As an author you no doubt have an area (or several) of expertise that journalists are eager to know about. Here are two free sites that our clients have had success with as sources for journalists seeking stories and quotes for articles, radio interviews, and TV 
appearances. Each of the sites below let you view email updates of stories reporters are looking for; both sites are free to list yourself as a source.
HelpAReporter.com or, as its better known to loyal followers, HARO, boasts nearly 30,000 members of the media who have quoted HARO sources in their stories. Sharing your expertise may land you that big media opportunity you’ve been looking for.
PitchRate.com offers authors free and instant access to the media. By making it easy for you to connect with 
journalists in need of your expertise, PitchRate helps you land media coverage that can boost your visibility. When you create a free account, you can choose to get email updates of pitches and/or log into the site to see the latest pitch requests from journalists.
Tip: Be respectful of journalists’ time and only answer requests to which you believe you’re well suited. This is a great way to show off your expertise and get free author publicity!
HARO is GREAT! Peter’s emails have hleepd me publicise myself and my business motivational book, Boss of Me!, in business blogs and recently, Think Big, an Australian magazine, has expressed interest in doing a book review after I contacted them.It’s the best way to get information on the media to brand and promote your company! Highly recommended.
I’ve had great exposure through HARO and strongly recommend using it. It only takes a few minutes to browse through the requests to find suitable fits. The best way to get results from my experience is to send sound bites of specific short quotes that can be used by the journalist who may use them without calling or some will request a phone or email interview. Be sure to include your full name, title and contact information including web site in that response and DO follow Peter’s rules.
You can see some of the articles I’ve been quoted in here although not all are from HARO. http://www.mbcinc.ca/counsellingquotes.htm
Fantastic — very good advice on the sound bytes and thanks for weighing in!
The tip I took to heart from this article was “Make it easy to talk about you” – it made me realize I need to revamp my about page, which has barely anything on it…maybe a trade is in order with a local photographer for good head shots?Ruth
Jul08 This is great information! I have a son about to enter his seionr year in high school, and one of the top high school running backs in our state. We plan on getting the attention of universities through PR and social media. These are great tips!