So You Are a Writer…Now What? by Kim Ward

The day has finally arrived and like the anticipated eye of a hurricane this one is going to make headlines. It’s the day of your book launch. Years of dreaming about being a published author, months of editing and three rounds of cover design have led you to this moment of absolute bliss.

The question is, now what? Your book has hit Amazon and you have done your part by blasting it across Facebook to all 4,000 of your friends. Your sister, brother, and mother have joined your cause and have been relentlessly tweeting the good news since the book came off the presses.

But after the entire social blitz on the major media sites has run its course, what do you do next? The answer my friend is as simple as shaking a martini. You prepare yourself for a campaign of biblical proportions.

Getting your book published is like stacking logs to build a fire. It does nothing just sitting there, and unless you put some heat to it, there will be no flame. So step one is to get out your lighter and fire that book launch up. That means, promotion, promotion, and promotion.

A call to action, give people a reason to want to buy your book other than, “It’s really good!” Have a hook, if you don’t have one, get one.  Find ways to be different. Find magazines that will do articles about you and your manuscript. Go on radio and pronounce to the world that you are the next big writing star. Tour the public speaking arena and become known for what you write about.

Bottom line, once your book is published the real work begins.  It’s all about stoking that fire so the flame gets hotter and higher. Never give up and do promotional work every day 365 days a year. Eventually you’ll hit a tipping point where the media,  and the rest of the world will be so compelled to read your book that even the NY Times Best-Seller list will have to wait it’s turn for a crack at you.

by Kim Ward

The Unofficial 'Brit Writers and Writers Everywhere' blog.