launching a book – Read First Chapter.com

Tag: launching a book

Advanced Reader Campaign – The Recipe

THE RECIPE FOR AN ARC CAMPAIGN?

Yes, the recipe.  I just finished planning a Private Advanced Reader Campaign and although it's not hard, it does require several steps and knowing what order you need to do each step is important.  If you do them in the proper order, it will be an easy process.

I've made this list for myself and decided to share it on this blog because knowing the order can remove a lot of the stress and having to go back and forth between the book, the forms, the website, etc.

INGREDIENTS - AN OVERVIEW:

You will need an eBook and a book cover.

For any Advanced Reader Campaign, I would suggest you add a disclaimer that it is an advanced copy, a watermark, and a link to fill out a questionnaire about what the reader thought about the book.

You will need to produce the eBook in a pdf and ePub format, which will require you to convert it from a Word file to an ePub.  The ePub may need to be cleaned up a bit in a free program called Sigil.  Then you will need to test the ePub with the KDP viewer.  This step may or may not be necessary.

You will need to create the questionnaire for the readers to fill out.  Now, if you don't have a website where you can create a form, you can use a google forms or you can ask the readers to send an email with feedback  about the book to your email.   I have found the forms get more interaction.

Also if you don't have a website, you will have to upload the ePub and PDF onto Google Drive and record the share link in order to include them in an email to send to your ARC readers.

I also need a form for readers to sign up to become an ARC reader, with an auto-responder that will send them the book.

And lastly, you will need graphics to post on your website or social media.

Now that I have given you an overview of everything that is needed in the whole campaign, I'll post below the order you need to create them in.



THE ARC CAMPAIGN RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

  1.  Finish your eBook and have it edited.  When the editor has your manuscript, you at least two weeks to prepare the ARC campaign, which is enough time.
  2. Create the eBook cover.  If you don't have your final cover, you can create a temporary cover for the ARC campaign, if necessary.
  3. Create a questionnaire form for your readers to fill out when they are done.  I find asking about 10 or 15 short questions, most with yes or no answers that it makes it easy for the readers to give me the specific feedback I'm looking for.  This should be done right after the cover because you will need to put the link to this questionnaire into the back of the book so the readers can click on it.
  4. Create a sign-up form to become an ARC Reader.  I use a form from my WordPress website using a plugin called Contact Form 7.  This allows me to get the names and emails of the ARC readers.  I keep a running list on my work diary so that I can then send them an email when the book is published asking for a review.
  5. Create a page on your website, or whatever social media platform you use,  that has a graphic of the final book cover, with a short summary of what the book is about.  Add the form to sign up to this page.  I also put a notice that I am looking for ARC readers on the homepage of my website.
  6. Make social media graphics (1000 px x 1000 px for most platforms and a 1000 px x 1500 px for Pinterest) so you have them when you launch the book.  If you have the time, skills or budget, create several graphics:  ARC Campaign Sign Up, Coming Soon, New Release by AUTHOR NAME, Release Date, and a seasonal graphic based on what season you are releasing in.
  7. The above steps can be done with the manuscript in the editor's hands.
  8. Once the editor returns the book, make the corrections and add a request to fill out the questionnaire and add the link to your form.
  9. Add a watermark that this is an early release.  This allows you to change the book or tweak the book based on feedback.
  10. Once the manuscript is finalized, save is as a docx and PDF.
  11. Then convert the book from a docx file to an ePub using a conversion tool.  I use Convertio.co which is $9.00 a month.  Check their website and see if you can cancel at any time and you can create your ePub once or twice (after your feedback if you change anything) and then cancel the membershipAnother strategy for conversion is to go to Fiverr.com and search convert docx to epub and make sure you select a budget because they default to showing you people who charge $25.00 to start.  I found someone that would have done it for $10.00.
  12. Once you have the epub file, upload it to KDP -- as a draft -- and check it using their previewer.  Check every single page!  If there are no errors and everything looks good, you will then be good to go.
  13. If you have some formatting issues, you may want to watch my video on using the style gallery for best ePub results (which I'm planning to do at this time).
  14. Once you have a PDF and ePub, you are ready to launch the ARC campaign.  You can use whatever service you use for your newsletter to create an auto-reponder form or you can answer each sign up by sending them an email with both documents attached, the epub and the PDF.
  15. The campaign is now set to go.  Post it to your newsletter, social media and on your website!


