Preparing for launch! Book launch!

The time is nearly here for me to hit that big yellow button on Amazon KDP to publish my book. Everything is there, ready to go, so why the delay? What's holding me back? Well, let me give you some idea of what is happening behind the scenes for this newbie author.

In my last post, I talked about choosing to become an independent author. It means doing all the things on my own, from writing the book, to sourcing an editor and cover artists, to proofreaders, and formatting. Just when you think you're done, and you can rest a bit, you're smacked with the biggest of all challenges.

The dreaded marketing.

I've been writing since I was 13 years old. I have never, ever marketed something, so this has been and still is a massive learning curve. So where did I start?

Well, first through signing up for online courses that cover these more business aspects of writing, first though ProWriting Aid's Fantasy writers week, and Daniel David Wallace who offers free webinars about all aspects of writing and publishing. As well as this, there are YouTube videos, the trusty Google search, and my amazing Discord group who have been with me through the last 3 years highs and lows.

So, what sort of things are recommended to a newb like me?

First off, social media. You can't escape it these days, everything is online. Now, I'm a massive introvert, so never posted much on Facebook, but I have tried to get myself posting more. I focus on Facebook and Instagram, but there are other options too. X (formally Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, etc, etc, etc. I have a TikTok account but haven't braved making videos yet (see comment above about being a massive introvert). The problem with social media, are the pesky algorithms. You never know how many people are seeing your posts and interactions can be hit and miss.

Next up, a website. It gives you a more professional air and if anything ever goes wrong with social media, you still have a platform for people to find you. I used Wix to design my site, and bought my domain name. Linked to this, is the newsletter (which I have only just set up by getting myself a business email). Your newsletter gets sent to people who have actively shown an interest in your work, so you can keep them updated about future books and offers. You can do this through your website, or help your list to grow with the help of tools like Bookfunnel (I've only just signed up to this, but a couple of my writer friends use it and find it great).

Next up, preparing for the big launch. Now, my publication date is the 22nd May (no particular reason, I just decided on May because it gave me plenty of time to upload my manuscript to Amazon and IngramSpark, check proof copies and approve final versions). It also gave me time to get my bum in gear over the actual marketing of The Last Oath. I have posts prepared and ready to go for the next couple of weeks. Will they help? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell.

In the last few days, I have opened up a sign up list for ARC readers. These are a team of people who volunteer to read your book before it gets published. With any luck, they leave a review, which helps with the Amazon algorithms (the more reviews, good or bad, the more they will promote your book). That means, that come the time of your book launch, you already have some reviews in place for other readers to see and potentially help make a sale.

This is the first time I've published a book. Have there been mistakes along the way? Absolutely! Am I proud of what I've achieved so far? You betcha. I am still learning the marketing ropes, but hopefully when it comes to book 2 in the Shadows of Ellevor series, I'll be a bit more clued in to what I need to do. In the meantime, I will continue to find my way through this stage, and look forward to getting back to more writing and editing!

If you are interested in joining my ARC team, send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram and will get the sign up link sent over to you.

The Last Oath is coming out 22.05.25