Making The News

Ever wondered how to get a newspaper or radio station to take notice of what you’re doing?

If so, my latest book might be of interest – and the Kindle edition is free to download this weekend (Saturday & Sunday).

My main focus these days is on writing novels but – in that strange parallel world that involves working for a living – I originally trained as a newspaper journalist before going into the PR/communications field. I’ve also been involved in training others in how to use the media.

Now, I’ve put some of that experience into a new ‘how to guide’ called Making The News.

The tagline for the book is:

Simple advice on writing clear, effective press releases

And that’s what it’s about. Advice from the horse’s mouth – based on more than 40 years’ joint experience from myself and my wife, Carolyn, of working both on newspapers and for ‘the other side’.

The guide is aimed primarily at anyone who’s new to the world of public relations – whether you’re doing this as a career or you’ve got a particular cause or enterprise you want to promote.

It doesn’t cover the whole gamut of PR and communications. This is focussing solely on using the media – newspapers, radio, TV etc – to get (free) publicity through news stories.

One word of warning – the advice inside is based on working in the UK. How the workings of the media translate to other countries, I’m not sure, although the basics of how to write a press release and communicate your message should be universal.

Hopefully the guide might also be of interest to anyone who wants to brush up on old skills or anyone thinking of a career in journalism.

There’s no rocket science involved. In fact, that’s the point. Using the media is about having a clear message and knowing how to communicate it.

Try it and see. If you like it, please consider posting a review on Amazon. If you get it for free and like it, please consider making a donation to the disaster relief charity ShelterBox. (They’ve got affiliates in 18 countries so you don’t have to give in the UK.)

Please note: the free download is available tomorrow and Sunday – not today!

That’s all for now. Have a good weekend – I’m flying to Portugal this evening for a two-week holiday and I can’t wait!