Launch Yourself into Launch Mode
Come Back and Haunt Me is coming out soon, so I need to brainstorm a new launch plan. Maybe you have a new book coming out soon too. Check the following list of to-dos and add what you like to your plan.
In my case, I’m stepping into a new genre, so I’ll need my launch to work harder than ever.
Come Back is a stand-alone novel. I’m vying for a new audience: not sci-fi but paranormal romance slash contemporary women’s fiction slash dark romance. I want to give it my all without going too crazy. The goal: Get the book into as many hands as possible as early as possible, then hope people 1) read it 2) like it 3) recommend it to friends.
I will release the e-book first, with the paper and hardcover a month or so later.
I’m working with about a six-week time frame and an e-book publication date of June 16.
TO-DO LIST—PRIOR TO PUBLICATION
• Prepare front and back matter for the book: Be sure to include an “Also written by Kim Catanzarite” page, a thank-you to readers (and request for review), a praise page with as many professional reviewer quotes as possible.
• Have the professional reviews done before the paper/hard cover art is made. The quickest turnaround for these reviews is 4 to 6 weeks, so last week I submitted an advance reader copy to BlueInk, Kirkus, IndieReader, Independent Book Review, BookLife Review, and BookLife Prize. I also requested a review from Publishers Weekly (doubtful that I’ll get one considering only 2 percent of their reviews are self-published books, but one can hope).
• Crossing my fingers that the reviews I receive have something good to say. I’ll add the best quote from each reviewer to the praise page inside the book. I’ll also add them to the editorial review section of the book’s Amazon sales page.
• Post the book on NetGalley (the month before publication) and pray for good reviews and mercy (NetGalley reviewers can be super-nice or super-brutal—I learned the first time I used them). This is an important to-do because many of the readers have blogs and followings, and if they like the book and give it a good rating, it will help build popularity.
• Make a video that shows off the book and add it to the A-plus art I’ve already had made on the book’s Amazon sales page.
• Create an ARC and offer it to everyone I know: subscribers, friends, relatives. (Simply reply to this email and request an ARC.)
• Create an Amazon sales page for the book. Be sure to write a description that appeals to the new A10 algorithm (learn more HERE). Then go on Goodreads and claim the book as my own.
• Arrange well-timed Goodreads Giveaways—one before publication, one after. To enter Come Back’s giveaway, CLICK HERE.
• Continue to post on Instagram, updating progress every step of the way.
• Guest blog for other reading, writing craft, and publishing websites.
TO-DO LIST—AFTER PUBLICATION
+ Reach out to Damonza (cover designer) and have the paperback and hardcover cover designs made using the strongest quote from the professional reviews on the front cover and next best on the back cover.
+ Set up the book on IngramSpark’s website so bookstores and libraries can purchase it.
+ Plan a week or two in which just my new book occupies my Little Free Library, with helium balloons tied to the LFL to draw attention. Give away a dozen paperbacks and maybe three or four hardcovers. See how quickly they go. Refill, as needed.
+ Bring a stack of hardcovers of Come Back to my in-person events—two autumn book festivals—and make a glossy, eye-catching display. Let the new book take center stage with my sci-fi and dark fantasy series in the background.
+ Try to set up a book signing at any of the nineteen (!) nearby (within 40 miles) Barnes and Noble bookstores. Do the same with any independent bookstores in the vicinity (I don’t have a local independent bookstore in my town, unfortunately).
+ Promote new book via Written Word’s Bargain Booksy and Fussy Librarian (discounting to $1.99) and maybe even Bookbub’s Featured Deals (if I can get one) or Free Reads (because it could help create buzz, though I will have to talk myself into this, as I do not want to offer this stand-alone novel to the general public for free).
+ Remind all of my readers (beta readers, proofreaders, advance reader copy readers) to please leave a review.
+ Research contests to enter.
For now, this is it. The main plan. I’m sure I’ll do other things, but at the moment, this is what I’m looking forward to. If you’d like to support my launching efforts, here are the ways you can do so:
Volunteer to read an Advance Reader Copy. Then give it a rating or review on Amazon and Goodreads once the book’s available for purchase. (If you’d like an ARC, simply reply to this email and let me know.)
Buy a preorder copy of the book, which is a “verified” purchase and helps boost ranking (CLICK HERE).
If you enjoy the book, recommend it to a friend, or friends. Or gift them a digital copy.
Request a copy from your local library (this is a really easy and very beneficial way to support an indie author).
Request a paperback or hardcover from a local bookstore.
Post about the book on social media. (You can follow me on Instagram @author_kim_catanzarite.)
Enter the Goodreads Giveaway (CLICK HERE).
