I used to be a features editor at a newspaper, back when books and press kits arrived all the time in the mail. Your line about editors throwing the press kit out and giving the folder to their kids made me laugh. So true. And the majority of the PR book copies were sold at the $1/book annual charity drive in the newsroom, piles and piles of gorgeous cookbooks and novels. Thanks for this clear-eyed view of how to catch an editor's attention.
On your classes — they are enticing, but the times make it difficult for those of us with 9-5 jobs and book dreams on the side. Any chance you can offer one in the future in the evening, say, 7-8:30? (I realize people have things in the evening, too, and that's your free time — there's no perfect time. Just a thought!)
Thanks for all you do — I'm very much enjoying your posts!
Loved this! I'm in music PR and it was so refreshing to see such a simple breakdown of a press release for anyone who might not know, and also YES to individualized pitches! I was a music journalist before I was a publicist and the amount of BCC emails I was on or emails without personalization even though my NAME IS IN MY EMAIL was baffling!
I found this really interesting because tech PR, which is my world, is so different from publishing PR -- and that's why authors like me need informed publicists! Thanks for the insight and great work, Kathleen!
I’ve never thought about the difference between a press release and a pitch before! Something I’ve always been impressed by (future topic for you?) is how publicists come up with timely hooks for their pitches (seems tricky when a book is years in the making but you have to peg it to the zeitgeist)
A good publicist is a news junkie who can find angles to pitch that are timely. Pitches and press releases are two entirely different things. Press releases are basically copy + paste. Pitches—you need a brain.
FWIW I made an "Anatomy of a Press Release" video for a colleague that largely aligns with what you've posted. I didn't create this press release. I would have made the cover image smaller for a cleaner flow of the paragraphs, set off the a few recipes in a skimmable list, and included a thumbnail photo of the author with the "About the Author."
Kathleen, GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I was JUST explaining this (for the zillionth time) to a client. Thank you so much for writing this. Like all your posts, it's excellent. Please come to the Bay Area someday so I can buy you dinner and drinks give you a great big hug for being my PR icon. You have no idea how many of us book publicists are constantly quoting you and praising your spot-on advice. Also, thank god those printed press kits are dead (like BACON'S books). I found an old one when I was cleaning my office recently and I was just like, "Why? Why?"
Bacons! And floppy discs of media lists we'd share. And my first boss who made me type every label because she thought the media paid more attention to a typed label vs. a laser printed one. And having to write EVERY BOOK I sent in the UPS book. And sitting in a little room printing (c) on slides, putting slides into a plastic sleeve, stapling the sleeve to the press release, then securing it all with a B&W print to a physical book with rubber bands.
I want in on that dinner! Hi Andrea! And right? I can't tell you how gratifying it is to read Katheen's Substack. What we do is soooo Inside Baseball. So few people speak our language. Especially for those of us working freelance, it's a lifeline!
Thank you for this! I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to an author that a press release in publishing isn't like a paid wire story, and that reporters don't rip the paper from the machine and then rush to their desks to type up a story like in the movies.
Thanks for writing this! It’s interesting how as electronic communications have over ripened and exploded, we seem to be looping back around to relationships driving things.
Your posts continue to be enormously helpful and relevant. So much value for being a subscriber - I appreciate you Kathleen.
I used to be a features editor at a newspaper, back when books and press kits arrived all the time in the mail. Your line about editors throwing the press kit out and giving the folder to their kids made me laugh. So true. And the majority of the PR book copies were sold at the $1/book annual charity drive in the newsroom, piles and piles of gorgeous cookbooks and novels. Thanks for this clear-eyed view of how to catch an editor's attention.
On your classes — they are enticing, but the times make it difficult for those of us with 9-5 jobs and book dreams on the side. Any chance you can offer one in the future in the evening, say, 7-8:30? (I realize people have things in the evening, too, and that's your free time — there's no perfect time. Just a thought!)
Thanks for all you do — I'm very much enjoying your posts!
Loved this! I'm in music PR and it was so refreshing to see such a simple breakdown of a press release for anyone who might not know, and also YES to individualized pitches! I was a music journalist before I was a publicist and the amount of BCC emails I was on or emails without personalization even though my NAME IS IN MY EMAIL was baffling!
Thank you!
I found this really interesting because tech PR, which is my world, is so different from publishing PR -- and that's why authors like me need informed publicists! Thanks for the insight and great work, Kathleen!
I’ve never thought about the difference between a press release and a pitch before! Something I’ve always been impressed by (future topic for you?) is how publicists come up with timely hooks for their pitches (seems tricky when a book is years in the making but you have to peg it to the zeitgeist)
A good publicist is a news junkie who can find angles to pitch that are timely. Pitches and press releases are two entirely different things. Press releases are basically copy + paste. Pitches—you need a brain.
FWIW I made an "Anatomy of a Press Release" video for a colleague that largely aligns with what you've posted. I didn't create this press release. I would have made the cover image smaller for a cleaner flow of the paragraphs, set off the a few recipes in a skimmable list, and included a thumbnail photo of the author with the "About the Author."
https://www.loom.com/share/57e73cc57f0f46efaeb7f4d17b491980
Kathleen, GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I was JUST explaining this (for the zillionth time) to a client. Thank you so much for writing this. Like all your posts, it's excellent. Please come to the Bay Area someday so I can buy you dinner and drinks give you a great big hug for being my PR icon. You have no idea how many of us book publicists are constantly quoting you and praising your spot-on advice. Also, thank god those printed press kits are dead (like BACON'S books). I found an old one when I was cleaning my office recently and I was just like, "Why? Why?"
Bacons! And floppy discs of media lists we'd share. And my first boss who made me type every label because she thought the media paid more attention to a typed label vs. a laser printed one. And having to write EVERY BOOK I sent in the UPS book. And sitting in a little room printing (c) on slides, putting slides into a plastic sleeve, stapling the sleeve to the press release, then securing it all with a B&W print to a physical book with rubber bands.
Bacon's!!!! What a blast from the past! Thank you for your kind words. They are much appreciated, especially today.
I want in on that dinner! Hi Andrea! And right? I can't tell you how gratifying it is to read Katheen's Substack. What we do is soooo Inside Baseball. So few people speak our language. Especially for those of us working freelance, it's a lifeline!
Thank you for this! I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to an author that a press release in publishing isn't like a paid wire story, and that reporters don't rip the paper from the machine and then rush to their desks to type up a story like in the movies.
This!
Thanks for writing this! It’s interesting how as electronic communications have over ripened and exploded, we seem to be looping back around to relationships driving things.