October 29, 2024 • 23 mins
Many authors are surprised to learn they have to market their books. While a book launch can be uncomfortable, it’s necessary to sell books. In this episode, Lori walks you through how to bootstrap your book launch. She tells you what you need to set up ASAP and how to create a timeline so that your launch runs smoothly. But because book launching is such a big topic, she’s also shared some of her favorite resources to help you learn more.
Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Lori Walker and Danielle Mitchell. Hosted by Danielle Mitchell, Lori Walker, and bridgette bianca.
Theme song: "Simply Upbeat" by Christian Telford, Kenneth Edward Belcher, and Saki Furuya.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(00:00):
Many writers are surprised to learn that a
book launch starts way before your book
actually comes out and extends
well past your pub date.
Whether you already have a collection or
chat book accepted for publication or are
planning on submitting one in the future,
this episode is for you.
Launching a book is an exciting milestone,
(00:20):
but it can also be overwhelming, especially
if you're managing it all on your own.
Bootstrapping your book launch means using
your resources creatively and effectively
to maximize your reach and impact.
Welcome to the Poetry Lab Podcast.
(00:42):
The Poetry Lab started 11 years ago to help
dedicated, self-taught, and formally
trained writers find a place in their
community to write,
read,
learn,
and collaborate.
We help writers tap into their craft with
radical self-compassion,
unlike anything you've ever seen in a
creative writing classroom before.
(01:04):
If you're a creative person trying to
establish a writing practice in the real world,
this podcast is designed to help you carve
out the time,
the courage,
and the inspiration to keep writing your
new shit.
Are you ready, poet?
Let's get into it.
(01:29):
Welcome, dear listeners, to another episode
of the Poetry Lab Podcast.
I'm Lori Walker, and today we are
bootstrapping your book launch because I'd
bet you dollars to donuts
your publisher ain't going to provide you
with a lot of support.
But that's OK.
You can do this.
Well, there's a lot that goes into a book
launch.
It's kind of a choose your own adventure deal,
(01:51):
allowing you to pick and choose what works
with your time,
bandwidth, and resources.
In this episode, I'm going to cover some of
the things
that you totally need to do
and offer some suggestions on the extras,
the optional things that you can add on.
I'm also going to share some additional
resources at the end.
(02:12):
which will be noted in the show notes
because like I said, there's a lot that
goes into a book launch.
Before I get started,
take a second to grab a pen and paper or
open the notes app on your phone
because you're going to want to make a
to-do list.
I'm going to start this episode off with
what I'm calling the
(02:33):
before before stuff,
the stuff that you need to do
before you
have a book coming out before you
submit a book, before you
have it
actually publish.
And
if you haven't done these things already,
you don't need to kick yourself
about it.
You can just go ahead and get them done.
Like just get started on it.
(02:53):
It's okay. But
if you have the time, if you have the
ability to do these things,
get them done as soon as possible, because
it'll make your life a lot easier when you
do get to the point where you're publishing
your book.
First part of that is
your platform.
You need an author website.
An author website is like your digital
calling card.
(03:15):
It is a central hub for your author
platform.
And we've got an episode of the Poetry Lab
podcast where I talk about some of the
pieces that are absolutely critical for
your website.
It is episode 26 and it's called,
Hello, It's Me, Your Author Website.
Another important component of your
platform is your e-mail list.
(03:36):
Your e-mail list allows you to reach out to
people who want to hear about your upcoming
publication and anything else you've got
going on.
And we've got an episode on that too.
Danielle hosted episode 14,
Getting Started with Your Mailing List,
where she goes over a lot of the basics of
e-mail lists.
And the third piece of the author platform
(03:58):
is social media.
This is where you grow your community,
where you reach out to new people.
Yes, we all know that social media can be a
toxic time suck,
but you can use it intentionally.
And
you guessed it, we've got an episode on
that too.
Episode six,
hosted by yours truly is called Creating
(04:20):
Community Through Social Media.
And
oh my God, please don't judge me too
harshly on that episode.
It was the first solo show that I had
ever recorded and I was so nervous.
But on the other hand, I think that it does
show a nice progression in my style of
hosting solo episodes.
All these episodes are going to be linked
in the show notes so that you can easily
(04:41):
navigate to them after listening to this
episode.
Another piece of the before before stuff is
building literary citizenship.
And I was looking back over the script
for the social media episode and was really
surprised to discover
that I didn't beat over listener's head
the concept of building literary
citizenship, because I think it is so
(05:04):
important.
What is it? Well, it's
recognizing that you are not an artist in a
vacuum, that you are part of a larger
literary landscape
of a bunch of other artists living and dead.
