Getting Ready for Book Launch Day
Start social networking months before the release if you haven’t already. Make friends first. I felt much more comfortable talking about my book to people who already knew me.
Christa Allan weaves stories of unscripted grace and redemption with threads of hope, humor, and heart. She’s the mother of five adult children, a grandmother of three, and a teacher of high school English. Walking on Broken Glass is her debut novel. Her next novel, Edge of Grace will be released in August of 2011.
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Have a marketing plan.This is probably the most difficult thing about being a published author. Even if you’re with a bigger publishing house, you still need to do a lot of legwork to make sure your book gets the buzz it deserves. Hopefully you have a great Internet connections through Blogging and going to writers conferences. These people are your friends. They’re excited for you.
Ask them for help. It’s easy to organize a Blog tour or connect with book clubs. Use Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Digg – there are a myriad of ways to put your book out there. Read books on marketing and discover what works for you.
Don’t stress. Easy for me to say. Not so easy to do! Amazon number rankings are the devil’s invention. Do not look at them. Don’t pay much mind to bad reviews either. Sooner or later we all get them. Don’t worry about your book bombing. You’ve worked hard. It won’t.
Educated in Bermuda, England and Canada, Catherine West holds a degree in English from the University of Toronto. Catherine and her husband live on the beautiful island of Bermuda, with their two college-aged children. Catherine’s debut novel Yesterday’s Tomorrow, released March 15th.
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Plan a book launch party to celebrate. You can even tie the event location into your theme. Print your book cover on a cake or print your cover on labels to wrap around mini Hershey’s candy bars. Invite friends and family. Tell stories behind the story. And have a great catch phrase to sign in all their books.
Offer some kind of game or give away. My book was set at Sun Valley Resort so they were kind enough to donate lift tickets to be given away. You can also give a copy of your book to other bloggers so they can do giveaways for you, as well.
Network with other authors in the area and participate in events where you can give back to the community. Use your five minutes of fame to bring glory to God’s name. And send out a press release and target Christian radio stations or local magazines offering yourself as a resource on your topics of expertise. Many writers see this as self-promotion, but it’s really a chance to inspire others.
Angela Ruth’s first romance novel Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho released with Summerside Press this year, and her first middle grade novel The Water Fight Professional releases next summer through Blooming Tree Press. To help encourage aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers in 2008, a local chapter of ACFW.
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Do pour everything you have into this first book. You only get one chance to debut in your writing career, and generally, your first book will garner the most interest from media. Call in every favor, hit every publicity outlet you think might be a good fit, do the work now so that you can reap the rewards later. You probably will never have to hustle quite as hard again, so go ahead and wear yourself out on this one.
Gina Holmes is an inspirational novelist, whose debut Crossing Oceans appeared on the CBA best seller list. Besides being a wife and mother and nurse, she founded the award-winning web-site, Novel Journey.
Her next novel, Dry as Rain will release in September 2011.
