Many authors think they should make a plan to publish and promote their book ahead of time. Here are five reasons to avoid a rushed book promotion campaign.
ONE You may find errors in your book and have to rush the corrections
Classic dilemma. You’ve got your book file all ready to go, you have the reviews and promos locked in. Two days before they run, you realize you have whopping errors in your text. This is so common that we advise all authors never to book a review or promo until the book has been completely finalized and read by many people to check for errors.
It can be difficult for a busy promotion service (all the good ones have waiting lists) than to have an author want to swap out their book file for a ‘cleaner’ one after the job has started. Worse, it may be beyond their control to change the date for you to an exact one in the future, or worse still, they may only have a space weeks later and you may have to go with the uncorrected file. How embarrassing!
To avoid this, always make sure the file you send for review, or the book link you send for promotion, is absolutely correct and has everything in the right place by proofreading your book page in detail, such as book details, title, and the way you have priced your book according to the promotion service’s guidelines.
Similarly, never lock yourself in for a Kindle Countdown until you have had an impartial reader completely read your book in its final form. A solution? Offer beta copies for free to Goodreads fans, friends, and colleagues. Or you can try our Beta Services instead of going full throttle with the release.
TWO There could be supplier delays you have no control over
Sometimes, through no fault of their own, a cover artist, videographer, or printing service may get held up due to fire, flood, a family thing, or any other Act of God. In these cases there will be nothing you can do about it except wait for delivery or ask for a refund. Either way, your book’s not going to get released. To avoid this situation, get everything fully finished and in your hands before you book any final release dates or book signing stalls.
Other delays can arise from buying an ISBN from an agency such as Booker, who may take some days to register your book fully on their system. Remember that your book is not fully registered by simply acquiring the ISBN, and that you should wait around five days to make sure the book is processed.
You should also make sure you are submitted to booksinprint.com, and have sent off copies to the Library of Congress if you live in the US or distribute there and have produced a paperback (eBooks are exempt). See the Mandatory Deposit FAQs here.
THREE The world changes every day, suddenly
If a very famous person dies suddenly (think about when Diana or Elvis died, for example) nobody is buying books that day. Same goes for national disasters and tragedies. These events cannot be circumnavigated, and if your book is due to be promoted that morning, you may have to have a backup plan to move as much of your promotion as possible, or you may have to cancel your release for a while due to the content clashing with the event ( for examples, take a look here at how many promotions in the entertainment world were cancelled, edited, or postponed due to 9/11).
To be prepared, make sure you have a promotion plan that covers periods of flash promotion over a few weeks rather than one or two days. This will ensure you don’t waste all your budget if you are unlucky enough to hit something like this.
FOUR Reviewers will not be merciful
If your book is not fully edited, has lots of errors, or has been rushed in any way, people who bought your book for real money are not going to be happy to have read a shoddy version. This can result in negative reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and if really extreme, may kill your chances of sales in the future. Remember, if you do get a negative review, do not start arguing with the reviewer on Amazon. Instead, look at the critique and think how you could have improved on your book. You can always update the file later if this happens, but that won’t delete the reviews that mention the typos.
In this case, try to get as many new reviews as you can to cover up the old, negative ones. This will bring up your star rating, and gradually you will lose the criticisms on the top of the review scroll.
FIVE Nobody is waiting on your book release but you
You’re not Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer (yet). Until you are, having the good sense to realize nobody is hanging on the exact date of your book release may do your book good — and your heart! If you have to move the date to release the best book you can, do so. Take your time. That way, you are more likely to find author success! Relax, this stuff is meant to be fun!
Get an Editorial Review | Get Amazon Sales & Reviews | Get Edited | Publish Your Book | Enter the SPR Book Awards | Other Marketing Services
Leave A Comment