The book press release: when it helps, and a template.
A book press release is a one-page news story about your book, written so an editor, a podcast host or an event organizer could use it as is. For a nonfiction author it works best as a tidy fact sheet that makes it easy for the people near your reader to say yes. This guide covers when it is worth writing, a template, an example, who to send it to and a checklist.
What a book press release is
A press release is a short document in the shape of a news story: a headline, a first paragraph that says who did what and why it matters, a quote, the details and contact information. A book press release answers the questions an editor or booker has before they spend time on you: what is the book, who is it for, why would our audience care now, who is the author, and how do I get a copy.
The word "news" is the hard part. "Local consultant publishes a book" is news to your family. It becomes news to an editor when it connects to something their readers care about: a problem in their town, a change in their industry, a date on their calendar. Find that connection before you write a word.
When it helps
Start with the book's job, the one result it is meant to produce (Lesson 1 shows how to name it). A release helps when it reaches people who reach your reader.
- Local press. Town papers, local news sites, regional business journals and local radio cover people from their area. A local author with a problem their readers share and an event coming up is a story they can run. This is where a release most often earns its keep.
- Trade press in your field. The magazines, newsletters and association bulletins your clients read. Their editors want practical ideas from people in the field. A release with one useful idea from the book can turn into a column, an excerpt or an interview.
- Podcast hosts and event bookers. They rarely run a release, but they use one. When a host or program chair says "send me something," a release with your bio, three talk topics and the book's details is the something.
- Your own network and website. Alumni magazines, a client's staff bulletin, the chamber of commerce, and a press page on your own site with the release, a photo and the cover.
When it does not
- As a way to sell books by itself. Coverage can lead to readers, clients or invitations. Plan on a release opening a few conversations, not moving sales.
- Sent cold to national outlets. National editors receive more releases than they can read. If national coverage matters to the book's job, a personal pitch about one idea, or an op-ed you write, has a better chance.
- As a blast to everyone. A paid newswire places a release on many sites, but placement is different from coverage: someone still has to choose to write about you. Twenty releases sent by hand to people who cover your subject usually do more.
- In place of a pitch. Podcast hosts and journalists answer short personal emails. Send the pitch, and the release when they ask. The podcast tour lesson has a pitch that works.
- With nothing new to say. "The book is now available" is weak on its own. If you cannot find an angle for an outlet, skip it.
Write a release if you can list at least ten named people (an editor, host or program chair) who reach your reader and might use it. If the list is shorter, spend the time on personal pitches and keep a release on your website for when someone asks.
A fill-in template
Copy this, replace everything in square brackets, and cut until it fits on one page. Keep the order: editors read from the top and stop once they decide.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [or "FOR RELEASE ON [date]" if the news should wait]
Headline: [The reader's problem or the news hook, in plain words, with the book's subject. Not the title alone.]
Subhead: [One line: author's name, what they do, and the book's title in italics.]
[CITY, State], [Month Day, Year]: [Who] has written [Book Title: Subtitle], a book for [the one reader] about [the problem]. [Why this matters to this outlet's audience now: a local issue, an industry change, a date.]
[The one idea from the book the reader can use, stated plainly: a finding from your work, a method. No adjectives about the book.]
"[A quote in the voice you use with a client: an opinion, a one-line story or advice an editor could print. Never 'I am thrilled to share my book.']" said [Your name], [your role].
[What this audience can attend or use next: an event, a talk, a free chapter, an offer to speak to their members. Date, place and how to register.]
About the book: [Title: Subtitle] ([Publisher or imprint], [publication date]). [Formats.] Available at [where to buy, or one link to the book's page].
About the author: [Two to four sentences in the third person: who you help, what you have done that matters to this audience, where you are based.]
Available for interview on: [Three topics, one line each.]
Media contact: [Name], [email], [phone]. Review copies, a high-resolution cover and author photo are available on request or at [link to your press page].
###
The "###" is an old newsroom mark for "the release ends here." The about-the-author block is your bio cut to fit; Scribe Media's chapter How to write your author bio has a structure to follow.
Write the headline last
The headline decides whether anything else is read. Write three after the body is done, one for each hook: the reader's problem, the local or industry angle, and the event. Change the headline and first paragraph for each kind of outlet and leave the rest alone.
