I’ve been told that a successful book launch relies on strategically combining pre-orders and promotions. Together, they build excitement and momentum. Yet, I did not do pre-orders for the first two books. Frankly, publishing the first was time-consuming, and I simply didn’t feel I had enough energy left to do it.
By the second book in the Palmetto Pioneers series, I considered it again; but after three failed computers and a deadline pushed back over two months, I skipped it again. That book came out with blisters on its feet.
Still, I kept reading that pre-orders could trigger algorithms on sites like Amazon, making a book more visible and increasing its chances of success. So with Yankees in the Courthouse, I gave it a try.
First, another deadline is looming and causing problems. Christmas is a wonderful time of year to launch a book. My best book sales have been each Christmas since I published the first book in 2022. This meant that my pre-order window had to be shortened to about 2.5 weeks. The good standard, though, is 6-8 weeks.
So, out of necessity, I am planning a shorter, more intense campaign. I set my pre-launch for November 1, and I have already met it with one version of the book. The e-books are already online for pre-order. I have not announced this yet to any of my other readers except all of you. This blog is announcing it to you readers only! I’ll get to everyone else by this Saturday.
Announcing my pre-orders gives my readers a chance to commit early to buying my book. Currently, though, I have been working on the promotional part of this equation. These promotional tactics to drive pre-orders included posting regularly on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and this blog. For example, last month I ran a post here announcing the launch of this book. You can read it below in case you missed it earlier.
I ran several earlier posts on Old Age is Not to share my author’s journey. The post described how self-publishing works, how I created timelines of historical events for my research and writing, how I used location research, and much more. Likewise, I also created countdowns for ordering the earlier books at a discount and posted them on Facebook and through Amazon Ads. All of this was designed to drive pre-orders for book 3.
In addition, I’ve been running Facebook posts to gather names for my email list, which is collected through my Palmetto Pioneers website. I plan to send out an alert for pre-orders and to announce the formal launch of the book itself. The signup for this email list is through my website, which is below.
Please sign up if you haven’t already to keep up to date with pre-orders, launches, and discounts. Twice a year I run a $.99 special for ebooks on the first book in the series. I will announce those dates through this email list. Click on the address below to sign up. A gift to sign up follows in the next paragraph.
https://www.palmettopioneers.com
By signing up this week on my email list, I’m giving away a free chapter from the book. Chapter 6 has the title “A Gift from William-July to September 1863.” William gets to come home from the war on leave, but that is not the gift.
Finally, I have been trying to promote the book in one other way. I would like to partner with other bloggers, reviewers, and authors to cross-promote our books. This one is a little hard to do. Everyone else out there is just as tired as I am. I frequently say that launching a book is much like giving birth to a baby. Let me explain.
Conception is when a book starts as a spark—an idea that takes root quietly and grows inside the author long before anyone else can see it. Like pregnancy, it’s deeply personal at first. The author nurtures it in secret and is unsure how it will turn out, this thing that is a part of them. This was also when I researched the historical portion of the story.
Next is gestation. Authors spend months (almost a year in my case) shaping, revising, and refining the manuscript. Sometimes it is thrilling, and sometimes exhausting, similar to the waiting, discomfort, and anticipation of carrying something so precious. It just isn’t ready to be revealed yet.
Then, one finds oneself in labor. For me, it is the editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, and distribution. It is where I am right now in the process. I’m tired. I ache. Deadlines loom, and I wonder sometimes if it is worth it. I think this is why it is so hard to collaborate with others in the process. They are exhausted too.
Finally, I am about to be in the vulnerable moment of birth. Releasing Yankees in the Courthouse to the world feels like placing a piece of my heart in others’ hands. I’ve labored over every word, and now all of you will read it (hopefully), judge it, and love it! Or not! There is both joy and fear in saying, “It’s published.”
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