Author and Book Media Kit Components – What Should You Include?

Let’s go over some common components of the author (or book) media kit. While most of these will work for a hard copy media kit / press kit, let’s focus on online author media kits (those in newsroom formats on your website or downloadable .pdf files).

Author Media Kit Components – Essential

  • Author bio
  • Published book list (titles, cover images, brief summary, ISBN, etc.)
  • Media contact info (who journalists should contact with questions or interview requests)
  • Social media contact info for the author (Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, etc. where members of the media can get the latest news and updates or network with the author)
  • Author photo (high resolution)
  • Past press mentions, interview credits, etc.
  • Endorsements / testimonials from people the media will care about
  • Latest press release (maybe a news release for your latest book launch, an upcoming speaking engagement, etc. – in an online newsroom format you might even include a page with a full news release archive)

Optional (but Nice) Author Media Kit Components

  • More detailed book info (especially if you have a new release)
  • Suggested interview questions (not all journalists who want to interview you will read all of your books or fully understand everything you were hoping to convey – include example questions they could ask you during an author interview which they can tailor to their own audience)
  • Frequently asked questions (if you’re asked the same questions constantly include them, and your answers, in the media kit to save everyone time)
  • An excerpt from one or more of your books
  • Sales figures (especially for past books)
  • Info on your target market / readers (Who reads your books? Who buys your books? Why? This info helps a journalist, blogger, or other potential interviewer know if you appeal to their own target audience.)

Do you include other elements in your author or book media kit? Do you have multimedia elements like archived video and audio interviews? Do you have a media-centric blog included? Leave your ideas or tips in the comments below.

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Jennifer Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance business writer, consultant, and indie author. She runs numerous websites & blogs including All Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Pros, NakedPR, and Kiss My Biz.

Jenn has 25 years' experience as a professional writer and editor and over 20 years' experience in marketing and PR (working heavily in digital PR, online marketing, social media, SEO, new media, and thought leadership publication). She also has 19 years' professional blogging and web publishing experience (including web development) and around 18 years of experience as an indie author / publisher.

Jenn also writes fiction under multiple pen names and is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association.

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4 thoughts on “Author and Book Media Kit Components – What Should You Include?”

  1. Actually, I do come from the same background, and what I have to publish is in the same area. You’ve made me think. I don’t want to go with POD publishers, and I do want more control over the final product.

    Very cool. Looking forward to more!

    Reply
    • Rather than blogging about a niche topic (like this blog) you would use the blog format as a way to publish chronological updates of interest to media sources. For example, you would publish your own press releases there. You might publish notices when interviews go up. You might publish video clips from a recent seminar you gave after the event. It’s not a chit-chat kind of blog, nor one people would consistently read. It’s about giving them the latest information they might want at the exact moment they view your online newsroom. I’d keep this separate from a typical company blog or niche blog. If you don’t know how to separate a category for it from a larger blog (hide it on the main blog and isolate it on a separate page for the media), I’d suggest installing a separate blog in a folder — yoursite.com/media/blog/ or something like that.

      Reply

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