Book Launch – Links for Marketing Stacking – 2024

When I self-published my first novel, I finished it and uploaded it and waited.  That’s when I learned how important marketing the book is.  I also learned through the next several books how important it is to take advantage of each tiny phase of a book launch for marketing.  That’s what this blog post is about.

I have made a checklist for beginners so you can print it out and have it with you when it’s time to launch your first book, or a subsequent book.  I believe it will be very helpful to you.

THE VIDEO ABOUT THE BOOK LAUNCH CHECKLIST:

Aside from the checklist, I have made a strategy video where I go over the checklist and give you an overview of how the launch happens, what is involved and how to set yourself up for the best outcome.  I consider a good outcome to be a smooth and timely launch, and within a week to 10 days, you have at least four to ten nice reviews.  It sounds easy, but for new authors, it’s not — But it is possible.



NEWSLETTER PROMOTIONS:

The following websites are ones where you build a email list and your books will be featured on these websites.  Bookfunnel and Siteorigin both offer “author swaps” where you can swap your featured book with another author who has a sizable list.

I’m not a seasoned marketer and don’t even consider myself that good at it, and even I was able to build an email list of 5,076 emails within a two year period.  To me, this is amazing!

Bookfunnel.com
Siteoriginapp.com
Instafreebies.com

AMAZON MARKETING STRATEGIES:

Amazon ads is a very complicated program to learn.  I only touched on the ad strategy in this checklist video.  There will be more Amazon ad videos coming in the future.

Below I have left a list of book marketing websites that as a beginner I used.  Now that I have built a newsletter, have a website, and post regularly to social media. I rely mostly on purchased ads with FreeBooksy, BargainBooksy, FussyLibrarian and purchased Amazon Ads.  But you may find the following links helpful so I’ll leave them for you to try out.

ADDITIONAL MARKETING WEBSITES



Book Launch – Links for Marketing Stacking – 2023

When I self-published my first novel, I finished it and uploaded it and waited.  That's when I learned how important marketing the book is.  I also learned through the next several books how important it is to take advantage of each tiny phase of a book launch for marketing.  That's what this blog post is about.

I have made a checklist for beginners so you can print it out and have it with you when it's time to launch your first book, or a subsequent book.  I believe it will be very helpful to you.



THE VIDEO ABOUT THE BOOK LAUNCH CHECKLIST:

Aside from the checklist, I have made a strategy video where I go over the checklist and give you an overview of how the launch happens, what is involved and how to set yourself up for the best outcome.  I consider a good outcome to be a smooth and timely launch, and within a week to 10 days, you have at least four to ten nice reviews.  It sounds easy, but for new authors, it's not -- But it is possible.

NEWSLETTER PROMOTIONS:

The following websites are ones where you build a email list and your books will be featured on these websites.  Bookfunnel and Siteorigin both offer "author swaps" where you can swap your featured book with another author who has a sizable list.

I'm not a seasoned marketer and don't even consider myself that good at it, and even I was able to build an email list of 5,076 emails within a two year period.  To me, this is amazing!

Bookfunnel.com
Siteoriginapp.com
Instafreebies.com

AMAZON MARKETING STRATEGIES:

Amazon ads is a very complicated program to learn.  I only touched on the ad strategy in this checklist video.  There will be more Amazon ad videos coming in the future.

Below I have left a list of book marketing websites that as a beginner I used.  Now that I have built a newsletter, have a website, and post regularly to social media. I rely mostly on purchased ads with FreeBooksy, BargainBooksy, FussyLibrarian and purchased Amazon Ads.  But you may find the following links helpful so I'll leave them for you to try out.



