Looks like we have a two-fer today! This is a headline and sub-headline combination for the same release. They were collectively so bad that I had to discuss them together.
I’ll examine each part separately and then discuss them together. Here are some tips for writing amazing headlines.
Time for another poorly written headline! For a refresher on good headline writing, check out my tips.
Now onto the bad headline! Continue reading “Poorly Written Headlines #3”
This has been a bit of a slow week, so I thought I’d do another edition of Poorly Written headlines. It’s been a while since I did the first of these, so here’s a refresher on strategies to writing good press release headlines and sub-headlines.
This headline is more of a statement than a news announcement. It reads as if it was pulled from a descriptive paragraph and slapped into the headline.
Why does it matter that this book takes place in a parallel universe? The vast majority of speculative fiction takes place in some form of alternate reality, whether it’s our universe with some weird shit happening, or a completely unique fantasy world.
Try searching for “parallel universe” on Google and you’ll get 500 million results. Add “books” to that search, and the top bar will show works by authors ranging from Pratchett, to Asimov, to Pullman. The book named in this headline is not competing with those names.
Basically, the back half of this headline is fluff; it has no real meaning, and it’s not doing the press release or the book it’s promoting any favors by being so generic.
Instead, the author could hint at why this parallel universe is interesting, or maybe provide a news announcement, such as the release date. Here’s an example without completely butchering the format:
[Author’s] exciting action thriller, [Book’s Title], will be Released this Summer!
It’s not perfect, but it provides some valuable information to the reader–they should check out this book and add it to their summer reading list.
What do you think? How would you make this headline pop more?
Steve D
Way back in 2017, I wrote about the four basic elements of a good press release. In that post, I discussed how the headline and sub-headline should be used to hook a potential reader into actually reading the rest of your press release.
But I don’t think I emphasized enough one simple truth about press releases:
If your headline and/or sub-headline are not eye-catching, no one will read your release. Continue reading “How Bad Headlines Ruin Your Book Marketing Efforts”
Evening Satellite Publishing 