And it's engaging with the literary world
in a supportive and collaborative way. And
you can do that in a variety of ways.
(05:25):
If you read a book that you are loving,
Post about it on social media and tag the
author.
Get to know other authors, especially those
who are at about the same point in their
creative career as you.
Talk about their wins.
Introduce them to your audience.
See about collaborating on something
together, like a workshop or an author chat.
(05:47):
Literary citizenship is also
liking and commenting on other authors'
social media posts.
And honestly, you're probably already doing
this to a certain extent, so don't freak out.
But
I mention it because you wanna start being
more intentional about it and kick it up a notch.
And
when I say kick it up a notch, I mean, don't
(06:08):
do this in a transactional or using people way,
because people can tell when you're doing
it for selfish reasons.
And I totally hate these buzzwords because
I think that they are so overused that they
are practically meaningless.
But
what I mean is
be authentic when you post an excited review
(06:30):
and seek to foster a genuine connection
with other artists.
They might not follow you back or reach out
to you,
but
honestly, it's all part of a web and you
never know how things are going to shake
out in the future.
And I think it just creates good energy
around
yourself and your writing and sends it out
(06:51):
into the world, and I think the world needs
that good energy.
Building literary citizenship takes time.
It's not something that you can just throw
together in a couple of days.
It's something that you need to do
over and over again.
One other final note on the before before
step that relates to both
your author platform and literary
citizenship.
I can't stress enough that these are
(07:12):
extremely important elements to have in
place as soon as possible, like
before your book gets accepted.
Hell, before you even submit your
manuscript,
they, that amorphous entity,
Say that the best time to build your
platform is last year,
and the second best time to build it is today.
So
if you haven't already done it,
(07:32):
get to it.
Why?
Because once your book comes out,
you need to promote that puppy, and it'll
be easier if you already have these pieces
in place
instead of trying to build them at the same
time that you're promoting your book.
Plus, if you've been consistent with social
media and building your literary
citizenship,
(07:53):
and regularly sending newsletters,
you've likely already built a community
that will be happy to not only buy,
but also promote your book.
The final reason for having these pieces
done as early as possible,
sometimes they help you get that book deal
in the first place because they show
presses that people will buy your book and
(08:15):
that you have a place to promote it.
Now you need to plan your launch.
Having a plan will help you keep on track
when life things unexpectedly happen,
and it can help you see when and where you
might want to add some extras.
So here are some things to consider when
planning your launch.
(08:37):
Define your goals.
What do you want to achieve with your book
launch? Are you looking to sell a certain
number of copies, build your e-mail list,
or gain reviews?
Setting clear goals will help you stay
focused and measure your success.
And I mean, yeah, you want to sell copies
of your book, but
dig a little deeper than that.
Are you wanting to use your book as a
(08:59):
springboard
to talk about a particular topic that you
wrote about, like grief?
And you know, this is also probably tied to
your creative career goals.
Like what are you wanting to do with
the art that you create?
Next step, create a timeline.
Map out key activities and milestones
(09:20):
leading up to your book launch.
This should include tasks like finalizing
your manuscript and getting your book cover
designed.
Your publisher will likely set those
deadlines of when you need to have your
manuscript
completed
or handle the book design,
but you'll need to be aware of them and you
might have to take part
somehow in them.
(09:41):
And you'll want to add some of those key
dates, like when your book goes on
pre-order to your author website or social
media bios,
and tell the people on your newsletter list
so that you can start to build buzz, which
I'll be talking about momentarily.
Use the timeline to keep track of any
promotional efforts that you are doing,
such as podcasts, readings,
(10:02):
cover reveal posts that you wanna share on
social media,
just
anything that you wanna do so that you can
kind of see at,
an eagle's eye glance
what you've got coming up so that way
if you decide you want to do
a guest post, you can
figure out when it's going to be a good
time when you can actually write it.
(10:22):
Next thing you want to do is look at your
budget.
Even with a bootstrap approach, there will
be some costs involved.
Allocate your budget to essential areas
like cover design if that's something you
have to pay for,
editing if that's something you want
to
pay someone else to help you with,
and marketing.
Or if you also want to design and give away
(10:44):
some special pre-order goodies.
And something else to plan is what are you
doing on launch day?
Maybe you wanna do something low key and
solo or with those closest to you, and
that's perfect.
And maybe you wanna do something really big
and special, like having a book release
party, either in person or virtually.
(11:06):
If you're wanting a party of some sort,
that will take time and possibly some
money, especially if it's in person.
