The Must-Do List – Launching my First Novel

On January 11, 2020, I typed the words, “The End” on my debut novel. I’d finally done it. I’d written a book! To say I was excited is an understatement. I was dancing on a rainbow with a rose between my teeth. I thought, man, someone has got to read this thing. That was when I called on my sister, Erin, to give it the first read. Now, Erin’s not a particularly avid reader, so I would have considered the book a success if she were able to get through it in a month without falling asleep once. But she finished it in two days! Couldn’t put it down. And if that kind of feedback doesn’t light a fire under a new writer’s butt, nothing will. With that boost of confidence, I set on a launch date of May 15 to take advantage of the summer market.

Which was absurd. One person had read the book. My sister. Of course she’s going to love it. And I was going to have it ready for release in a few short weeks? Granted, I’d heard stories of first-time authors cranking books out in record time with no preparation, no professional editing, and no thought towards promotion or marketing while somehow maintaining a quality product. Unfortunately, I’m too much of a perfectionist to send my baby out into the world without a good, solid plan. Not to mention I’m miserably incapable of making quick decisions, which is why it took me four years to write my first book, sometimes taking months to settle on the perfect sentence. He ran to the cabin. No. He darted to the cabin. Not quite. Dashing to the safety of the cabin, he tripped on a root and stumbled into a patch of poison ivy. Maybe. Rushing things is categorically impossible for me.

So, by some miracle, I’d completed my 109-thousand-word manuscript by early 2020. But by that point, only my sister had read it, and I hadn’t even thought about running it by an editor. That was the first of many revelations: that my book was nowhere near ready to be launched.

Reeling from that reality check, I called on my old friend, Lee Gabel, for some advice. He’s a fellow indie writer who’s self-published several books of his own and knows the industry inside out. He pointed me to some great websites and Facebook groups, and from there I started composing a list. That was when the second revelation settled in: I had so much to learn. So many boxes to tick. But instead of letting it rattle me too much, I managed to whittle the list down to only those things absolutely necessary for launch, resulting in a shorter, more targeted Must-Do list.* It looked much like this:

1. Send the manuscript to alpha and beta readers; the former reads the first draft, and the latter reads the more polished version
2. Hire an editor (I found a fantastic one through The Editors’ Association of Canada https://www.editors.ca/)
3. Design the cover
4. Create a website**
5. Obtain ISBNs
6. Set up a print-on-demand account
7. Format the book; arrange printed and eBook versions
8. Register manuscript with the US Copyright Office https://www.copyright.gov/
9. Pre-launch promo and marketing
10. Launch Day!
11. Post-launch admin stuff
12. Promote, promote, promote

*Note: as a Canadian writer, some of the information on this site has a Canadian focus; however, the steps are similar wherever you live. Tax and legal considerations vary as well, so I’ve left them out.

**This process is not as straightforward as it sounds. Next week’s post, Creating Your Own Website is Easy, They Say details how I killed my laptop with my bare hands during the quest to build my own site.

A world in lockdown.

With a list compiled, I suddenly had focus, not just some vague, half-baked plan about how I would arrive at launch day and beyond. But just as I was gaining traction with number 1 on my list, Covid-19 steamrolled into existence and began shutting the whole world down. It was frightening and surreal. People were punching each other out over toilet paper and the economy was in freefall. The health community and governments were all scrambling to figure things out as they implored people to stay home. What? Really? They’re asking a writer not to leave her house—for potentially months—to let this thing runs its course, or until a vaccine is found? It was like Christmas morning for me.

Now, this is not to say I was blind to the pain and turmoil swirling all around me, around the world. In my own little bubble, I saw friends and family struggling mentally, financially, trying to navigate the “new normal”. They were losing jobs. Losing hope. At the time of this writing, the world is more fragile and vulnerable than ever, and I do worry where it’s headed. My point is that I’m just one of those people for whom the “stay-safe, stay-home” directive was a blessing. It gave me all the more reason to buckle down and shift my plan into high gear.

By the middle of April, I’d received a ton of useful feedback from my first readers and set to polishing my manuscript so that it was as clean as possible for my editor. This step is a little bit like flossing extra diligently before visiting the dentist. I wanted my editor to say, “Great work! You’ve made my job so easy!” But if you’ve chosen your editor wisely, that’s the exact opposite of what will happen. After she’s done with your manuscript, she won’t be afraid to give you a few virtual wallops on the back of your head for all your ridiculous mistakes. She will feel like your enemy in that way, but she will also be your superhero. If you’re thinking about writing a book, do not skip this step.

The home stretch. For now.

By October first, I was halfway through the list, which left me six weeks to accomplish the rest, which wasn’t unreasonable considering many of the tasks would feed off each other. I mentioned my mentor, Lee, earlier in this article. I’ll be dedicating a whole post to the value of having a writing mentor. It was through him that I slowly began to navigate the vast and mysterious waters of self-publishing. It was through him (and the pandemic lockdown) that I was able to stay on task. Suffice it to say that without Lee’s guidance I’d be flopping around like a fish out of water right now. I hope to pay it forward someday, after I’ve figured it all out, or at least some of it.

Anyway, that brings my story up to date. My book launch is just around the corner, Friday, November 13, and I can barely sleep I’m so excited. Future posts will cover the ins and outs of my experience as a first-time author, and I’d love nothing more than to take you along for the ride. Be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter where you’ll get the inside scoop before anyone else.

Your turn… Have you ever thought of writing a book? Have you already written one? What’s it about? Drop me a comment!