After putting countless hours into your book, you run out of steam. Or life is simply too busy. Whatever the cause, you don’t put much time into promoting your book in the early days of its release. So, your book launch flops.
Disappointed as you are, there’s something you should know. That failure to launch doesn’t mean your book will remain a bomb for all time. With the right attitude and a bit of effort, you can flip the initial flop and turn your book into a hot comodity. Here’s how.
Step 1: Get Over It
Failure is not fun. But it is an inescapable part of life. As an author, you know it’s also part of book publishing.
In fact, every step of the publishing process involves finding and fixing errors. It starts the moment you start writing. No matter how good you are at writing, the first draft is never the last. You go over it time and again, editing to perfection. Then you pass it to your friends, who edit it some more. Then you hire someone. All because you know mistakes are part of the game.
That game doesn’t end after you’re done editing.
So when you think about your failed book launch, relax. Your book is going to be for sale on Amazon and beyond for a long time. You may have goofed up in the first few days, but there are plenty more ahead. Commit to making sure those days aren’t flops, and you’ll be just fine.
Step 2: Do Your Research
One cause of book launch flops is a lack of research. You don’t know what you should have done, so you don’t do anything. Or like some authors, you expect your book to sell itself.
Not going to happen.
That’s okay. Remember—we all make mistakes. Get over it (See step one) and do the research now that you should have done then.
Imagine your book is launching in a month. What book marketing efforts should you be doing? Do them.
Find social media influencers to promote your book. Find contacts at your local newspaper, radio station, and TV channel. Consider putting on an event at your library or a local school.
Think of all the physical and virtual places your readers hang out and brainstorm ways to get your book there.
Step 3: Act on Your Research
You have a plan. Congratulations! All you have to do now is act on it.
Send your book out for book review. Call or email your local news outlets. Drop by your library to discuss the possibilities.
Whatever you do, don’t sit at home moping. That’s why your book launch flopped in the first place. Your goal is to flip that initial flop into a smash success. To get there, you’re going to have to work at it.
Step 4: Write Another Book
As a writer, you should always be writing. It’s what you do, after all. But writing a second book does more than fulfill an inner writing need. It also opens some promotional doors and helps you move past the failure to book launch.
While writing your new book, update your adoring fans on social media. Talk about the writing process and the excitement of moving forward with the second book. Every once in a while, remind people about your first book. Include a link to purchase it.
Then get back to writing.
Once your new book is finished and ready to buy, let folks know about it. And again, tell them about your first book. Do this every time you write a new book. Promote the new one heavily and whisper recommendations for the old one. Of course, if you’ve written a book series, doing this will be easy. But you can do it with standalone books also. You just have to be creative.
Step 5: Do It Again
You’re sad when your book launch flops. You’ll be even sadder if your book never sells any copies.
If you’re going to overcome this sadness, you have to do the steps above. But you can’t just do them once. You’ll need to do them over and over again.
Put yourself on a schedule. Plan to do something to promote your book every week, every month, or every three months. By making it part of your routine, your book sales will never fall off altogether. If they do, start back at step one and keep at it.
Getting to Book Launch Flops and Successes
You’ll never have a book launch without a book. If you’ve written one and don’t know what to do next, we have a suggestion. Submit your manuscript to Argyle Fox for consideration. If we accept your book for publication, you get to relax and enjoy the process. Soon, your book will be on shelves. All you have to do then is plan out your killer book launch. And even if it’s a flop, that’s not how the story ends. Like a Phoenix, you can rise from the ashes of your flopped launch and breathe new life into your book for years to come.