7 Tasks to Complete While You Wait for your Edits
You have finally contracted the perfect editing team for your manuscript, and now it is time to celebrate, right? Not quite, lol. There are plenty of ways you can make great use of your time while you wait on your editors to get the next draft back to you for your review. Let’s take a look!
Settle on a title.
Who doesn’t want a title that sounds great? We all do. But make sure you do your research first. You want to make sure that your title works best for what you have poured countless hours into writing. Of course, it must capture the attention of your target audience, but you also want it to be unique. You won’t do very well competing against books with the same title.
Write your book description.
If the book cover is your hook, then the book description is your line and sinker. Many authors hate this task, but it is a key part of the search algorithms on various platforms. You must make sure that you take your time and do this correctly.
If you are struggling with what to see, check out some of the top-selling books in your genre and take notes on how they constructed theirs. It worked for them, so there’s no reason it can’t work for you.
Hire a professional to create your cover.
Don’t try to do it yourself if this is not your strong suit. Leave it to the professionals. Create a budget for your cover art. You do not want to take any shortcuts!
Make sure that you ask for samples. You want the cover to represent your book well, but you also want it to be very appealing. Lastly, make sure that the colors and fonts you choose represent your book and genre well.
Start promoting.
There’s no such thing as starting too early when you are promoting your book. But there is such a thing as starting too late. Make sure that you come up with a plan to get the word out about your new book. Post about it on your blog and your social media platforms. You can do cover reveals and play “Guess That Title” to get people interested. Be creative.
Select the right keywords.
It is extremely important to select the right keywords and the right categories. The success of your book relies on these two things. Selecting the right two categories and the seven right keywords can give you access to millions of potential readers. However, if this is not taken seriously, your book may end up lost in a sea of published works.
Determine the cost.
Ask yourself this question: am I doing it for profit or pleasure? The answer to this question will help guide you in how you price your book. Make sure that you do your research before you determine what that number will be.
There are many things to consider, such as how much more a paperback should cost than an eBook or how often to give holiday discounts. Then you must also consider selling your first book for free for a limited time to promote your brand or even your next book. Each author has his or her own strategy when it comes to cost. Determine which methods will work best for you and work the plan.
Plan your launch day.
Listen! You only get one shot! So, plan this day carefully. Launch day is a very exciting time, but you want to make sure that you do it right. There is so much more to it than releasing your publication.
You will have to decide whether you are going to take pre-orders and if you will pay for advertising. You will need to line up your beta readers if you intend to have reviews available for potential buyers.
Have you ever thought about having a book signing or a launch party? No?? Well, it is definitely an option. Now that people are starting to find ways to enjoy life in the middle of the pandemic, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to poll some of your closest friends and family members to see how many would be willing to celebrate with you.
You wrote the book! And I’m ridiculously proud of you! But don’t forget that there is still much work to be done. After you take a moment to congratulate yourself, start planning the next steps. If you need a journal to help you keep things organized, consider purchasing one from The Writer’s Haven.
Adrienne Michelle Horn is the owner of I A.M. Editing, Ink. Although she has a full-time professional career in healthcare, she is also a South Florida-based editor, poet, author, entrepreneur, and mother of her beautiful daughter, Paris.
For more information about Adrienne and her company, follow I A.M. Editing, Ink on social media or visit https://linktr.ee/iamediting