Hi again :) Before we get to the main show, just a few quick notes:
* The Every Breath Goodreads giveaway finished on 31
October. More than 1430 people slugged
it out for three signed copies, but the comp was finally won by three lovely
people from the US, the UK, and Canada.
Congratulations! I’m posting out
your copies of Every Breath this week, after the Melbourne Cup furore has died down.
If you’d like another chance to win a copy of the book, I’ll
be having a Christmas giveaway on this blog very soon – stay tuned :)
* I’m going to be at the Reading Room of the Ballarat
Mechanics Institute on Thursday 7 November (just after Melbourne Cup Day) at
7.30pm, talking to folks from Ballarat Writers Inc, and anyone who’d like to
drop by, about process, how YA is awesome, and other things like that. If you’re in the neighbourhood, come along!
* I’m also going to be at an authors signing event at
Dymocks Camberwell in Melbourne on 21 November from 6-8pm. That will be me, sitting with a glass of
wine, wielding my big yellow pen. If
you’d like to have your book signed, or do some pre-Christmas book shopping
(er, yes, I have to do that too), come over and say hi.
I’ve posted lots of updates and things lately, so today I
thought I’d try something different.
Some of you out there are writers yourselves – awesome! I want to read your book! As Every
Breath inched closer to publication, I picked up a few tips along the
way. Now I know I’m a newbie to this
business, so this might seem impertinent, but I figured ‘what the heck’, I may
as well post up a list of tips on how to handle that crazy time when your book
is ready to hit the shelves.
So here’s everything I know about surviving your book
release. This applies primarily to
traditionally published books, as I’ve never e-pubbed, but I’m sure a few of
them would work well in either case. Some
of these tips I’m still following up on – like thank yous, and things like
that. Some of these tips are things I
wish I’d known at the start, and some of them I’m still a bit crap at…but I’m
getting there. Hopefully by the time Every Word is ready to go next June, I’ll have it all down pat
(Hahahahahahahaha….okay, I’m gonna stop laughing now)
The important thing to remember is that, when your book is
coming out, you don’t really know what’s going on. You feel like you’re making it up as you go
along. Just run with it. If you don’t know how to deal with something,
I suggest Googling. Seriously. Google is your friend.
You do wonder if you’re ticking the boxes, with your editors
and so on. You don’t get a lot of
feedback about that, so you just have to hope you’re not being a drip or a
diva. I guess my advice is always to try
to act professionally, and ask if you have any questions.
So here you go – my hot tips for getting a book out and
living to tell the tale:
1. Sleep
Yo, get some sleep.
You’re going to need it.
2. Let go of your
blushes
When this first started, I used to get so embarrassed/shy
when people asked me about the book, or congratulated or complimented me. Then I realised that these blushes
weren’t serving any purpose. If you pay someone a compliment, don’t you
want them to feel good about it? It’s
even a little insulting if the person you’re complimenting goes red and starts
stammering/trying to hide behind nearby furniture (not an actual example. you
know what I mean).
So I decided to stop getting embarrassed and return people’s
enthusiasm. When they asked, I’d say
‘yes!’ When they complimented, I’d fall
back on that old standby: ‘thank you.’
It was a revelation.
I think it really helped give people I met a sense of inclusivity about
the book, and helped to swell the local community excitement – and it certainly
made me feel good, and gave something back to those who were so supportive.
3. Invest in your
book
Look at your advance – no, really, look at it. Consider how much better things will be if
your book is successful. Calculate a
percentage of your current budget that would help make that possible. Go and spend it on stickers, flyers,
mailouts, badges, t-shirts or other promo swag (don’t forget to add the cost of
postage and photocopying!). This is
called helping your book out.
Unless you are Stephen King, your publisher’s promotional
budget will be small, and you may not see a lot of it. It’s good to have something of your own, so
be prepared to help. If you can chip in
financially, and make up your own promo stuff, then yay.
Promoting your book in conjunction with your publisher (ie –
doing stuff in addition to the
publicity arrangements organised by your publicist) means you’re pooling
forces. It’s a natural ‘follow through’
on the effort it took you to write the book in the first place. Anything that
you can do to give your book a better chance at life is awesome.
4. Say yes to
everything
Wise advice, given to me by another writer, AngelaSavage. Say yes – to signings, to blog
tours, to local promotion, to talking to classes, to interviews… Say yes to anything you think you can handle
without destroying your marriage/mortgaging your house/getting fired from your
job. You only get a very small window –
6 weeks before your book’s release, and 6 weeks after – so take on as much as
you possibly can in the way of promotion, be it self or book promotion (the two
are inter-related).
5. If you have a partner,
be nice
If you have a life partner supporting you, you’re
lucky. Keep up your end of the
bargain. You will inevitably neglect
your house and garden during this period, so let go of guilt – if the floor
isn’t waxed or the car isn’t detailed, who’s gonna know? Small window of opportunity, remember? But do your hell-bent best not to neglect
your family and your partner.
