By Donna M. McDine
Call it what you want, a news release, a media release, or a press release. Whichever of the fore mentioned you prefer know that releases are a critical promotional tool for any business, especially in our ever changing technological world.
Suppose for a moment you have achieved the golden moment of signing your first or tenth book contract or your very first byline has been published for the world to read. I know, you are walking on air and you may even envision yourself shouting from the rooftops, “Hello world I’m a published writer!” Go for it, let out your delightful shout of joy. When you are done, it’s now time to get down to business in writing your perfect release.
You may hem and haw a bit and wonder why such a formal announcement is important? For one, with the Internet at our fingertips promotional opportunities are just a click away. And second, just because your latest book or byline is published doesn’t mean a large majority of the population even knows about it. Strengthen your chances in getting your name and platform out there by writing and publishing your releases. It is never too soon to set yourself apart from the pack. Establish yourself as an expert in your field by writing articles on your latest published works that compliments the subject matter. You can then write a release about your published credits and point your readers to your blog, website, and/or Ezine Articles page for your related articles.
Keyword search and implementation into your releases is as critical as when blogging. You will be pleasantly surprised to see how quickly your name and material cross reference each other when doing so.
For instance, as I was writing I conducted the following Google search: “Donna McDine, children’s author and publicist” and the following pulled up on the first Google search page:
WOW! Women On Writing Blog: An Interview with Donna McDine ...
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2011/02/interview-with-donna-mcdine-childrens.html
Feb 17, 2011 – Award-winning children's author Donna McDine published her first book ... She writes, moms, and is the publicist intern for The National Writing ...
Donna McDine
http://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamcdine
Greater New York City Area - Editor-in-Chief at Guardian Angel Kids Ezine - Guardian Angel Kids Ezine
Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the ... moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids and Publicist for the ...
The Golden Pathway: Children's Author, Donna McDine to appear on ...
http://thegoldenpathway.blogspot.com/2011/04/childrens-author-donna-mcdine-to-appear.html
Apr 12, 2011 – Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, ... Kids and Publicist for the NWFCC from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. ...
Children's author, Donna McDine ~ guest speaker at Westchester ...
http://www.gatekeeperspost.com/autoposts/childrens-author-donna-mcdine-guest-speaker-at-westchester-reading-council/ Children's author, Donna McDine ~ guest speaker at Westchester Reading Council ... Best wishes, Donna M. McDine. Award-winning Children's Author ...
Interview with Award-winning Author Donna McDine, Author of The ...
http://mymcbooks.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/interview-with-award-winning-author-donna-mcdine-author-of-the-golden-pathway/ May 13, 2011 – Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable ... She writes, moms and is the Publicist Intern for The National Writing for ...
Donna McDines Biography - Donna M. McDine
www.donnamcdine.com/bio.html
Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the ... Guardian Angel Kids, Publicist for the Children's Writers' Coaching Club and ...
Donna M. McDine's - News & Announcements
www.donnamcdine.com/newsannouncements.html
Donna M. McDine, Children's Author .... the children's publishing industry ...
Show more results from donnamcdine.com
Award-Winning Children's Author, Donna McDine Visits With Stephen ...
http://pressexposure.com/Award-Winning_Childrens_Author,_Donna_McDine_Visits_With_Stephen_Tremp_-_July_7th_and_8th-320577.html Jul 6, 2011 – PressExposure.com Allows Public Relations Professionals To Distribute Their Press Releases To Reach Their Target Audience For Free.
CREATIVE CREW - GUARDIAN ANGEL KIDS online ezine for Kids!
www.guardian-angel-kids.com/creative-crew.htm
Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the ... Editor-in-Chief and The National Writing for Children Center, Publicist from ...
Donna McDine – Media Releases & Social ... - Working Writer's Club
http://www.workingwritersclub.com/writers-for-hire/donna-mcdine/
Coupled with her Publicist experience at the Working Writer's Coach and as ... Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the ...
The above is a mixture of my blogs, website, press release sites, interview stops, our very own Working Writer’s Club, and Guardian Angel Kids Ezine. See how all my work intertwines with the other?
The proof is in the Google search! Don’t wait. Get down to the business side of writing and create your release today. Are you still hesitating because you don’t have published credits yet, how about you write up a media release of an interview or article you have posted on your blog. This is what I did early on in my writing career and still do. It’s imperative you get the momentum going or your rankings will steadily drop.
Visit me at http://donnamcdine.com/dynamicmediareleases.html for a listing of preferred media release sites I regularly post to online and of course when announcing new business products or your latest book release don’t forget to send your release to your local media.
Bio:
Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions, Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2010 Top Ten Children’s Books, Global eBook Awards Finalist Children’s Picture Book Fiction, and Literary Classics Seal of Approval Picture Book Early Reader ~ The Golden Pathway.
Her stories, articles, and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has three more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey, and A Sandy Grave. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids, Publicist for the Working Writer’s Club, and owner of Dynamic Media Release Services from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI.
Further information:
http://www.donnamcdine.com/
http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/
http://www.thegoldenpathway.blogspot.com/
7 comments:
Thanks for the reminder, Donna. PRs are something I don't take advantage of like I should.
Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing
It's hard for us creative types to toot our own horns, but we just HAVE to do it! Good post.
Tooting one's own horn seems to be the exact opposite of what we were taught growing up. But for an author to get their book out there, unless they're with a huge NY publishing house, it's do it on your own as uncomfortable as it feels.
This post has been informative but perhaps posting one on how to create your press/media release? That is, unless you've already done one on this site before I subscribed and I've missed it. If that's the case, please let me know and I'll skulk off to my corner, head down, ashamed and read it. :))
If you just don't seem to find time or desire to do your own PR, then consider hiring someone.
Thanks for the advice (and lots of ideas) Donna. I agree with Melanie that it's often hard and counter-intuitive to 'boast' but putting it in 3rd person and seeing the PR role as a separate part of us to the writer role helps.
Melanie,
I don't remember if we've had a post on how to create a press release. But, maybe we'll have a mini workshop on just that.
Check the workshop page every now and then, maybe we'll have one in January.
My post on January 14, 2012 will be on how to write a media release step by step.
Happy Holidays,
Donna
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