Three Steps To A Successful Self Published Book Launch

ad collaborative post // You did it – you wrote a book! That’s an accomplishment on its own, and you should feel rightfully proud. But the hard work isn’t over yet. Since you’ve decided to self-publish your book, you’re now in charge of everything a traditional publishing company does, including marketing and data collection.

Under the assumption that you have some knowledge and are prepared for your big day, this article will take you through everything a successful self-published author does on the day of a launch.

Book Detail Page

After your cover, your book detail page online is the first thing readers will see of your book. You already have a great cover and a killer blurb. Now you need to make sure everything else looks its best as well. You should check and double-check everything on your detail page:

• Is the title correct?
• Is the book in the right categories?
• Does the Look Inside feature work, and does the 10% sample end on a tantalising note?
• Is the book enrolled (or not enrolled) in Kindle Unlimited?
• If you’re also releasing a paperback, is it linked to the eBook version?

Sometimes Amazon will have glitches, and human error can occur as well. You don’t want to choose the wrong file and accidentally publish an unedited version of your book, then wonder why you’re getting negative reviews.

Speaking of reviews, they are one of the most important features on your detail page. You should send out advance review copies two weeks to a month before release so that readers have time to read the book and collect their thoughts. On release day, send them the link. Many successful authors wait to start promoting until they have a certain number of reviews so as to make their book look as appealing as possible.

Promotions and Advertising

By release day, you should have a good sense of your marketing plan. You know where you’d like to list your new release and what sites – for instance Amazon, Facebook, or Bookbub – you want to advertise on. If you’re submitting your book to any blogs or newsletters, send it in as soon as possible.

In fact, if you had a preorder option, you should have already submitted the book. You can now set up ads for your book, as well as posting it to any Facebook groups or other social media. It goes without saying that your most devoted readers should be the first to hear about your new release, so be sure to post to your Facebook page and email your newsletter. Readers love the words “brand new” almost as much as they love a sale. Once you have a few reviews, you should start promoting as soon as possible.

Record Keeping

This may seem more boring than the other steps, but don’t be tempted to skip it. The most successful authors take their data seriously. Software like Microsoft Excel is your friend! Records can show you all kinds of things you might not realise otherwise. For example, if your book is in Kindle Unlimited, the Kindle Edition Normalised Page Count is not standardised.

If you used different methods to format two books, one may end up with a dramatically different page count, and you’ll get different royalties for the same number of page reads. Another example goes back to advance reviewers. If you don’t track which reviewers on your team follow through, you’ll have to search through months of emails to find out. You might even discover that some “reviewers” don’t review and are simply scooping up free books!

Congratulations on your book launch. By perfecting your book detail page, maximising your promotions and advertising, and being assiduous with your record keeping, you’ll be sure to reach new heights of success.

Lacking Confidence?

Before sending your book out into the big, exciting, daunting world of self-publishing, we’d highly recommend enlisting the services of a literary consultant, like Marginalia Manuscripts. We provide manuscript assessment services, providing you with a comprehensive, 3,000-word report on your manuscript so you can make those crucial final revisions before committing to publication.

A manuscript assessment report will assess your book’s strengths and weaknesses, so you can rest assured it’s in tiptop shape for self-publication. Please get in touch if you’re eager to maximise your chances of self-publishing success and take your book to the next level. We’re super friendly and would love to hear about your work in progress!