How to Write a Tips/Trends Oriented Press Release

The best way to float your company's name and products into the media without spending any money is to put out press releases.

But there's one little problem: you don't always have a new product or big event to announce.

A possible solution: Find something interesting say. Then say it in a way that relates your information to a current trend or topic of interest. Here's an example.

I'm going to be putting out a Tip release sometime this week. I'll post it here when it's done.

How to Pitch Journalists Over the Phone

I hate nothing more than making those phone calls, and I'm sure others feel similarly. So here's a link to a good article that offers a script for the kind of things you ought to say.

Forever Friends Voted One of 100 Best Picture Books

We love Google.

Without it, we'd never know that one of our children's books was voted one of the 100 best children's picture books by the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado.

Given this fact, don't you think every parent should buy a copy? The soft cover is only $9.95.

Ten Minutes to the Pitch Events

Spring is here, which means it's the season for author events. Chris Abbott will be reading from her book and taking and critiquing pitches at the following places on the following days:

March 24, 5:00 pm
The Writers Store
2040 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca 90025
800-272-8927

March 30, 6 pm (pacific)
The Writers Channel
Teleseminar
www.Thewriterschannel.net

March 31, 6 - 8 pm
Drama Bookshop
250 W. 40th Street
N.Y., NY
800 322-0595

April 13, 7:30 pm
Barnes and Noble at the Grove
180 Grove Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Scr(i)pt Magazine Review: Ten Minutes to the Pitch

Check it out!

And the Paper Back is Doing Well Too.

The paperback Great Failures is at 2,669 on Amazon.

Thanks to Steve, who is relentless in getting behind his books. He's the one who secured the Hannity interview; he's the kind of author publishers dream of signing.

Radio Works: The Hannity Show

This isn't news to anyone in book sales, but I thought I'd reiterate the point that you really do need to get on radio if at all possible.

Steve Young was on Sean Hannity's show yesterday, and now the hardcover edition of Great Failures of the Extremely Successful is hovering at around 1100 on Amazon.

That means only 1099 books sold more than we did yesterday. Most of those are probably pre-established Best Sellers.

How to Promote Your Children's Book

Check out Barbara Cohen's article here.

Google News Alerts

If you're trying to get into the media, you really need to subscribe to Google News Alerts.

Google News Alerts let you subscribe to an as-it-happens, daily, or weekly newsletter digests that send you links to news stories featuring certain keywords you select.

For instance, if -- like me -- you're trying to promote a book on grandparenting, enter keyword "grandparenting" and every news story on the net that mentions "grandparenting" is yours for the picking. National news, local news, internet-based news, major market newspapers and magazines... it's a catch-all for everything, and it's immediate.

Doing this lead me to a motherhood and pregnancy portal that just yesterday published an article about creative ways to break the news to your family that you're pregnant.

One of the article's suggestions was to buy books on grandparenting and give them as gifts. Recognizing an opportunity to mention The Grandfather Thing, I went onto the portal's web site and submitted a pitch for our book via the on-line form. The Editor-in-Chief responded immediately and agreed to run a photo and blurb about our book in a followup story on her html newsletter -- which went out today.

That's right -- less than 24-hour turnaround.

So this is what it feels like to be of-the-moment. It feels pretty good. I'm going to be signing up for more Google News Alerts ASAP.

If you're interested in trying this out, go here to get started.

Author Blog

Check out Steve Young's new blog.