My Book's Going to Be Published - Now What?
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If you thought it took a long for agents and publishers to respond to your query, wait until you get your publication date. It seems like it’s so far in the future. Here are some things you can do that will help prepare you for your book launch.
Work on building your email list. This is the one thing you own. If your social media sites are removed, you have no way of contacting those readers. Find ways to advertise your newsletter and build a following. Do social media posts, partner with other authors, or host a contest. Make sure to take your sign-up list to all of your events. Make sure NOT to add anyone to your list who didn’t sign up for it.
Build your following on your key social media sites. Follow readers and writers in your genre. Follow book reviewers and librarians. Be active with your audience. Make sure to comment and share others’ posts. You don’t want to be the author who only posts about her books.
Join Facebook groups for book lovers. Many of these will let you advertise your book or host a take-over day where you can find new readers.
When you do a Facebook take-over, make sure to include a link in each post for your email signup for those who what to keep in touch. When I started doing this, I’ve noticed a jump in newsletter subscribers after each event.
Work on a promotional plan for your book launch. Even if your publisher is assisting with the publicity, you’ll still need to schedule blogs, blog tours, Facebook ads, and events. Make a list of all the things you will need to update and a list of all those you will need to contact. Remember, bloggers and book tour folks usually book 3-4 months in advance.
Learn a new skill or software that will help you create graphics or videos. There are a lot of free and paid tools out there that make it easy to create images for your social media posts.
Use your time and write your next book.
