Aw, Do I Have to Do My Own Publicity?

I had energy and time enough to either

a) work on finishing my writing and sending it out, or

b) do advance publicity and my marketing setup for upcoming events and the release of Meet Me: Writers in St. Louis (still at the printer’s).

I chose “A” and am not sorry. But I learnt JUST NOW that if I left publicity up to others, it wouldn’t get done, not even by the sponsoring organization, St. Louis Poetry Center:
Catherine Rankovic and Ed Boccia will read their poetry Tuesday March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Focal Pointe, 2720 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, MO, 63143. This event is part of the Poetry at the Pointe series sponsored by the St. Louis Poetry Center. Free. For information call (314) 973-0616.

I swiftly wrote the above notice using a handy formula called the “five W’s.” For publicity and news purposes it will never let you down. It states “Who, What, When, Where, and Why”, and – welcome to the 21^st century! – “How Much?” Also, for “Where,” it has become very important in the age of GPS to indicate the whole street address including the zip code. Keep it short! That way, editors will keep their meathooks off of it.

“Ask not” how YOUR event was the one that got lost in the welter. “Ask what you can do to fix the problem caused by neglecting your own publicity.”