It does offer some deep insights about writing headlines, decks, and leads. Still, examples of good heads, decks, and leads are few.

There is no table of contents, no index.

This is a 53-page book with large type. If it were priced at $19.95 like a typical trade paperback, I might not be quite so indignant. But the price is $227.00.

Let's look at the quality of those 53 pages
OK, the book is short. Maybe it is jam-packed with high-quality info, tips, and lessons? Let's take a look.

In the first sentence of the book, Wylie says:

Depending on which study you look at, 55 to 97 percent of all news releases sent to media outlets are never used.

That's a huge disparity. Which studies are most authoritative? The author should do the research and tell us which. If you believe the study that says 55 percent of releases are never used, that means 45 percent of all releases are used. Forty-five percent is a huge success rate. On the other hand, if 97 percent are never used, only 3 percent are used, and that's a pathetic success rate. The range between 55 and 95 percent is so large that any point Wylie tries to make, based on her book's first sentence, is meaningless – unless the point is you can't depend on these studies.

On page 21, Wylie recommends that your lead paragraph be 25 words or less. Then she gives examples of leads that are 34, 56, 60, and 55 words long.

Although Wylie offers far too few examples of leads and quotes, many of the examples she does give are out of context, so it's difficult to appreciate their effectiveness.

She omits any discussion about customizing a release for different kinds of media. For example, successful PR professionals routinely write at least three different versions of their releases – for print media, for broadcast, and for online media. In fact, the best pros customize releases for individual reporters, editors, program directors, assignment editors, etc.

PowerPoint gratuity
I forgot to mention that there is also a 20-page PowerPoint slide printout that summarizes the other 53 pages. This presentation is totally redundant. An utterly blank CD was thrown into the back pocket of the cheapo three-ring binder. (Maybe she intended to put sample releases on the CD. But she didn't refer to any samples anywhere in the book.)

About the author
Ann Wylie is the principal of Wylie Communications, Inc. (www.wyliecomm.com). She formerly worked as a "corporate communicator" for Hallmark, as editor of a regional business magazine, and as a public relations professional in a boutique PR firm. Her firm has handled writing and editing projects for Sprint and H&R Block, FedEx, and Northern Trust. Wylie also teaches writing workshops.