ADDITIONAL MARKETING WEBSITES

DOWNLOAD 8-Page Checksheet

SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Book Launch – Early Market Research – Part 3

***    EARLY MARKET RESEARCH   ***

While your book is still being edited, you can do early market research.  Begin by going to Amazon.com and searching out your main category.  Record the names of the authors, the name of the books, and any series names.  These will come into play later on when I tell you about two YouTubers you should watch and subscribe to.

Below are two videos from these two YouTubers who really helped me the most when it came to marketing eBooks on KDP and also researching eBooks with marketing in mind.  You should watch these videos and comb their video library for other helpful advice.   The only additional thing I will mention is that I also scroll down the book pages on Amazon and notice what other categories my competition is listed in.  Write the category names down.  You will get many more categories this way as Amazon is adding new ones all the time!

PICKING THE BEST CATEGORIES FOR YOUR BOOK LAUNCH:

Below is the video from Self Publishing Titans.  He offers a free tool that I have used and it is great for picking the best categories for your eBooks.  The tool is free and it's a cinch to install.  He goes over the tool and what it can do in the video below.  I would also recommend that you subscribe to his YouTube channel as he has amazing insights and his videos are straight to the point.



I learned from Self Publishing Titans about doing my pre-launch research.  I found many more categories that I never knew existed.  By doing this early research, I was ready with my 7 keywords and 10 book categories that I would need when it came time to upload my eBook.  So have a look see at his video.

THE BEST LAUNCH STRATEGY VIDEO:

Below is a Best Book Launch Strategy video that I found amazingly helpful as a beginner.  He also has wonderful insights into how the algorithms work, etc.  Be sure to watch the video and subscribe to Dane's channel as he has a lot of great information.

This could take several days, but your eBook is with the editor anyway,  so you should have the time!

Book Launch – Writing Descriptions and Blurbs – Part 2

***    WRITE DESCRIPTIONS & BLURBS   ***

I start by writing a rather long (350 to 450 word) description.  This is good for Amazon and the paperback cover.  To be honest, I’m not that great at blurbs and descriptions, so I find someone on Fiverr and have them write a blurb and description.  I paid about $25.00 a piece for two blurbs.

From the larger description, I keep reducing the description down to one or two lines.  I do this because if you run ads on Amazon, you only have a couple of sentences.  Same with Bookbub and some other websites.  So it’s a good idea to do this when you have the time.  I get antsy when my book is being edited so this is a good way to spend my time!

I also begin work on 3 new possible stories for new novels to get my juices going.

***   CREATE A LAUNCH CALENDAR   ***

I don't pick a launch date until my book is back from the editor and ready to upload.  I prefer stress-free writing and launching, so I wait until I'm ready to go.   Once the book is done, I pick a date 2 months away.  This gives me a chance to get Advance Review Readers and some feedback from at least some people.

book-launch-calendar

You can create a separate Google calendar for this.  I use an Excel sheet, as shown above, and fill in the dates and what is going on at that time.  This allows me to keep adding and removing things.



Book Launch – From Proofreading to Editor – Part 1

***    FROM PROOFREADING TO EDITOR    ***

Book-Launch-Front-page

Go over your proofreading check list and make all the changes.  Read it on NaturalReader.com or use Microsoft Word to read it aloud to yourself.  Then hand it off to an Editor.   They will take a minimum of one month to do a line edit.

Once the Editor has the book, I usually rewrite the first chapter to see if I can improve upon it.  And often, I do the same for the last chapter.

***   BEGIN ON YOUR BOOKCOVERS   ***

If you do your own creative work, make at least one eBook cover.  The template for Amazon KDP is 1600 pixels wide x 2560 pixels tall.  Make the front cover using the template and a back cover using the same template.

If you do not do graphics, find a eBook cover maker on Fiverr or somewhere on YouTube.  Copy about 5 book covers from your genre to show to the eBook  creator.  Tell him/her that you want yours to “fit on the shelf with these”.

The Paperback cover will need to know the page count in order to get the proper template from KDP.  When you have a page number for the paperback, go to the KDP Paperback Calculator:  https://kdp.amazon.com/cover-calculator  Once you have your template, you can add the front eBook cover and the back eBook cover that you made and blend them.