Rick Frishman’s Blog

I will be teaching about media and publishing at AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY

on October 1 and 2 in Atlanta.

 

Join Mark Victor Hansen (our MC) and 10 other speakers.

This seminar will only fit 100 people and we are filling up fast! Rooms are at an amazing $159. But you have to book soon or they will be gone.

 

http://www.author101university.com

 

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Fifteen Things the Media Loves–

 

“Reporters are like alligators. You don’t have to love them, you don’t necessarily have to like them. But you do have to feed them.”

–Anonymous

 

 

What The Media Loves

 

1. News

Above all else, the media wants newsworthy items. The first thing they ask is, “Will our audience care about this?” News is what affects people’s lives, what they discuss at the dinner table and around the water cooler. For the media, news is not just about delivering information; it’s about entertaining first and educating or selling second. So, provide your information in an entertaining fashion.

 

2. The Big Three: Sex, Money, and Health

Stories that involve sex, money, or health attract attention. The media believes that the public is obsessed with sex, money, and health, and if you link your story to one or more of them, it will increase its media appeal.

 

3. Brevity

Save everyone time and effort by sending short, concise messages, preferably by e-mail. Cut to the chase–be direct and without subterfuge. State what you’re pitching and how it will help the intended audience. Long missives often go unread.

Warning

Faxes can be unreliable. Some newsrooms, stations, and offices have only one fax machine, or one per floor, and it may be operated by an intern or a clerk. In large organizations, faxes are often undelivered or delivered to the wrong person. If you send a fax, follow up with an e-mail to be sure it is received.

 

4. Targeted Pitches

Every story isn’t for every outlet. Research the audience you wish to reach and identify which outlets best target that audience. Before making your pitch, study each media outlet: read its articles, watch and listen to its programs, and visit its Web sites. Customize your pitch to stress how it will benefit each outlet’s specific audience. Send business stories to business reporters, not to lifestyle reporters, unless the story has a lifestyle angle.

 

5. Relationships

Media people like to deal with people who build relationships rather than merely try to sell a story. Although individual stories are important, people in the media know that careers are built by forging strong relationships. To the media, professionals build relationships and they prefer to work with professionals in their network rather than one-shot wonders.

 

6. Preparation

Do your homework. The media likes to work with people who have their acts together and can deliver what is needed. Focus on making the media’s job easier. Know your subject inside and out and have written materials completed and on hand to send upon request. With products, send three copies of the product to the media. Being prepared shows commitment and that you’re a dedicated professional.

 

7. Broad Appeal

The story behind your product or service should be able to reach a wide variety of individuals. You want something that makes audiences say, “I know someone who could use that.” The media looks for stories that people will identify with. Search for broad themes that deliver some punch.

 

8. Tie-ins

The media wants stories that feed into larger items such as breaking news or trends. It looks for topics that will spawn families of stories. For example, during mining disasters they go for stories about safety, corporate greed, the closeness and tradition of mining communities, handling grief, treating trauma, technical and scientific advances, and the environment.

 

9. Experience

Reporters, editors, and bloggers like to see how others have covered your story; send articles that others have written about you or your product or service. Producers and podcasters want to know how you came off on camera or radio; give them a list of shows you’ve appeared on and offer to supply tapes for their review.

 

10. Visualization

The media loves stories that they can picture. In your written materials, use visual terms to create images and tell stories that illustrate your main points. The better the media can visualize your story, the better it can visualize its audience visualizing your story.

 

11. Celebrity Connections

Explain how your product or service is linked to well-known personalities. The public craves information about celebrities and products related to them get plenty of ink.

 

12. Prompt Response

Since the media works tight deadlines, time is always of the essence. Respond promptly to requests. Send requested material by the fastest route: hand delivery or overnight express. Delays can cause postponements or cancellations. You’re always in a race with the clock.

 

13. Courtesy

Be respectful to everyone you come in contact with, especially those who answer the phones. Before speaking with media contacts, learn the proper pronunciation of their names. Butchering a media contact’s name will get you off to a rocky start; it will put you in a hole before you begin.

 

14. Visual Aids

A picture is worth 10,000 words. Send charts, graphs, photographs, illustrations, and other graphic aids that reporters can stick under their editors’ noses to show why your story merits telling.

 

15. Send Warnings

Before sending unsolicited material, you should notify your media contacts that it is coming with a quick call or e-mail. If they tell you not to send it, respect their wishes.

 

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See you in Atlanta on Oct 1 and 2

http://www.author101university.com

 

Let me know if I can help you and e mail me with your comments and thoughts.

I recently taught a a publishing class at the Learning Annex. It became clear that people need help with the publishing process-

Here is the first of several articles that will help you.

The following are ten things agents and editors hate.

They hate when:

#1: Writers claim no competition exists.

Competitive or comparable books usually exist. Rarely does a book have no competition.

#2: Writers claim their books will be the next blockbuster.  Although it’s essential for authors to be enthusiastic about their books, it’s equally important that they be realistic.

#3: Writers say how much others liked their books.  
Agents and editors simply don’t care what others think about a book unless they are (a) book-publishing professionals or
(b) celebrities or published authors who are willing to endorse the book. Even then, their opinions don’t carry much weight and will rarely influence the agent’s or editor’s decision.

#4: Submissions are made for books on subjects that the agent or editor doesn’t handle.

