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How to Get My Book into Oprah's Book Club

Will your book be Oprah's choice?
The book image by Dzmitry Halavach from Fotolia.com

Oprah Winfrey, known to many as just Oprah, is arguably one of the most famous American women of the 21st century. She has been on the Oprah Winfrey Show since 1986 and in 1996, launched her Book Club, for which she reads a book along with her viewers and discusses it on the air. Her show is due to end in 2011, so it is possible that she will also discontinue her Book Club. Should it go on, it will take a lot of publicity and hard work to get your book on her list. It is important to keep in mind that she has chosen only 65 books so far, so the chances of being chosen are extremely small.

Examine your book to make sure it has a theme that is relevant to many different types of people. Oprah likes to choose books with a universal theme that can apply to anyone, so that her selection appeals to a broad audience. If you have written more than one book, choose the one that best fits this category.

Create hype and publicity about your book by hiring agents, talking to newspapers and giving interviews with reporters. Most of Oprah's choices were books that were already well-known or that were eagerly anticipated by the public, so don't let your book rest in obscurity and hope that she picks it.

Send a manuscript of your book to Oprah's show before the book is released to the public. Contact the producers of the Oprah Winfrey show to let them know personally about your manuscript and see if they have any interest in your book. They can be contacted through Oprah's website.

Get in touch with any contacts you have in the fields of public relations, celebrity relations or television production. Ask them to put in a good word to Oprah's producers about your book.

Tip

If you get your first book chosen, it is much easier to get a second one as well. Oprah has selected more than one book from the same author many times, either with two books at once, or two books over the course of a few years.

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