A book press release is the essential media relations tool that accompanies review copies or tells the media and other key influencers that your book is available, among other things.

And yet, too many authors don’t know how to write one that communicates the right information to the right people.

As a result, they lose valuable opportunities for exposure by distributing a document that doesn’t have the right information in the accepted and expected format.

Avoid these 5 mistakes

Because of that, many authors make deadly mistakes that ensure that journalists delete their book press releases quickly, before they’re even read.

Here are the mistakes I see authors making most often and how to fix them.

1. Creating a highly designed document.

This will definitely help your announcement stand out, but it will also grease the path to the digital trash can.

Press releases follow a specific format that begins with an attention-getting headline and looks like a news article. If yours uses the format that reporters, editors, producers, and bloggers need and expect, your press release has a better chance of getting read and used.

If it uses multiple font styles and sizes, a two-column format, and reads like you’re trying to sell the book, it’s called “sales material,” not a press release.

Journalists don’t like sales material. They like editorial content. And that’s what you want to provide in your book announcement press release.

2. Putting the author’s name in the headline.

We invest a lot of ourselves in our books, but because none of us are J.K. Rowling or Malcolm Gladwell, journalists don’t know our names.

Savvy book publicists and authors use that valuable headline real estate to communicate important information about the book, not the author. That’s what you want to do, too.

3. E-mailing the press release as an attachment.

Most business e-mail users won’t open attachments because of concerns about viruses and other nasty problems.

I explain the correct way to do it in “How to e-mail a press release to journalists.”

4. Housing it on your website as a PDF file.

Journalists don’t like working with PDF files because they often lose all formatting when they copy and paste the information into a new file. That means they have to find and reinsert paragraph breaks, and so on.

As soon as you create work for them, they lose interest (and who can blame them?). Give them what they want in the format they want. In this case, that’s text they can easily copy and paste.

Notice how easily you can copy and paste this article. That’s the goal for your press release.

Author Candy Harrington’s press room for her book, 22 Accessible Road Trips: Driving Vacations for Wheelers and Slow Walkers, is an excellent example of how you want to do this. At that link, select “press release,” then click on each option.

5. Not proofreading your press release.

If your press release is loaded with blatant errors such as spelling a word in your title wrong (I’ve seen it) or other typographical or grammatical errors, you’re saying to the recipient: “I don’t care about quality.”

That will encourage people to question the quality of your book, too. That’s not your goal, so proofread carefully. If you’re not good at that, find someone who is to help you out.

How to write a book press release

As an author, you’re the best person to write your book announcement press release. The challenge for most is knowing:

• The end goal — why this tool will help their book get noticed
• What to include
• What it should look like
• How to use it effectively

Help is here!

I’ve just updated my popular e-book, Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. It walks you through the process step-by-step, gives you a template you can use to write yours, and offers 12 new examples of actual fiction and nonfiction book press releases so you know what yours should look like.

Get all the details on the book’s sales page, where you can learn more and purchase a snazzy PDF or the more ordinary Kindle version.

Taking the time to learn the right (and wrong!) way to write your book’s press release could make the difference between success and failure. It’s not hard when you know how to do it. When you follow the instructions in this book, you’ll have everything you need.

Do you have a question about book announcement press releases? Please ask it in a comment.

Today’s step is sharing the news here — whoohoo! And because this new e-book teaches authors, publicists, and publishers a step-by-step process for writing that essential press release that announces a book, I’m announcing it here by sharing my book announcement press release! Makes sense, right?

Got questions about the book? Just send me a note. I’m really excited about it because I know how much it’s needed. Here’s my announcement press release — learn how to write one like this in Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. (Note that I’ve added the images here to add some visual appeal, but they are not “embedded” in the press release that I’m distributing to the media. I’ve included links to them at the end instead.)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sandra Beckwith, sb@buildbookbuzz.com, 585-377-2768

Detailed new guide helps authors announce their books

FAIRPORT, NY — June 26, 2012 — A new e-book by a veteran publicist and book marketing coach teaches authors how to create the all-important press release that announces their books.

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book (http://bit.ly/M2d7M1) by Sandra Beckwith is the only resource that takes authors through the press release writing process step-by-step. Authors, book publicists, publishers, and others learn to create a document that contains the information journalists need and expect in the format they prefer.

Get Your Book in the News distills Beckwith’s 25+ years of experience into a handy guide that offers readers:

• Nine ways to use an announcement press release to get publicity, attract book buyers to a website, or secure speaking engagements
• A detailed, 13-step process for writing a book announcement press release and a companion a fill-in-the-blanks template
• Specifics on who to send the press release to, when, how to send it, and how to follow up
• A list of the most common press release mistakes and advice on how to avoid them
• Formatting instructions
• A press release makeover
• Press release distribution service recommendations and other resources
• A bonus section with 11 actual press releases used to announce fiction and nonfiction books in several genres

“A book announcement press release is probably the most essential and versatile book promotion tool because it can generate book reviews, news items, author interviews, blog columns, and speaking engagements,” says Beckwith, who has won several national publicity awards. “Done right, it creates impressive and long-lasting exposure. Done wrong, it ends up in an electronic trash can.”

Beckwith, a book marketing coach and former publicist, helps authors learn how to be their own book publicists. She teaches the popular “Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz” course online and publishes Build Book Buzz, a free e-newsletter available at https://buildbookbuzz.com. She is also the author of three nonfiction books, including two on publicity topics, and an author publicity workbook.

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book is available as a PDF for $9 on the author’s website at http://bit.ly/M2d7M1. For more information, contact Beckwith at sb@buildbookbuzz.com.

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Book cover JPG: http://bit.ly/KXT2HG

Author photo JPG: http://bit.ly/KJ2rS6

Media review copy: sb@buildbookbuzz.com

Contact: Sandra Beckwith, sb@buildbookbuzz.com, 585-377-2768

Have you seen a great book announcement press release online? Include the URL in the comments and tell us why it works for you.