Your media room should include downloadable pictures of your author photo, book covers, and other relevant events. Include copies of press coverage (.pdf files are excellent for this); clickable links to significant guest posts, online mentions, or writing samples; your bio (a few versions in different lengths); and contact info. You can also include a favorite list of interview questions AND answers — make sure that you include pertinent info about you and your published work.
Include a list of acceptable uses of photos or other material in your media room and any rules about notification. Post thumbnails of photos on the site for easy loading of your page, but link those photos to high resolution downloadable .jpgs (300 dpi or better). Include interesting tidbits that might entice a reporter or a blog host to want to write about you and spread your name.
Make the media room easy to navigate with clear labels for all downloadable information. A reporter will most probably not want a canned story so limit your info to a list of facts or prose that is easily drawn from. Make sure that contact information is easy to find so that a reporter or blog host can follow up easily – try to offer more than one form of contact.
Don’t include extraneous or non-pertinent info in your biographical information. While your family may have thought your childhood antics were adorable, reporters will not usually be interested in this. Nor will they need to know personal details of your family life. Tell them about YOU as a writer and include information about your expertise about a subject you write about or personal background info IF it goes into your writing (such as a traumatic family illness that gave you impetus for a series of books on that illness).
Control the information that gets out there by keeping in mind what you want and DON’T want people to know. Don’t post a photo you wouldn’t want used. Always make the info you include truthful but it's okay to gloss over things like the wild and risky things you did in college.
Writing exercise: Write a brief introduction someone can use to announce your appearance at a major community function. Make sure that the information provided is relevant to the type of group you would be speaking in front of.
Writing prompt: “A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person, animal or object to create an easily identifiable visual likeness.”(from Wikipedia) Describe in words (or draw) a caricature of yourself.
Challenge Assignment: Write a 350-500 word article introducing yourself to your community as a local author. Include a reason why your community should be interested in reading what you write.
