Customer Reviews

Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books (Ground Rules series)

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I wish everyone who sent me a book for review had read this book. "Putting It On Paper" contains all the basics of what a bookseller should and should not include in their press kits. Areas covered by the book include the media kit, the cover letter, the press release, mock interviews, author biographical information, a book sell sheet, a catalog sheet, extra sales materials, and even writing an article to achieve back door sales. The bottom line is that you may have the best book ever published but if readers don't know it exists then they will not buy it. That is where promotional pieces come in. Getting the book reviewed, getting distributors to carry it, or getting independent bookstores to sell it, no matter what your marketing direction you will need a promotional piece. The advice is thorough and detailed including sample layouts and templates. If you want your book to sell, "Putting It On Paper" is the road map to creating the right promotional pieces the first time and a recommended read.

Many writers dream of the moment their book is accepted for publication. The hard work is over. All they have to do is turn over their perfectly edited manuscript to the publisher, cash their royalties checks, and wait while their publicist turns them into the next household name.

Little do they know that the marketing of a book is very often left in the lap of the writer themselves, as publishing companies don't have the time or budgets to spend launching the career of an unknown.

So what is a writer to do?

For starters, they must create a media kit. Not just any media kit, but the best, most alluring media kit out there. A media kit that will make a distributor, book seller, or editor stand up and take notice. A media kit that will stand out, propel orders, and get their book in the public's face.

PUTTING IT ON PAPER tells writers exactly how to create that media kit. Dawn Josephson, founder and president of Cameo Publications, knows her stuff when it comes to garnering public exposure. A writer with 14 published books and over 1,000 published articles, Josephson has had experience with nearly every side of the publishing industry, from being Editor-in-Chief for a national magazine publisher to being a regular contributor to a regional arts and entertainment magazine. Her experience allows her to help business leaders, writers, and professional speakers maximize their own exposure through writing.

PUTTING IT ON PAPER spares no details when describing the various tools that should accompany every author's media kit. For each component of the kit, Josephson includes lengthy explanation as to its benefit within the kit, then follows the explanation with templates and a great many real-life examples that are helpful to the point of invaluable.

With the exception of one poetry book written as post-9/11 self-help, all of Josephson's real-life examples are of pieces of media kits for nonfiction books. However, she admits, "Every book, whether it's a novel, a children's book, a memoir, or a business book, needs a press kit." (p. 17) This attention to non-fiction books only might leave writers of fiction or children's books yearning for an example they can more closely follow to suit their needs. However, enough examples are given as to give a writer of another genre a good head start in creating a media kit tailored to fit his or her work.

PUTTING IT ON PAPER is an excellent tool for any writer who might someday write and sell a book. It is an eye-opening glimpse into reality for the hopeful writer, an invaluable tool for the newly published, and a terrific reference guide for the veteran needing to spruce up an outdated media kit.

After writing a book and then reading all the other books on how to promote it, I was stumped. I had great ideas on which outlets and reviewers to approach, but I had no idea what to send them. Do I send a book to review with a quick note? Do I send a full package of materials that's longer than the book itself? What kind of information did the media and bookstores want to see? These are all the questions I had, and this book answered each and every one. By the time I finished reading Putting It On Paper, I had every element of my press kit created, and the results are outstanding. I've already had numerous media outlets contact me as a result of my press kit, and my book just got picked up by a large distribution house. Plus, I was able to arrange for three book signings with local bookstores. I highly recommend Putting It On Paper to anyone who has published a book.

After pouring sweat over the newest book, it's time for the next step, getting it out there for people to buy. Unlike the Field of Dreams, if you write it, they won't necessarily come unless you're John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, or Patricia Cornwell. If you are one of them, "Hi! I'm a fan of your books!" Not all authors have a publisher to do the press releases and promotional material work or at least, enough to spread the news.

In Putting It on Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books, Dawn Josephson walks through the steps of developing a book marketing campaign with a press kit which typically includes and she covers all items: a cover letter, a press release, a mock book review, an author bio, a sell sheet, a catalog, a give-away item, and an article. However, it doesn't stop there. The advice isn't just applicable to authors of books. It's also valuable for writers who want to promote newsletters, services, and other published works.

I've seen my share of media kits for books and products. Some don't have any benefit for my needs while others sounds like a stereotypical used car salesman trying to make the sale in an uncomfortable way.

Josephson walks the talk since her book, of course, came with a media kit and it's one of the better ones I've seen. Based on this, the book describes how to create a media kit like hers using questions and answers, key points, templates, and real-life examples using the templates. The examples are exactly what I like to see in a press release and other materials in a media kit.

Publicity is hard that authors and publicists print a general kit and send the same thing to everyone. That might make it easier, but it won't be as successful has tailoring the kit to the recipient's needs. With word processors that do mail merge saving us time, it shouldn't be a problem to give the target reader the information needed.

Creating promotional materials may sound dull, but the book actually gives it a fun spin with its 160 pages of solid advice. Applying the tips and ground rules from Putting It on Paper, any author or publicist run a successful book marketing campaign.

When authors ask me for advice on how they can generate publicity for their book, the first question I ask them is, "Have you created all the marketing materials for your book?"

Most times, the answer is "What marketing materials?"

That's when I lead them to "Putting it on Paper--The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books."

