Monday, October 26, 2015

Book 2 - Pre-marketing Options

Here it is, a mere month before book 2, Reztap and The Quest for the Insane Moth, would have gone on sale and I'm still mulling over my pre-marketing options. I've learned that I've already accomplished some things, I'm right on track with others, and hopelessly behind the eight ball about to get sunk in a corner pocket with the other things.

The rudest note was checking out this link (http://allindiewriters.com/book-marketing-timeline-from-pre-launch-to-post-launch/) outlining what I should do to pre-market my book and when. The timeline starts nine months before book launch! Yeah, that's so not happening. Still, glancing through the list, I did see that I'd gotten some things done already, although that was primarily because they were done for the first book.

Get a MailChimp account - check. Send emails out bi-weekly or once a month - damn. Already missed on that one, mostly because I don't want to fill my the inboxes of my minuscule mailing list with pointless chatter. So, guess I'll be getting a pre-launch email out to them so they know what's going on at least. Putting that on my To Do List, honestly.

Then I'm down to building lists of things, most of which I'm not sure exist or I can reasonably find. Finally, get an author head shot. Thank goodness that's already done. I'm going to be a searching maniac the next couple of months trying to catch up on the other lists...and some of it won't matter because it's already way too late...but not for book 3!

However, with all this insane pre-marketing activity supposedly going into place, I've had to slow roll the entire machine. The "would have gone on sale" is the key note here. Book two is done and in the bag (writing, editing, cover art, book formatting, etc.), but I had to slow everything down for two reasons - one, I want to do things right and there are some prerequisites that still have to be put in place for that to happen. The bigger reason is: I'm simply out of cash.

Starting over professionally and financially since moving here has put us on the edge. It will pass, but it pushes off the publishing date of book two to an as yet undetermined date. I've been advised by a marketing contractor to get "professional" reviews of both the prequel (Mishaps and Mayhem) and book one (The Adventures of Reztap) before I forward book two for the same treatment. All of that will be a three to four month process. I hope to get it started within the month of November, but I can't make any guarantees.

Which puts this whole matter into perspective. What have I learned from this extensive process that perhaps you too, the reader, may be able to apply to your own book marketing adventures?

1. Book marketing is key to a successful book launch.
2. Continuing book marketing has some value but falls off after time.
3. If you're doing a series, get the first books reviewed first; don't start in the middle.
4. There is a LOT to book marketing - see the list above and plan well ahead of time.
5. Marketing is an uncomfortable requirement for someone who just wants to write - but if you want to sell your books as well as write them, it is a necessary evil.

This just relates to marketing. I saw an article that bemoaned the amount of book marketing going on in social media and the article author said "Just write a good book and it will sell itself." Honestly, my jaw dropped open when I read this. It was from a book author who had already written several books and had an audience already. I wondered what he did when he "first" started out? Not advertise or try to market his book at all and it magically sold well? I think not. Even a well written book has to be pushed onto the market with some kind of publicity or, quite simply, NO ONE will know it exists!

So, write your book, get it edited professionally, and start the marketing process. It's a long one, but don't be discouraged. It won't happen fast or overnight - it takes pre-planning and discipline.

Regards,
Artemus



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