Run outreach and events
Track pitches, responses, interviews, publication dates, and links
Keep one running record of every pitch sent, every reply, every interview booked, when each piece ran, and the link, so nothing is lost and follow-up is never guesswork.
Why it matters
That running record is what turns outreach from a series of hopeful emails into something you can learn from and build on. It keeps follow-up polite (one reminder, on time) rather than accidental (three reminders, or none). It gives you the links to update the book page, the media kit, and the retailer editorial sections. And when the paperback or the next book comes, it is the list of people who said yes.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and Publicist. Author or publicist maintains; author keeps the master copy
- When
- Ongoing from the first pitch, updated whenever anything happens (Run outreach and events: three months before publication through the first months after)
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Outreach produces a stream of small facts: this pitch went out on this date, this one got a reply, this interview is recorded on Tuesday and airs in March, this review ran and here is the link. Without one running record, those facts live in an inbox and are lost within a month. With one, they become the campaign's memory and its evidence.
The record is a spreadsheet, one row per contact, with the outlet, the person, the date pitched, the pitch angle, the response and its date, the interview or coverage date, the publication or air date, the link once it exists, and a status. Add a follow-up date column so the one follow-up you send is on time.
Traditionally published authors should ask the publicist for the same information about the publisher's outreach, at least as a periodic summary, and combine it with their own. Hybrid and self-published authors keep the whole record. Either way, the links column feeds the reviews-and-media update on the website and the media kit, and the response data tells you which angles and which kinds of outlets worked.
Update it the day something happens. A log updated weekly is a log that is missing things.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the record in the email inbox.
- Recording the pitch but not the follow-up date, so follow-up happens whenever you remember.
- Losing the link to a piece that ran because nobody wrote it down.
- Treating no response as declined and never following up once.
Templates for this
Query letterThe one-page letter that introduces a book to a literary agent or an acquisitions editor: the hook, the pitch, the facts they need, and a short line about you.
When to use it: Use this when you are querying a literary agent or an acquisitions editor who accepts queries by email, and their own guidelines do not say what to include. Do not use it when they publish a query form or their own instructions. Follow theirs instead, every time, and send exactly what they ask for and nothing more.
Podcast pitchA short guest pitch that leads with an episode idea for the show's listeners, not with the book, and gives the host what they need to decide quickly.
When to use it: Use this when the show has guests, its listeners are plausibly your readers, and it accepts pitches by email. Adjust the opening and the talking points for every show. Do not use this when the show publishes a guest form or its own pitch instructions. Follow those instead.
Subject-matter trade publication pitchA pitch to a professional journal, association magazine, or trade publication that explains what the book contributes to that field and offers a review copy, article, or comment.
When to use it: Use this when you are writing to a specialist publication whose readers work in the book's subject area, after checking how it accepts books for review and contributed pieces. It suits nonfiction most often, though fiction with a strong professional setting can fit. Do not use this when you have not read the outlet's contributor guidelines, or you are pitching the same article to competing outlets at the same time.
Local media pitchA short pitch to a local newspaper, magazine, radio station, or community site that leads with the local connection and makes coverage easy.
When to use it: Use this when you are writing to an outlet in a place where you live, grew up, work, or set the book, ideally three to six weeks before publication or a local event. Send it to the specific editor or producer who covers books, arts, or community news. Do not use this when the local connection is thin. Without it there is no story here, and a general outlet is a different pitch.
What done looks like
- One spreadsheet with outlet, contact, date pitched, angle, response, dates, link, status, and follow-up date.
- Updated the day a pitch is sent or a reply arrives.
- Coverage links copied into the website and media kit within the week.
- The publisher's outreach summary merged in, or kept as a separate tab.
- Statuses that distinguish no response, declined, booked, recorded, and published.
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