We are thrilled to welcome Alex J. Cavanaugh to the blog today as he provides a glimpse into the writing authors face AFTER the deal is done! Alex first made waves, or jumped into hyper-drive, with his Cassa Trilogy, which landed on the Amazon bestseller list. He is also the founder and leader of the wildly popular online Insecure Writers Support Group. Surely that wouldn't describe anyone of us, now would it? Be sure to check it out as well as Alex's newest release, Dragon of the Stars, below.
Writing Doesn’t Stop When the Book’s Finished, A Craft of Writing Post by Alex J. Cavanaugh
Working on a book can take years. We create the first draft, revise, edit, incorporate more changes from critique partners’ suggestions, perhaps hire an editor and edit some more, and finally polish it to perfection. When a publisher says yes, we breathe a sigh of relief. We’re done!
Not so fast. Done? Hardly–we’ve only just begun.
For those who’ve not journeyed down this path yet, let me give you an idea how much MORE writing there is with that one manuscript.
Publisher revisions – No matter how polished, there will be changes. Sometimes minor, such as correcting grammar, clarifying points, tightening the prose, or adding description. Sometimes it’s more involved and results in rewrites or point of view changes. Either way, we will be working on that manuscript several times before our publisher puts it into production. And if we sign with an agent first, that’s an added layer of edits before a publisher ever sees it.
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Cover art – Some authors have more input than others, but often there is a cover form that needs to be filled out that will give the illustrator a place to begin.
Author bio – Even if we have one already, it will need to be polished and publisher approved, as it will appear on both the book and your site.
Our social media sites – We’ll be ramping up our presence, writing blog posts, Tweets, and more in anticipation of our launch. We’ll be establishing our platform while making contacts. This takes time. It takes reaching out to others and building relationships. It takes becoming part of the community and giving back. Networking that’s done right, with comments, reTweets, and posts that support others, involves a lot of writing.
Website – Sometimes we have to construct our own website, comprised of some of the items above and more. We have to let people know who we are so they will feel a connection.
A marketing plan – Sometimes we’ll need one before signing with a publisher. But afterwards, we’ll definitely need to do our research and create a list. There are so many opportunities, and we don’t want to miss an important one.
Letters and emails – We’ll be contacting bloggers, authors, websites, bookstores, reviewers, schools, etc. We’ll need professional introductory letters when asking for reviews or blurbs. This will be an ongoing marketing effort, even after the book is released.
Online tour – Often there is an online tour during the launch, whether set up by us, our publisher, or a publicist. Requests will come in for interviews and guest posts. Each one will need to be different and fresh. And they can’t simply shout ‘buy my book.’ It will take effort to come up with an interesting topic or angle, one that will make readers comfortable with us and more likely to buy our book. We’ll be writing and polishing these for months, sometimes right down to the wire.
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Review copy edits – Yes, even after all that polishing, we’ll be editing and correcting some more. There’s always that one elusive typo…
There are a million other details that will require our writing skills, from preparing promotional Tweets to bookmark details. We might have to create our own book trailer. Maybe we’re writing up announcement for our local paper. Maybe we’ve started a newsletter that requires a couple hours of writing time each month. Plus our website content needs to be updated. And if you believe the social media stuff ends shortly after the book is released, think again!
Bottom line, there are a lot more words to write after the manuscript is completed. This can overwhelm some authors. But if we go into it with eyes open, prepared and willing, we’ll enjoy the release of our book that much more.
And then guess what? We get to start all over again.
Happy writing!
About the Book:
The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter. But when the Alliance declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray and told he won’t make captain. One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads
What Are the Kargrandes?
About the Author:
Website | Insecure Writers Support Group | Twitter | Goodreads
-- posted by Susan Sipal, @HP4Writers
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Another amazing list! You guys rock the web!
thanks for the shout out!
Wonderful links. Thank you. Enjoy your weekend.
I always look forward to Fridays and your weekly wrapups, thanks again! And thanks for the mention of my post, too--fun to see it listed here :-)
Useful links....thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks for the link. It was nice talking on Twitter. Miss you!
Wow, there's so much great stuff out there. Can I just say how much I love blogging writers? Thanks so much for all you do, and for the kind mention of my blog post.
You have the best roundups! Thanks for making my life easier :)
Great links. Thanks for keeping us all updated on the best posts.
Very cool, the first link--especially since I like to experiment and mock up my own book covers. LOL Thanks for the usual extensive linky list!
So jammed packed with good stuff!!
Wow, I know what I'm doing until bed time. This is an amazing list. :D