In one of my writing groups, we talked
about our dreams for getting our book
published,
and somebody said that they
really wanted a cake with their book cover on it.
And that's a totally valid dream to have,
(11:26):
something to really look forward to, but
that takes planning and that takes money.
After you have your platform built
and your book launch planned,
You can start doing some of the fun stuff.
Pitch yourself to be on podcasts or on
Instagram Lives
or to write guest posts. posts.
I know this stuff takes time and that
you're busy, but it is essential to
(11:48):
generate excitement about your book.
Pre-order numbers are extremely important
because they show ahead of time how much
interest there is in your book.
And a note of caution about posting on
social media.
Yes,
the pre-order and launch time are critical,
but don't only post about buy my book, buy
my book, buy my book, or e-mail your list
(12:08):
daily about buy my book.
Keep up the regular programming to a
certain extent.
And here are some strategies for building buzz.
Do a cover reveal.
I have seen some really creative ways of
doing this, where people will have the cover
like
covered by
a
solid color, like blue, whatever,
(12:30):
and then they'll remove pieces of it in
quadrants, like it's a puzzle in reverse,
where you're
removing the pieces.
Or you can keep it simple and just be like,
Hey, here's my book cover.
Related to this is a book trailer.
I've never done one for a poetry
collection, and I haven't seen one, but
that's not to say that they don't exist for
poetry collections.
(12:50):
And you know what? If they don't,
be a pioneer and create a book trailer
anyway.
I make book trailers for one of my friend's
romance novels,
and I do it all in Canva
with stock images, quotes pulled from her
promotional materials, and the book itself.
And then I have her contact information in
there at the end.
I've got covers for her other books.
(13:11):
For her first release,
I had some quotes
from advanced praise.
These last about 45 seconds to a minute,
but I think that they're a nice multimedia
element
to add to your promotional efforts.
If you have advanced reader copies, you can
send those to book bloggers, reviewers, and
influencers.
(13:32):
You can ask them to read your book and post
reviews on launch day.
This can help build credibility and
visibility.
And you need to do this well in advance
because these people have lives and other
content scheduled ahead of time
and will need to fit you in somewhere.
So you don't wanna be like,
Hey, can you read this by next week?
Another piece that you can add is guest
logging and interviews.
(13:53):
You'll want to do some research to find
compatible outlets and create a pitch
letter that outlines what you wanna talk
about or write about.
and then demonstrates how it will benefit
that audience.
And you need to start sending these out a
few months in advance too.
I worked with a different podcast
and we'd book out like six months in
advance.
(14:14):
Same thing for guest posts. So
don't just do this last minute.
Guesting does help you reach new and wider
audiences,
but it also takes time to write a guest
post and being interviewed on a podcast
isn't necessarily for everyone.
When your guest posts or podcast episodes
start coming out, you'll want to be sure to
promote those,
(14:35):
you know, keep building that literary
citizenship.
And you wanna make sure that you add those
dates into your launch calendar or
timeline.
Another idea is to reach out to local
bookstores or other venues about doing a
live reading and a book signing.
And I say other venues because sometimes
like bars or coffee shops will host live
(14:56):
events.
or you can plan a virtual reading with some
of your other literary besties.
Now, with all of these ideas about creating buzz,
think about what is in your wheelhouse,
what is of interest, what you are capable
of doing.
If you can and want to do all of these
things or have the money in your budget to
(15:18):
pay someone to make images or a book
trailer for you,
great.
If you don't wanna do something or know
that you're too busy to commit to writing
guest posts,
Don't.
And I think most people are going to fall
into one of two camps, and
I want to address both of them directly,
right quick.
To the people who are so anxiety-ridden
(15:38):
that the thought of promoting your book
fills you with dread,
I get it.
It's hard to put yourself out there,
but you're going to have to do it a little
bit to get those books to sell.
So challenge yourself to do a couple of
things on this list.
You are part of a loving community who
wants to celebrate with you.
(15:59):
So
even though it might be scary,
it won't be bad. And
then to the people who are all gung-ho,
ready to dive in and do all these things
plus 10 others,
I get that too.
This is really exciting.
But I really strongly encourage you to not
overextend yourself or over commit,
(16:20):
especially if you're going the guesting route.
because you don't wanna blow a deadline for
a guest post or turn in a really shitty
piece or just ghost a podcast interview
because you ran out of time and steam.
You have the rest of your life to promote
your book, so don't
just overload yourself
all at once.
(16:42):
Now
we're up to launch week and launch day.
Launch week is your big moment.
It's a busy time, but take a few moments to
soak it in.
You've been working on this for how long?
Cheers to you.
