#writerstip – Read First Chapter.com

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.

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 *

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.

Writers Tip – Keeping Track of Background Info

DON'T TRUST ONLY YOUR MEMORY:

Reading through the first draft of my first novel, I realized that I had repeated background information up to three times! I had no idea I was doing this until I was already done writing the draft. Although Scrivener, which is a software tool for authors, has lots of tips, tricks and gadgets that are designed to help authors in every stage of writing, there was no way to check background info that was designed into the software.

What I learned the hard way was that I cannot trust my memory on what information I have written into the story. After my 8th novel, I have now devised a strategy that helps me eliminate that problem and am passing it on.

I make up a separate document inside scrivener where I track this background and descriptive information. Or if you are old school, you can write a list in pen and paper keeping track of the information as you add it into the book.

HOW I KEEP TRACK OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Technique 1: Keep Track of Background and Descriptions As You Write:

The first one is to keep a separate document with a table containing 2 columns. The left column has a notation regarding the background information or character description. The right column, I put in what chapter I have that information in.

TABLE DOCUMENT EXAMPLE:

Background & Descriptions	Chapter Number
Physical description of Hero	Chapter 1
Description of job history	Chapter 4
Reference to past case (for series info)	Chapter 10

The only drawback to this technique is interrupting the creative process. I was stopping while writing to record the background info, etc. I did this for a while, but that's when I found Technique 2 which I describe below. That one worked better for me. You can pick which one you would like better.

Because I work with a plot outline, I write the entire story going from scene to scene to scene in Scrivener. I write using Day 1, Day 2, etc. instead of Chapters. This allows me to carefully watch my storyline and timeline together. Like I said above, I write the first draft and never look back. (You see how I like to repeat things!) I only re-read in order to "get my bearings" between writing sessions.

Technique 2: Begin Tracking Background after first Draft:

I stopped interrupting myself during the draft writing stage and paid no real mind to the background and descriptions. I added them as I was writing and kept moving. Then, after the draft is done, I shift into reading for context, to make sure the story is all there and all the dots connect.

This is the point where I begin tracking and checking on the background and descriptive info. This is the point where I made the table document and begin tracking the background and descriptions. If I have repeated something -- and I always do -- I remove it in one of the chapters.

This way, you can keep track of all of the background and other crucial info that you need to track. By putting it off until after the draft is finished, you prevent yourself from having to stop the creative writing process.

This is the technique I use now all the time. I wait until I've even set up with Chapters and I'm reading for context. That's where I start checking on the descriptions and background info and anything else I want to keep my eye out for. Any repetition comes out easily in this stage.

WRITING A SERIES BACKGROUND:

This same technique works with writing a series. I write each book as a stand-alone as well as being a numbered book in the series. This means I have to include background information as well as series information in each of the novels, without spoiling the surprise if they read the novels out of order. Some surprises can't be helped, but some can be hidden.

I make a list of all of the facts and background information the reader of Book 4 would need to read the stand-alone in context. I print out this list and as I begin to read through the novel for context (after the draft is done), that's when I check off and make sure all of the needed information has been included throughout the book.

*** EARLY MARKET RESEARCH ***