How to Be Your Own Publicist by Jessica Hatchigan McGraw-Hill, 2002

When I first received this book, I wasn’t sure it would be any good. I’m typically judging a book by its cover and this one screamed “dummy book” with its bright yellow cover and big block letters spread across the front. It took me awhile to bring myself to sit down and read through it because of that, but once I did, it wasn’t all that bad. Forgive me, I’m a designer and that stuff makes a difference to me.

Jessica Hatchigan explains the art of publicity very simply for a beginner who has never been involved in the field. She covers how to talk to reporters and prepare your own articles ahead of time, complete with photos in order to save time and work for the newspaper. She talks about how to write a good press release, and when NOT to write one at all.

What I enjoyed about this book was that it makes a great reference to refer back to. So many how-to books can go on and on about a topic and you can rarely remember much of what was covered or where to find it again. This book, despite its ugly cover, actually turned out to be a decent reference for someone with no publicity experience. I’ve recommended it to my small business clients and I plan to keep it on my shelf in case I’m in the need for some good publicity someday.