How to Prepare For Your Book Release

Releasing a new book is a lot like giving birth. Your life will never be the same. The demands on your time will leave you with little time for writing or sleeping. Like expectant parents preparing a nursery, there are several things you should do before the Big Event.

Create a Media Kit

A media kit is a tidy package that contains all the information bloggers or interviewers will need to promote your book. It should contain:

1.    Your photo. Label the jpeg with your name.

2.    Your book cover. Label it with the title of your book.

3.    A short blurb about your book. (Essentially, the back page blurb.)

4.    A short excerpt.

5.    Your bio. This should be about a paragraph. Bonus points if you write it in the same vein as your book. For example, I write Young Adult Paranormal, so my bio mentions one detail from my high school years, and the fact that I am a shaman and live with a dragon.

6.    Your social media links. (No, you don't have to be on everything!)

7.    Your buy links. These may not be available until the last minute. Ask ahead of time if your bloggers would prefer you to wait and send the media kit after you have your buy links. Some will want to set up their posts and just add the buy links at the last minute.

8.    A book trailer. You may want to save the trailer and release it if sales begin to drop.

Additional Materials

1.    Author interview Q & A.

If you can afford a professional blog tour (I’ve used “I am a Reader, Not a Writer”) then by all means book one. Not all bloggers will want to do a spotlight. Some will request an author interview and will either email you questions, or want you to provide the questions and answers. (5 are a good number.)

2.    A 5 or 10s list. Lots of bloggers request these. And if they don’t, you can use them on your blog. Your lists could be about writing or books in general, or relate to your book specifically. For example Your 5 Favorite Romance Books. Or 5 Fun Facts About Dragons.

3.    Pick quotes from your book that you can use on social media.

4.    Gather advance review quotes if possible.

Social Media

You need to have some presence on the web. An author website is a must. Beyond that, decide what types of social media you enjoy. Blog. Facebook. Twitter. Google+. Pinterest. Etc. Social media is necessary for book sales and an enormous time suck. Proceed accordingly. Whichever platforms you choose, google rafflecopter and learn how to do a giveaway.

After Your Book Release

Set up an author profile on Amazon by going to Author Central.

Create an author page on Goodreads. You may have to request the librarian include your new book.

Prepare what you can ahead of time. Ask questions on author loops.

Congratulations on birthing your book!

Ariella Moon is the author of the Teen Wytche Saga, a sweet contemporary Young Adult series. http://www.AriellaMoon.com

If I Stay - The Inside Scoop on the Movie

Day 4

Technically, Gayle Forman’s interview occurred on Day 5. Let’s just say I’m skipping ahead to the fun stuff.

If I Stay is Gayle Forman’s heartbreaking Young Adult novel about a seventeen-year-old girl whose life is changed when she and her family are in a car accident. Nearly everyone attending Forman’s interview had read the book. The room crackled with excitement when it was announced an unnamed special guest from the movie would be joining us.

The Inside Scoop on the Movie

Gayle Forman became the Executive producer on the film. The book had been out for seven years by the time filming began. By then, the readers had become like a focus group, Forman explained. She knew which scenes they liked; their favorite lines from the book. This was a huge help in adapting the book. (Shauna Cross wrote the screenplay.)

Actress Chloe Grace Moretz had been attached to the project from the start. Having her on board helped get the movie made. The search for the male lead, however, was more difficult. But the moment Forman saw Jamie Blackley’s (Snow White and the Huntsman) audition she knew they had found the right actor to play Adam. Chloe had been equally adamant about Blackley. The young stars became close during the filming. Liana Liberato, the surprise guest, confirmed that she and Chloe had sleepovers every Saturday. Forman found it rewarding when Chloe and Liana became BFFs.

Melissa Marr interviews Gayle Forman
at RT Booklovers Convention, New Orleans 2014

If I Stay - the movie - debuts in the USA on August 22, 2014.

Buy the book

http://www.amazon.com/If-I-Stay-Gayle-Forman/dp/014241543X

Veronica Roth at RT Booklovers Convention

In the back of her books, Veronica Roth includes a ton of information about her international bestselling books, Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. Here are a few gems you may not have already read:

1.     She has written every day since she was eleven years old.

2.     She has a cameo in Divergent. It took her five takes to remember to follow the director’s instructions.

3.     If she had lived in the world she created in the trilogy, she would have grown up Candor and left it for Abegnation. But she would have been a rebel and hidden her manuscript under her bed.

Fortunately, Melissa Marr, who interviewed Veronica Roth at RT, was forbidden to talk about Allegiant. Yay! No spoilers! I braved the chaos of the RT Bookfair to buy an autographed copy of Allegiant. Can’t wait to read it! If you haven't read it yet, here's the Amazon link.

http://www.amazon.com/Allegiant-Divergent-Series-Veronica-Roth/dp/006202406X

LGBT Fiction and Mardi Gras at RT Booklovers Convention

Day 3

If you’ve never been to a Romance Writers of America national conference or a Romantic Times (RT) Booklovers Convention you cannot conceive of the noise level of 1500-2500 people, mostly women, gathered in one spot. Hurricanes may be quieter. RT differs from RWA conferences in that RT has a party atmosphere (especially this year in New Orleans) and includes readers as well as writers. 

LGBTQ

This year RT included a LGBTQ track, shepherded by Sarah Frantz, Senior Editor at Riptide Publishing. My take-away from those workshops was the desire for So What? novels, where the protagonist happens to be LGBTQ, and so what? I loved Scott Tracey’s comment about his Witch Eyes book (a YALSA 2014 Popular Paperback). To paraphrase, “If a character is a witch who fights demons, being gay is the most normal thing about him.” Learn more about Scott at:

http://www.scott-tracey.com

Man/man books continue to be the most popular with LGBTQ publishers and readers. But as Sarah Frantz explained, female/female stories sell better to librarians and Hollywood.

 

Suzanne Brockmann, best known to me for her Troubleshooter Series featuring characters from Navy SEALS Team Sixteen, impressed me as a tireless, passionate, and groundbreaking advocate for LGBTQ characters. Her latest? Her family-friendly sweet boy-meets-boy movie, The Perfect Wedding. Amazon for The Perfect Wedding

Mardi Gras World Carnival

Props to Heather Graham and the nine publishing houses that sponsored this ambitious event. The logistics were daunting: transporting over a thousand people via buses, to an off-site event, then feed and entertain them, and return them to the New Orleans Marriott.

Sure the lines were endless. By night’s end I had stood in high heels for 3 hours straight, mostly in one line or another. But walking among the Mardi Gras floats was wondrous. The Mississippi River with its swift-moving barges and beautifully lit bridge was magical. Freezing, but magical.

Next up: Veronica Roth