The Hermit Poet

As part of my transition into the post-MFA life, I’ve been working on building a press kit — a set of materials which will hopefully inspire someone to invite me to speak / read / interview / give a lecture somewhere. Now, putting a press kit together when you don’t have a book is a different sort of task. While there are some things that carry over, the obvious difference is that you’re not trying to sell the book — you’re trying to sell yourself.

Some good (or at least promising) links I’ve uncovered so far:

• Writing World: Press Kit (Author’s Guide to Self-Promotion)

• Michael Whitington’s Writing Pages: Building a Successful Press Kit

• Shades of Romance Magazine: Natasha Brooks-Harris on Creating the Press Kit (Yeah, I know — but the advice is pretty applicable to other sorts of writing. You’ll have to put with the horrible font color though.)

• Fatten Your Press Kit When You’re a New Author (Good practical advice about how to pitch yourself to different papers and venues)

• Blue Moon Communications: Press Kits and Pitch Letters

• Catherine Daly’s Blog: Thoughts on building a (better) press kit

• Press Kit Elements That Work (A bit of a critique on bad press kits with some decent insight into what makes a good press kit work)

Some examples of good-looking online press kits (not necessarily an endorsement of their work):

• Linda Barnes (mystery writer)

• Susan Squellati Florence (artist, poet, greeting cards?)

• Tony Norris (singer, storyteller) (I suspect there’s no better press kit than a great beard. This guy has a great beard – I’d choose him for any barmitzva, shin-dig, gallery opening, or barn-raising.)

• Deb Talan (folk singer) (This is one of the best looking pdf press kits I’ve seen yet)

• Luis Alberto Urrea (poet) (Fairly simple 3-page pdf press kit. Not pretty. Not ugly. But very practical.)

• Rochelle Mass (poet) (This one’s put together by the press, but features a nice integrated bio)