LAUNCHING YOUR NEW BOOK
Here are our top 12 tips when it comes to launching your newly published book.
With the large volume of writers who are now self-publishing, it is clear to see that simply placing your new work on to the pages of Amazon or Smashwords and hoping it sells won’t really work anymore (unless you’re a big name author – and in that case you’ll have a publishing company to do it for you).
As with most things in life the more you put in the more you’ll get back, and the same goes for promoting your book at its launch, by designing a launch strategy you will stand a greater chance of success and ensure your book stands out to your potential readers.
1) Don’t wait – the earlier you start the better, even within the first few weeks of actually starting to write your book, you can start to trickle out teasers designed to spark interest. Keep in touch with everyone you may meet whilst doing any research and let them know how things are going with it. Shout about certain mile stones as they happen, the completion of the manuscript, the book’s cover being made, the first book off of the press etc.
2) Blogging it – Start your own blog (you can get a free one from the likes of Wordpress, Live Journal, Blogger and many others), here you can update your progress and those milestones, also give out sneak previews for your readers . Along with your own blog get involved with others within the writing community and contribute to them, give out advice, tips and help, when you sign the advice just add your name and the title of your book.
3) It’s also in the mind – Many authors have a negative image of book promotion as something that’s not for them, they don’t enjoy it or feel confident enough to fully engage with the process. Believe me it can also be a lot of fun, you will get to meet some interesting people and learn so much in the process of doing it too. So have an open mind as you start off on the promotion of your book, view it as something that will give you a great deal back in return (and I’m not just talking about book sales).
4) Your media kit – It’s wise to invest in some media tools which will help in promoting both you and your new book when at a book launch party, conventions or meetings. You should be looking to design some professional business cards (using people like Moo Print or Vista Print – whoever you choose just ensure you get a professional finish). You’ll need a good headshot of yourself, if you can, get a professional photographer to do this for you, this along with a writers biography of up to 150 words. Have a ‘flyer/press release sheet’ to cover your work too, it should include the ‘blurb’, an image of the cover and also some reviews from people (friends and family) who you trust, it should look glossy and of course professional.
5) Have your script ready – it’s worth working out your sales pitch for your book well in advance and have three options in mind. Having three sales pitches (ten, thirty & sixty seconds long) will enable you to convey the right message to the right person at the right time and all done with confidence and conviction. Remember, if you stumble over your words when pitching your book it can look as a lack of confidence in your own work, having a pitch ready will ensure that this doesn’t happen.
6) Website – Having either an author’s website or one which is wholly dedicated to your new book is imperative. The better of the two options will be the longer term one of the author’s own website, this enables your readers to have a place to go for your future works too. Your website's design should include your photo, bio, a news page, a shop (if you’ve written previous books get them on there), link it to your blog, contact page and a section where your readers can download the first chapter of your new work for free. If you do allow your readers to download a chapter you should do so on the provision that they sign up (and give their email address), this will give you a database of readers who you can keep in contact as the book progresses and mail out updates as and when appropriate. It’s worth pointing out though, do not over email your list of readers, once every six to eight weeks is enough, any more and you’ll lose them (do also check your country’s legal requirements on promo emails and data bases as they can vary).
7) Social Media – set up Facebook and Twitter pages for your book, you can link from your website to these pages and again reach out to your readers who cross over from the website. The social media can at times feel a bit like a chore, it doesn’t have to be though, it really is a great way to stay in touch with both readers and people within the publishing industry too, if you try and have some fun with it you’ll find it easier to keep on top of.
8) Get reviews – send out a couple of chapters to people who you respect and admire (always be polite and respect that they may be very busy of course), don’t be afraid to approach the big names within your genre too, again, always be polite and respectful.
9) It’s time to party – organise a launch party for your new book, this can be in a local book store, café or even small bar, contact the owners and make sure you check the venue out prior. Here you’ll need to invite as many people as possible and include the local press (and if you can, national press too). Invite as many as you can from your readers email list (the one gathered from your website), get in touch with high profile bloggers and invite them, use your social media to shout about your launch date and venue, you should design your approach to cover all online channels. And be ready for the day, you’ll need to have lots of copies of your book ready to either give away (preferable) or sell to the attendees, have your media kit to hand and again lots of copies.
10) Make a video – Youtube is a brilliant resource and is viewed by millions of people each and every day, it is very easy now to make a quick five minute video of yourself talking about your new work or cover topics giving hints and tips on writing. This can be uploaded in seconds to your own Youtube channel which in turn can be linked to from your own website and social media feeds. This may seem time consuming but it will really help in building the awareness of your book and most importantly about you as an author (and those future sales).
11) Get more reviews – when your book is on sale via the online book stores, get friends and family to review it and leave feedback, you want as many reviews as possible (even if you give the book away for free for a few days). The feedback and reviews will help in how you rank within the pages and also lead to buyer confidence with your future readership.
12) Social media, again – the pages of your social media will help to increase awareness and the sales of your book long after it’s launched. Facebook will enable you to target your posts to a specific group of individuals and for very little cost too.