Dawn Josephson, a former magazine journalist, knows exactly what editors want to see. Her book takes authors by the hand and shows them how to write materials that will help the media do their jobs. The book is filled with examples from her own client list, so you can see exactly what she is telling you to do. If you're an authors, shorten your learning curve with this handy, detailed roadmap.

If you have written a book and published, you know that the writing and the publishing were the easy parts. The most vital-and most difficult-task is promoting the book so that people will buy it. Distributors are fond of saying to authors, "Our job is to get the book onto the shelf; your job is to get it off."

In ten chapters, this author presents the how-to, step-by-step, of how to promote a book to distributors, retailers, and consumers. She covers a lot of ground to help authors get the word out. Plenty of examples to give authors guidance. Ground Rules In Action sections and Key Points summaries at the end of the chapters added value

Josephson is founder and president of Cameo Publications, a firm that has published eight books, including this one. Her experience includes writing over 1,000 articles. From my research on amazon.com, this appears to be her first book. She uses herself heavily in her examples, to the point that this reviewer felt the book was bordering on self-promotion. With her experience as a publisher and a magazine editor, she has gained a body of knowledge that is valuable for authors. The knowledge is conveyed effectively in this book. Authors would be well-advised to read and heed the advice in these pages.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. After months--and sometimes years--of dedicated writing, rewriting, and rewriting some more, you've finally finished that manuscript and even found a publisher. Lo and behold, you discover the real work has just begun.

Once upon a lovely time, publishers--the really big ones, anyway--took charge of marketing and promoting new books. As the author, you might be expected to make a few public appearances, but the publisher handled little things like setting up venues and contacting the media.

But enough with the fairy tales. These days, author's are shouldering more and more of the promotional (and financial) load of getting their books to market.

Was that last paragraph enough to make you quake in your comfy slippers? Relax. This just might be a fairy tale after all, because here comes the hero riding to your rescue. (Or perhaps author Dawn Josephson is more akin to a fairy godmother.)

Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books is the first book in The Ground Rules Series and a great starting point.

Once you pick up this handy guidebook, you won't want to put it down. Chapter by chapter, Josephson walks you through all the elements of book promotion, from writing press releases to drafting catalogue sheets and everything in between. She supplements each chapter with real-world samples, frequently asked question (and corresponding answers), and a summary of key points. Josephson manages to cover a lot of ground (rules) in one slim volume without ever seeming over-whelming. Carolyn Howard-Johnson's excellent book The Frugal Book Promoter, by comparison, is far longer and thus more detailed. Both books have value, and both belong in any serious author's resource library. However, the novice book promoter might find Putting It On Paper less intimidating as a starting point.

Whether you've written one book or twenty (or even if you're still dreaming of that first completed manuscript), do yourself a favour and invest in your own copy of Putting It On Paper. You won't be sorry.

"If I had more time, I would have written less." ~Mark Twain

Dawn Josephson interviewed book reviewers and buyers from major distribution houses to find out which press kits get a positive response. The promotional pieces you use help to get your book noticed and create an inviting space where the reviewer can view comments, interviews, extra details and maybe even customized bookmarks with a matching business card.

If you have written your book and it is being published, media kits may then be created for The Media, Book Distributors and Individual Bookstores. Dawn Joesephson encourages authors to create customized professional pieces.

You can choose from a cover letter, press release, mock book review, author bio, sell sheet, catalog sheet, a chachki (give-away) item and article. By dividing the seemingly daunting job of putting a press kit together into easy-to-follow steps, the process is much less complicated.

Should you send a book out with every media kit?
How many articles should I include?
Why does personalization impress?

Authors will especially enjoy the Frequently Asked Questions and Key Points that help to keep the project at hand on focus. A Day in the Life of an Editor (or reviewer) gives insight into how much time editors really have to read books and write reviews. Reviewers might enjoy reading about the Basic Anatomy of a Book Review.

A well-thought out media packet can truly impress a book reviewer and give them the needed all-encompassing impression of your work. This gives a reviewer a good first impression of who the author is, what their mission is in life and how they want their work presented.

~The Rebecca Review

Hundreds of thousands of books are published each year, yet only a handful enjoy the attention and sales level they deserve. Promoting a book, long thought to be the job of the publisher, is now falling increasingly into authors' hands--and those who want their books to get noticed have a new champion in Dawn Josephson.

As an author myself, I hoped to find the kind of advice I needed to rise above my competition--the advice industry insiders fail to deliver--and I was not disappointed. In Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books, Dawn covers all the bases, from what you should write to who you should send it to. Media kits, cover sheets, press releases, author bios, sell sheets...the book covers them all and more, in step-by-step detail.

An easy-to-read format and plenty of real-life examples make this book a snap to use for authors of any experience level. Beginners will be able to not only discover what a "sell sheet" is, but put one together like a pro, and even seasoned self-marketers will find new avenues and techniques to use in their promotion efforts.

If you've written a book, or plan to, Putting It On Paper should be a prerequisite to your marketing strategy. Pick up a copy now and watch your book sales soar!

It's full of excellent examples for all kinds of relevant book promotion. Dawn's book will answer most of your questions about what to say, how to say it and who you should say it to. Authors need to learn that promoting their book is up to them. Putting It On Paper shows you how!