Be Prepared–Year One Is a Doozy

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By Michael Drew - Jun 18 , 2008

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a book or having a baby. Either way, it’s about a year before you get a chance to come up for air.

T-Minus Six Months

I remember the day my wife and I started working on the nursery. We were still six months from our due date, and she was already considering the project “behind schedule.” I, on the other hand, felt like we had all kinds of time. After all, how long could it take to paint four walls, roll out a rug, and set up a crib?

I didn’t realize it then, but popping the lid off that first can of paint kicked off a year of bleary-eyed disorientation. We dove straight from the nursery into a pregnant stack of ‘parents-to-be’ books then into birthing classes and prenatal yoga. My life was busier than a bee—and Savannah wasn’t even born yet!

A writer determined to become a successful author experiences a similar kind of madness. Six months before the book’s release date, he or she launches into a ‘pre-publication’ frenzy in hopes of being recognized—better yet, sought out, on bookstore shelves. A few of the many responsibilities an author needs to have addressed before a book is released include:

Getting galleys into the hands of influential experts, bloggers and book clubs;
Creating press kits to send to reviewers and journalists;
Accumulating endorsements;
Setting up book reviews to go in trade publications;
Sending out web-friendly rich media packs to established PR contacts; and
Arranging interviews with selected journalists.

Pretty chunky list, considering the little binder of joy is yet to be published.

The First Ninety Days

In those first three months after Savannah was born, I think I slept a total of twelve minutes. Which means my wife must have slept a total of six. If I wasn’t being summoned out of bed to face the ‘witching hour’ curse, she was getting up to feed.

Likewise, an author spends a lot of sleepless nights during the first three months after publication. He or she knows this period is a measuring stick for stores to determine whether the book stays on the shelves or gets sent back to the publisher. So every waking moment is spent ‘branding,’ in hopes of being the one book readers think of first and feel the best about when they walk into bookstores.

The Ninety Days After That

By the beginning of Savannah’s fourth month, I was celebrating the idea that her acid reflux was subsiding. Nevertheless, we were destined to endure another three months of exhaustion before she finally started sleeping through the night.

Not so different from an author who is ready to toast a successful ninety-day run at the bookstore—before realizing the right thing to do is to keep promoting for another three months in untapped markets.

Are you mentally prepared for the grind? Do you have the tenacity to persevere?

Good! Then take a deep breath, because it’s going to be about a year before you get a chance to come up for air – whether you’re writing a book or having a baby.

Questions about when and how to launch your book marketing plan may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at michael@promoteabook.com.