It’s January!
Depending on where you live, you may not be experiencing the level of cold and snow we have been experiencing. Then again, you might be getting more snow and having much colder temperatures. Here in southwestern Ontario, it’s been cold. I have to admit, I prefer June.
I wanted to give a quick book update for you as I’m moving toward the April Book Launch, so here it is!
Book Launch Teams
I have three book launch teams set up, geared at young readers in the 10-14 age range. The first one filled up and had a waiting list within less than a day of the announcement. I was shocked. The second one has been a little slower to fill up. Both of these Launch Teams will be taking place at a local library. The managers and staff at each library are pretty amazing and have been fun to work with as we’ve laid out this plan. These two Launch Teams will take place mid-week, after school.
The third launch team is at a local school. I’ve been chatting with the teacher/librarian at the school and we are both looking forward to it. This Launch Team takes place during the lunch period at the school so it’s kind of a Book Launch Lunch Team.
Let me give you an idea of how these will work. The teams are made up of youth in the age bracket my book is geared toward and I’m planning on giving each member a copy of the book (which will eventually be signed and marked as a Book Launch Team Book). We will take the time to talk through the book a bit, talk about writing, talk about publishing and chat through some ideas about how to get word out to readers in their age bracket.
I’m also asking their parents to give a book review on Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and Goodreads. For each parent that contacts me to tell me that they have given a review, I will put their child’s name in a draw for a signed copy of book two (when it comes out). I won’t, of course, require that they give me a good review. I will hope I get a good review, but I’ll trust them to be honest with it and will accept whatever review they offer.
I’m pretty excited about these launch teams. When I was a kid I read just about anything I could get my hands on (fiction). I would have loved to do something like this!
Once the Launch Teams are over, I’ll post a blog on how the process went and to share what I’ve learned.
Book One (subtitled: The Key Quest)
I have a case of copies of book one sitting in my living room as we speak. It comes in a case of 28 and they look good! I’m pretty happy with them. They were printed by Ingram. In a little while I hope to post a blog about working with Createspace and Ingram.
They are sitting around till the Book Launch Teams start up.
April 2, 2018 is the day the book goes up for sale!
Book Two (subtitled: The Defense Quest)
I haven’t touched book two for months. I have been too focused on books one and three. Very soon I’ll get back to it and get it into the hands of some of my Alpha and Beta Readers. I’m looking forward to getting their take on it and then to get it all edited.
June 4, 2018 is the day it goes up for sale!
Book Three (subtitled: The Harry Quest)
Book three is still undergoing its initial clean-up before I hand it off to many Alpha and Beta Readers. I’m pleased with it. It’s a fun book and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. The initial reaction so far is pretty positive, although I think there are some major changes that I need to make (aside from the myriad little changes and corrections).
November 5, 2018 is the day it goes up for sale!
One more thing. My health hasn’t been the best lately and it’s causing me to have to really pull back on a lot of things. I’m not sure how this will affect the blogging/writing/publishing end of things. I find writing helpful to the rehabilitation process, but we will have to see how this all works out in the coming months.
But, for the books… I’m looking forward to sharing these books with you. Well… with those of you who have a silly, over-the-top and weird sense of humor. They are strange, fun, whimsical adventure books. That’s a weird description. The books are odd. They are just odd.
I am trying to decide when I will do a cover reveal. So far, very few people even know the name of the book. So… when do you do a cover reveal?
Shawn
UPDATE: To check out Shawn’s books, head to My Books page!
4 responses to “January Book Update”
Wow, you have some good info on this site. I’ll be a frequent flyer here.
Thanks. I’m glad you’ve found it so helpful!
I’ve found that I don’t like to do cover reveals after all – until the actual book is ready! The reason being that you end up with so many shares and excitement over the cover initially on social media etc, which, b/c it’s not published yet has no link to actually purchase it, but when you finally launch the book, all those people who commented on, liked, shared your post (on whatever/all social media sites) don’t want to necessarily do it again (or at least 90% of them), and thereby, you’ve missed your chance to have had that post sent around/shared to so many more people. In other words, it sets you up for missed opportunities when it’s time to actually sell your book. At least that’s been my experience, although I’m sure it’s not been everyone’s. So think carefully before doing one. I’m beginning to think they’re better for the big publishers, but not for us indies who have to rely on individuals to help us with our marketing. The other thought, is maybe you could do it in a limited fashion, whereby you only reveal it to your newsletter list for example, b/c most subscribers don’t share what they read in a newsletter anyway, and are glad to see it multiple times before it’s launched. They’d be the ones to build the excitement with.
BTW I love your creative strategy above regarding your launch teams! All the best with it!
Thanks for your encouragement, Shana! That’s some great insight into the cover reveal process. I hadn’t considered any of that. Thanks so much. I have some other artwork I might start releasing instead and save the cover reveal for later on.
I appreciate your comment so much!