.

This book is a beautiful read. By that, I mean that in addition to believable characters and a compelling plot that kept me entertained, the book contains beautiful, almost poetic descriptions throughout. For example:

Summer bicycle rides: "We rode everywhere. We spent hours on the twisting dirt tracks off Reach Road toward the west, most of which ended in ramshackle, unpainted, falling-down houses with high-piled firewood and corpses of long-dead cars and abandoned lobster traps and buoys. Only occasionally did we see anyone around them, and the ones we did see were dark and almost feral looking, not offering the one-lifted-finger wave that is the traditional acknowledgement of another in Maine. We did not linger around these houses."

First impression of a girl nicknamed Peaches: "The first thing you noticed was her hair. It looked like a fire on her head, a conflagration of strawberry blond—dark gold in the morning sun."

Setting: "We got to Edgewater after dark, just as the huge blind eye of the Harvest Moon slid from behind Mr. Carl Forshee's towering promontory and flooded the bay and surrounding islands with molten silver, as far out as Great Owls Head Island. It was as if someone had thrown a switch and turned the world on; …."

I've enjoyed other novels by Siddons, all of them set in the South, but I believe this novel is my favorite. In it the author explores a girl's coming of age, first love, the effects of illness and death on families, and marriage. All in all, this was a satisfying book and one I'd definitely recommend.

BOOK REVIEW - Deal With the Devil

Not long ago I finished reading Deal With the Devil, Part One, by J. Gunnar Grey, and I'm counting the days until Part Two is available on Amazon. This story is a winner! 

I usually read women's fiction, so a book with a male protagonist and set in the 1940s in the middle of World War II is a big departure for me. But Grey's skillful writing grabbed me from Page 1 and held me throughout the book. More than once the twists and turns kept me reading far into the night. 


Protagonist Major Faust is one of the most intriguing characters I've encountered in a long time. He's a German army officer who has parachuted into England during a nighttime Luftwaffe bombing raid. When he's captured, he claims he was drunk, his buddy was the pilot, and that he was strapped into a parachute and pushed from the plane. He says he was not a part of the invasion force. But is it just a coincidence that Faust spent a year at Oxford and speaks the language perfectly? Is it also a coincidence that on the night Faust was captured, a young woman was raped and murdered, and that the same thing happened when he escaped (before he was recaptured)? 


I whole-heartedly recommend this book to lovers of World War II history, readers of mysteries, and fans of all-around good stories. When Deal With the Devil, Part Two, is released, it will be at the top of my TBR list. I can't wait!

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY

... is the brilliant idea of Sara Brookes. To connect to more entries or join in yourself, click here: Six Sentence Sunday


Here's our contribution, a part of the conversation when the three women decide to search for their high school boyfriends:

            “I still think this is one of my best ideas yet.” Kiki jumped up, her arms flailing as she paced the floor. “Not only do we owe those guys sex, but personally, I’d like to make up for all those boring years I spent as a good girl. I say we track them down and see if they’re up for it.”

            “That brings up another issue,” June said, laughing so hard she could barely form words. “They’re older now…do you think they can…still…get it up?”

BOOK REVIEW: Cold Sassy Tree

  

I just finished reading Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Anne Burns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story takes place in the town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, its name derived from the cool shade under the sassafras trees nearby. Set in the early 1900s, after the War Between the States, the narrator (Will Tweedy) is the 14-year-old grandson of the owner of the town's general store. The conflict starts when his grandfather marries a much younger woman only weeks after the grandmother's death. This scandal causes an uproar in the close-knit, Bible-quoting community.

I felt that the story presented an intimate picture of life in that place, at that particular time in history. Some homes still had outhouses and used kerosene lamps, while others had electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones. The automobile was a novelty. Yankees and "lintheads" (mill workers) were distrusted, and family was all-important. The humor, southern accents, and mispronunciations added charm and realism to the tale, though the dialect sometimes slowed down my reading. And although I found myself skimming the longer preachy sections, the plot kept me entertained and the characters charmed me.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Southern tales.

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY - April 10, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday was so much fun last week that we're doing it again! This week's post includes a little flashback from I.O.U. SEX and it's actually only four sentences. We hope you enjoy it.

