When you eventually reach the point of talking to book bloggers, publishing groups, social media influencers, and other authors, you might be requested to provide something that I rarely see anyone ever talk about: a media kit.

What is a media kit? I’m glad you asked. The short answer is, it’s a package containing all relevant information which someone might want and need to know about you and your brand. And in particular, when this comes to authors, this means they want to know about your books.

Now, before anyone starts getting overwhelmed, I’m going to go ahead and show all of you mine as it pertains to my first release. Please note, this is not my most recent one, as I don’t have a most recent one, and need to update it myself – BUT THAT IS OKAY, because this first media kit should apply to all of you as well.

So, without further ado…

MEDIA KIT EXAMPLE

Again, keep in mind, this is the kit I prepared for the release of my first book. Normally, this would be saved as a PDF, but here it is in PNG for all of you.

First page – Book Cover! Simple and Sweet

Second Page – Author Bio

This page contains my name, my author bio, my social media locations, my contact information, and my mailing address. You want to include as much as you possibly can.

Also, my author photo.

Please note, I have seen some authors have another page of just author photos so the person they are reaching out to has photo options.

Third Page – Book Info

Again, the book cover, and the book blurb. Then also, short book info. Where can they get it, genre, etc. And then, of course, hit selling points / keywords.

Fourth Page – Q&A

Honestly, I just bullshitted a lot slash I put together questions I thought people might ask. I tried to go with general things I had been asked during the build up to release. Think of it as an interview.

Fifth and Sixth Page – Book Excerpt.

Obviously, an excerpt from your book, preferably near the front, so it makes sense to the reader.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, it’s a pretty easy set up. But, let’s break it down.

HOW TO MAKE A MEDIA KIT

Arguably we could also call this “where”?

And the easiest answer is Canva. 

The size/shape is a Print Letterhead, and you can find all sorts of templates for presentations on there. You want to pick a basic color scheme. I went with colors from my then brand kit, so the yellow and blue, and with fonts that matched. On doing it again, I would probably pull it in tighter.

That stated, the world is your oyster with canva, making things to fit nicely and organized. You can full on pull out all sorts of presentations and shapes. 

If you need a refresher on making a brand kit, check out this post.

PAGE BY PAGE

Please note, you do not have to have your media kit exactly match mine. In fact, mine is far from perfect. Do some research. Google Author Media Kits. Obviously people with more books are going to have differences from people with one book. Pick and choose what works for you, but, let’s break it down.

PAGE 1 – COVER PAGE

At the end of the day, the reason you will need a media kit most is because you are promoting a book. Whichever book you are promoting, that should be the cover page. They want to see on the first page what book you are talking about, and your cover should sell them to flip to the next page.

PAGE 2 – AUTHOR INFO

Include as much or as little as you want, but at the bare minimum, your author page needs to include the following items to be relevant:

  • Author Biography
  • Social Media
  • Contact Information

Other options include:

  • Author Photo
  • Logos
  • Website Information
  • Fun Quotes
  • Fun Facts

PAGE 3 – BOOK INFO

Again, this is the book you are currently selling. The one you are actively promoting. The layout on this page is one I actually copied from many others, but let’s list it all out.

  • Cover
  • Blurb
  • Where to buy
  • Other “details”

The other details are what will really sell your book and set you apart. It’s everything from details such as genre and subgenre to formats it’s available in to, of course, the selling points. The selling points are things people will look for, because that’s their catch phrase, the thing they use on a graphic or use to promote you.

Selling points, you will notice, are all really a blend of keywords or a rough mashup of words from the blurb. You want to say what makes your book different, while also tying it in to books other people enjoy.

Sell your book on this page.

PAGE 4 – Q&A

With this page, if you choose to include it, you want to hit a few key points. First, explain why this book. What made you want to write what you did, and why now. Talk about how you went about planning it. And then from there talk a little about yourself. And of course, wrap it up by talking about what you have planned for the future!

PAGE 5 – EXCERPT

This is just another selling point. Okay, you’ve convinced them they might want to read and review, but before they do so, let them see a few pages. Pick something near the start of the book, once the action has started, with the main key players interacting. Then, run until it’s just enough to entice.

PAGE 6 – OTHER BOOKS (optional)

My media kit desperately needs to be updated, so I don’t have this page YET, but, you might want to also, eventually, have a page in the very back which is dedicated to your other books. Keep it short and sweet. Other books by this author. And then…

Cover, Title, Series, Number in Series, keywords. Rinse and Repeat. Have the series attached to your most recent release up top. Go from there. Note a reading order, if it’s applicable. 

And there you go. A media kit.

NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS?

Download it as a PDF and have it ready and available when asked for it. Like I said, I’ve sent mine to book reviewers, to podcasters, to a few people interested in working with me, and it’s just there in case I need it. This is obviously something used more by large influencers, but you would rather have it ready and not use it than be asked for it and not have it at all.

At the end of the day, your media kit should sell you and your book to another bookish professional, in hopes that they will work with you.

Now get to it! Do that canva thing!

 

Please Note: This post was originally published and share on Elle’s Authoring Chaos Patreon on 20 July 2022.