The research is done. The thinking is done. The writing is done. And hurray! The manuscript has been accepted for publication. Now what?
I thought I’d make a list for all of us of everything that will need to be done between now and September, the time when my next novel, Out of the Ruins, will be published. Don’t think this is in any sort of chronological order, though. This is off the top of my head, and includes things I’ve already started doing, over five months in advance!
1. Think about the cover. Ward Wood makes fantastic covers, but they always ask for author input, and I always like to give it. Besides being set in Cambodia, this new book has several themes which need to be considered when deciding on a cover. Plus, of course, the cover has to be the thing which gets people to pick the book up off the shelf, even if they know nothing about it. We’ve already started playing around with various possibilities, and already they look amazing. I’ll show the final product to you as soon as I can.
2. Write a short blurb about the book. This might appear on the cover. This will appear in all sorts of pr pieces. This is hard to do!
3. Write a long blurb about the book. This is even harder and is likely to form the basis of every article and interview I do.
4. Make a list of book stores to approach. Other than the obvious big chains, independent bookstores are an important element of the marketing campaign. We’ll be hoping these stores will stock the book, and perhaps allow me to come and give a reading/ book signing. So, if you have a favourite indie shop anywhere in Britain (to begin with) do let me know.
5. Make a list of writer sites and blogs to approach. So much of marketing takes place on-line these days. This is where I’ll go for interviews, reviews, articles, blog tours (! – again, if you think you’d like me to appear on your blog, just say the word).
6. Make a list of print and on-line reviewers to approach. When the time comes, we’ll send ARC’s (Advanced Reading Copies) to reviewers. For me, it’s better to make a list of these people/places as I go along, rather than try to think of every place at the last minute. Of course, my publisher has their own list, but personalised lists are important, too.
7. Organise launch venue(s). I love this part. I’m lucky to now have a long list of people in and around London who would want to come to a launch. The launch for A Clash of Innocents had almost 100 people there! So in the past I have had one big party in some interesting venue, and then another smaller event at a bookshop. The Tangled Roots launch was in the library of London’s Science Museum. The main launch of A Clash of Innocents was held at Asia House. Where will it be this time?
8. Get my mailing list in order. Make sure it’s up to date and categorised into locations so I can notify everyone both about the publication in general and about events happening local to them.
9. Start making a list of people and places around the world to contact about possible speaking events. Because of the setting of the book and the work I now do in Cambodia, I have contacts throughout SE Asia which I’ve developed since the last book was published. It will soon be time to contact each of them to see if they can interview or host me again.
10. Oops… how can I forget? Final edits!! The most important work of all and something which my editor will initiate and whip my back over. This part is scary, especially since it’s been several months now since I’ve taken a long hard look at the manuscript. But once I get going, I know I do love this part of the process.
So you see, although the most important things on the to-do llst are about the manuscript itself, most of the items have to do with marketing. The time will soon come when I put my writer’s floppy velvet beret into my back pocket (do I really have one of those?), and put the marketer’s black fedora firmly on my head. I know that fedora will be stuck there shielding my eyes for the better part of a year (okay, enough of this crazy metaphor), so it’s good to start getting myself organised now. I know that there are lots of things I’ve left off the list. This is just the beginning. But as some wise writer or other has said, writing the damn thing is the easy part. Now the work really starts.
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