An author media kit is vital for your book publicity. It contains a variety of easily accessible information for book reviewers, interviewers, book bloggers, and bookstores.

So, building a good author media kit is a vital step in promoting your book successfully using all available media outlets. Making yours informative and impactful helps convince media outlets that your book is worthy of publicity, giving you an edge in a competitive market.

The Purpose Of An Author Media Kit

A good author media kit is an opportunity to convince publicists that your book deserves their attention—and make it easy for them to learn about you and your book.

Your media kit should be a central point for them to find all the information they need, clearly set out, and easily accessible via a single link.

Prepare Your Media Kit Well Before Publication

Prepare your media kit several months before you launch your book, which enables bloggers and bookstores to schedule their interviews and publicity spots to coincide with your book launch, which helps drum up interest ahead of time. Sending out your media kit to coincide with your book launch means you will likely miss the publicity boat.

Author Media Kit – A Template

Here’s everything you need to include in your media kit.

Contact information

Media outlets and publicists will want to contact you. The vital info to include is:

• Full name
• E-mail address
• Links to your other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Link to your author website (Have this up and running with all relevant news and info about your book before sending out your media kit.)
• Name and contact details of your agent or representative, if you have one

Author bio

An author bio is your chance to present yourself to media outlets and the public as you want to be seen. Browse your bookshelves to get an idea of the type of author bios that work.

Here is an example:

Carol is an award-winning, Parisian-trained chef and food blogger with 20-years of experience in the restaurant industry. The author built his first boat aged 15. At 25, he built himself a yacht and sailed it around the world. Incarcerated at 16 for a crime he didn’t commit, the author tells the story of his ten-year fight for justice and freedom.

Mention your experience, training, qualifications, or any previous publications relevant to your book that will enhance its appeal to book buyers. Also, let media outlets and journalists know you’re available for interviews.

To give your bio added appeal, include a photo, but make sure it’s at least 300 DPI resolution and can be downloaded.

Sample Q & A / Tipsheet

Aim to make interviewers and reviewers lives easier by providing some sample Q & As. This gives them a host of interesting points to discuss with you or write about to inform potential buyers about your book.

Include answers to questions like: In a nutshell, what is your book about? What genre is it? What inspired you to write it? Is it based on real experience?

Press release

A press release provides media outlets with a ready-made announcement about the launch of your book. It should be around 400 hundred words,  with a snappy headline, then 3-4 paragraphs detailing the book’s title, author name and bio, a short synopsis of what the book is about and what inspired it, the genre, and ending with the publisher’s name and the date of publication. If you have any quotes about your book to recommend it, then include those too.

Sell sheet

The sell sheet is a single page containing all the essential info book retailers and bloggers need. Here’s what to include:

• Title
• Author
• Genre / Price / number of pages
• ISBN
• Publication date
• Short synopsis – 100-150 words
• Formats available
• Details of all retailers
• Territories where sold
• Thumbnails of your book cover plus author photo
• Testimonials / reviews

Photographs

Include a small gallery of author photos to give journalists a choice in the images to accompany their publicity of your book, e.g., headshot, half-portrait, full length. Make sure you offer a variety of resolutions and ensure each photo is separately downloadable.

Book excerpt

Adding a short excerpt of your book gives people a sample of your work and helps draw them in. A few pages of your opening chapter or a particular highlight offer an intriguing taster to win potential buyers.

Conclusion

Stick to this template and you will have a media kit that appeals to most media outlets. But remember, just like your website, refresh your media kit regularly to keep interested parties up to date with any new developments in your author career.