Try to keep up a normal share of housework – you will
probably fail, but give it a go. Give
your partner lots of loves. Be kind and
remember to give them a break sometimes.
Your free writing day? You may
need to sacrifice it for the greater good, so your partner can get some time
away from the kids. Yes, you are incredibly
busy, but life is busy. Don’t forget,
your partner will be there for you after the book release is over. Domestic harmony
can be ensured if you keep giving back.
Compliments are good.
Even bribery! But presents
actually carry less weight than giving them a break from frantic-you, or a
break from the extra work they’ve had to take on to help you achieve your
dream. Listen when they talk. Schedule time in there for being nice.
I had to keep in mind that this was only the first book –
there’s two more to go! I still want my
partner with me when next June rolls around, hehe.
6. Talk to your
publicist
If you have any questions at all about this whole process,
ask. Email often. Give them regular updates – you might be
emailing daily, more than once, when things are really hot. Tell them about everything – every promotion,
every communication with stores, every blog update. If you’re worried about spamming them,
ask. This is their job, and they can’t
do it well if you don’t keep them informed.
When it’s all over, remember that thank yous are gracious
but bottles of wine are awesome.
7. Talk to your agent
and your editor
You will be right in the thick of it, but remember, your
agent and your editor both need to know what’s going on too. Give them a regular update every week or
fortnight (maybe more often, with your editor).
Share the excitement you’re feeling!
This is their glory moment too.
8. Stay on top of it
You will panic less (I won’t say you won’t panic – you’ll
panic, get over it) if you keep daily lists of things that need chasing
up. Emails, writing interview questions,
contacting book stores and schools, phoning places, organising stuff for
promotion, posting stuff out, online work…
I have a list-compulsion, because I’m so forgetful. My list was sometimes the only thing that
kept me from hyperventilating – when I’d wake up in the night, terrified, I
could look at my list and go through all the stuff, and reassure myself that it
was all organised. So little of your
life at this time will feel organised – it’s good to have a list.
Keeping a wall calendar is really good too – one of those
ones that shows the whole year in advance.
You can see it all there (all that craziness!) written up in black and
white (and green, and pink, and blue…) and you can even mark off the days until
things return back to normal.
Keep up with your appointments – that’s only good
manners. Your time is valuable, but so
is everyone else’s.
9. Eat. Take vitamins
Look after your health.
Eat properly, rest when you can, take vitamin B or whatever it is that
helps you physically keep going. Try not
to get sick – save it up for after this is all over!
10. Be polite
This is a stressful time, and you’re dealing with a lot of
different people. I know it’s hard when
you’re relying on other people to follow stuff up or stay organised, but you’re
not surrounded by minions. This book
business is just that – a business. Always stay polite and
professional. People will remember this
after the book release is over, and remember that you were good to work with.
11. Take a break
I know, your schedule looks like back-to-back
everything. But you still need to
maintain your sanity. Whatever works for
you, if you have a spare moment, do it – take a 15 minute walk, read a book for
a half hour (someone else’s!), sit down and have a glass of wine with your
partner, talk to your kids. Your head
may be all over the shop, but even a short break can help centre you.
Retain your sense of humour.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun!
Haha… Seriously, take a break
sometimes - you need to remind yourself what you’re doing and why, and to just
draw breath.
12. Help each other
out
Your network of friendships with other writers is one of
your most valuable assets. Share,
attend, RT, link, congratulate, commiserate, compliment, applaud, support – remember
to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You should do this early, and do it from the
heart. Writing is an isolating business,
and we all need to give each other a leg-up sometimes, even if that just
consists of moral support.
My family and friends were incredibly excited for me, and
spread the word about the book with their mates and through their work circles
at home and interstate. But some of the
people who helped me out the most were other writers – they helped with the
launch parties, shared info about the book online, gave me encouragement and
support, and shared my enthusiasm. Someone
once said ‘You’ll never hurt your own career by helping another author’, and I
believe that to be true.
And when it’s all over…
11. Be gracious
Say thank you to everybody.
They deserve it (for putting up with you, heh). Write thank you notes, give small gifts. All those people who supported you? They like to feel appreciated. And yeah, they worked hard too – it was a
group effort. Remember to single out
your editor and publicist and agent for special treatment. Be gracious, and people will be sure to feel
happy about working with you next time.
You want there to be a next time, right?
That’s it. I know
I’ve left out a few things, like publishing schedules and all that stuff, but
for me this is the nuts and bolts. And
if you’d like to know more, do your research – there’s a whole lot of websites
out there with info about the nitty gritty technical aspects of how to get a
book published (Google! Google is your
friend!)
Next blog post, I promise to stop talking writing and let
someone else talk about it. I have a
fantastic Crime Report post planned with our first international guest, English
author Sharon Jones, whose debut murder mystery Dead Jealous is already in
stores – I’m very excited about it :)
Until then, take care, especially to all of you dealing with
the aftermath of the NSW fires. And I’ll
leave you with a pic of our new family member: Caesar, the Wonder Bird!
Xx Ellie
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