Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Behind the Scenes of a Book Launch


Hello, readers! Lee Tobin McClain here, biting my nails as I get ready to launch my new book series! There’s so much that goes into preparing to release a book, and I had no idea about that until I became a writer.

At Love Inspired, there’s a whole company doing the work of a book launch. We go through several rounds of edits, from “why wouldn’t she just use her cell phone to get help” to “there’s not enough spark between the hero and heroine” to “we don’t say ‘gosh’ in Love Inspired because it can offend some readers.” We authors offer up suggestions for the cover illustration, and then the team at Love Inspired makes the final decision and commissions the art. When it’s finally release day, we tweet and post on Facebook and generally shout the news from the rooftops—the book’s been more than a year in the making, and we are proud mamas!

Comment for a 50:50 chance to win this ebook!
When I publish my independent books, I do all that and more! Here’s my to-do list for my Sacred Bond Guardians release, scheduled for September 15th:
  • ·      Learn how to host a Facebook party (so far, several great Love Inspired Suspense authors are coming—sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss the details)
  • ·      Update my web site
  • ·      Nudge my freelance editor, who’s right now finishing edits of the second book in the series
  • ·      Do final tweaks on the cover for book one, which has been a real bear to get right. I don’t do my own covers, but I work closely with a consultant and a cover artist to get exactly the look I think readers will love.
  • ·      Write some blog posts about the books, both for my own blog, this blog, and the fabulous Inspyromance blog
  • ·      Write the final descriptions and blurbs for Amazon

·       I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but those are my major tasks. Whew, I’m tired just thinking about it! To reward your patience for reading all the way to the end, leave a comment with your email address (do it like this to avoid spammers:  Sue Smith at Comcast dot net).  I’ll gift  half of you with a copy of The Protector’s Bond, the prequel novella that starts my new series. That’s a 50:50 chance to win!

Sign up for my newsletter HERE to get news of my upcoming release. You also get a free short story that’s the background for my Sacred Bond series of Christian romance novels.


6 comments:

Leann Harris said...

It's eye-opening when you do an Indie book and it makes you appreciate your editor and publicity department at Harlequin. Good luck.

Jill Weatherholt said...

Wow! So many details involved. Best of luck to you!

Unknown said...

best of luck. Eli Czar48 at gmail dot com

Jennifer said...

I can't imagine keeping track of all that. You must have lots of to do lists, sticky notes and lots of coffee!
jennydtipton at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

So much to do but its all worth it in the end,congratulations ! I look forward to reading your books .
Deanne Patterson
cnnamongirl at aol dot com

Samantha said...

My father writes children book and has recently also published adult coloring books. He does it all by himself: content, cover, etc. So I'm very well aware of all the work it takes.
But you're almost there and all this work will pay off :D

SamanthaBis23 at Gmail dot com