Hello!

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you think you’re working you start working exponentially harder as the deadline approaches? