How to Prepare for a Successful Book Launch:
Sally Bosco
Promoting your book is now a whole new game that’s more about visiting the Internet than your
local bookstore. It’s more about building relationships and making your book discoverable than
it is about the hard sell. Be visible and provide value to your readers.
Questions to consider:
 What is your value?
 Who needs your value the most?
 Where do those who need your value congregate in large numbers?
 How can you create a consistent experience for your readers/audience?
Six months prior to publication:
 Social media basics:
o Web page/Blog
o Facebook account
o Twitter account
o Goodreads account and author page
o Amazon author page
 Author platform:
o Author identity: What image do you want to convey as an author?
o Come up with a cohesive look for web page, blog and collateral material. Invent a
logline for yourself, establish a web presence.
 Author promo basics:
o Write blurbs for your book: 140 characters, 400 characters, 300-400 words
o Come up with a logline for your book.
o Write your bio: mini (140 characters), short (50-75 words), medium (150-200 words),
and long/formal (600+ words)
o Decide on an author headshot.
o Write a sample author interview.
 Organization:
o Create two spreadsheets:
o One for potential sites that will review your book, and post author interviews and/or
blog posts
o One to keep a record of all of your promo activity. (You’ll be happy you did this.)
o Keep a set of organized folders on your laptop: e.g. Advertising, Bios, Blog Posts,
Book Reviews, Conferences, Artwork, Interviews, Press Kit, Teacher Kit/Readers’
Guide. (Figure out what works for you.)
 Learn from successful authors:
o Find books that are similar to yours and reverse-engineer them.
o Perform a Google search on them.
o Who reviewed the books?
o Who wrote articles about the books?
o What blogs did the author post to?
o Note those places on your ‘Reviews’ spreadsheet.
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o Ask those authors who wrote books similar to yours for interviews for your blog.
o Find articles that have lists of books pertaining to your subject. (After publication,
you can write to the article’s author and ask if that person would be interested in
reading your book.)
Find your target audience:
o Find your target audience and a secondary audience. (Goodreads book groups)
o What existing audience do you have? (FB, twitter or blog followers) Do they overlap
with your target audience?
o Draft the approach you’ll take to communicate with this audience.
o Begin interacting with the audience through posting to discussion boards,
commenting on blog posts, and writing articles and blog posts.
o The idea is to give readers something that is of value. This all works toward making
your book discoverable.
Prepare blog posts:
o While you’re writing your book, write drafts of relevant blog posts and articles that
would interest your target audience.
o Keep a running list of possible blog topics. e.g. “Five things I learned from writing
Cevin’s Deadly Sin.”
Blog tours list:
o Compile a list of sites that are friendly for blog tours for your specific genre.
 Friends’ blogs.
 Niche sites that are relevant to your book.
o Comment on those blogs. Make yourself known before you ask to guest blog.
o Create a blog tour calendar that coincides with your release date.
Research possible paid advertising:
o Book Bub https://www.bookbub.com
o Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/
Book reviews:
o KEEP A SPREADSHEET!
o Compile a list of reviewers and book bloggers who fit your subject matter.
 Seek niche reviewers (such as Romantic Times, Mystery Ink, or Locus
Magazine.)
o Note which reviewers also feature author interviews.
o Compile a list of trade publications written for those with an interest in your niche.
o Compile a list of reviewers who have reviewed your books in the past.
o Compile a list of places that do pre-publication reviews. These include the library
journals that can get your books distributed in libraries.
 Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Bookpage, New York
Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, Los Angeles Times
Magazine, Romantic Times, Local newspapers
o Create a sample book review query. Include pertinent facts for your book. *
Press/media kit (all virtual/electronic): *
o Decide upon a format. (MS Word or Pages)
o Compile the relevant info for your press kit.
 1st page - Press release about you and your book. Focus on what makes your
book unique. Include book details: (title, genre, author, publisher, date of
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publication, retail price, ISBN, # of pages, purchase links, contact info.) Leave
a space for your cover image.
 2nd page - More info about your book (theme, summary, why this book is
relevant, core issues)
 3rd page - Your bio, headshot and list of other books. Include awards,
distinctions, links to relevant blog posts and favorable reviews.
 4th page - Interview questions and answers
 Every page should have your name, email and URL
o Create a sell sheet for your book. *
o Compile a list of where to send your press release: local newspapers, relevant
magazines, radio and television stations, book stores and alumni newsletters.
o What magazines could review or write about your book, or to which you could you
send articles?
o Visit Radio-locator.com for a simple means of contacting radio stations.
o Check out Kidon Media Link for a list of newspapers and TV outlets.
o Extend your reach and to National venues: NPR, the Today Show, NPR (NPR contact
sheet, NPR guidelines) etc. You never know.
Speaking engagements:
o Compile a list of places where you might speak: schools (if relevant), writers’
associations, book discussion groups, writers’ conferences, libraries, local television
shows.
o Come up with subject matter ideas for your talk.
o Put together at least one talk you can give to local organizations, schools, bookstores
or libraries.
Solicit cover blurbs (if you know people-optional.)
Social Media: Put together sample tweets and Facebook posts for your book.
