An Author's View on ... Unusual Angles

In earning media coverage, creativity counts: journalists like new perspectives. Marsha Friedman reminds us in her blog, How to Develop a News Hook for Your News Release that it is not the purpose of the media to cover whatever PR stories are pitched at them. Therefore, all good stories need a “hook” and Bryan Thompson reminds us in Getting a Killer News Hook that the most important thing to do is to create that killer hook i.e. a story with an unusual angle that will grab the readers’ attention.

So, before you approach the press you need to think of that unusual angle, because, as Friedman points out, like it or not, we do not determine what the news is - only news professionals get to do that. Therefore your hook needs to be something they think will interest their readers. Just because you have published a new book, does not mean that it is newsworthy – it might be for you, but with thousands of new books published every year, it’s not news for the press.

Friedman presents some thoughts on how to discover what journals might consider to be aqn interesting hook. In this context, the low hanging fruit would be to link your story to what is already happening in the wider world. Of course the news changes every day, so you need to stay on top of it. So read your local newspapers, because you can’t find out what a hook looks like until you know what the news of the day is. Then consider how your story is relevant to the news. However, as Thompson points out, this can be difficult, especially if you are not some internationally famous author that can attract press attention every time they do anything, even the most mundane things. Most of us are not in that bracket – so what is our angle or hook?

The first thing to avoid is any hint that you are trying to sell your books. Thompson advises nothing will turn journalists off more than a press release that is simply advertising. For Friedman the focus of the story is not to sell, but to convince journalists that you have interesting news that will inform and entertain their readers. Thompson stresses that a news story should put real news in front of readers, thereby encouraging them to learn more about you as an author.

By way of example, I did most of the writing for my novels while commuting to London using a coach service called the Oxford Tube. I contacted them and suggested that this might make an unusual story. They agreed and we created a great story for the local media. As a result we have so far had very good coverage in the local papers, the local on-line press and an interview on a local TV channel. I will have to wait and see if it makes any difference to the sales of my books!