Here's how to make the most
of launch day and launch week.
On launch day, you'll want to send out a
(17:02):
newsletter telling your audience that the
big day is here.
You'll need to update your website to that
effect as well,
and you'll want to post about it on social media.
And
don't forget all of the thank yous to
people who are posting about your book as well,
and the thank yous to the people who
supported you on this journey.
I want to circle back to the launch party.
(17:23):
Even if you don't want an in-person party,
consider a virtual launch party.
You can host it on Zoom so that you can see
everybody's faces,
or you could do just like a quick
Facebook or Instagram live. But
take a minute to say, hey, my book is out now.
Thank you for your support.
Here's where you can buy it if you haven't
already done so.
And you can read
(17:44):
a portion of your book,
or if you want to organize
like kick it up a notch and organize some
giveaways, you can do that too.
Depending on where and how
your book is being distributed, you might
be able to set up promotional pricing.
And depending on your budget, you can offer
some limited time promotions
like an autographed book
(18:05):
plate if somebody shows proof of purchase
during the launch week or the preorder
period or whatever period you want to
highlight.
Umm
You can autograph it and mail it to them,
and they can stick it in the copy of their book.
Or you can like design a key chain or some
other kind of swag.
And again, this depends on your budget to
(18:26):
buy the thing and mail it, but just a
couple of things to consider.
Or
if you don't have a whole lot of money in
your budget, but you've got time,
you could do like a special Zoom session
for the people who ordered your book during
the specified period.
It'd be kind of like a virtual release
party, but they have to
buy the book to attend,
(18:47):
and you could have it like be a Q&A session
about the book or
whatever.
And I got to say, a large part of launch week
is just going to be spent engaging.
You'll need to respond to comments and
emails and messages from your readers
and show your appreciation for their
support
(19:07):
and encourage them to spread the word about
your book.
This all circles back to literary
citizenship.
Your work isn't done once your book is
launched, though.
And from there, you can do as much or as
little as you'd like.
At bare minimum,
you're going to want to continue promoting
your book on your website, e-mail list, and
social media.
(19:29):
Ideas here include
sharing reviews, guest posts you've
written, podcasts you've been on,
and any media coverage that you receive,
and then continuing to pitch to additional
outlets.
Maybe you want to enter your book in some
contests or participate in literary
festivals or other author events.
(19:50):
Keep an eye out and jump at what strikes you.
Maybe you want to go on a book tour.
Our lovely Annemarie Wells wrote a
fantastic
three-part series on building your book
tour for the Resource Center.
I will, of course, link to that in the show notes.
And finally,
plan your next steps.
(20:13):
You don't necessarily have to dive
immediately into your next book, even though
everybody is totally gonna be asking you
what your next book is.
But
you also just might find yourself ready to
get back to work.
Give yourself some space to figure that out.
It's entirely up to you.
And also, take time to reflect on how this
(20:34):
launch went.
How did you feel? What did you like? What
would you like to do differently?
If you are a data person, look at the data.
The important thing is to keep moving
forward, whatever that looks like for you.
First of all, I wanna say that in this
episode, I covered the basics.
(20:56):
So this episode is full of solid
information for bootstrapping your book
launch, but there's a ton more.
So I want to share some additional
resources that might prove useful.
One book that I absolutely love
is called Before and After the Book Deal
by Courtney Maugham.
There is also Promote Your Book by Eleanor C.
(21:18):
Whitney.
And BookBub has a
lot
of really good and free
resources for writers to help them plan
their book launch.
Bootstrapping a book launch can be
challenging, but with careful planning and
creativity, you can achieve great results.
A big hurdle is setting up your author
(21:40):
platform and building literary citizenship.
And you should do these things as early as
possible and be consistent with them
throughout the launch process.
After that, you need to plan your launch,
including your goals, budget, and launch
day festivities.
Then start creating buzz through social
media, guest appearances, and in-person
(22:00):
events.
Most of launch day and launch week is going
to be spent on engagement
and celebration.
And then finally, it's important to keep
the momentum going and plan your next steps.
I hope the actionable tips in this episode
prove helpful.
But remember, they're a starting point,
(22:21):
a really solid starting point, but a
starting point,
And there are a ton of other activities
that you can add on to a book launch,
and you will find more information about
those in the resources that I've
highlighted in the show notes.
Again, I know a book launch can be
uncomfortable, but you can do it,
and congratulations on your forthcoming book.
(22:43):
If you liked this episode, please give us a
like and a follow and help us spread the
word about our podcast by texting the link
to a few creative friends.
can also find us at
thepoetrylab.com/podcast.
