So, you’ve written a book, the first step to your publishing empire, and you are fired up to start promoting the stuffing out of it. You’ve put up a website, sent out a press release, and started talking about your awesome book on social media. Hey, you might have have even had new business cards with the job title “author” right next to your name. So, what’s missing? You still need a media kit (AKA Press Kit).

What’s an Author Media Kit (AKA Press Kit)?

A media kit is a collection of relevant information about you and your books. It’s meant to provide an easy to find reference for the media (Bloggers, Reviewers, Journalists, Retailers, Event Coordinators (for book signings) etc…) so that they can easily (and quickly) find key information (that their, and your, audience would be interested in) about you and your book. Everything that they might need to write an article, write a review, promote your event, or stock your book on the shelves.

What Should I have in My Online Media Kit?

Author Bio

• Short Bio (about 2-3 sentences, or 140 characters)
• Medium-Long Bio (about 1-2 paragraphs)

When writing your bios, think about your audience, who reads your books, and what the media might be interested in. Be sure the inject some personality into your bio.

Contact Info

• How to get in contact with whomever is handling your publicity.

Press Releases

• Include a link to downloadable files of your most recent press releases.

Your Author Photo

You are the face of your brand, so they will want to see your face. Be sure to include your author photo here, so that the media can use it.

• High resolution CMYK photo for print (300 dpi)
• Low resolution RGB for web (72 dpi)
• Black and white version of the high resolution photo

Notable Quotes / Acclaim

• List 3-6 of your favorite, most prestigious quotes

Awards

• List your awards, include your award’s badge or a link to the award website (where your name is listed) if you can.

Schedule of Events

• If you already have an event calendar on your website, include a link to it here.

Book List

• Be sure to group your book series together, and by reading order, otherwise list by publication date.
• Include publisher, publish date, and ISBN.

FAQs / Sample Interview Questions

These questions should give you the chance to explain what the book is about, who it is for, and why someone might want to buy it. Your answers might be quoted directly, so use this opportunity to appeal to your audience. Be engaging and tell a story.

Here are a few sample questions to get you started:

• What is your book about?
• Who is your book for?
• What inspired you to write this book?
• What makes your book special or unique?
• What are you working on now?
• Who are your favorite authors?
• How did you decide to write a book / become an author?

Where Else to Find You Online

• Social media
• Amazon /  iBooks / Kobo / Nook …. Pages
• Goodreads Page
• Podcasts
• Videos of Appearances, interviews, speaking engagements, etc…

Tips for Your Media Kit

• Add some personality, let your “voice” shine through
• Include a simplified, downloadable version of each part of your Media Kit (where it makes sense. Like, your event schedule, author bios, book list, etc…).
• When providing a downloadable version, be sure to use a popular file format so that it is easy to open (like a pdf)
• Make sure you can copy and paste the text of your downloadable file (so, don’t use an image format like a jpeg)
• Keep it up to date (add new books, quotes, events, etc… )
• Since this is online, include links where possible

 

Is there anything that you’ve added to your media kit, that isn’t listed here? Do you have any tips? I’d love to hear about it, please comment below.