Happy Friday, lovelies! So it’s been a while. Not terribly long, but for a while there I was posting every week. I had releases coming so it was easier to post more often. Now I don’t have anything up for preorder (yet!) so it does make it a little more difficult to find things to chat about. I could pick a book and talk about it more in depth (and it’s something I might do at times) but I thought I’d do something a little different.
A few months ago my husband’s old co-worker asked if I’d chat with her sister because she’s working on her first book. So freaking exciting! Of course, I said yes because I’m all about helping others. I wish I would’ve had someone guiding me along when I first started. I made a LOT of mistakes. I still make mistakes. lol That is literally how you learn. By making mistakes. That doesn’t mean it feels good when it happens, but it’s a part of life. So anyhoos, if she has a question or something, I’m here for her. One thing I did send her was my Checklist to Release. For someone just starting out (maybe that’s you too!) it can be overwhelming to look at. Like, super overwhelming. lol Even when I print a new one for an upcoming release I get overwhelmed. It’s a lot to do! But it sooooooo helpful to have on hand. To be able to make that little check mark ✔️ and feel like you actually accomplished something, or that you didn’t forget to do something.
I think it’s great when authors help each other out. Some struggle with that. They think it’s a competition and it’s not. There will never be a supply shortage of books, and there will always be someone out there writing and publishing a book. There’s no reason why you can’t be that person right along side someone else. But that’s another whole different topic. lol
A while back, and I mean a while back, like years ago, I wrote a blog post about how to do a Facebook Takeover. When I first came onto the author scene, it was the thing to do. I mean, you can still do them, but I don’t think they’re as popular as they used to be. At least, I don’t do them as often, so maybe I’m wrong. They take a lot of time and energy, and these days I have to manage where I put my time and energy. I think they’re fun to do though on occasion. But when I had to do my first one, I was clueless. Like, absolutely clueless. So I did what I always do when I don’t know how to do something. I google it! lol And nothing came up. There was no help out there. So I wrote a post about it because I didn’t want someone else to feel lost when it came to doing a takeover. I haven’t updated the post in a few years, but what I have down hasn’t changed really. If you were curious how to do one, go check it out! You’re welcome.
So that brings me to this post. I thought, since I wasn’t sure what I should post having no new release coming up (or at least no preorder up), that I would start doing some helpful author tips blog posts. Of course, I’m not saying I have all the answers or that mine are even the correct way to do things. It is MY way that I do things, but it can be a starting guide for you and you can tweak it to fit YOUR needs.
Here is my Checklist to Release. Keep in mind that this is geared toward publishing Wide, not just on Amazon. So if you don’t know what something is or what something means, ask me! I’ll totally help you out. I thought I’d break down the list into several posts over the next few weeks to help you out. It’s a lot of information so it’s too much to put into one post. (Oh, side note: Something I learned from my good author friend Jody Kaye, if you hit File, “make a copy” in the Google Doc, you’ll be able to have your own copy of the Doc and be able to edit it.)
The first items on the list…
✔️ Pick a release date.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the first thing you do. It just happens to be the first thing on my list. Which is usually one of the first things that I do. It does depend on how far I’m already into my story. Have I just started it? Am I halfway done? Did I just finish? I gauge my time based on where I’m at in writing, when my editor can get to it (yeah, that’s on the list later to contact your editor), and what kind of personal stuff I have going on in my life as well. I don’t want to set a preorder date and have to change it. I’ve never done it and I refuse to do that. Once I set a date, I set it. That doesn’t mean you can’t change it. Amazon, I believe, allows you to change it once. Not sure about the other retailers, because again, I’ve never changed my date once it’s set. You can even pick the release date without a preorder. I know some people live release. I don’t. I always set a preorder up so I can’t give you advice on releasing without one.
✔️ Make a cover.
So this one can be tweaked if you need to. You can change it to “find a cover designer.” “Book date with cover designer.” Something along those lines. I don’t do that because I do make all my own covers. It’s something I’ve done from the beginning and I have a lot of fun doing it. It’s a challenge, but one I enjoy. I didn’t have any background in graphic design, but like everything else with publishing, I’ve taught myself how to do it.
✔️ Make paperback cover.
Now I have this listed next, but I don’t actually make this until my story is fully written, it’s been edited by my editor, and it is all ready to be released. Basically, the final file. Why do I do that? Simple. You need the specific number of pages for the cover itself. This is whether you are making the cover yourself (like me) or if you’re having a cover designer do it. They will need this information. That was my bad not telling my friend I mentioned in the beginning. She ran into this problem with her designer, but I reassured her that it is normal that they need this information. Amazon does provide a nice template for you once you know the page count. You can find it HERE. I upload my paperbacks to Amazon without expanded distribution, meaning I just want them to sell my paperback. I also upload to Draft 2 Digital for the expanded distribution part as well. Meaning, they’re going to send it to retailers like Barnes & Noble. Their templates will be slightly different, but not by much. I usually tweak my cover for them.
So there you have it. A break down of the first three items, and a helpful list to help prepare you to release a book. Next week, I’ll go through the next three items on the list. If you have questions before that happens, pop it in the comments, or email me at Amanda.siegrist@yahoo.com. I don’t mind helping you out. If I have the answer, that is. I don’t pretend know everything!
Have a great weekend!
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