Author:  Dawn Josephson

Publisher:  Ground Rules Press, a subsidiary of Cameo Publications, LLC

ISBN:  0-9744966-1-8

The following review was contributed by: Jennifer Brown

Many writers dream of the moment their book is accepted for publication.  The hard work is over.  All they have to do is turn over their perfectly edited manuscript to the publisher, cash their royalties checks, and wait while their publicist turns them into the next household name. 

Little do they know that the marketing of a book is very often left in the lap of the writer themselves, as publishing companies don’t have the time or budgets to spend launching the career of an unknown.   

So what is a writer to do?

For starters, they must create a media kit.  Not just any media kit, but the best, most alluring media kit out there.  A media kit that will make a distributor, book seller, or editor stand up and take notice.  A media kit that will stand out, propel orders, and get their book in the public’s face. 

PUTTING IT ON PAPER tells writers exactly how to create that media kit.  Dawn Josephson, founder and president of Cameo Publications, knows her stuff when it comes to garnering public exposure.  A writer with 14 published books and over 1,000 published articles, Josephson has had experience with nearly every side of the publishing industry, from being Editor-in-Chief for a national magazine publisher to being a regular contributor to a regional arts and entertainment magazine.  Her experience allows her to help business leaders, writers, and professional speakers maximize their own exposure through writing.

PUTTING IT ON PAPER spares no details when describing the various tools that should accompany every author’s media kit.  For each component of the kit, Josephson includes lengthy explanation as to its benefit within the kit, then follows the explanation with templates and a great many real-life examples that are helpful to the point of invaluable.   

With the exception of one poetry book written as post-9/11 self-help, all of Josephson’s real-life examples are of pieces of media kits for nonfiction books.  However, she admits, “Every book, whether it’s a novel, a children’s book, a memoir, or a business book, needs a press kit.” (p. 17) This attention to non-fiction books only might leave writers of fiction or children’s books yearning for an example they can more closely follow to suit their needs.  However, enough examples are given as to give a writer of another genre a good head start in creating a media kit tailored to fit his or her work.

PUTTING IT ON PAPER is an excellent tool for any writer who might someday write and sell a book.  It is an eye-opening glimpse into reality for the hopeful writer, an invaluable tool for the newly published, and a terrific reference guide for the veteran needing to spruce up an outdated media kit.