PUBLIC OUTCRY
Don’t despair at unresponsive media outlets – just be sure to give them what they need, says Jane Wenham Jones
Jane Wenham Jones
TALK IT OVER
I was thrilled when my crime novel was picked up by a publisher.
I thought the local newspapers might be interested, but am now disillusioned.
There are only two newspaper groups left in the county and I sent both of them press releases highlighting my local connection, a very brief synopsis of the novel and details of release date, publisher etc.
One group didn’t reply. The second assigned a reporter to phone me.
No-one, not even me, would have recognised the novel from her garbled story.
My quotes were mangled; there was no mention of publisher or availability.
I am not so naive or vain as to expect the press to be a PR machine working on my behalf, but had assumed that ‘local boy makes fairly good’ might be of some interest.