Book yourself a holiday!

by Fern Reiss ~ April 11th, 2003. Filed under: Advertising & Promotion, Publishing Basics.

Book yourself a holiday!

So the easiest way to get newspapers interested in your book is to send them a press release announcing the book, right?

Wrong. The media gets thousands of such announcements—and most go directly into the garbage pail.

But you can get all the press attention you want. Here’s how to get your book the newspaper coverage it deserves:

Journalists love news. Give a journalist anything that sounds new, and you’re guaranteed to get coverage. Unfortunately, just announcing a new book doesn’t count. You need an angle—something that makes your book stand out from the crowd—and here’s one that’s almost foolproof.

Create a national holiday connected to your book.

Chances are, you’ve heard of President’s Day, Labor Day, and Veteran’s Day. But have you heard of Fish Amnesty Day? It’s September 22. What about National LawnMower Tune Up Month? (That’s in March.)

No matter what your book, you can create a holiday that connects to it. The sky’s the limit here. You can go serious or funny, heartwarming or hysterical. With a little thought, you’ll be able to zero in on the idea that’s sure to draw media attention. So play around with this one, and bounce it off your friends and relatives until you have something you’re happy with.

Then write your press release announcing the holiday to the media. (Just the process of writing the press release may alert you to details you’d like to include.) Don’t forget any of the journalist stand-bys—who, what, when, where, and why. Let them know what the estimated attendance is, and give them a short but pithy description of the day or event. And make sure there are a few ways to contact you, so that journalists who’d like to do greater coverage of your holiday will know where to find you.

Then just list your holiday for free at:

Free Hot Contacts Sheet

To get your own complimentary Hot Contacts sheet—with names and contact information for major magazines, talk show hosts, book reviewers, wholesalers, chain stores, book clubs, and more, sign up at www.PublishingGame.com.

Chase’s Calendar of Events. (You can write them at 4255 W. Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60646, fax them at (847)679-6358, or register your holiday online at www.Chases.com.)

The funnier and funkier your holiday, the better your chances of being picked up by the media for attention. And you can do this with just about any book or topic.

Take my Publishing Game books. From now on, April 15, the day your taxes are due, is also PublishingGame.com’s National Write-Off Day. Here’s how I wrote the press release announcing this holiday:

“Tired of taxes? If you’re hungering to write something besides checks to the IRS, enter this year’s PublishingGame.com National Write-Off Day Contest. Sponsored by Peanut Butter and Jelly Press and PublishingGame.com, creators of books and workshops for writers, the contest awards prizes for the best (25 words or fewer) response to “Why I shouldn’t have to pay any taxes.”

We’re looking for quirky answers like, ‘My wife’s declared me legally dead,’ said Fern Reiss, author of The Publishing Game book series and creator of the contest. “Tax day is such a bummer. PublishingGame.com National Write-Off Day offers just a bit of fun to an otherwise depressing topic.” All entries will be posted on the PublishingGame.com website, where people will be able to vote for their favorite response.

The original idea was that first prize would be next year’s taxes paid off in full, “But we thought that maybe the IRS would get upset,” said Reiss. First prize now includes the three books in the Publishing Game series, with single books awarded to the three runners-up.

Writers should email their name, address, and under 25-word entry to WriteOff@PublishingGame.com by April 15. “Unlike the IRS, we’ll let you play even if you’re a few days late,” said Reiss.

More information is available at www.PublishingGame.com or by writing The Publishing Game, Peanut Butter and Jelly Press, PO Box 590239, Newton, MA 02459.

If April 15th is a slow news day, you can be sure that PublishingGame.com National Write-Off Day will be featured in the news from New York to California.

So create a holiday right now, today. And then sit back and wait for the media!

Fern Reiss is the author of The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days (book promotion), The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days (self-publishing), The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days (traditional publishing), Expertizing™: Positioning Yourself as a Name Brand (self-promotion), Consultants Publish, Kids Publish, The Publishing Game: Syndicate in 30 Days and The Publishing Game: Ebooks in 30 Days. More information on her books, consulting, and all-day workshops (coming to Boston April 27th, San Francisco May 22, and Los Angeles May 25) can be found at the PublishingGame.com website, www.PublishingGame.com.

Media: Please feel free to use this article in your publication, including e-zines and websites—as long as you include the biography information at the end. To contact Fern Reiss for an interview, please email PBJ publicist Alyza Harris at Alyza@PBJPress.com.