Again, I'm Lori Walker and you can find me
on Instagram
@LoriTheWriter
or peruse my website at
(23:04):
loriwriteswords.com.
I am also in the process of setting up a
sub stack and I will link to that on my
website when it's ready if you want to
subscribe.
That's all for now.
I'll catch you soon at The Poetry Lab.
(00:00):
Many writers are surprised to learn that a
book launch starts way before your book
actually comes out and extends
well past your pub date.
Whether you already have a collection or
chat book accepted for publication or are
planning on submitting one in the future,
this episode is for you.
Launching a book is an exciting milestone,
(00:20):
but it can also be overwhelming, especially
if you're managing it all on your own.
Bootstrapping your book launch means using
your resources creatively and effectively
to maximize your reach and impact.
Welcome to the Poetry Lab Podcast.
(00:42):
The Poetry Lab started 11 years ago to help
dedicated, self-taught, and formally
trained writers find a place in their
community to write,
read,
learn,
and collaborate.
We help writers tap into their craft with
radical self-compassion,
unlike anything you've ever seen in a
creative writing classroom before.
(01:04):
If you're a creative person trying to
establish a writing practice in the real world,
this podcast is designed to help you carve
out the time,
the courage,
and the inspiration to keep writing your
new shit.
Are you ready, poet?
Let's get into it.
(01:29):
Welcome, dear listeners, to another episode
of the Poetry Lab Podcast.
I'm Lori Walker, and today we are
bootstrapping your book launch because I'd
bet you dollars to donuts
your publisher ain't going to provide you
with a lot of support.
But that's OK.
You can do this.
Well, there's a lot that goes into a book
launch.
It's kind of a choose your own adventure deal,
(01:51):
allowing you to pick and choose what works
with your time,
bandwidth, and resources.
In this episode, I'm going to cover some of
the things
that you totally need to do
and offer some suggestions on the extras,
the optional things that you can add on.
I'm also going to share some additional
resources at the end.
(02:12):
which will be noted in the show notes
because like I said, there's a lot that
goes into a book launch.
Before I get started,
take a second to grab a pen and paper or
open the notes app on your phone
because you're going to want to make a
to-do list.
I'm going to start this episode off with
what I'm calling the
(02:33):
before before stuff,
the stuff that you need to do
before you
have a book coming out before you
submit a book, before you
have it
actually publish.
And
if you haven't done these things already,
you don't need to kick yourself
about it.
You can just go ahead and get them done.
Like just get started on it.
(02:53):
It's okay. But
if you have the time, if you have the
ability to do these things,
get them done as soon as possible, because
it'll make your life a lot easier when you
do get to the point where you're publishing
your book.
First part of that is
your platform.
You need an author website.
An author website is like your digital
calling card.
(03:15):
It is a central hub for your author
platform.
And we've got an episode of the Poetry Lab
podcast where I talk about some of the
pieces that are absolutely critical for
your website.
It is episode 26 and it's called,
Hello, It's Me, Your Author Website.
Another important component of your
platform is your e-mail list.
(03:36):
Your e-mail list allows you to reach out to
people who want to hear about your upcoming
publication and anything else you've got
going on.
And we've got an episode on that too.
Danielle hosted episode 14,
Getting Started with Your Mailing List,
where she goes over a lot of the basics of
e-mail lists.
And the third piece of the author platform
(03:58):
is social media.
This is where you grow your community,
where you reach out to new people.
Yes, we all know that social media can be a
toxic time suck,
but you can use it intentionally.
And
you guessed it, we've got an episode on
that too.
Episode six,
hosted by yours truly is called Creating
(04:20):
Community Through Social Media.
And
oh my God, please don't judge me too
harshly on that episode.
It was the first solo show that I had
ever recorded and I was so nervous.
But on the other hand, I think that it does
show a nice progression in my style of
hosting solo episodes.
All these episodes are going to be linked
in the show notes so that you can easily
(04:41):
navigate to them after listening to this
episode.
Another piece of the before before stuff is
building literary citizenship.
And I was looking back over the script
for the social media episode and was really
surprised to discover
that I didn't beat over listener's head
the concept of building literary
citizenship, because I think it is so
(05:04):
important.
What is it? Well, it's
recognizing that you are not an artist in a
vacuum, that you are part of a larger
literary landscape
of a bunch of other artists living and dead.
And it's engaging with the literary world
in a supportive and collaborative way. And
you can do that in a variety of ways.
(05:25):
If you read a book that you are loving,
Post about it on social media and tag the
author.
Get to know other authors, especially those
who are at about the same point in their
creative career as you.
Talk about their wins.
