Launching a book

When my books are being published by a ‘traditional’ publisher (one of the big 5’…Random House/Penguin/Harper Collins etc…including Harlequin who publish my Mills and Boon books) I have little say over when the book is coming out, what the title is or indeed what will be on the cover. And this is fine, it means I can concentrate on writing the books.

But when I decided to ‘self publish’ some of my books I discovered that a whole lot is involved in the publishing process.  here is what I’ve done in the lead up to Something Secret being launched on Friday 21st…

 

 

 

  1. Write the 63,000 word book (ha! Easy, right?) Keeping in mind this is a series book, so have to remember to make sure other characters from previous books are mentioned too. (Started 28th May 2018)
  2. Edit the 63,000 word book
  3. Send to editor (4th August 2018)
  4. Discuss cover ideas which leads to new covers and a rebrand for the other books in the series
  5. Discuss more ideas and review designs
  6. Revise the book using editor’s suggestions (August 8th)
  7. Send revised book back to editor for final proof (August 16th)
  8. Finalise cover
  9. Format temporary book
  10. Set a launch date and upload temporary data to Amazon and Draft2Digital (platform for uploading book file to ibooks/KOBO/Barnes and Noble et al)
  11. Book back from final edit (September 4th)
  12. Send book to Beta readers and ARC readers
  13. Email everyone on newsletter list to alert that book is coming out
  14. Bite nails waiting for feedback
  15. Add all the details of the new book to the back matter of the other books in the series
  16. Read feedback and change a few details accordingly including add an epilogue
  17. Format final book and upload
  18. Bite nails some more…
  19. 21st September LAUNCH!!!

WINE!! 

4 Comments

  1. Jan on September 27, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    Just went through this same process for my book released last Thursday. I can relate. Did Mark Dawson’s course really help you with the marketing for this one?

    Best of luck with this venture!

    • Louisa George on September 27, 2018 at 3:04 pm

      Hi Jan! A launch is a nail biting time, right? Best of luck with your new book!

      I did Mark Dawson’s 101 course when I first started self publishing and that was a great help. I didn’t follow Mark’s launch suggestions to the letter for this one but I did most of the steps he outlines in the course and I found it has helped get my head around what needs doing and when. I am also doing the lead magnet and landing page stuff and that’s certainly getting good results for my newsletter sign ups.

      I am now doing the ads for authors course and am trying little things here and there, I think it’s about testing and testing and seeing which ads get most traction. I believe it’s a marathon not a sprint and think I’m getting there, albeit slowly!

      • Jan on September 27, 2018 at 3:12 pm

        Thank you so much for the candid response. That last sentence is exactly what my husband told me. I tend to be a sprinter so it will take some retraining.

        • Louisa George on September 27, 2018 at 3:55 pm

          Jan, yes….it is frustrating when we don’t see quick results, especially after all our hard work writing the book!! A wise editor once told me that ebooks have a ‘long tail’ in sales and shelf life… I’m just hoping she’s right! Oh, and writing in a series is key, and that’s what you’re doing!
          Again, best of luck xxx

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