Things I should have done before my book was released

With the three-year anniversary of Holy Fudgesicles approaching, I’ve been blogging about small press publishing this week, including why I chose to publish with a small press and some of the pros and cons of small publishers.

I mentioned that with a small or medium press, you might not get the promoting and marketing that you would get from a larger publishing house. So with that in mind, today I’d like talk about a few of the things I should have done before the publication date to make that book launch day matter and help drive in some better sales.

What I should have done before my novel was released

A lot of this is common sense now. But back then…

Notify libraries and local bookstores

The fact that I work in a library (albeit an academic one) should have worked to my favor, right? Like, I know a lot of people who work in public libraries, and even if I even if I wasn’t sure who the acquisitions librarian was at a specific local branch, I have colleagues who know. But did this ever occur to me? Nada.

And as for local bookstores, there are quite a few in the Lincoln and Omaha area that I know are friendly to local authors. So what stopped me from visiting every bookstore in the surrounding area and pitching my upcoming novel? You guessed it: Fear.

Fear of what? Of getting told ‘no’. What a dumb thing to be afraid of. Being a writer means not being afraid to hear the word no. Maybe if I would have taken my own advice, I would have been doing a book launch party at a bookstore instead of hoping to sell a couple of copies by word of mouth.

Talk to coffee shops and art galleries for signings

This isn’t that much different than the first part, but instead of approaching businesses hoping they will sell your book, it’s approaching businesses with the hopes that they would allow you to sell your book there. Either way, just like with the bookstores and libraries three years ago (and my dating life in high school) I let that stupid fear of the word ‘no’ prevent me from trying.

Seek one or two ARC reviews from other published authors

This one was a little more difficult. The publisher offered to provide me with a few names of other authors who would give me a blurb for the back cover. They also gave me the option of seeking other authors on my own. Well, at that point I was not yet a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild, and most of my writer friends were not published yet at that point. I was also afraid (there’s that word again) of asking someone I didn’t know to review the book, even if it was someone the publisher would offer.

So in the end, no back cover blurbs. Because fear and indecision.

What I should have done after my novel was released

Finally, there’s one big thing I should have done after the book was released, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of that right away. I guess it’s just because I was a noob when it came to publishing.

But here’s the story. As soon as the book was published, a whole bunch of people who knew me bought a copy. A few even bought the ebook right away and then later purchased a physical copy for me to sign. Anyhow, I had so many people come up to me (some of whom I would have never expected, in fact) and tell me they read my book.

My response?

I pretty much curled up in a ball and said something like “Well, I hope you didn’t hate it too much” in a high-pitched, cowardly voice, and then pointed behind them and shouted “Hey, what’s that over there?” and ran away before they could say anything else about it.

But now that I’ve matured as a writer, and maybe even as an adult, I’ve learned the correct way to respond when a friend, relative, or colleague, or any other human tells you they read your book.

Say this:

“Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it, and if it’s not too much trouble, it would be great if you’d leave a review.”

Look how freaking easy that is. And I never did it. Not even once.

So to close up this trilogy of posts celebrating the 3 year anniversary of Holy Fudgesicles, I hope you learned a little bit about publishing, and if you read my book at some point in the last three years, Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it, and if it’s not too much trouble, it would be great if you’d leave a review 🙂

I’ll be back Friday with a new Five Links, and a weekend podcast after that. So until then, feel free to share your own publishing story in the comments.

See ya!