5 Tips For Pre-Publication Book Promotion

You might think a successful book launch starts the day you sign your publishing contract. Actually, it starts much earlier—the day you declare yourself an author. But for this piece, let’s explore some of the promotion steps you can take once you’ve signed a contract with the publisher and you’re ramping up for a book launch.

First serial rights are one of the items you, or your literary agent, negotiated on the contract, generating additional income from the book. Some of these may be yours—meaning, you own the rights—and therefore you’ll possibly draw income from these endeavors. Otherwise, any draw from rights may go directly to the publisher. But you still benefit. Publicity in advance, during, and after a book launch drives sales. And sales are what you’re after.

Some of the following pre-publication promotional steps include subsidiary rights, but not all. The list of items is endless. So, talk with your publisher and work with your literary agent, publicity expert, or assistant to develop a strategic promotion plan that builds interest, anticipation, and pre-publication sales.

Here are a few ideas for pre-pub promotion:

• Content Promos. Magazines, Newspapers, Blogs, etc. You’re a writer so this falls right in your wheelhouse. Writing articles or guest posts about why you wrote your book or what made you become an author is a great way to get started. You may also decide (along with your publisher) to allow these venues to publish excerpts from your book.
• Guest Posting. There are plenty of venues looking for authors and writers to share their wisdom, story, and craft. Even if you’re not formally published, you have plenty to share about your Author’s Journey. Learn more about why you should guest post and how to get started by reading “Three Reasons Why You Should Write a Guest Post.
• Press Releases. Usually, this is created by your publisher, but not always. You’ll need to request a copy so you can also conduct your due diligence. Make sure you talk with your publisher, agent, and publicist, and strategize who will be sending this out and to whom, so there’s no crisscrossing confusion.
• Interviews. An Author Q&A, television, radio, or podcasts are readily available for new and upcoming authors. This takes time to find them, but there are literally thousands of venues on which to schedule an interview. Some have a waiting list, so be patient. Yet another reason to do this in advance.
• Book Signings. Hold on, your book isn’t out yet, so why would this be a pre-publication step? Trust me, it is. When I worked for a publisher, one of my projects was to schedule book signings and book tours. Often, the waiting list for these is lengthy, so you want to plan way in advance. Of course, some hosts won’t schedule you until your book is published, and that’s fine, but developing a list of places to target in advance is a smart move. (It doesn’t hurt to try and book pre-pub either).

These are just a few—emphasis on “few”—pre-publication promotional places for you to start driving interest in you and your work. Two points of caution: First, be sure that all your promotional endeavors include a link back to your author’s website; second, coordinate all with your team—publisher, literary agent, and publicist—not just as a courtesy and to avoid duplicated efforts, but because your publishing contract depends on you adhering to expressed rights and guidelines.

Most importantly, no matter how you publicize, it’s incumbent on you as the steward of your author’s brand to be professional and respectful of all involved in seeing your book through to the bestseller’s list