PR can be great for building your author brand and there are ways to get PR without spending money … IF you can tell a good enough story. In today’s show, Janet Murray explains how.
In the (extended) introduction, I mention that Kickstarter now counts as one of the big 5 publishers in terms of volume published through the platform – and most of those are self-published by definition; the EU Commission has decided that ebooks are ‘books,‘ not electronically supplied services so that might bring down ebook VAT in 2017; plus how a Booker Prize nominated author wrote a commercial novel using The 90 Day Novel by Alan Watt.
I talk about my key takeaways from The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel by Jodie Archer and Matthew Jockers, which uses machine learning to analyze bestselling books in an attempt to show what makes a bestseller. I also mention this article in Wired about the publishing companies that are already using algorithms to determine what they publish – and why authors shouldn’t be too worried about all this!
The corporate sponsorship for this show pays for hosting and transcription. This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna
Janet Murray is a PR coach for experts, businesses & brands, an author and a podcaster. Her latest book is Your Press Release is Breaking my Heart: A totally unconventional guide to selling your story in the media.
You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

* The definition of PR.

* The two essential ways PR can help authors.

* Whether PR’s effect on an author business can be measured.

* How to be easily found by journalists without having to pitch.

* Interesting angles to use when pitching books to journalists.

* How to find the right journalists / media outlets for your story, and how to pitch it.

You can find Janet at www.JanetMurray.co.uk and on twitter @jan_murray

Transcription of interview with Janet Murray