So you’re here, you made it! It’s time to prepare for the launch of your book!
But I don’t mean the actual pick a day and throw a party! I mean the stuff that leads up to that. The stuff that you’ll need to do to make sure people purchase your book on day one!
First things first, get out that mailing list, and announce your pre-launch. You’re searching for anyone within your list that’s be interested in an advance review copies. The hope is that you can offer your book [for free], to readers who are already reading your other stuff, in exchange for a review. You’ll wanna do this a few weeks before launch day, to give your readers a chance to sit down with your book.
The first few reviews often decide the life cycle of a book, so let your readers know they’ll be doing you a huge favor by posting that review!
If you’re short on readers in your mailing list, don’t worry. Sharing your book with friends and family is always a good start. In fact, using your social media platforms to reach readers is also a good idea! Extend your invitation out to one of those book influencers you see posting on Instagram, or a book blogger that tells it like it is! A professor that once said they loved reading your work. The goal is to get a few of your books out into the world prior to launch day!
While a digital copy is obviously cheaper, you may want to invest in a few print copies to increase the changes of one of these folks reading your book. You also want to keep in mine that some of them (influencers and such) probably received hundreds of requests, so don’t get discouraged if one doesn’t answer you. There will be another! And when they answer you, be sure to ask readers to post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
You want to have reviews ready to go, so when your book launches on Amazon or Barnes and Noble potential readers can see that buzz you created!
As a soon to be published author, you’ll probably have to start wearing your marketing blazer everyday! So get prepared, start a plan. Next, in our final article in this series, we will hit on some final points and things you can do to ensure you generate the interest needed for a successful book cycle.