OCCRWA Proudly Presents:

October 13, 2008- November 9, 2008
"PR Boot Camp: Everything You Need to Know to be Your Own Best Publicist"
with Louise Ahern

ABOUT THE CLASS:
Gone are the days when a good book was all an author needed to build her career. Today, authors need to master the art of self-promotion to build the buzz that leads to higher sales, new readers and a loyal audience. Not sure how to do that? Do you consider yourself a promotional weakling? Then boot camp is for you! In this four-week online class, PR Drill Sgt. Louise Knott Ahern will whip you into the best PR shape you’ve ever been in.

Louise will teach you to approach book promotion in a new way. You’ll learn to stop reinventing the PR wheel with each new book, and instead envision and develop long-term PR goals and high concept plans that sell YOU as much as your novels. Topics include goal-setting, your author brand, your “PR personality” and the kind of PR campaign you need. Be prepared to work! Class participants will be asked to write (or rewrite) their biographies, complete a PR planning guide, craft sample press releases, identify an “expertise” and brainstorm ideas for freelance articles. By the end of the class, you’ll be armed with tools you can use immediately to launch your own PR blitz.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Louise Knott Ahern is an award-winning journalist with more than 12 years of experience as a reporter, editor and PR specialist in some of the biggest news markets in the country. When she’s not chasing down freelance articles or working on her own novels, she coaches authors on how to master the media and promote their books. She’s the instructor of the popular online classes “PR Boot Camp” and “Pitching the Press” and several live workshops, including, “20 Questions to a Killer PR Plan” and “How To Talk to a Reporter.”

She’s been published in the RWR and was for many years the content editor of the Orange County Chapter’s award-winning newsletter, The Orange Blossom. Her clients have used her coaching to grab the attention of large and small media alike, including The Wall Street Journal, the Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Wisconsin Public Radio. You can find her at www.louiseknottahern.com or on her blog, www.weeziestories.blogspot.com

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