July 4th Opportunity
by Fern Reiss, CEO, PublishingGame.com
Savvy book folk will wait to take their July 4th holiday
until several days after the 4th.
July 4th—and, indeed, almost any
government holiday, including Labor Day and Memorial
Day—offers
a wonderful publicity opportunity for the right author.
Because businesses and government institutions close
early for the weekend, journalists, as always on these
holidays, are left with space to fill, a shortage of
people to interview, and nothing much to say. So they
cast around looking for new sources and unused press
releases.
Your chances of being picked up by even the national
media increase exponentially at such times.
Now, even the most optimal time of year will not garner
you PR unless you have some sort of hook. You still
need a news angle, a reason that journalists should
cover your story now. You’ll still need to do
a fax blast, or an email blast, to get them the press
release, and it still needs to look professional, or
most papers won’t pick it up. But unlike the
rest of the year, your hook needn’t be as compelling,
simply because there will be a whole lot less competition
out there.
See how short this article is, compared to its usual
length? That’s the same position in which newspapers
nationwide find themselves: Too much white space. This
week, the newspapers need filler.
So instead of planning to take off early this week
for the holidays, think about whether it might not
be worth your while to stick around and generate some
book PR. You can always go on vacation next week—after
reaping the rewards of July 4th. Enjoy.
Fern Reiss is the author of The Publishing Game: Bestseller
in 30 Days (book marketing), The Publishing
Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days (finding a literary
agent), The
Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days (self-publishing).
For more information on Publishing Game books, workshops,
and consulting, and on getting your book and business
featured in the national media, sign up for the complimentary
PublishingGame/Expertizing email newsletter at http://www.PublishingGame.com/signup.htm.
Copyright © 2007 Fern Reiss
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