Your media kit is a foundational element of your book marketing plan. A professional, well-developed media kit helps you capture interest from journalists, reviewers, and podcasters, so investing in your kit is a crucial step in your author journey. Use these tips for building a comprehensive media kit to expand your visibility and attract media coverage for your book.

What Is a Media Kit?

A media kit is a collection of resources for your critical brand and book information. Think of a media kit as a digital business card. Your kit supports your book and brand promotion, and it’s intended for distribution to the media:

Having a comprehensive kit allows interviewers to pick what they need for their coverage of your work. You can keep the kit on your website for easy access. This material is great for building out your website’s About page. At minimum, add a link to your kit in the footer of your website.

Your kit should be easily accessible, either through your website or a file-sharing site like Google Drive or Dropbox. And if you have your kit ready in both print and digital formats, you’re able to send it to anyone or any organization.

Take note, though: Media kits aren’t a one-and-done effort. They’re living resources that will evolve as your author journey continues.

Why Do Media Kits Matter?

Media kits help you in four ways.

1. A professional kit gives you credibility with the media. It creates a strong first impression and shows that you take your book and your brand seriously.
2. When all your key information is stored in one location, it’s easier for media opportunities to find you. And it’s easier for you to keep your documents organized.
3. Having a kit ready streamlines your marketing efforts. When inquiries come in about your brand, books, or services, you can provide all your necessary information efficiently.
4. Your media kit helps you control your narrative. You share your story on your terms.

Are Media Kits the Same as Author Press Kits?

Although there is an overlap between an author’s media kit and their press kit, in the past, authors have had one of each.

A press kit is a web page or a list of your recent or important media appearances. You’ll often see this as a link in a website footer.

A media kit is the resource you send the press before your interview. When the press has this kit up front, it helps them make your interview great.

There’s been a shift in recent years, though, and some publicists recommend combining your press and media kits into one resource. The reasoning behind the shift is that seeing your prior press coverage helps establish your credibility and makes you a more attractive candidate for additional interviews or coverage.

What Are the Key Elements of a Media Kit?

Remember, a media kit is a collection of resources. You’ll have multiple elements to assemble for a comprehensive kit. Your kit will primarily consist of PDFs—just make sure each item is professional quality and easy to download. Use this list as a checklist when you’re working on your kit.

Author Bio

You’ll need two versions of your bio for your media kit.

• A short bio: This is one paragraph, 100 to 200 words max. The target audience for this is the media, not your general readers. Focus on showing your authority and credibility in your field or genre. If you’ve won professional awards or published previously, mention that here.
• A long-form bio: Limit this to a few paragraphs—one page max. Highlight your background, writing experience, past media coverage, or industry recognition. Use this longer bio to show your authority and start fostering a personal connection with readers.

Author Brand Story

Your author bio emphasizes your credibility, but you’ll go deeper with your author brand story. This is where you share your journey with readers. Infuse this introduction with your personality.

Tell readers what you’re all about. What motivated you to write this book? How have your personal experiences influenced your writing? Engage readers by sharing your world with them.

Photos

High-quality pictures help sell both you and your book. At the very least, have a professional, high-resolution headshot ready, cropped three ways: portrait, landscape, and square.

You’ll also need three images of your book: small with less than 400 pixels, medium with less than 1,000 pixels, and large with over 1,000 pixels.

Your media kit can also include some lifestyle shots. Work with a professional photographer on these to help capture your brand’s concept. If you’re publishing a cookbook, get some shots of you working in the kitchen. If you sell merchandise, interact with a few pieces during your photo shoot.

You can tailor your photos to align with your goals. For example, if you want to build a career as a speaker, include photos of you presenting to an audience or engaging with small groups.

Having multiple photo options in your kit can make it hard to navigate, so keep your photos in a subfolder. Have a clear naming convention or labels for each image to keep them organized and easy to find.

