Prepare the launch materials

Create a media kit

Assemble one downloadable package with everything a journalist, producer, or bookseller needs to cover the book without emailing you first.

RecommendedOwner: Author and PublicistYou: Do itFreeAll publishing paths

Authors often hire help with this: publicity or marketing, design or production.

Why it matters

Journalists and producers work fast and will cover the author whose materials are ready. A media kit answers the questions they would otherwise ask, or not ask, and moves on. It also keeps the facts consistent, because everyone who covers the book draws from the same file rather than from whatever they found in a search.

Your part

What you do: Do it. You normally do this yourself.
Who normally owns it: Author and Publicist. Publisher publicity often provides a version; author hosts and maintains the canonical copy
When: 4 to 6 months before publication, before outreach begins (Prepare the launch materials: six to three months before publication, before the first pitch goes out)

How to do it

The full walkthrough

A media kit (sometimes called a press kit) is a folder or web page containing the materials someone needs to write about, interview, or feature you and the book: the press release or announcement, the book description, your bios at several lengths, the headshot with credit, the cover image, the identifiers and format details, sample interview questions, any early reviews or endorsements, and contact details. Its purpose is to make covering the book easy.

Traditionally published authors will usually receive a media kit, or at least a press release, from the publisher's publicity department. Ask for it, check that it matches your canonical bio and headshot, and host a copy on your own site, because the publisher's version is built for the launch campaign and will not be maintained afterwards.

Hybrid authors should ask what the publisher provides and fill the gaps. Self-published authors build the kit themselves, which is not difficult if the components already exist from earlier items on this checklist.

Put the kit at a stable address on your site, link it from the book page, and include the link in every pitch. Keep the files current: an out-of-date media kit is worse than none, because it gives a journalist wrong information with confidence.

AuthorChecklist builds one of these for you, for each book. It assembles a media kit page from your author profile and the book's public page, at a stable address linked from the book page, and you add the parts that are specific to publicity: a headline, talking points, sample interview questions, and downloadable files. Set it up from your public pages.

Common mistakes

Building the kit the week of publication, after the first pitches have gone out.
Including only web-resolution images, which no print outlet can use.
Letting the publisher's kit be the only copy, then losing access to it after the campaign.
Omitting the contact details, on the theory that anyone can find them.

A template for this

Media-kit checklistEverything a journalist, producer, bookseller, or event organizer expects to find in a media kit, grouped so you can see the gaps at a glance.

When to use it: Use this when you first assemble a media kit, when the publisher sends theirs and you want to check it against your own records, and again after any significant news. Do not use this when the kit would be out of date the moment you shared it. An out-of-date kit is worse than none, because it gives a journalist wrong information with confidence.

MEDIA KIT CHECKLIST: [Book Title]
Kit address: [Link]
Last updated: [Date]

THE BOOK
- Title and subtitle exactly as on the cover: [Book Title]: [Subtitle]
- Author name as it should appear: [Author Name]
- Publisher and imprint: [Publisher], [Imprint]
- Publication date: [Publication Date]
- Formats: [Formats]
- ISBN, price, and page count for each format: [ISBN And Price By Format]
- Short description, about 50 words, as plain text
- Long description, about 150 to 250 words, as plain text
- Front cover at original resolution, as JPEG or PNG, in two versions:
  - For print: at least 1500 by 2250 pixels, which is 5 by 7.5 inches at 300 pixels per inch. Pixels per inch tells you nothing on its own; it only means something alongside the printed size.
  - For web: about 600 pixels on the long edge, for a listing, a post, or an article.
- Buy links for each format: [Link]

THE AUTHOR
- Biographies at 50, 100, and 250 words, as plain text
- Headshot at original resolution, as JPEG or PNG: at least 1200 by 1500 pixels for print use, plus a web version about 800 pixels on the long edge. Keep the print and web downloads separate and labeled.
- Photographer credit: [Photographer Credit]
- Author website: [Link]
- Social profiles you actually use: [Link]

FOR INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES
- Press release or announcement, with a date
- Sample interview questions and topic angles
- Endorsements, with permission to quote and correct attribution
- Review excerpts within permitted length, with source and date
- Excerpt or sample chapter, if permitted: [Permission Status]
- Upcoming events and appearances, with dates and venues
- Past interviews and coverage, with links

CONTACT
- Author contact: [Your Name], [Your Email]
- Publicity contact: [Publicist Name And Email]
- Rights or bulk sales contact, if different: [Contact Name And Email]

BEFORE YOU SEND
- Every fact matches the Book Identity Sheet
- Files are named so a stranger can tell what they are
- Every link tested on mobile and desktop
- The publisher's kit and yours agree, or yours links to theirs
- The last-updated date above is current

What done looks like

One page or folder at a stable address, linked from the book page and the contact page.
Press release or announcement, book description, short and long bios, headshot with credit, high-resolution cover, and contact details.
ISBN (International Standard Book Number), formats, price, publication date, and publisher for each edition.
Sample interview questions and topic angles.
Endorsements and reviews, updated as they arrive.
A last-updated date on the page.

Ask your publisher

Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.

Hi [Name], will publicity be preparing a media kit or press release for [Book Title]? If so, could you send it when it is ready so I can host a copy on my site and match my bio and headshot to it? Thank you.

Sources and last checked

Official source: No single official page for this step.
Last checked: Not checked against its source yet.
How confident we are: Verified