Sending submissions that recipients don’t handle wastes everyone’s time. So don’t send your memoir to an agency when the guidebooks and agency’s Web site clearly state that it doesn’t represent memoirs.

#5: Correspondence is not addressed to a particular agent or editor.

Don’t address any correspondence, especially submissions, generally or to “Dear Agent or Editor.” It’s impersonal and it makes your communiqué look like a form letter that you simply dashed off to a slew of agents or editors.

#6: Writers call constantly, are demanding and don’t let up.

It makes no sense to put undue pressure on agents and editors. Be reasonable, patient, and understanding. Agents and editors know how important your book is to you, but their hands may be tied.

#7: Writers try to be cute, instead of being direct and straightforward.

In children, cuteness can be adorable. In adults, it seldom works; in fact, it usually becomes irritating. Agents and editors don’t have time for cuteness. They want to know, in a few words, what your book is about, and why you’re the perfect person to write it.

#8: Writers send submissions in strange formats and colors.

Attract interest in your writing by providing top-quality work. Great ideas expressed in clear, well-crafted sentences that are built with the most vivid words will speak more convincingly than outlandish colors and designs.

#9: Writers have a bad attitude or act superior.

Acting as if you’re entitled to an editor’s attention will instantly turn him or her off.

#10: Writers reject professional advice.

Some writers won’t listen to constructive criticism from their agents and/or editors. Trust the people who are publishing your book and don’t think that you know more than they do about the publishing process.

See you in Atlanta on Oct 1 and 2
http://www.author101university.com

Publicity tip —

I used to be a radio producer in New York. I got hundreds of calls a day from publicists. I called back about two! Publicity is all about follow-up. If you don’t call or email a producer at least seven times you are not doing your job. And yes, it is about relationships, too. Don’t be a pest. If you get a producer on the phone, ask if now is a good time to talk and then do your pitch in 30 seconds. Your job is to whet their appetite and get them to ask for material — or even better just book you (or your guest) right there on the spot. If you get a no that is OK, but it is only a no for now! You may be able to turn it into a yes in three months if you don’t burn your bridge with the producer.

You will learn lots more about publicity at AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY on Oct 1 and 2

in Atlanta. Check it out at http://www.author101university.com

 

We have opended registration today

Only 100 seats for this intimate event in Atlanta.

Meet Mark Victor Hansen, Alex Carroll, Brendon Burchard, Robyn Spizman, Jill Lublin and many others. You will get a book deal if you come to this event!

http://www.author101university.com

 

Preparing Yourself for an Interview -The interview structure-
Interviews usually follow a three-tiered structure that consists of

Questions
Answers
Solutions
Questions

As I’ve previously stated, the media frequently relies on the questions you send it. So prepare both great questions and riveting answers because you will probably repeat them often, and they can make you look really good. Study the interviewer’s prior interviews to see what types of questions you can expect. Then practice working your main points into the answers you prepared for those questions.

“Every opportunity is defined by the person you’re talking to: the interviewer, host, whomever,” Barbara De Angelis told me. “You may go into an interview thinking that you’re there to promote your book, get certain points across, or share information, but may end up colliding with the interviewer’s consciousness; you collide with his or her day, relationship, background, career—with everything. What you think will be a purely professional interchange often is not. It’s naïve to believe that people who interview you will have the same agenda as you.”

When you truly know your information, you can usually overcome obstacles that interviewers might create.

Answers

In your answers, be explicit and graphic. Explain the depth of the problem you can solve and how serious it is. Describe how it affected you and the specific damage it caused. Use colorful descriptive words and examples that will enable the audience to picture what you are saying. Customize your answers for each particular audience and draw them in by asking, “Have you ever had this happen?” or “Don’t we all know someone who ______?” Ask them to raise their hands or to say yes or no. Hold their attention by asking them questions.

Don’t be afraid to make strong claims or promises, but make sure that you can deliver on them because your credibility will be on the line. When you’re sure of your position, be bold and create controversy and disbelief, which hosts and producers love.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, never bluff. Look directly at the interviewer and say, “Sorry, Mary, but I really don’t know the answer. But let me look into it and get back to you shortly.” Then find the answer as soon you can and get it to the interviewer. If you can’t come up with the answer, inform the interviewer that you’re still trying, haven’t had any luck, but will contact him or her when you do.

Solutions

Solutions are your closer. They’re the payoff that you give the audience as a reward for sitting through or reading your interview. Providing solutions will distinguish you from other interview subjects because most are big on entertainment and short on answers.

Focus on giving solutions because they’re what everyone ultimately wants. Tell your audiences exactly what to do, step-by-step. Break it down in ways that they can easily understand and apply. Provide lists: five ways to get the best home loans, seven places to find vintage flooring, or how to lose twenty pounds week by week.

Always provide solid, meaningful information that works. Stand out in a world of hype and endless promises by breaking the mold and delivering value—solutions that actually work. Make it your goal to have every audience believe that you taught or gave them something of real and lasting value. And if they like you and find you entertaining, you will become a popular guest.

When possible and practical, give guarantees. Offer to refund the price of your book if it doesn’t help readers. While guarantees are helpful, giving results is even better! When you deliver as promised, both the media and its audiences will remember you, support you, and sing your praises to their friends and associates.
From Author 101 Publicity Book
More at http://www.author101.com