- Update author photo, website and blog.
- Update Amazon author page individually, the dot com and the dot co dot uk.
- Update Goodreads author page.
- Get bookmarks, postcard and business cards printed with social media links.
- Set up Mailchimp. Prepare list of invitees to physical launch.
- Organise blog tour either yourself or through agent like blog tour services.
- Get ready physical books for advance reviewer copies (ARCs) in form of paperbacks and ebooks to deliver to bloggers.
- Organise talks or readings with bookshops and libraries.
- Choose up to 3 social media platforms only and build content. Do not spread thinly. eg, for me Twitter, Instagram and FaceBook. I do not touch Pinterest. I sometimes touch YouTube and LinkedIn.
- Update Twitter account and profile with correct links. (banner, same author photo). Tweet 5 times a day but not about your book. Pin the book tweet instead. You may tweet about your book every 25 tweets (i.e. 5 days)
- Update Facebook profile (link, banner, same author photo) Post twice a day but not about your book. You may post about your book every week (7 days).
- Set up Facebook author page and profile. Fill with content. (link, banner, same author photo). You can post about your book all the time.
- Join FB groups about reading or writing or in your genre and start commenting like mad, but not about your book.
- Set up Instagram profile and start posting twice a day, but not about your book.
- Prepare all the “shareables” and “instagrammables”, i.e. graphics to share, with quotes, yourself, book photos, 3D book mockups, the book being modelled in different backdrops, setting and lighting, do all.
- Make YouTube trailer under 1 min long to share on YouTube, FB and IG for example, and your own website front page.
- Look for venue for physical launch. Contact bookshop and/or a free venue like a pub. I did both. But you can pick one.
- Do Eventbrite invitation. Make it shareable on all platforms. Invite the original list first and open to public. Share this one month before the event stepping up to twice a week the week before and every day three days before the event like a countdown.
- Prepare launch party program. Menu, event order, list of stuff to bring, emcee or host to do intro and outro.
- Physical launch. Get “street team” (your children, or one or two friends who will help in exchange for free book or free gift or for nothing). Get them to take down email addresses in a guest book., take photos, film the whole event, talk to people, sell books, serve snacks. Give them a petty cash tin and they do all the sales while you engage with the guests and your readers. Do NOT do sales yourself or try to be a cashier or waitress. You are an author. Blog and share to all platforms. Make more shareable graphics and link to buy book.
- Repeat with next book, as you are an author!
