Let’s Do Launch! Getting Out the Word About Your Book

By Peggy J. Shaw, @peggyjshaw

Part of the How They Do It Series (Special September Guest Event)

Peggy J. Shaw is the author/editor of more than 50 traditionally published books, including titles for Sesame Workshop and Disney. A former senior editor for Dalmatian Press/ Intervisual Books/Piggy Toes Press, she helps writers produce their best manuscripts for submission.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Take it away Peggy...

Book Launches: How Things Change

By Dario Ciriello

Part of the Indie Author Series

As I prepare to release my new nonfiction work on July 4, no less, I find myself looking back at prior book launches and realize how different this one is.

In the past, I’ve had the greatest difficulty getting any real traction or interest in book launches. Oh, there’s always been the supportive family-and-friends core of a few dozen people. But interest from publications, bloggers, or reviewers, beyond one or two who are fellow writers and close friends? Zilch, zip, nada.

Hitting the Reboot Button: How to (Re)launch Your Career: Part Two

By Jana Oliver, @crazyauthorgirl

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Last week we covered how to create a brand, how to display that brand on social media, and determine which authors are your competition. This post is going to delve into my experiences with Facebook and Goodreads ads, iBooks opportunities, the missing element in our experience, and what’s next for Chandler Steele.

Facebook

To put the word out that Chandler exists, I posted regularly, and linked many of those Facebook posts to her blog so readers might visit the website and get to know her (and her books) better. I made sure the posts were relevant and (hopefully) interesting and didn’t shout “buy my stuff!” constantly.

Hitting the Reboot Button: How to (Re)launch Your Career: Part One

By Jana Oliver, @crazyauthorgirl

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Please welcome our newest indie author contributor, Jana Oliver. She'll be here the third Thursday of every month starting in 2017.

Fifteen years ago I launched my career as an author. It proved to be a lengthy struggle to gain name recognition as I went from being an independently published author, to a small press, and finally onto one of the “Big Five” publishing houses. There I became an international bestselling author.

In 2016, I started over from scratch. Why? Because I wanted to write romantic suspense under a pseudonym, and I wanted to find out if it was “easier” to launch a new author in today's publishing environment. Back in 2001 there were limited ways to connect with potential readers via the internet. Now? We’re obsessed with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Has all that made a difference when you’re new or starting over?

Anatomy of an Indie Book Launch Party

By Dario Ciriello

Part of the Indie Author Series

As regular readers of my posts here will know, I believe that real world, face-to-face networking and promotion is both more effective and more time-efficient for a writer than using social media. So with the upcoming release of my new novel, I’m putting a good deal of effort into a big, real world launch party.

Here are my thoughts on the benefits, and some advice on how to go about having a successful book release event.

Four Ways to Prepare for a Book Launch—Even if You Aren’t Published Yet

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Before I dive in, just a head up that my monthly post is up over at Pub Crawl: Want to Write Better Stories? Write About Change. Come on over and say hello.

I’ve both written and read a lot of guest posts by authors with new books out. I’ve seen authors talk about their novels on panels and chatted with them in person. Every one of them at some point during the launch and marketing of that new book, struggled on what to write about or what to do.

Guest Author Heather Webb: 10 Steps to a Successful Book Launch

By Heather Webb, @msheatherwebb

Please help me welcome Heather Webb to the blog today, to share some tips on making the most of your book launch. The days leading up to your book's release (especially if it's your debut novel), are both thrilling and terrifying, but this a little launch guide can keep you distracted and help keep you sane.

Heather is a former military brat and traveling addict who lives in a rural town in New England. She's a historical novelist and freelance editor (For rates, check her EDITING page.) You may find her lurking at the popular RomanceUniversity.org where she contributes to their blog with editing advice, and at the award-winning site, WriterUnboxed.com, where she poses as Twitter Mistress (@WriterUnboxed). She also kicks around a local college teaching classes called “Write to Publish” and “Crafting Your Novel”.

Her debut historical novel BECOMING JOSEPHINE is out now from Plume/Penguin.

Take it away, Heather...