An author one-sheet or sell-sheet is an essential piece of print marketing material for your book. It’s simply one sheet of paper(though it can be double sided if needed) containing all the important information about you and your book for promotional purposes.
I recommend that my clients create one-sheets as part of my publishing consulting process. It’s something you will definitely use, and you’ll be glad to have one on hand when needed. Below is the list of what to include in your author one-sheet, and where and how to use them.
What to Include in Your Author One-Sheet
As I mentioned, your one-sheet is marketing material. It needs to contain all relevant information about you and your book, and more importantly, it needs to entice the reader!
So, make sure yours includes all of the following.
1-Your publisher logo and media contact info
2-Author Website URL
3-A fabulous and professional looking author headshot
4-Your media bio—about 80-125 words
5-The hook, or headline, and the book description. This is important! Make sure it’s a good one. You can get help from a copywriter if needed.
6-An endorsement— if it fits. Remember you can condense the description. You could also create a two-sided flier if you have more than one really good endorsement.
You’ll also need to include your book’s sales details! Such as:
- Retail price
- ISBNs—both trade and eBook
- Trim size
- Page count
- Publication Date
- Distribution—such as Ingram, etc.
- Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN)
- BISAC codes
If some of these seem unfamiliar or confusing, not to worry! They’re all things that will be determined during the publishing process.
How and Where to Use Your Author-One Sheet
So what do I do with this one-sheet now, you may ask? Well, your one-sheet can be used for several purposes. It’s definitely worth your time and effort to create one for your book because you’ll likely need it if you plan on doing any real promotion—which of course you will!
First, I always recommend that authors make their one-sheet available for download on their website’s Press page. This way anyone who may want to access the information—from book reviewers to press outlets—can grab it for themselves.
But as far as the printed version of your author one-sheet, you’ll be using it:
- To send out as part of your press packet for press releases
- For sending along with your book to possible reviewers
- To provide it to libraries and book sellers
- As promotional material at your book launch
- To bring with you to conferences and other relevant events
- For giving to potential interviewers such as podcast and radio hosts and bloggers
I’ve included two examples of an author one-sheet so you can see how it all comes together on the page. You don’t have to do it exactly this way of course—you’ll want to make it YOU, and use your personal branding elements—but it gives you a good idea of where to start.
Author one-sheet example
A two-sided author one-sheet
I hope all of this helps anyone who’s a bit confused on what one-sheets are, why you need them as an author, and how you’ll use them. Of course, you can always reach out and get assistance from those in the know if needed. So feel free to get in touch if you’re still feeling a little lost!