The main point with the promotion of your book is that it is on-going, to ensure its success you will need to commit to it for the long term as well as its initial launch. Embracing social media & the internet will also help, to some this can seem a little scary but I have to tell you that it’s easier than you realise (it just takes commitment).
We wish you the best of success with your new book.
As with most things in life the more you put in the more you’ll get back, and the same goes for promoting your book at its launch, by designing a launch strategy you will stand a greater chance of success and ensure your book stands out to your potential readers.
1) Don’t wait – the earlier you start the better, even within the first few weeks of actually starting to write your book, you can start to trickle out teasers designed to spark interest. Keep in touch with everyone you may meet whilst doing any research and let them know how things are going with it. Shout about certain mile stones as they happen, the completion of the manuscript, the book’s cover being made, the first book off of the press etc.
2) Blogging it – Start your own blog (you can get a free one from the likes of Wordpress, Live Journal, Blogger and many others), here you can update your progress and those milestones, also give out sneak previews for your readers . Along with your own blog get involved with others within the writing community and contribute to them, give out advice, tips and help, when you sign the advice just add your name and the title of your book.
3) It’s also in the mind – Many authors have a negative image of book promotion as something that’s not for them, they don’t enjoy it or feel confident enough to fully engage with the process. Believe me it can also be a lot of fun, you will get to meet some interesting people and learn so much in the process of doing it too. So have an open mind as you start off on the promotion of your book, view it as something that will give you a great deal back in return (and I’m not just talking about book sales).
4) Your media kit – It’s wise to invest in some media tools which will help in promoting both you and your new book when at a book launch party, conventions or meetings. You should be looking to design some professional business cards (using people like Moo Print or Vista Print – whoever you choose just ensure you get a professional finish). You’ll need a good headshot of yourself, if you can, get a professional photographer to do this for you, this along with a writers biography of up to 150 words. Have a ‘flyer/press release sheet’ to cover your work too, it should include the ‘blurb’, an image of the cover and also some reviews from people (friends and family) who you trust, it should look glossy and of course professional.
5) Have your script ready – it’s worth working out your sales pitch for your book well in advance and have three options in mind. Having three sales pitches (ten, thirty & sixty seconds long) will enable you to convey the right message to the right person at the right time and all done with confidence and conviction. Remember, if you stumble over your words when pitching your book it can look as a lack of confidence in your own work, having a pitch ready will ensure that this doesn’t happen.
6) Website – Having either an author’s website or one which is wholly dedicated to your new book is imperative. The better of the two options will be the longer term one of the author’s own website, this enables your readers to have a place to go for your future works too. Your website's design should include your photo, bio, a news page, a shop (if you’ve written previous books get them on there), link it to your blog, contact page and a section where your readers can download the first chapter of your new work for free. If you do allow your readers to download a chapter you should do so on the provision that they sign up (and give their email address), this will give you a database of readers who you can keep in contact as the book progresses and mail out updates as and when appropriate. It’s worth pointing out though, do not over email your list of readers, once every six to eight weeks is enough, any more and you’ll lose them (do also check your country’s legal requirements on promo emails and data bases as they can vary).
7) Social Media – set up Facebook and Twitter pages for your book, you can link from your website to these pages and again reach out to your readers who cross over from the website. The social media can at times feel a bit like a chore, it doesn’t have to be though, it really is a great way to stay in touch with both readers and people within the publishing industry too, if you try and have some fun with it you’ll find it easier to keep on top of.
8) Get reviews – send out a couple of chapters to people who you respect and admire (always be polite and respect that they may be very busy of course), don’t be afraid to approach the big names within your genre too, again, always be polite and respectful.
9) It’s time to party – organise a launch party for your new book, this can be in a local book store, café or even small bar, contact the owners and make sure you check the venue out prior. Here you’ll need to invite as many people as possible and include the local press (and if you can, national press too). Invite as many as you can from your readers email list (the one gathered from your website), get in touch with high profile bloggers and invite them, use your social media to shout about your launch date and venue, you should design your approach to cover all online channels. And be ready for the day, you’ll need to have lots of copies of your book ready to either give away (preferable) or sell to the attendees, have your media kit to hand and again lots of copies.
10) Make a video – Youtube is a brilliant resource and is viewed by millions of people each and every day, it is very easy now to make a quick five minute video of yourself talking about your new work or cover topics giving hints and tips on writing. This can be uploaded in seconds to your own Youtube channel which in turn can be linked to from your own website and social media feeds. This may seem time consuming but it will really help in building the awareness of your book and most importantly about you as an author (and those future sales).
11) Get more reviews – when your book is on sale via the online book stores, get friends and family to review it and leave feedback, you want as many reviews as possible (even if you give the book away for free for a few days). The feedback and reviews will help in how you rank within the pages and also lead to buyer confidence with your future readership.
12) Social media, again – the pages of your social media will help to increase awareness and the sales of your book long after it’s launched. Facebook will enable you to target your posts to a specific group of individuals and for very little cost too.
The main point with the promotion of your book is that it is on-going, to ensure its success you will need to commit to it for the long term as well as its initial launch. Embracing social media & the internet will also help, to some this can seem a little scary but I have to tell you that it’s easier than you realise (it just takes commitment).
We wish you the best of success with your new book.
