It’s also important to get to the point. Journalists scan press releases; they don’t read each one word for word. You need to avoid beating around the bush and include only pertinent information.

Author Quotation

This could be something controversial, something interesting, or something emotionally engaging. Avoid at all costs something bland, vanilla or dry. It’s better to leave this out entirely if you can’t think of anything relevant.

It’s also important to make any author quote you use relevant to your book press release. If it’s a family friendly book, for example, avoid making a statement that could be seen as offensive or inappropriate. The press release for your book needs to work as a cohesive whole.

Mini Author Bio

This should be factual and to the point, but it doesn’t need to be boring. Consider finding unconventional ways to say conventional things. If you can make a journalist smile, you will stand a much greater chance of making an impression on them, and thus, having your book featured.

If you are targeting a press release to a particular journalist or publication, you should consider highlighting information about yourself that you think will appeal directly. The basic principle here is to say “Hi, look, I’m the kind of person your readers would love to know more about.”

Book Information

Avoid hyperbole or cliche here. You want to convey solidly what your book is about and what it contains. Try and make the language punchy and descriptive. It should be easily understandable without being too dry and generic.

Contact Details

Be smart about this. If you have a Google+ that you never use, don’t include it. Email, phone number, and your website are the bare minimum here.

Call To Action

Failing to include a powerful call to action is like selling tickets to a speech you’re giving, packing the venue…and then saying nothing to the audience. If people have read to the end of your press release, it means you’ve engaged and interested them. Don’t waste that opportunity! Maybe you want people to visit your author page^[10], attend a book launch^[11] event, or check out some other aspect of your author activities. Be clear about what your aim is.