Once a book comes out, there's this flurry of busy-ness and excitement--reviews, blog tours, podcast interviews. All of these events are important in the writer's life and very important for success of the book.
Authors have many choices for how to have a book launch. These 5 Options for Your Book Release can be combined or used alone for whatever you expect for results. We've talked about book launches before but in broader terms. So, I am listing these five options:
No launch - this is my favorite. It is not, however, my publisher's favorite. Publishers want us to do everything we can to tell potential readers about our latest titles. Zero Cost. You just sit back and see if a book has legs and that readers start reading.
An abridged launch - this is usually where I land. I do a lot of promoting on social media, through my newsletter, and through my blog. I also buy ad spots (TheFussyLibrarian.com, BookoftheDay.org, and eReaderNewsToday, to name a only a few). These book-related sites who have hundreds of thousands of newsletter recipients. This directly puts your book in front of reading-minded people. These spots (depending on your book's genre) can run anywhere from $20 to $400.
A book launch party--live or online (or both) - I always vacillate on whether or not to have a party. I think readers like them though so, often, I have book launch parties. I did for When You Leave Me (6/2022) and did not for Gag Me (4/2022). People joining in generally pop over to buy sites and pick up your book. They tell you during the parties. This makes everyone happy--the buyer and the author. Unless you hire someone to do your launch for you, this option can just be the cost of your time.
Book tour--online or in-person - this means hiring either a publicist or marketing agent to push your books to media (TV and radio/podcasts) and to bloggers. These are generally the most expensive route to take although they have a broader reach. Zoom talks with members of associations (Scottsdale Society of Women Writers) or at book club meetings. Blog tour sites can charge anything from $400 to $1500; and marketing agents charge from $1700 to $25,000
A Combination of items #2 through #4--this option can help cut and control costs.
Here are some book promo events I did for When You Leave Me:
Facebook Live Event: https://fb.watch/dFU1M6L6Yo/
Northwest News Radio Interview with Brian Calvert: https://nwnewsradio.com/northwest-news/facts-about-a-thief-from-a-fiction-writer/
Plus, I hired a marketing agent for When You Leave Me, Rachel M. Anderson with RMA Publicity. Rachel has gotten much of the media marketing done--feature newspaper articles, radio spots, and podcast events.
Here's your bonus fun promo idea
Get creative. For instance, I challenged my cohort in crime fiction, Vincent Zandri to a write-off who gladly took up the mantle. So, beginning August 1st and ending December 31st, Vincent and I are going to see who can put the most words onto the page. Shh, don't tell him but I think he's going to slaughter me on this one. Still, I'm going to give him a run for his money. Click here for My Write-Off Challenge to Vincent on Facebook
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