Introduce them to your audience.
See about collaborating on something
together, like a workshop or an author chat.
(05:47):
Literary citizenship is also
liking and commenting on other authors'
social media posts.
And honestly, you're probably already doing
this to a certain extent, so don't freak out.
But
I mention it because you wanna start being
more intentional about it and kick it up a notch.
And
when I say kick it up a notch, I mean, don't
(06:08):
do this in a transactional or using people way,
because people can tell when you're doing
it for selfish reasons.
And I totally hate these buzzwords because
I think that they are so overused that they
are practically meaningless.
But
what I mean is
be authentic when you post an excited review
(06:30):
and seek to foster a genuine connection
with other artists.
They might not follow you back or reach out
to you,
but
honestly, it's all part of a web and you
never know how things are going to shake
out in the future.
And I think it just creates good energy
around
yourself and your writing and sends it out
(06:51):
into the world, and I think the world needs
that good energy.
Building literary citizenship takes time.
It's not something that you can just throw
together in a couple of days.
It's something that you need to do
over and over again.
One other final note on the before before
step that relates to both
your author platform and literary
citizenship.
I can't stress enough that these are
(07:12):
extremely important elements to have in
place as soon as possible, like
before your book gets accepted.
Hell, before you even submit your
manuscript,
they, that amorphous entity,
Say that the best time to build your
platform is last year,
and the second best time to build it is today.
So
if you haven't already done it,
(07:32):
get to it.
Why?
Because once your book comes out,
you need to promote that puppy, and it'll
be easier if you already have these pieces
in place
instead of trying to build them at the same
time that you're promoting your book.
Plus, if you've been consistent with social
media and building your literary
citizenship,
(07:53):
and regularly sending newsletters,
you've likely already built a community
that will be happy to not only buy,
but also promote your book.
The final reason for having these pieces
done as early as possible,
sometimes they help you get that book deal
in the first place because they show
presses that people will buy your book and
(08:15):
that you have a place to promote it.
Now you need to plan your launch.
Having a plan will help you keep on track
when life things unexpectedly happen,
and it can help you see when and where you
might want to add some extras.
So here are some things to consider when
planning your launch.
(08:37):
Define your goals.
What do you want to achieve with your book
launch? Are you looking to sell a certain
number of copies, build your e-mail list,
or gain reviews?
Setting clear goals will help you stay
focused and measure your success.
And I mean, yeah, you want to sell copies
of your book, but
dig a little deeper than that.
Are you wanting to use your book as a
(08:59):
springboard
to talk about a particular topic that you
wrote about, like grief?
And you know, this is also probably tied to
your creative career goals.
Like what are you wanting to do with
the art that you create?
Next step, create a timeline.
Map out key activities and milestones
(09:20):
leading up to your book launch.
This should include tasks like finalizing
your manuscript and getting your book cover
designed.
Your publisher will likely set those
deadlines of when you need to have your
manuscript
completed
or handle the book design,
but you'll need to be aware of them and you
might have to take part
somehow in them.
(09:41):
And you'll want to add some of those key
dates, like when your book goes on
pre-order to your author website or social
media bios,
and tell the people on your newsletter list
so that you can start to build buzz, which
I'll be talking about momentarily.
Use the timeline to keep track of any
promotional efforts that you are doing,
such as podcasts, readings,
(10:02):
cover reveal posts that you wanna share on
social media,
just
anything that you wanna do so that you can
kind of see at,
an eagle's eye glance
what you've got coming up so that way
if you decide you want to do
a guest post, you can
figure out when it's going to be a good
time when you can actually write it.
(10:22):
Next thing you want to do is look at your
budget.
Even with a bootstrap approach, there will
be some costs involved.
Allocate your budget to essential areas
like cover design if that's something you
have to pay for,
editing if that's something you want
to
pay someone else to help you with,
and marketing.
Or if you also want to design and give away
(10:44):
some special pre-order goodies.
And something else to plan is what are you
doing on launch day?
Maybe you wanna do something low key and
solo or with those closest to you, and
that's perfect.
And maybe you wanna do something really big
and special, like having a book release
party, either in person or virtually.
(11:06):
If you're wanting a party of some sort,
that will take time and possibly some
money, especially if it's in person.
In one of my writing groups, we talked
about our dreams for getting our book
published,
and somebody said that they
really wanted a cake with their book cover on it.
And that's a totally valid dream to have,
(11:26):
something to really look forward to, but
that takes planning and that takes money.
After you have your platform built
and your book launch planned,
You can start doing some of the fun stuff.
