Piggyback on the Media

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

One of the best ways for any author to get attention for their book is through the news media. These journalists are connected to large audiences and through their writing and word choices, they have influence on their readers or listeners. 

Last week, basketball season began with much hyped game between the champion New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. Mixed into that conflict was the first game with LeBron James joining the 76ers team. 

While I don’t often write about sports, I’m writing about this event to highlight a valuable publicity technique called a media piggyback or newsjacking. It’s where you connect your book or product to a breaking news story to earn exposure for a new book or product.

My personal connection to the 76ers team began during a breakfast meeting at the 2025 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I met Doug Peterson, the prolific author who has published a variety of books in different genres including the bestselling Veggie Tales. Doug asked if Morgan James Publishing would consider a middle grade novel with a time travel element. I was intrigued and encouraged his submission.

Doug pitched The Sabotage of ‘76, a middle grade novel tied to the Philadelphia 76ers basketball with the additional plot element of time travel back to the American Revolution. This second element tied this book to the 250th anniversary of America that we’re celebrating in 2026. This book marked the 100th book that Doug has written and his first co-authored with his son, Jason, who is a middle grade teacher. 

In May of 2025, most publishers would have passed on Doug’s pitch because these publishers are scheduled with releases for 18 to 24 months and could not effectively launch or promote a book releasing in 2026. As you can see from the newspaper image at the top of this article, their local newspaper interviewed Doug and Jason about their book. The article was tied to the launch date of their book. 

For news releases and email pitches to journalists in different media, Doug and Jason can piggyback the buzz about the Philadelphia ’76ers basketball team, LeBron James and any other relevant news connection and connect it to the release of The Sabotage of ‘76. 

While publicist and PR experts know and use newsjacking in their pitches to media, authors can also use this technique. As book promotion expert Brian Jud wrote in a recent newsletter, “Newsjacking is a proven technique for generating sales leads, adding new customers, getting media attention, and growing your business. Its premise is simple: When there is news, editors and reporters are looking for experts to comment. Let them know in advance that you are the expert in your field, that you’re a Newsjacking “first responder,” and you can gain a tremendous competitive advantage.”

To learn more of these publicity techniques, I encourage you to download my free teleseminar with publicity expert Sandra Beckwith. The first step in this process is to learn about these techniques, then craft the news release and send it to various journalists in print, broadcast and online media. 

Have you used newsjacking or piggybacking with the media? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

The launch of a middle grade novel with time travel connects to a current news item called “newsjacking.” This prolific bestselling author and editor gives the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

My Writing In Other Places:

With these articles, I encourage you to publish your work beyond your blog in other places. Below are three articles which were published in other online locations than this blog. I have continued to write each month on each of these websites. Find your opportunities to get your work into some other websites through guest blogging.

Each month I write about a different aspect of book proposal creation for Almost An Author. This motth I encourage authors to make their proposal different. Follow the link to see the article.

A common publishing myth is that beginning writers do not get published. In this article on Writers on the Move, I show that every publishing professional is actively looking for the right author.

On the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog, I wrote about how writers can See The World of W

riting Opportunities.

A Special Book for Every Author

As I’ve worked in the publishing world for years, I’ve spoken with many authors about their expectations and dreams for their books. I’ve found many of these authors have unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help and take actions no matter what the publisher does for your book. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

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