A worked example
Say you are a workforce consultant in Dayton, Ohio, who helps hospitals keep their nurses, and you have written a book for hospital leaders on why new nurses leave. Your launch event is a talk at the local library. Your release to the regional business journal could read:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dayton consultant's new book asks why hospitals lose new nurses, and what to do in the first year
Workforce consultant [your name] publishes The First Year, a practical guide for hospital leaders
DAYTON, Ohio, [date]: Dayton workforce consultant [your name] has written The First Year: Keeping the Nurses You Hire, a book for hospital administrators and nurse managers about why new nurses leave and what the first twelve months should look like instead.
The book's central idea: most reasons new nurses leave show up in the first ninety days, in scheduling, in who they are paired with, and in whether anyone asks how it is going. The book sets out a twelve-month plan for each, built from the author's work with hospitals in the region.
"Hospitals spend months recruiting a nurse and then leave the first week to chance," said [your name]. "The fix is mostly a calendar and a few conversations, and any manager can start on Monday."
[Your name] will talk about the book at [library branch], Dayton, on [date] at [time]. The talk is free and open to hospital staff and the public.
[About the book, about the author and media contact, as in the template.]
###
This consultant, book and event are invented to show the shape. For a nursing trade newsletter, the author would keep the body and rewrite the headline and first paragraph around the twelve-month plan.
Notice what it leaves out: no claims that the book is groundbreaking, no statistics the author cannot source, no "available now on Amazon" as the lead. A local expert with a useful idea and a free talk is something a business editor can use.
Who to send it to
Build the list before you write, because each group needs a different first paragraph. Find names, not general inboxes.
| Who | What they want | Your angle | How to send it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local paper or news site | People from the area doing something readers care about | A local author, a local problem, an event in town | A short email to the features or business editor, release pasted below |
| Regional business journal | Local companies and leaders, practical business ideas | Your firm, your clients' sector, one idea a local owner can use | Email to the editor who covers your sector |
| Local radio and TV morning shows | A guest who can explain something in a few minutes | One question your book answers that their audience asks | Email to the show's producer, with three topics |
| Trade publications in your field | Ideas their readers can apply at work | The method or finding, offered as an article or excerpt | Email to the editor with an offer to write a piece |
| Association newsletters | News about members and useful content | You as a member with a book, plus an offer to speak | Email to the communications lead or program chair |
| Podcast hosts | A guest with stories and a clear topic | Not the release first: a personal pitch, release linked | Follow the podcast tour lesson |
| Event bookers and program chairs | A speaker who fits their audience and theme | Talk topics from the book, a clip of you speaking | A pitch email; the release and a speaker sheet on request |
| Local bookstores and libraries | Events that will bring people in | A talk or signing with a reason for locals to come | In person or by email to the events lead |
For the events themselves, see the book signing and launch event guide; for pitching talks, speaking with your book.
How to send it
Write a two-line note on top
Use their name, say in one sentence why this is for their readers, and offer one thing: an interview, a review copy, an article. Paste the release below.
Paste, do not only attach
Many people will not open an attachment from a stranger. Put the text in the email and link a press page with the cover and your photo.
Send in small batches
Write to each person separately, never a list of addresses in the "To" line.
Follow up once
If you hear nothing, send one short follow-up about a week later with something new, such as the talk date or a different angle. Then let it go.
Keep a simple log
Name, outlet, date sent, reply, result. When an editor runs something, thank them and share it. Lesson 10 explains what to count: the inquiries, invitations and clients that coverage brought in.
To hire someone for the pitching instead, the book promotion services guide explains what a publicist does and what to ask first.
Checklist
- The release points toward the book's one job.
- The headline names the reader's problem or a hook, not only the title.
- The first paragraph says who, what, where and why now; one usable idea follows.
- The quote sounds like you with a client, and says something.
- Every number and claim is true and sourced, and nobody is quoted without permission.
- Event details, about the book, about the author, contact and a review copy offer are all there.
- It fits on one page, ends with ###, and goes to at least ten named people.
Put the release on your calendar
Enter your launch date, the book's job and your weekly hours, and get a week-by-week plan. Then write the release, the press list and the follow-ups into the weeks before your launch event.