NIP Long-term camper and board member Deborah King knows what she’s talking about when she says writing aftermath is just as much work as the writing itself. Here’s her takeaway advice for every writer.
You’ve finished your story. You’ve workshopped it and had it professionally edited…twice. You’ve practiced pitching it at conferences and gotten good feedback. Now you’re ready to send that baby out into the world. But how?
THINGS TO DO KINDA IN THIS ORDER
OK… you’ve done the hard part. Your book is in production, about to be published. Now what? Well… now comes the harder part. Yes, that’s right… the part that is harder than getting to a publisher in the first place. You hafta get ready for marketing. Dun, dun, dun, dun…
Things To Do In No Particular Order
Summaries Long and Short and…
You need a summary of the first maybe 25% of your story with no spoilers. You’ll hear many rules about this summary… only mention two names, keep it at exactly 200 words, don’t ask questions, etc. The rules are helpful, but not set in stone. The object is to hold a reader’s attention and make them ask the questions and make them want to keep reading in any way you can. I had help from my publisher with my summaries. I created one with 200 words and one with 100 words. The finals landed somewhere in between. We introduced the main characters and mentioned or hinted at a few key points at the beginning of the story… keeping it intriguing without giving too much away.
Covers and all sorts of things…
One of the first things you receive from the publisher is the cover. Sometimes you get a say in how the cover is developed, and sometimes you don’t. Usually the final image is up to the publisher. The cover is often available 3 or four months before publication so you have time to tease and tantalize potential readers with a cover reveal. Make your cover reveal an event. It doesn’t hafta be a live/in-person event, but it should be an exciting build up. Most cover reveals are posted on social media and in book blogs (which is a whole ‘nother story). Basically, it starts with a picture of a book with a little of the cover peeking out and maybe a log line (a what? Ask me later.) posted everywhere imaginable. Then on a specified day, BAM. You reveal the cover and summary and start taking pre-orders (yup…that’s something else, too).
ARCs and Reviews and Blurbs and…
Sometime between cover reveal and publication, you’ll receive ARCs (advanced review copies). These physical and/or electronic copies are for people to read and comment on on sale sites, blogs, review sites, and even to enter into contests. No, you don’t just send them out all willy-nilly. You ask potential reviewers nicely to accept an ARC and leave an honest review, usually on launch day… and the more reviews, the better. This is when you must check your ego and thicken your skin because not everyone will love your book… and they will let you know… and you don’t get to comment or argue or disabuse them of their opinions.
Blurbs from celebrities (read: best-selling authors and such) are nice to have. They are usually a sentence or two that can go above the book summary on your sales pages. Editorial Reviews are sometimes reviews you’ve paid for—Kirkus and the like. Bits of these reviews can be used in advertising.
Beyond Your Friends and Family…
You have a list of ten to twelve people who’ve loved and supported you throughout your writing process. They’ve had nothing but glowing compliments about your writing and plot and characters. They love you so much, they actually want to read your finished book. Yay! Friends and family are all well and good, but now you have to attract strangers. Dun… dun… dun… dun…
So where do you find strangers? Social media, of course! But not just your regular social media… you hafta create author pages… build a social media presence dedicated solely to your writing. Yes, you can feature other things, but it must always be in some way related to your creativity. This is the account you will invite your followers from your main account to like and share. This is where you will start advertising and building your following. You’ll fill this page with interesting tidbits about your writing (problems, processes, playlists, etc.) and encourage positive interaction with your readers. Just remember, this is social media so don’t feed the trolls.
Services
One of the things you might find helpful are virtual book services. These are sites and companies that will help you spread the word about your upcoming book. They offer cover reveals, ARC reviews/distribution, virtual book tours, and more. The prices range from $15-to $20 dollars to several hundred dollars, and honestly, I’ve found no rhyme or reason in the price differences save for the quality of the company’s web site. The fancier the site, the more expensive the services. Most of them offer similar services with similar distribution (20,000+ potential readers). They’ll arrange for bloggers to feature you and your book and shout you out on social media. Sometimes you’ll be invited to write guest posts on blogs, or even do written interviews.
Watch for more Aftermath in future columns, especially on book launches.
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Deborah King, NIP Board member and excellent writer, author of Mary, Not Broken, et al, https://deborahlking.com… Deborah King has been a writer and storyteller her whole life, publishing her first short story at age seven. She writes women’s literary and historical fiction. When not writing, Deborah enjoys cartoons, baking, photography, and Star Trek. According to her daughter, she has “literally aced her life!”
