Checklist category
Media, Events & Reader Outreach
Everyone you might reach, and everything they will ask you for. Build media, podcast, community, bookstore, and bulk-purchase lists by fit rather than size, prepare a media kit and the reusable files and facts behind it, agree who sends which pitch, run the events, and ask readers for honest reviews inside each platform's rules.
The tasks in Media, Events & Reader Outreach
4 tasks, 18 steps
Build the outreach lists
5 stepsYou have named lists of the media, podcasts, communities, bookstores, and bulk buyers that actually fit this book, with a reason beside each one. A short list you can explain beats a long list you bought.
RecommendedSix to three months before publicationAuthor and PublicistYou normally do this yourself.Publicity or marketing
Prepare the launch materials
7 stepsEverything anyone might ask you for is already made: the media kit, the one-page sheet, the files and facts, the launch assets, the interview questions, and the emails. Nothing here is hard, and all of it is slow if you start on the day you need it.
RecommendedSix to three months before publication, before the first pitch goes outAuthor and PublicistYou normally do this yourself.Publicity or marketing, Design or production
Run outreach and events
4 stepsPitches go out from the right person, events have stock and a payment method sorted before the day, and every pitch, response, and published piece is recorded. Keeping that record is what makes the second book easier.
RecommendedThree months before publication through the first months afterAuthor and PublicistYou normally do this yourself.Publicity or marketing
Ask for reader reviews responsibly
2 stepsYou ask readers for honest reviews, in the words the platforms allow, without offering anything in return and without asking for a rating. Getting this wrong can remove the reviews and, on some platforms, the account.
RecommendedFrom launch week onward, inside each platform's rulesAuthorYou normally do this yourself.
Common questions
How big should these lists be?
Small enough that you could say why each entry is on it. Fit beats volume, and a pitch to someone who covers your subject is worth more than fifty to people who do not.
From Build the outreach lists.
What is a bulk purchase audience?
An organization that might buy many copies at once: a company, a conference, a school, an association, a nonprofit. For some nonfiction it is a bigger channel than retail.
From Build the outreach lists.
My publisher has a publicist. Do I still do this?
Your own contacts, communities, and local connections are the part a publicist cannot build for you. Agree who is approaching whom so nobody gets two pitches for the same book.
From Build the outreach lists.
What goes in a media kit?
Cover art, your headshot, the bios, the descriptions, the identifiers, publication details, buy links, review quotes, and a contact. One place, one link, no attachments to hunt for.
From Prepare the launch materials.
Why write my own interview questions?
Because a busy host will often use them, and because writing them forces you to decide what the book is about in the three or four ways different audiences will care about.
From Prepare the launch materials.
How many outreach emails do I need?
One per audience, not one per contact. A media pitch, a podcast pitch, a bookseller note, and a community note cover most of it, personalized where it matters.
From Prepare the launch materials.
Who should send a pitch, me or my publicist?
Agree it in advance per list. Duplicate pitches from an author and a publicist to the same editor read as disorganized, and the editor remembers.
From Run outreach and events.
What goes wrong at events?
Stock and payment, almost always. Who is supplying copies, who is taking the money, who handles unsold stock, and whether you are signing. Settle it in writing before the date.
From Run outreach and events.
Are campaign link parameters worth adding?
They are the only way to tell which post or email actually sent people to a buy page. It is a small technical step and it is the difference between knowing and guessing.
From Run outreach and events.
What am I not allowed to do?
Offer anything in exchange for a review, ask for a positive review or a specific rating, or arrange reviews from people with a personal or financial connection to you. The exact rules differ by platform and change, so read the current ones.
From Ask for reader reviews responsibly.
Can I ask friends and family?
Most large platforms prohibit reviews from people close to the author and remove them when detected. It is a fast way to lose reviews you did nothing wrong to earn.
From Ask for reader reviews responsibly.
What does a safe request sound like?
Something like: if you read it and have a minute, an honest review on whichever store or reading site you use helps other readers find it. No rating requested, nothing offered.
From Ask for reader reviews responsibly.