You’re excited. Who wouldn’t be? Your book is finally done!

But once you’ve clicked publish, it’s too late to undo anything.

Every author will tell you about the mistakes they made the first time around, just ask. They’ll tell you about the things they forgot to do or the things they wished they’d done. You will make mistakes the first time around. But take your time and try to minimize them.

• Proofread it again, BEFORE you send it out for layout. I know I say this all the time, but I can’t tell you how many times authors have told me about mistakes found AFTER a book has gone to print. No one is perfect, but it doesn’t hurt to try! Also, please don’t torture your designer with round upon round of changes in layout. It’s far more complicated to make those changes than you’d imagine and frankly, puts you at risk for more errors.
• Have you established your author profiles on social media? That doesn’t mean EVERY social media platform, just the top places where you’ll find your audience. Be great at one or two rather than weak on 10 social media channels. The rules of social media engagement change constantly and promoting to your family and friends on your personal profile just doesn’t cut it anymore.
• Is your website ready? Be sure you have a landing page set up for your book that links directly to Amazon to make it easy for potential readers to buy your book. Don’t forget your bio, links to social media, and a blog. Yes, more writing!
• Have you submitted a press release? Some will tell you not to bother, but I know a press release submitted to a wire service will be picked up by RSS feeds all over the great World Wide Web… and that contributes to your SEO (search engine optimization).
• Have you organized your launch team? Yep. A team of wild-for-you, crazily enthused, and faithful readers who will help spread the word that your new literary masterpiece has finally arrived. Be sure to get all the help you can.

Go back over your book launch plan and review what you’ve done to make sure you haven’t missed anything. By no means is this an exhaustive list. These are just the top issues I hear about when speaking to a self-published author. You may have other details to review that I haven’t mentioned here.

You’ll never be here again.

Above all, enjoy this process. You’ll never have another first, second, or third book launch. Be sure to have everything in place and ready. You’ll be grateful you did.

I’d love to hear about your book launch experience. Did you love it? What would you do different next time?

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below or email me directly.