Does Your Book have a Seasonal Tie-In? You Need Multiple Publicity Timelines
As I write this at the end of January, you might be thinking about Valentine’s Day. And daily newspaper journalists, TV and radio broadcasters, and Internet media are also thinking about Valentine’s stories.
But…at a large monthly magazine, the assignment editor is already thinking about events way in the future: summer vacation stories, back to school, or even Halloween! If you pitch a story a month or two ahead to one of these publications, they’ll just laugh as they hit the delete button. They work six to eight months ahead.
And that means when you pitch these publications, you’ve got to be working seven to nine months out–and then come back to similar pitches for weekly newspapers and magazines perhaps one month to six weeks ahead, and then the short-deadline media outlets maybe two or three weeks ahead, sometimes even less.
It’s a schizophrenic existence, but it means more media coverage for you.
Bonus tips: 1. Your book (nonfiction as well as fiction) may be of seasonal interest even if it doesn’t mention the specific holiday. Any love story has a Valentine tie-in, any that takes place in the summer could be tied to summer stories–as could a book about treating sports injuries.
2. Having trouble finding those tie-ins? Use the same resources that media do: Chase’s Calendar of Events and Celebrate Today
