I recently needed to write a press release for the launch of my newest book.  I have had to write a few in the past and I have always found it a bit of an arduous task.  So I did what I had done in the past, I Googled . . .

• How to write a press release for a book?
• How to write a great press release for a book?
• How to write a press release that will sell books?
• Where to send a press release?
• Who reads these damn press releases anyway?

Do you see how my growing frustration was taking over my creative process?  Oh, how I got frustrated trying to write the perfect press release for my “newest masterpiece”, “my baby”, my “if all these long hours of work don’t amount to a hill of beans I’m going to bang my head against a brick wall“ . . . and I’m supposed to be a WRITER!

Then I made a strategic business move, I took a deep breath and let the analytical side of me out of its box to review the situation and defuse my frustration.  Within minutes I realized what was holding me back was my own fear.

I had to write about myself.  I had to write about my book.  I had to put myself out there into the world where so much was an unknown.  I don’t know the personality of the individuals reading my press release.  I don’t know if my “news” was news worthy to anyone other than me.  How should I talk about “IT” without sounding arrogant or sounding like I was begging for sales?  Had I explained “IT” well enough?  Would they “get me”?  Would they love “IT” as much as I did?

And Lord help us, if you are anything like me, I am terribly impatient.  I had spent countless hours developing my idea, planning, creating, and implementing this book that by the time I was announcing it to the world I wanted instant success.  All of these pieces added to my frustration as I sat in front of my computer trying to write the Perfect Press Release.

So I am passing on great advice that was given to me – breathe, relax, and write the first draft.  Give yourself permission to write a “shitty” first draft.  The important thing is to get the words on paper then rework them.

Also, there are three additional things to remember and embrace: (1) use your friends to review your writing and listen to their critiques knowing it’s your decision whether to make changes based on their comments or not; (2) always read your own writing slowly out loud to catch your mistakes; and (3) perfect is subjective, so write a good press release and quit worrying about it being perfect.

Oh, by the way, my Google search gave me a bunch of great press release templates to follow, so here are a few links for you.

Happy writing!

Links:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp

http://www.xpresspress.com/PRnotes.html

http://www.writershelper.com/writing-press-releases.html