Until a few months ago, I had no idea what a media kit or sell sheet was. They seemed like something only a publisher or publicist would need to create, not an author. In some cases, my assumption might be correct. But for those of us who are published by presses with limited marketing budgets, or if we are self-publishing, sell sheets and media kits are essential.
I created a sell sheet (also called a one-sheet) first since it’s only one page and was easier to manage. After visiting the Google gods, I found a template that looked workable and include it here:
All you need to do is fill in the slots for your book, fiction or non-fiction, and, voila, you have a sell sheet that includes the important elements of your work: a summary of the book, a bit about the author, all the book information, and how to contact you.
The media kit was much more difficult to manage. Several pages long, it goes into more depth about each of the elements in a sell sheet and includes other items. Mine covers possible questions reporters could ask me during interviews, the projected audience for my novel and what these readers will gain from reading it, an excerpt from the book, testimonials, an in-depth author bio, etc.
But before I was able to actually create a media kit, I spent days Googling free templates without much success. I found descriptions of what I should include in a media kit, but I wanted an example where I could plop in the different requirements. I didn’t want to start from scratch, though if your adept at using sites like Canva, you could create your own model. There also are several available that you can purchase, but none of them appealed to me. Nor did the prices!
I finally ended up finding and adapting a template that I’m satisfied with. When I start sending out emails to TV producers, newspaper and magazine editors, book clubs, requests for speaking opportunities, and others, I can either attach a PDF file of the kit/sell sheet or send a link to my media kit blog page.
Here are the basic sections for the media kit:
- The Cover
- The Longer Synopsis
- The Author Bio
- Author Q&A
- Book Information & Meta Data
- Optional Information About the Publisher
- Praise for the Book
I would love to hear from other writers about their media kit experiences so we can share them here!
