Friday 14 May 2021

The Book Launch That Wasn't

On April 23, my book The Witness made its way out into the world. This was my eighth published novel, but the release of this book was completely different than those which came before. I’ve been a published author since 2015, when my first novel, The Spirit of Grace, was published by Black Opal Books. For my first book I was able to do a talk at my public library, sit for a five minute segment on my local news channel, and with the help of a couple of friends, have an actual party where I practiced my book talk in front of people who I knew wouldn’t laugh at me if I messed up. I practiced, rehearsed, and worked my tail off, so I could bring my first book child out into the world in a professional way.


As the years went by and future books released, I developed a readership and figured out what worked best for me. By the time House of Lies, the third Cat Carlisle made its way out into the world, I HAD A SYSTEM! Namely, I would flood my schedule with Facebook Live events, blog tours where I provided content, and a handful of author takeovers on various social media pages. Believe me when I tell you this schedule was a wonderful, exciting, flurry of bookish celebrations that left this writer totally and utterly enervated.

And then came Covid… No need to spend a lot of time belaboring the state of the world since March of 2020, when everything came to a screaming halt as countries far and wide dealt with the blow after devastating blow resulting from the global pandemic that still affects us today. Although my family and I were lucky enough to be able to hunker down at home, stress and exhaustion as we tried to navigate new waters have definitely taken their toll. I had notes in my calendar in February and March to reach out to social media influencers to book events for my release. I ignored them, and The Witness released with little fanfare. And you know what? I’m totally okay with that. People who read this book seem to like it, and – most importantly – I had the best time writing it! At the end of the day, as we writers worry over covers, marketing, reviews, and the dreaded Amazon algorithm, we must all remember why we signed on for this crazy making career: because we love to write and love to tell stories. That’s what is important. Everything else is gravy.

I have another book releasing in November. I’m not sure what I’ll do on launch day. And that’s okay with me.

Do you have a book coming out this year and if so what do you have planned? Drop a comment below and let me know how the pandemic has changed things for your writing life.

All the best,

Terry

14 comments:

  1. Great post Terry. Like you I figured out I enjoy the writing, but not the marketing. I'm an author not a marketeer, for good reasons! These days I tweet a bit, post on FB and otherwise let the book market itself. Seems to work well enough.

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    1. It’s empowering to know what works, and we are all so different! I think the best thing a writer can do for their career is keep writing!! Congratulations on your new release.

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    2. It’s empowering to know what works, and we are all so different! I think the best thing a writer can do for their career is keep writing!! Congratulations on your new release.

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    3. It’s empowering to know what works, and we are all so different! I think the best thing a writer can do for their career is keep writing!! Congratulations on your new release.

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  2. Yours is such a level-headed and sensible approach to the madness that is marketing, Terry. Covid is what it is and we all have to adjust and our attitude to it makes all the difference. I just love the cover of your new book and it is very eye-catching - may you sell shedloads. Oh yes .. and I love the phrae 'everything else is gravy'!

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    1. Thanks, Linda. I am just so exhausted from everything!

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  3. I am not sure if blogs appearances help with sales. I think they help more with "being seen". What do they say? A buyer has to see something at least 15 times before the purchase. Multiple blog appearances in a short space of time might be of use, but it takes an awful lot of time to provide interesting and different content when you would rather be writing the next novel.

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  4. So true! And I have such a hard time coming up with interesting things to say.

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  5. So true! And I have such a hard time coming up with interesting things to say.

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  6. It is SO much a marathon rather than a sprint!! In reality, you need to prepare or plan about a YEARS worth of publicity before launch, and then keep the ball rolling.
    This gets unbelievably tiring! Also it get more and more diffcult to avoid mere repetition!

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    1. Well, said, John. And after all this time, I still cannot say what works with certainty. Everything changes so quickly these days.

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  7. Congratulations Terry! Publication of your eighth novel is definitely something to celebrate - however you choose to do it. I agree that social media engagement can be fun but is also exhausting and can feel like a chore. Yours sounds a workable approach.

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  8. Thanks, Rae. Well said. I am all over the workable approach!

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