Need Ideas on How to Link Novel to Real News

[simplifye]

Hi all - I searched for threads on this here, but didn't find ones detailing how to do this, so if this is a repeat I apologize.

My question is this: How does an author go about linking their novel to something that's news-worthy? I completed a novel, I designed the front cover, I even converted my novel for ebook publication - but somehow this skill escapes me, and for the life of me I cannot find one article online that really explains this elusive process.

Anyone out there that really excels at this? Please, jump right in...

[Old Hack]

I don't know what you're asking.

Are you asking how to write a press release for your already-published novel in which you link it to a current news story?

Are you asking how to write a query in which you present your novel in relation to a news story?

Are you trying to create some sort of connection between your novel and a news story, so that people who are interested in the story might be interested in your book?

I need more information before I can attempt to answer this one.

[simplifye]

Thank you - I will clarify.

It's the third option... I'm trying to understand better how to link my novel with current news, in order to create a press release that is more likely to be picked up and used by a journalist. It's not yet published, but would already be published before submission to the wires.

I'm just trying to get things prepared ahead of time. If it helps, my novel has to do with the consequences of sudden enlightenment - think Eckhart Tolle, or Byron Katie.

[mccardey]

I'm not sure I'm understanding you, either. Is there a specific event or theme that your novel deals with? I think the consequences of sudden enlightenment is a bit too general - are you talking about enlightenment re some actual event?

[Old Hack]

Originally Posted by simplifye

Thank you - I will clarify.

It's the third option... I'm trying to understand better how to link my novel with current news, in order to create a press release that is more likely to be picked up and used by a journalist. It's not yet published, but would already be published before submission to the wires.

I'm just trying to get things prepared ahead of time. If it helps, my novel has to do with the consequences of sudden enlightenment - think Eckhart Tolle, or Byron Katie.

You can't really do this ahead of time, and as has already been suggested "the consequences of sudden enlightenment" is too loose a subject to work with in this regard.

If something happens in the news which also happens in your novel, then you might be able to write a press release which connects the novel with the news, and get some press coverage that way. But it's unlikely, and difficult to get anything newsworthy enough in this way to get a journalist to write about it.

It works for non-fiction far better than for fiction. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is very difficult, and very unlikely to happen.

[simplifye]

Yeah - that's kind of what I was assuming also. Works for nonfiction, but not so much for fiction. I guess I'll just do a press release with the "news" angle being a new book, and focus on the local market. Thanks for the input!

[WeaselFire]

This is the easiest thing in the world to do. Write a book about someone who kills their neighbor. Get it ready for publication, then kill your neighbor. Send the press release quickly, you may not get a second chance.

Seriously. You can write about a news event or not tie it to the news. You can't write and then look for an appropriate news story.

The good news is, you don't have to. A press release about a local author releasing a book is news in itself. Even without harming your neighbor.

Jeff

[thothguard51]

Tying your novel to a recent event will date your novel and the press release will be lost in a matter of days as new events unfurl...