Media kits are assets for both indie and traditionally published authors. They make information easy to find and help reviewers, bloggers, and street teams get started.
My debut novel, Ember Dragon Daughter, is about one month away from publication. As an indie author (AKA in charge of all-the-things), I knew creating a book media kit (or press kit) would be necessary to share with my street team and other media needs.
Here are the essentials you need for a book media kit, as well as an example you to base yours off of.
Bonus - It's a handy resource for you as an author too! One place with all the links and summaries you need? ✔️✔️✔️
What is a book media kit?
A book media kit is a document or PDF that holds all the basic information about your book. It helps make sharing information about your book easier.
How is it different than an author press kit?
There is one main difference in an author press kit vs book media kit: Author press kits predominately cover you and your career overall. It can include book information, especially if you have a series, but the focus is on YOU.
Book media kits or press kits for books focus more on one release or one series. It can include information about you as an author, but it is not the main focus.
What should you have in your book press kit?
Required:
Book title and cover with links to learn more
Release date
Blurb
Links to shareable images
Links to buy the book
Link to website and socials
Contact information
Optional:
Author bio
Author photo
Sample author interview
Clickable table of contents
Sample social media captions
What format should a media kit be in?
Your media kit does not need to be a fancy booklet with a dozen pages. Think simple and easy to use when creating one.
My media kit is a simple Google Drive document that I update as needed. I use a share-link that anyone can view. This makes it easier for me to update my media kit without having to update everyone else with access to the document.
If you don't anticipate editing the document, you can also create a PDF out of your Word Document to share over email as needed.
For an example of a book media kit, check out the one I created for Ember Dragon Daughter.
It's that simple.
Have any questions? Let me know.