To get your book reviewed you’re going to have to troll the net, phone the relevant publications and plead your case to the programme managers at all the radio and TV stations. It’s not such a drag if you just take the time out to to contact 3-4 a day. Being a published author does definitely give you credit and not too many times will you be flatly refused.
When approaching a magazine-the editors, reviewing editors and sometimes the feature editors are the people to speak to. An option is to offer a free give-away in lieu of a review or interview. Some magazines will only offer this to their regular advertisers but some are open to the idea if you throw in that you’ll sign copies to the individual winners. The publication must just email you the contact details and addresses of the winners and you post them from home.For radio stations and TV networks there can be quite a wait for an answer as they do plan their programming schedules well in advance. If you haven’t heard back from them in a few months then try again.
All potential reviewers will request an Advance Information sheet and possibly sample copies and a press release
An Advance Information Sheet (AIS) is crucial to have, readily available. An AIS is a one page marketing tool. It should have a picture of the cover, the genre, and target market aimed at as well as a brief about of the book. It will also have all publishing and ordering details including ISBN numbers.Your distributor might right up an AIS for you as they send it out to all their clients informing them of new releases.
Advance Information Sheet.
The Magic That’s Ours , by G Hirson
‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’ is what Albert Einstein, possibly one of the finest minds of our time, said. In the illumination of this statement a new children’s book, The Magic That’s Ours, has been written by local author Gary Hirson.
This bright, inspiring book encourages children to make life-long friends with their imagination and change their world from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Capetonian artist, Dorothee van der Osten, painted the book’s illustrations which brim over with colour. The vivid pictures contain an element of mystery to prompt children to explore them and let their imagination fly free
Written for children between the ages of four and eight, The Magic That’s Ours is a goldmine of ‘things to do’ which call for young minds to adventure into their imagination. This makes it a useful tool in a multitude of situations from the school room to playgroups and with babysitters, parents and child psychologists.
“Reading excerpts from the book is about the only thing that keeps my class of 35 children still,” says Wilhelmina Bozack, a grade two teacher. “They are enthralled by the story, which gets their imagination working overtime. The extent of the children’s creativity during the fun time activities has been extremely rewarding to see. They tell stories, paint pictures and create games. Even the Xhosa speaking learners remember the story perfectly in English.”
The book tells the story of Joel and Jina who walk to school each morning through the countryside and across a river. Although their journey is alive with the joys of nature one morning something extra special happens. The children are drawn to the enchanting place and there meet a cute little creature called Imagi-nashun or Magic for short.
He tells Joel and Jina – “Your imagination, or Magic, is everything that you can think up. Every time you think up a new story to tell, or draw a new picture or invent a new game to play, that’s when you are using your magic.”
The Magic That’s Ours features nine fun time activities, which widen the narrow horizons of the humdrum world to allow the child to reach for any possibility. Through this they learn the power of imagination is not only fun but can break down barriers, solve problems, invent, write stories and paint pictures.
Michelle Crawford, a Hout Bay clinical psychologist with a substantial child client base, says reading enlivens the thought process. “The Magic That’s Ours has been especially crafted to allow the child to escape the cage of conditioning created by overdoses of television, computers and the plethora of games spawned by technology. It gives children access to the vast pool of the unconscious in general and their imagination in particular. The activities suggested in the book prompts the child to explore and journey into the reflective space within themselves. It also sows the seeds for children to tap into their imagination and explore visualization as a means of creating their reality and experiences through thought,” concluded Crawford.
“It only takes a parent five minutes to read a section of the book and explain one of the fun time activities. After that the child can entertain themselves in a creative and stimulating way. Hopefully The Magic That’s Ours will draw children back to the wondrous truth of who they really are – pure magic”.
The Magic That’s Ours is available in both hard copy and e-book format.
As the book is self published it’s available directly from www.calminstorm.com (credit card payment accepted), as well as from book stores nationwide.
Gary Hirson is a professional photographer, businessman and writer. Since the release of his first book The Magic that’s Ours he now talks at schools to pupils about the importance of reading, the power of our imaginations and the benefits of setting, affirming and visualizing goals.
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Publication Details Retail Price: R125(incl VAT) From Author:R95(incl Vat) Postage: R30 anywhere in SA(Registered) ISBN: 978 – 620 – 36285 – 6 Imprint: Calm in Storm Publication date:June 2007 Format: A4 landscape,32 pages, paperback Category: Children |
Ordering Calm in Storm Tel: +27(0)21 461 2010 Fax: +27 (0)866 93 63 03 E-mail:sales@calminstorm.com Website: ww.calminstorm.com Address: 5 Cyprian Court,15 Sophia Street Oranjezicht, Cape Town,8001 |