Pitch yourself to be on podcasts or on
Instagram Lives
or to write guest posts. posts.
I know this stuff takes time and that
you're busy, but it is essential to
(11:48):
generate excitement about your book.
Pre-order numbers are extremely important
because they show ahead of time how much
interest there is in your book.
And a note of caution about posting on
social media.
Yes,
the pre-order and launch time are critical,
but don't only post about buy my book, buy
my book, buy my book, or e-mail your list
(12:08):
daily about buy my book.
Keep up the regular programming to a
certain extent.
And here are some strategies for building buzz.
Do a cover reveal.
I have seen some really creative ways of
doing this, where people will have the cover
like
covered by
a
solid color, like blue, whatever,
(12:30):
and then they'll remove pieces of it in
quadrants, like it's a puzzle in reverse,
where you're
removing the pieces.
Or you can keep it simple and just be like,
Hey, here's my book cover.
Related to this is a book trailer.
I've never done one for a poetry
collection, and I haven't seen one, but
that's not to say that they don't exist for
poetry collections.
(12:50):
And you know what? If they don't,
be a pioneer and create a book trailer
anyway.
I make book trailers for one of my friend's
romance novels,
and I do it all in Canva
with stock images, quotes pulled from her
promotional materials, and the book itself.
And then I have her contact information in
there at the end.
I've got covers for her other books.
(13:11):
For her first release,
I had some quotes
from advanced praise.
These last about 45 seconds to a minute,
but I think that they're a nice multimedia
element
to add to your promotional efforts.
If you have advanced reader copies, you can
send those to book bloggers, reviewers, and
influencers.
(13:32):
You can ask them to read your book and post
reviews on launch day.
This can help build credibility and
visibility.
And you need to do this well in advance
because these people have lives and other
content scheduled ahead of time
and will need to fit you in somewhere.
So you don't wanna be like,
Hey, can you read this by next week?
Another piece that you can add is guest
logging and interviews.
(13:53):
You'll want to do some research to find
compatible outlets and create a pitch
letter that outlines what you wanna talk
about or write about.
and then demonstrates how it will benefit
that audience.
And you need to start sending these out a
few months in advance too.
I worked with a different podcast
and we'd book out like six months in
advance.
(14:14):
Same thing for guest posts. So
don't just do this last minute.
Guesting does help you reach new and wider
audiences,
but it also takes time to write a guest
post and being interviewed on a podcast
isn't necessarily for everyone.
When your guest posts or podcast episodes
start coming out, you'll want to be sure to
promote those,
(14:35):
you know, keep building that literary
citizenship.
And you wanna make sure that you add those
dates into your launch calendar or
timeline.
Another idea is to reach out to local
bookstores or other venues about doing a
live reading and a book signing.
And I say other venues because sometimes
like bars or coffee shops will host live
(14:56):
events.
or you can plan a virtual reading with some
of your other literary besties.
Now, with all of these ideas about creating buzz,
think about what is in your wheelhouse,
what is of interest, what you are capable
of doing.
If you can and want to do all of these
things or have the money in your budget to
(15:18):
pay someone to make images or a book
trailer for you,
great.
If you don't wanna do something or know
that you're too busy to commit to writing
guest posts,
Don't.
And I think most people are going to fall
into one of two camps, and
I want to address both of them directly,
right quick.
To the people who are so anxiety-ridden
(15:38):
that the thought of promoting your book
fills you with dread,
I get it.
It's hard to put yourself out there,
but you're going to have to do it a little
bit to get those books to sell.
So challenge yourself to do a couple of
things on this list.
You are part of a loving community who
wants to celebrate with you.
(15:59):
So
even though it might be scary,
it won't be bad. And
then to the people who are all gung-ho,
ready to dive in and do all these things
plus 10 others,
I get that too.
This is really exciting.
But I really strongly encourage you to not
overextend yourself or over commit,
(16:20):
especially if you're going the guesting route.
because you don't wanna blow a deadline for
a guest post or turn in a really shitty
piece or just ghost a podcast interview
because you ran out of time and steam.
You have the rest of your life to promote
your book, so don't
just overload yourself
all at once.
(16:42):
Now
we're up to launch week and launch day.
Launch week is your big moment.
It's a busy time, but take a few moments to
soak it in.
You've been working on this for how long?
Cheers to you.
Here's how to make the most
of launch day and launch week.
On launch day, you'll want to send out a
(17:02):
newsletter telling your audience that the
big day is here.
You'll need to update your website to that
effect as well,
and you'll want to post about it on social media.
And
don't forget all of the thank yous to
people who are posting about your book as well,
and the thank yous to the people who
supported you on this journey.
