9 Things to Do Before You Get Published
Getting ready to publish your book can be an extremely exciting time. Months and months of hard work has gone into this beloved creation of yours. Sleepless nights, tight budgets and stress-filled days that have made you want to give up but now the light at the end of the tunnel is finally within reach.
However, it’s so important that you don’t rush this stage, especially after you have worked so hard to get where you are today. To help you make the most of this amazing experience that lays before you, here are nine things you should do before you finally get published, making the whole experience a lot less stressful and a whole lot more enjoyable.
Creating a Website
First things first, if you haven’t already, get yourself a website. You can do this yourself within a week with minimal guidance or simply pay someone to do it for you. There are easy to use platforms such as WordPress, Drupal etc. Once you’re published, you’re going to want as much time and money free to spend on marketing and advertising. In the run-up to your book launch, keep it regularly updated and you’ll have a great following willing to buy your book. You could even have a newsletter.
Creating a website doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Thanks to how easy it is to do, you can continuously update and innovative your website, depending on what your readers say they want to hear from you. For example, if your customers keep asking when your book is going to be released, you might want to add a countdown feature to help build excitement.
To help you start your website, here’s a comprehensive tutorial on setting up a WordPress site.
Prepare Your Marketing Strategy
Once you are published, you are going to have an extremely busy couple of months. Get organised and plan how you are going to approach promoting and marketing your book. If you need to, invest in the services of a marketing agency who will be able to help you effectively advertise your best-seller.
As you’re trying to get publishing and probably spending most of your time polishing off your book, creating a marketing strategy might be another daunting task on your to-do list. However, there are several steps you can take to make this as easy as possible, such as the points in this guide.
Creating a Newsletter
By this, we mean you are effectively creating an email list to in which you can send links to your book. Mailing lists take time to build so you’re going to want to start as quickly as possible. This way you can begin building up your reader base, without even having to be published.
If you’re creating a newsletter, ensure it’s perfect. As an author, if you’re about to release a book but your newsletter is riddled with mistakes or is poorly written, no one is going to want to read your final book. Don’t forget to proofread your newsletter to ensure they are grammatically perfect for your readers, saving you both time and the embarrassment of a mistake.
Writing a newsletter is a bit different from writing a best-selling book. But, just like writing a book, there are several tips you can take to ensure it isn’t terrible.
Build up your Reader Base
Although you’re not published yet, it’s possible to have readers ready to go. Follow people who like similar genres to your book on social media and more times than not they will follow you back. Take to forums, online communities and even reading groups in your local area. The earlier you start promoting, the better.
If you’re using social media, you’ll need to build up your follower counts. The more followers you have, the more potential people you have to buy and read your book. Each social media network is different and will have their own tactics (mentioned below).
However, there are other ways you can build up your reader base, such as using your newsletter to encourage readers and by creating a mailing list that you can use to notify people of your launch. Here’s a comprehensive guide to setting up an email marketing campaign for your book.
Social Media is Your Friend
For many writers, we tried so hard to stay off social media to get things done but now it’s your best friend. The most popular marketing tool in the world is social media and you can use it to advertise your book. You can create an account especially for your author’s career and share photos of your journey to becoming a published author.
You can also use social media to boost your follower counts. As mentioned above. The more followers you have, the more potential people that will buy and read your book. However, each social media platform requires a different edge, so it’s worth doing your research, regardless of whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Make Industry Connections
Meeting and greeting other authors can be the make or break of some writers. It’s not about competitors in the writing industry, everybody has time to read multiple books, so work together with other authors to boost both of your sales and rise to success together. If you meet someone who is already published, for example, at an online community like State of writing and Paper Fellows, they may even be able to give you more advice and can even help you out if you need it. It is important to give and receive information on publishing and the relevant tips and advice. Also, Smashwords and Goodreads are excellent places to network with other writers.
However, one of the best connections to make is the people in the top of your field. Whether you’re a comedy writer, romantic writer or anything in between, seek out these authors or publishers and make yourself known. To get you started, here’s a guide on introducing yourself to these leading figures.
Manage Your Time Well
Similar to when you were actually writing the book, stick to a schedule and plan your days out day by day, hour by hour if you have to. This way you can ensure you’re staying productive and maximising your workflow, ensuring you’re getting everything done that you need to get done.
However, as an author, we all know that this is easier said than done and sometimes we can always find excuses why not to work, including doing our washing, making lunch or chatting on the phone. If you’re using a laptop, you’ve got the whole internet to keep you distracted. However, there are many methods and techniques you can use to stay productive.
Invest Time in Your Publisher
After all your hard work, you want to make sure everything is perfect. Work closely with your publisher to ensure that everything is how you want it and they are doing everything as you agreed. Although rare, there’s nothing worse than receiving your first copy and realising there’s something wrong or out of place. Request regular updates if required. For more information, check out this guide on working with your publisher.
Enjoy Yourself
As we said before, this is an extremely positive time for you and all your hard work is finally about to pay off! Always remember that you’re doing what you love the most and you’re following your dream. Of course, it’s going to be hard but when you’ve finished, you’ll be in the moment that you originally set out to be in!
Enjoy yourself! Make the most of this amazing experience and savour every last moment of it! You deserve it! Best of luck!
Was this helpful? What’s YOUR experience with publishing? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.
Brenda Berg is a professional with over 15 years of experience in business management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Consultant and tutor for college students and entrepreneurs. She is a part-time educator and Editor in Chief at Oxessays. She believes that constant learning is the only way to success. You can visit her personal blog at Letsgoandlearn.com
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