Imagine your book is coming out and you want to line up
interviews for the release. Or you're scheduled to appear on a blog to talk
about one of your characters. Perhaps you set up an interview months in
advance and now the date is looming. How do you prepare?
Some things will be part of every interview. You can have
those on hand and be ready at a moment's notice. Use this checklist and you'll
have a marketing or media kit that will support any endeavor.
Fill in the following and keep it handy. You'll be able to
copy/paste this into forms online and into interview forms you download.
Author Interview Checklist
This checklist is in three parts; author, book, and
marketing.
Author Checklist
Author name
Author bio
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Snapchat
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Newsletter
Instafreebie
Bookfunnel
Book Checklist
Book title
Series title
Genre
Heat level (Rating)
Blurb (full length)
Mini-blurb (100-150 words)
Tagline (1-3 sentences)
ASIN
ISBN
Publication date
Link to downloadable excerpt or excerpt online
Word count
Page count
Affiliate link (i.e., Amazon associate or Smashwords
affiliate link for book)
Shortened link (bit.ly, etc.)
Publisher (name)
Buy Links
Publisher
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iBooks
Kobo
Smashwords
Books2Read (universal link)
Marketing Checklist
Six hashtags (use no more than three per tweet)
Three tweets (up to 240 characters each)
Three Facebook posts
Six excerpts (4 short, 2 long)
(if you write spicy romance have both hot excerpts and
family friendly ones)
Image Checklist
Cover in three sizes: 200x300, 500x750, 1800x2700 (or close
equivalents)
Banners (memes) - good rule of thumb is 3x wider than tall
or 3x taller than wide (i.e., 200x600 or reverse) or 2x taller than wide (450x900 or reverse) or square (fits any social
media format)
Author bio pic (headshot)
Banner with one or more books together
Pictures of author with book
Other images that help reveal your story
Book video or trailer
This author checklist is far from exhaustive, but it will get
you started. I create one for myself as an author and keep book info
separately, with one document for each book. Each book helps sell the one released before it. Having this material on hand will ensure you are always ready to share the stories of your heart.
What types of things do you have ready? Are there tried and true items you find valuable when preparing a media kit? Please share them in the comments.