Peggy smiled at the warmth in his words, the deep timbre of his voice bringing back vivid memories of late-night conversations during high school. She remembered taking the big black telephone from the hallway into her bedroom closet, stretching the phone cord to its full length. She could almost feel the velvety darkness embrace her now, just as it did when she would shut her closet door and sit on the floor, alone with only Mark's voice. They'd talk for hours, discussing nothing and everything, until her mother followed the phone cord to her room and knocked on her closet door with an admonishment.

To see all the Six Sentence Sunday posts, click here: 

Six Sentence Sunday

BOOK REVIEW: I Still Dream About You

Fannie Flagg is such a good Southern author. In I Still Dream About You, she creates wonderful pictures of a variety of Southern women, the likes of which I knew growing up in Dallas. As is true of the characters in this book, those moms and teachers and neighbors worried about hurting the feelings of others and would go out of their way to avoid any possible inconvenience to their friends. Of course, Fannie takes these traits to the extreme with her characters, especially protagonist Margaret Anne Fortenberry ("Maggie"). 


Maggie is a former Miss Alabama, selling real estate in Birmingham. In spite of her perfect façade, she's determined to end her life. She makes all the preparations--writing her suicide note by hand ("... the computer would be far too impersonal and certainly not in good taste"), making sure all her bills were paid ("She never wanted to give anyone the chance to say that a former Miss Alabama was a deadbeat."), placing ant traps under the sink, and even emptying her refrigerator to make sure no one had to deal with spoiled food after she's gone. The last thing she wants is to be a bother to anyone. Yet a performance by the Whirling Dervishes, a skeleton in the closet of a home she's trying to sell, and other inconvenient setbacks keep getting in the way of her plans to end her life. 


I won't post a spoiler and tell you how the story ends, but I will say that although the conclusion was predictable, Fannie Flagg entertained me from page one. While the book didn't contain the depth of Fried Green Tomatoes, it was well worth reading. This is a book I'd definitely recommend.


By the way, both of us Sandras are avid readers and we'll post random book reviews from time to time. These reviews will be from books we've borrowed from the library, bought new or used at book stores, received from friends, or downloaded to our Kindles. We receive no compensation for reading or reviewing these books. 

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY

For the first time, we're participating in 6 Sentence Sunday by posting six sentences from our book I.O.U. SEX
Hope you enjoy the sample!

While the nail polish dried, Kiki used a pencil to punch buttons on her cell phone, trying the number she’d copied from the “contact us” section of Greg’s website.

 The woman who answered was not helpful.

 No, she could not connect Kiki to Reverend Houston.

 No, she could not give out his home address.

 No, she knew of no mailing address other than the one on the website—the one where donations should be sent. It seemed to Kiki as if the only question that would elicit a yes from the old broad was “Do you take credit cards?”

TWO THUMBS UP!!

I just have to post the latest, nicest, exciting-est thing that happened today. I.O.U. SEX received the following endorsement on the Ladies Home Journal Blog:

Sandy I finished your book and have to say ....... I loved it!  I loved the characters and how the story progressed.  The little twist at the very end had me laughing out loud!  I probably should have known the outcome of the "investigation"  but loved that I was surprised.  LOL 

Annie gives I.O.U. Sex - two thumbs up!

These are exciting times to be an indie author.

BLOG BONANZA

What a week this has been! I.O.U. SEX is featured on three different websites. Woohoo!

http://spaldings-racket.blogspot.com/

http://redadeptreviews.com/?p=4528#more-4528

(In the "Casting Call - Part Four" column)

Ladies Home Journal

http://community.lhj.com/t5/Movies-Music-Books/I-O-U-Sex/td-p/47372

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

This is beyond weird. Our book is a romance whose main characters are Baby Boomers. That term is used in the book's synopsis and as a tag on Amazon. But when I checked the Amazon page recently, the book was ranked in the "Babies-Age 3" category! What??? How could that be? I checked that listing online and, sure enough, there was our cover—right ahead of OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM!! I couldn't believe it.

I try to keep a sense of humor about these sorts of things, but I can tell you that I.O.U. SEX sure looked out of place among all those kiddie books.

Then I had an AHA moment. If Amazon outsourced some of their work to foreign countries, could “Baby Boomers" somehow have been translated to “babies”? Or maybe some bleary-eyed Amazon programmer had skimmed our category listings and punched the wrong key. I immediately emailed and asked Amazon to remove the book from that listing, which they did.

But here's the really strange thing. For a time our book ranked #17 in sales in that age group.

Hmmmm. Maybe mommies are reading it?