10 Easy Pieces For Your Publicity Arsenal

Today it's "Publicize or Perish," according to Marilyn and Tom Ross founders of SPAN, The Small Publishers Association of North America, and authors of Jump Start Your Book Sales. And any author that expects to have a successful book, must develop a passion for promotion.

Print publicity is the most valuable of all promotion. Success in publicity is a numbers game, the more media contacts you make, the more publicity you'll garner.

Having the right materials at your fingertips puts you in a more powerful position to generate meaningful publicity. Here is a list of things you should have in your PR arsenal:

• News Release: One or two pages maximum.
• Mock Review: This is a review you write and typeset so it looks as though its clipped from a newspaper. Lesser-known review sources sometimes use it as their review.
• Author Bio: Both a full-page biography and an abbreviated version.
• Pitch Letter: Customize this one-pager to the media and the occasion. Make it a great letter.
• Photographs: Of both the author and the book. It's a good idea to have black and white and color.
• List of questions for the media: "10 things people often ask about this topic."
• Quiz: It's based on the book, and offered as a freebie on radio, TV and in articles.
• Top 10 List: Again, based on the book. Use it everywhere.
• Here's what people are saying: Excerpted quotes from reviews when you get plenty.
• Q&A Piece: Interview yourself and come up with an interesting question and answer article.

For more great advice from Tom and Marilyn Ross, check out Jump Start Your Book Sales.