Create a list of keywords for your book. Reference trending topics and see if you can relate
them to your book. http://www.google.com/trends/
Create a teacher kit and/or reader’s guide for your book.
Three months prior to publication:
 For children’s and MG and YA novels: find out preliminary info about doing school visits.
Media specialists (librarians) are a great resource.
 For adult novels: Make lists of book clubs in your area and draft a letter/email to them asking
them if they’d like to use your book for discussion. Offer a live or Skype visit.
 Put out feelers for and local groups, bookstores or libraries that might be receptive to a visit
and or book signing.
 Line up pre-publication book reviews.
 Write more blog posts.
 Line up a blog tour schedule.
 Create and order promo items: postcards, business cards, posters. (Make sure to list ISBN #s
for ebook and physical book, plus your contact info.) Create clever postcard copy.
 Arrange for a book launch party.
One month prior to publication:
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 Social Media: Update all of your social media to reflect your new book.
 Make sure that your blog feeds into Goodreads.
 Update your webpage, blog, Goodreads, Amazon author page, Linked In personal page and
SHU alumni page.
o Write a teaser saying that your book will be available for purchase on X date.
o Get your friends to do a cover reveal.
o Update your own blog with synopsis, sample chapters, insider info.
 If you’re up to it explore web page optimization for your web page. If not, make sure your
keywords are all in place.
Post-publication activities:
 Update your press kit and post it on your blog. (Embed press kit using Scribd.)
 Revise your biography, webpage, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads with live links and
current book info.
 Finalize your book “sell sheet.”
 If you were able to get interviews from authors with books that are similar to yours, post
them to your blog.
 Make sure that your book has the Amazon “Look Inside the Book” feature.
 List your book on Goodreads new releases.
 Send finished print books to:
o Romantic Times, USA Today, Washington Post, American Book Review, Chicago
Tribune Books, Heartland Reviews, Horn Book
 For children’s, MG and YA novels: contact local schools for school visits.
 For adult novels: ask local book clubs if they’d like to use your book for discussion. Offer a
live or Skype visit.
 Send your press release to: local newspapers, relevant magazines, radio and television
stations, book stores and alumni newsletters. Seton Hill Alumni https://alumni.setonhill.edu/
 Send press releases to free Internet PR sites. Here’s a link to 50 free sites:
http://www.avangate.com/avangate-resources/article/press-release-distribution.htm
 Request online interviews and live chats with sites related to your book.
 Continue to submit your book for reviews to both traditional and online reviewers.
 Speak at local writers' conferences, writers' groups, meetings and book signings.
 Purchase ads in publications relevant to your book. (Do research and get the biggest bang for
your buck.)
 Purchase banner ads on websites related to your book.
 Form an alliance with a charitable institution that is related to your book.
 Send out your own newsletter.
 Amazon: bestseller lists, rankings, also-boughts, email campaigns, KDP Select, KOLLS
(Kindle Owners Lending Library)
 Attend conferences:
o In Your Write Mind conference at Seton Hill University, RWA National, Romantic
Times, Book Expo America, St. Pete Times Festival of Reading, World Horror
Convention, Rainbow Con
 Your web page:
o Consider making your first page your blog in order to keep your content fresh.
o Have a web page contest.
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Post writing articles.
Have a downloadable press kit.
Exchange links with other sites.
Post your appearance schedule.
Advertise workshops I can present.
Re-post articles that would be of interest to your readers and use keywords to attract
readers.
Submit your book for awards
Indirect promo activities:
o Write columns for writing, or other sites related to your subject matter.
o Write articles for writers’ magazines.
o Write book reviews.
o Join various writing and genre lists.
Consider various retail outlets for your book:
o Bookstores specializing in selling specific genres (for example, find a list of all stores
in the U.S. selling mystery titles at MysteryNet.com),
o Independent bookstores (such as local shops in your area or Powell's Books),
o Airport stores (such as Hudson News Co.)
o Warehouse clubs (Costco or BJs through Anderson Merchandisers)
o Hospital gift shops (through Loris)
o Pharmacies (through Choice Books)
o Museum gift shops may have interest in fiction related to their themes; consider
venues like the Science Fiction Museum or the Spy Museum.
Consider international marketing. (Search ‘foreign book rights.’)
o If you have an agent, ask if their agency has a foreign rights department.
o Sell foreign rights: International Literary Marketplace
o Advertise your ebook internationally: Ebook Bargains UK (covers 15 countries)
o Ebooks.com: 60% market share in Australia.
o Overdrive supplies books to China.
o You can upload directly to Pothi in India.
o Upload directly to: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.es,
Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.br, Amazon.cn and Amazon.ca.
o The Alliance of Independent Authors has a translation rights service.
o Having a free book is a good way to be discovered in overseas stores.
Think outside the box:
o There are tons of creative ways to market your book.
o “Think Different” about how you’d like to accomplish that.
o Consider how much you’re willing to do, and make your plans around that.
o Do you have any marketing tips you’d like to share?
Thank you! Sally Bosco
Author of Cevin’s Deadly Sin
Who knew that a little pair of red lace panties could cause him so much trouble…
http://sallybosco.com
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This document is available on SallyBosco.com. Click on the Classes tab.