One of the pieces of advice authors are given is to release all the versions of their book at once, to maximize the promotional power given by a new release. I’m going to disagree.
As an independently published author, I’m responsible for all my promotional efforts. I place the ads, I write the copy for my email newsletter, I post on my social networks. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with something new to say, especially if you’ve included all your versions in your early communications.
Maybe in the old days, a publisher might send out a press release, and a publication would pick it up, and include information on all versions in a review or article.
Today, though, it’s nearly impossible to get mainstream media attention for a book, even one published by a major house. But by staging your releases, you have an opportunity to reach out to readers again with something new.
My latest golden retriever mystery, Food of the Dogs, will released in e-book format on August 12 from Amazon and all other major retailers. The print edition, though, is already out, as is the audiobook. Why?
I have a loyal cadre of fans who are willing to serve as “beta readers” for my books. I send them the file a month or more before publication, and they read carefully to identify any errors so I can fix them before the book goes out to readers. This is a tremendous service, and one I value very much. It seems like no matter how many beta readers I have, each one finds at least one unique error.
The betas get an acknowledgement in the book, and the chance to read a book by a favorite author before it releases to the general public. They also get the chance to help someone I hope they have begun to think of as a friend.
I ask one final favor of them. As soon as the print version releases, I ask them to hop over to Amazon and post a review or rating. Since they’ve already written to me, they can usually just copy and paste their first words—like “this is the best in the series yet!” or “I couldn’t stop reading.”
Amazon won’t allow anyone to post a review before a book is published. So by releasing the print book a few days early, my betas can get their reviews in before the e-book comes out. Then on publication day, when readers navigate to the sales page, there are already a few reviews there. I think that helps with convincing them to click the “buy now” button.
I like to get my books out as soon as possible. A book that sits on my computer after it’s finished isn’t getting any royalties. But that makes it difficult to get the audio version done within a few days of the print and e-book. I don’t want to give the narrator a book full of errors, because it’s a lot harder to fix problems in audio after release.
Instead of seeing this as a problem, I see an opportunity. As soon as the audiobook is ready, I have another opportunity to reach out to readers. It may be a reminder to them to buy the book, which might have slipped through the cracks. Or it’s an announcement to audiobook lovers that the book is there.
Either way, it’s another “touch” for my customers. Research has shown that the more connection an author makes to readers, the easier it is to develop fans and super fans. I don’t mean a constant barrage of “buy my book” emails but rather an insight into my production process.
That process has changed in the last year. When my hero propopsed to his fiancee, I knew that I'd want to write a book about plans for the wedding, then another about preparing for the ceremony, and then a third about the honeymoon.
So I'm passing that information on to readers, along with a link to buy the new one-- in this case, the honeymoon book.
"A honeymoon turns deadly when Steve and his golden retriever Rochester sniff out murder in picturesque Vermont." Pre-order Food of the Dogs. https://amzn.to/4cK5hF5