I want to circle back to the launch party.
(17:23):
Even if you don't want an in-person party,
consider a virtual launch party.
You can host it on Zoom so that you can see
everybody's faces,
or you could do just like a quick
Facebook or Instagram live. But
take a minute to say, hey, my book is out now.
Thank you for your support.
Here's where you can buy it if you haven't
already done so.
And you can read
(17:44):
a portion of your book,
or if you want to organize
like kick it up a notch and organize some
giveaways, you can do that too.
Depending on where and how
your book is being distributed, you might
be able to set up promotional pricing.
And depending on your budget, you can offer
some limited time promotions
like an autographed book
(18:05):
plate if somebody shows proof of purchase
during the launch week or the preorder
period or whatever period you want to
highlight.
Umm
You can autograph it and mail it to them,
and they can stick it in the copy of their book.
Or you can like design a key chain or some
other kind of swag.
And again, this depends on your budget to
(18:26):
buy the thing and mail it, but just a
couple of things to consider.
Or
if you don't have a whole lot of money in
your budget, but you've got time,
you could do like a special Zoom session
for the people who ordered your book during
the specified period.
It'd be kind of like a virtual release
party, but they have to
buy the book to attend,
(18:47):
and you could have it like be a Q&A session
about the book or
whatever.
And I got to say, a large part of launch week
is just going to be spent engaging.
You'll need to respond to comments and
emails and messages from your readers
and show your appreciation for their
support
(19:07):
and encourage them to spread the word about
your book.
This all circles back to literary
citizenship.
Your work isn't done once your book is
launched, though.
And from there, you can do as much or as
little as you'd like.
At bare minimum,
you're going to want to continue promoting
your book on your website, e-mail list, and
social media.
(19:29):
Ideas here include
sharing reviews, guest posts you've
written, podcasts you've been on,
and any media coverage that you receive,
and then continuing to pitch to additional
outlets.
Maybe you want to enter your book in some
contests or participate in literary
festivals or other author events.
(19:50):
Keep an eye out and jump at what strikes you.
Maybe you want to go on a book tour.
Our lovely Annemarie Wells wrote a
fantastic
three-part series on building your book
tour for the Resource Center.
I will, of course, link to that in the show notes.
And finally,
plan your next steps.
(20:13):
You don't necessarily have to dive
immediately into your next book, even though
everybody is totally gonna be asking you
what your next book is.
But
you also just might find yourself ready to
get back to work.
Give yourself some space to figure that out.
It's entirely up to you.
And also, take time to reflect on how this
(20:34):
launch went.
How did you feel? What did you like? What
would you like to do differently?
If you are a data person, look at the data.
The important thing is to keep moving
forward, whatever that looks like for you.
First of all, I wanna say that in this
episode, I covered the basics.
(20:56):
So this episode is full of solid
information for bootstrapping your book
launch, but there's a ton more.
So I want to share some additional
resources that might prove useful.
One book that I absolutely love
is called Before and After the Book Deal
by Courtney Maugham.
There is also Promote Your Book by Eleanor C.
(21:18):
Whitney.
And BookBub has a
lot
of really good and free
resources for writers to help them plan
their book launch.
Bootstrapping a book launch can be
challenging, but with careful planning and
creativity, you can achieve great results.
A big hurdle is setting up your author
(21:40):
platform and building literary citizenship.
And you should do these things as early as
possible and be consistent with them
throughout the launch process.
After that, you need to plan your launch,
including your goals, budget, and launch
day festivities.
Then start creating buzz through social
media, guest appearances, and in-person
(22:00):
events.
Most of launch day and launch week is going
to be spent on engagement
and celebration.
And then finally, it's important to keep
the momentum going and plan your next steps.
I hope the actionable tips in this episode
prove helpful.
But remember, they're a starting point,
(22:21):
a really solid starting point, but a
starting point,
And there are a ton of other activities
that you can add on to a book launch,
and you will find more information about
those in the resources that I've
highlighted in the show notes.
Again, I know a book launch can be
uncomfortable, but you can do it,
and congratulations on your forthcoming book.
(22:43):
If you liked this episode, please give us a
like and a follow and help us spread the
word about our podcast by texting the link
to a few creative friends.
can also find us at
thepoetrylab.com/podcast.
Again, I'm Lori Walker and you can find me
on Instagram
@LoriTheWriter
or peruse my website at
(23:04):
loriwriteswords.com.
I am also in the process of setting up a
sub stack and I will link to that on my
website when it's ready if you want to
subscribe.
That's all for now.
I'll catch you soon at The Poetry Lab.
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