If You Build It, They Won't Automatically Come

The move, Field of Dreams, made it look easy. A farmer, played by Kevin Costner, builds a baseball diamond that attracts the ghosts of some incredible legends.

A scene from the movie, Field of Dreams.

Publishing a book doesn’t work like that.

Just because you release your book doesn’t guarantee attention from anyone, especially the media.

Visibility isn’t automatic; it’s earned through intentional effort, outreach and most definitely, persistence.

I’m grateful for my background in journalism and in corporate communications/public relations. It’s shaped how I approach promotion, whether for a business, service, or now, my book.

Soon after my book’s launch, I came across a story in The Grand Haven Tribune about the Third Coast Author & Book Festival – an event I was planning to attend as an author. It was a great article, and it was immediately clear to me that the reporter already had an interest in local authors. I knew she belonged on my media outreach list.

But I couldn’t find an email anywhere. A call to the newsroom didn’t turn up much beyond learning she was a freelancer, which explained why she didn’t have a Tribune email address. I tracked her down on LinkedIn and even sent a direct message, which went unopened.

I was bummed, but I am not a person who gives up easily.

I figured it was a safe bet she’d be at the book festival. So, I made it one of my goals that day to find her and introduce myself.  

I didn’t know exactly how I’d make it happen, but I knew I would figure it out.

And I was right. As it turned out, it was easier than I imagined because she actually found me.

She walked right up to my table, and the moment she said her name, I beamed. I explained all the ways I tried to find her, and that meeting her had been one of my goals for the day.  

We had a great conversation. Before she left, she handed me her business card and asked me to follow up in about a week because she wanted to write about my #AuthorJourney with Santa’s Summer Vacation in Michigan.

My illustrator, Robin Boyer, looks at my book, Santa's Summer Vacation in Michigan.

I’m pleased to say that she recently spent two hours in my home interviewing my illustrator, Robin, and me.

I'm hugging my book for reporter Elizabeth Granger to snap a photo for her article.

It made me smile for multiple reasons: I felt a little nostalgia for my reporting days, and it reminded me just how much I respect strong local journalism.

Good publicity starts at home with your local news outlets. If you’re publishing a book, they should be at the top of our list. After all, the worst they can say is “no.”

And sometimes, when you put in the effort and make the ask … they do come.