Find Experts for Your Article or Book

Are you working on an article and need to find experts to quote? Or perhaps you're working on a nonfiction book and need sources to back up your facts?

Many of us have heard of HARO, and The Muffin readers may remember Annette's June '08 post HARO - A Great Resource, but it's not the only place for writers to find experts. Pam Baker, veteran freelance journalist, suggests alternative resources that may prove to be a better fit for your needs. In her article, Where to Find Best Sources for Your Article or Book, Pam reviews the pros and cons of other sites so you can "map your own path and thus stand out from the herd."

Pam's suggestions include:

The Eric Friedeim National Journalism Library
She writes, "$89 annual fee for just library services; no extra charge for National Press Club members. Owned/operated by the prestigious National Press Club. Probably the BIGGEST best kept secret in the sourcing/research game."

Profnet
She writes, "Free to journalists but not to sources. Owned/Operated by PR Newswire."

NewsWise
She writes, "Free to journalists, sources pay a fee. Newswise is great for university and research institution sources (over 500 of them!) for knowledge-based news. It was created in 1991 by Roger Johnson, Ph.D., a biochemist who became a science writer and freelance reporter in the Washington, DC area in 1978."

Thank you, Pam, for the great suggestions!

Be sure to check out Pam's post for more info, including the pros and cons of using each resource.

HARO - A Great Resource

Today, I want to share a great resource with you. Some of you may be familiar with Profnet, a service reporters use to post their calls for expert sources and a service that sources pay for to receive these calls.

As an author, you are the expert they want to connect with. It gives you the opportunity to be quoted in articles or even featured in stories. However, it's rather pricey to sign up for this service.

But there is a new service in town (play appropriate Western music here).

You'll want to tell the PR people, marketers, publicists, editors, and journalists you work with about it too, because it's all about them and their needs.

If you're not already using www.helpareporter.com, check it out. It's a service much like ProfNet, but it's free. Yes, F*R*E*E. It used to be on Facebook, but grew too large for it. Once you subscribe, you receive about three to four emails a day with reporter, editor and freelance writer queries compiled in it, written so you can quickly and easily scan the topics for relevance.

If the topics do not apply to you, just hit delete. If they do, you may contact the reporter or editor directly, as instructed.

Note that Peter Shankman, the list facilitator, is very strict about helping out these reporters. Respond only if your information is relevant and on target. If not, you'll get bumped off the list. Quickly. I've seen it happen. So, don't pitch off topic to the media journalists. It's a great resource and you don't want to risk blowing the opportunity to use it.

Peter's a big believer in good Karma, and he’s also quite funny, and tends to also include a link to a fun site, or a funny story about his day in the emails. It's a nice refreshing change from the boring, non-funny emails we usually deal with daily.

Not only can you sign up to receive these source calls, but if you are writing a book or freelance article and need expert sources, you can submit a call to the HARO members. Peter just announced this week that membership hit 11,000.

Reporters/source seekers can post queries at www.helpareporter.com/press. Sources can sign up at www.helpareporter.com to receive the calls for submissions. As I said, it's free. Peter asks that if you find it useful, then you make a donation to any animal rescue charity or animal hospital.

You can forward the queries to others who are a fit, but do not post any queries (or the editor/reporter contact info) on any blogs or public websites. I received permission from Peter to blog about this, since this is a private group and I'm helping to spread the word to both subscribers and media to sign up.

The more people who use HARO, the better it becomes. Sign up, check it out, use it responsibly, and spread the word.