If you’re working through a book launch checklist, the press kit is one of the items that gets overlooked most often — and one of the first things a podcast host, blogger, or local paper will ask for once you start pitching. Self-published authors get asked for a press kit just as often as traditionally published ones — the difference is nobody hands it to you already made. Here’s a working checklist to run through before you send anything to a podcast, blog, or local paper.
The Press Kit Checklist
- Bio, two lengths. A one-line version for quick intros and a three-sentence version for longer write-ups. Write both in third person. If you’d like a head start, our free Author Bio Generator can draft a short and long version for you in seconds.
- Book summary, not the blurb. Your back-cover copy is written to sell; a media kit needs a plain-language summary a host can paraphrase without having read the book.
- 5–8 interview questions. This is the single highest-value item in the whole kit — it’s what turns a “maybe” into a booked interview, because it does the host’s prep for them.
- High-res headshot and cover image. At least 1000px wide, no phone-camera shots with visible background clutter. Our free KDP Spine Width & Cover Size Calculator gives you the exact spine width, full cover dimensions, and a downloadable 300 DPI template — handy to have ready before this stage of your checklist.
- Where to buy + where to follow. One clean list — retailer link, website, the one or two social profiles you’re actually active on.
- Any prior coverage. Even a single podcast appearance or local write-up belongs here. If you have none yet, it’s fine — just don’t leave an awkward empty section, drop it entirely until you do.
- Contact info that reaches you fast. Not a contact form — a direct email a host can reply to.
What Trips Up Most Self-Published Authors
Two things, consistently: sending a Word doc with mismatched fonts instead of something that reads like a finished document, and forgetting the interview questions entirely. Traditionally published authors often get both handled by a publicist — self-published authors have to build both themselves, which is exactly why having the structure above written down first (before you’re pitching under a deadline) makes the difference.
Skip the Blank-Page Problem
If you’d rather start from a finished layout than a blank slide, the Author Media Kit Template covers every item on this checklist across five pre-written, editable pages in Google Slides or PowerPoint — plus two bonus guides on pitching podcasts and using your kit well once it’s built.
This press kit checklist is one piece of a bigger book launch checklist — pair it with our guide on how to write an author media kit, or browse the full Author Media Kit Template Studio for the rest of the toolkit.
Sorting out your print files too? Our KDP paperback cover size guide has the exact formula and a full-cover size table for common trim sizes.
More launch publicity guides: a free sample press release for your book launch and what a book publicist costs.
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