One Sheet

A one sheet, a.k.a. your book information sheet, is where you record all the details about your book:

Depending on where you’re submitting your kit, you can have multiple one sheets for different situations. For example, you would tweak your one sheet depending on whether you’re pitching to a library vs. an indie bookstore.

Testimonials or Reviews

As you gain significant endorsements or stellar reviews, add them to your media kit. Did you get positive feedback from a key player in your field? Has an influencer shared positive feedback about your brand? Sharing endorsements from trade journals and other credible sources helps build your standings and create interest for your book.

Press Release

Publishers today have different takes on press releases. Some think they’re a great idea, while others disagree. But including a press release in your media kit certainly won’t hurt, and you can use it separately from your kit as another way to get your book noticed.

1. Start with a strong, attention-grabbing headline. It’s not simply “I wrote and published a book!” This should be a descriptive hook about your content.
2. Then include a concise, descriptive first paragraph. Answer four questions:
   • What is the book?
3. • Who is publishing it?
4. • What’s it about?
   • Why is this book interesting?
5. Feature a quote from the book or from an interview you’ve given.
6. Highlight a stellar review from a notable source.
7. Mention upcoming marketing efforts, like a book tour or signings.
8. Present a short author bio.
9. Close with your contact information.
10. Email address
11. Phone number
12. Social media profiles
13. Physical business address
14. Representative name and contact information for your agent, manager, or public relations team

Talking Points

Make it easy for producers and interviewers to start a conversation with you. Include a section on talking points in your media kit. This also helps you control the narrative and deliver consistent messaging. You can take two approaches for your talking points:

1. Prepare a list of ten sample questions and answers that work for interviews. These could be FAQs about your work, writing process, or author journey.

• Provide five keynote ideas. These are main ideas from your book that support your core message. Give each keynote idea a header and one paragraph. You’re not summarizing your book here; you’re helping readers with a specific issue that’s covered in a section of your book.

Your Book

For a digital media kit, you’ll need to include your e-book. Although it’s unlikely that your interviewer will read more than a chapter or two, include the full book.

Occasionally, a publisher will recommend sending a physical copy of your media kit. That means you’ll need to provide either an advanced reader copy of your book or the published version, depending on where you are in the publishing process. Sending a physical copy—of your book and media kit—helps you stand out from the sea of emails media reps receive daily.

Some authors cringe at making their entire book available because they’re afraid their work will be stolen. But you’re not sharing your work with the masses here. You’ll send a view-only link to select media professionals. They’re not here to steal your ideas.

Besides, you know to copyright your book before sending out advanced reader copies or publishing. And you know to trademark your brand. So you can share your book without cringing.

But if you’re absolutely against sharing a full copy, you’ll need to include excerpts of your work. Excerpts can come from any part of your book, but they must work as stand-alone material. Readers won’t have context for these excerpts, so be intentional about your choices. The goal here is to give readers an example of your writing style, then hook them with engaging content.

Previous Works

If you have published work before, share your backlist here. You can go beyond books too:

Include a brief description of each item, along with its publication date and where it’s available. If any of your prior works have their own press kits, include a link to them.

Media Samples

This section is optional, but sharing media samples can help interviewers get a feel for your personality and brand.

Include items like your book trailer, social media posts (especially ones with high engagement), or a sample from your audiobook. If you’ve created a designated hashtag for your book or your brand, mention that here. Just make sure you’re engaging with that tag regularly.

Contact Information

Make it easy for people to connect with you. Copy the contact information you provided in your press release and create a stand-alone document with it.

If people struggle with pronouncing your name properly, consider adding an audio file with the correct pronunciation.

Takeaways

Your media kit is more than an author bio and book description. It’s an essential collection of resources that helps you attract media coverage and expand your platform’s visibility. Investing in a professional, well-developed kit is a crucial step in your author journey. When you need help editing your media kit, contact me! I love working with indie authors on their promotional materials. Together, we can make your media kit bulletproof!

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