Hi All. I wrote a whole post all about the upcoming release of my book, Can You See Me? and then I sorta lost focus… (the original post is still below…)
You see, I live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.
Over the last few weeks we’ve been ravaged by wildfires.
One hit particularly close to home.
We’re fine. We were never evacuated as we’re about 30 minutes from the town centre. The main highway was closed, I cancelled travel plans to stay close to home, and the smoke in the Valley is horrid.
But, we’re the lucky ones. Many were forced from their homes in the early morning hours with little more than the clothes on their back.
I’m speaking of course of the Bald Range wildfire that devastated the nearby town of Summerland.
Many friends are still out of their homes and have no idea what they’ll return to… or if there’s anything to actually return to at all.
It’s all about perspective.
Do you know what I mean?
It’s like you’re rolling along, minding your own business and WHAM you’re suddenly homeless, helpless and lost.
It can happen that fast. It’s crazy. And, it’s eye-opening.
It makes the idea of releasing a book seem silly and minor compared to what these people are facing.
That’s my brain at this point in time.
So, in reality I just wanna say… go buy my book but it feels inconsequential.
What I will do is share the ebook preorder link to my book and that of Angela Douglas, a friend and fellow author still out of her home. She too who was in the midst of getting ready to release her latest book, The Mentor. Both of our books are thrillers.
Thanks for letting me vent. I’ve left my original post that I wrote below… but meh… yeah. You know what I mean.
Talk soon. No pressure.
Launches Sept 1/26 Preorder the ebook: Click this link: Can You See Me?
Preorder Print Copy from Indigo.ca : Can You See Me?
Launches Sept 15/26 Preorder the ebook: Click this link: The Mentor
Preorder Print Copy from Indigo.ca : The Mentor
~~~~~~~~~
What Really Goes Into Releasing a Book?
You’d think releasing a book would go something like this:
Write book.
Publish book.
Celebrate. 🎉
Oh, how I wish it were that straightforward.
My new novel, Can You See Me? is releasing September 1, so I thought I’d take you behind the scenes to show you what actually happens when an indie author gets ready to send a new book out into the world.
Here Goes… Are you ready for the truth about the glamorous life of an indie author?
I want to say it’s all sunshine and roses, but I’ll tell you the procrastination and gut wrenching self doubt are probably the most difficult to talk myself through.
Technically, it seems pretty easy:
Write the book.
Listen to the gut intuition, grab hold of that inspiration and chew on it for several months (no joke) and then finally write that first draft.
This is actually the easy part. Who knew?
Really, the most difficult part of this stage is simply putting your butt in the chair to write, write, write.
Edit. Edit again. And then edit some more. At some point, you become convinced you’ve forgotten how words work, but then the fleshing out of characters begins to take hold and their personalities become stronger and suddenly they’re ‘real’… they’re what you imagined them to be.
A writer needs to take care at this stage because sometimes that perfectionist slips in and the rewrites turn into craziness that never stops…
🤦🏻♀️ I’ve been there… just one more look.
NO! it needs to be left to marinate. And while that is happening there are other things you must get ready.
Let some trusted readers actually read through the manuscript and offer feedback. Edit again.
Get a professional edit if you can: different stages: developmental (for overall plot/pacing), line (style, flow) and copy (grammar 🤢, mechanics).
Cover design. Colours, fonts, images, taglines, spine width… yes, spine width.
TBH I leave this to the professionals.
There are still a lot of decisions that the author needs to make, but I’m a writer, not a graphic designer… and I don’t like he look of AI covers so I’d much rather go to some one who knows what they’re doing.
My current cover was designed by Damonza. Let me know what you think of it. I’m curious.
Do a final edit Now that you’ve stepped away from your book for a month or more you can look at it with fresh eyes.
Read it out loud. You’ll be amazed at the mistakes or awkward sentences that you fall or stumble across. Make the necessary changes and move on.
Formatting. Ebook. Paperback. Different platforms. Different requirements.
Same with formatting… leave it to the pros!
Omg, it would take me a month to learn margins and placement –why would I want to do that?!
Not my cuppa … no ma’am. Let me do the writing.
Upload everywhere. The struggle is real. Believe me. You have to get techie and pray that you don’t hit the wrong button! Oi…. the stress. There’s Amazon, Indigo, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and other retailers through Draft2Digital, plus print distribution through IngramSpark. The only thing I don’t have at this point is Audio… I gotta work on that. I need audiobooks… I love audiobooks.
Check the proof. Then check it again.
I tell you, if you’ve ever received a self published book that is not formatted and proofed properly, it really shows.
That ends up as a reflection on the author. It’s messy and shows a lack of professionalism.
Don’t do that. Get help if you need it. Seriously… it’s worth it.
ARCs go out. An ARC is an “advance readers copy” given to readers before the book is officially released.
For this second book I used three ARC groups: My own people–these are people who applied directly to me from my newsletter or call out for ARC readers.
I also used Netgalley which allows ARCs to go out complete strangers… It’s an interesting, not to mention nerve wracking, experience.
And, BookSirens which is much like NetGalley.
Now, all of those ARC readers “should” technically be offering an honest review the first week of publication (except NetGalley where readers post at any time).
I tell ya, it’s really, really hard to let your baby go stand out there all by itself and let people tear away at it. Some readers are pretty harsh, while others are very kind.
Ahhh, the dichotomy of life.
Marketing begins.
Reels. Posts. Carousels. Newsletters. Giveaways. Interviews. Events. Reviews. And apparently I’m now also expected to understand algorithms and tech crap that I have no desire to learn or know. (go check out my promo reels on Insta tho… I’m having fun doing them.)
Then comes launch day. September 1. The day Can You See Me? officially belongs to readers.
It’s exciting, exhausting, occasionally ridiculous, and one of my favourite parts of being an indie author.
I feel done.
Like seriously D. O. N . E., but I’m not. I still have a few weeks to go before the actual release and then through the fall the markets and speaking engagements kick off.
I know it’ll all come together.
I just need a nap.
Chat later…
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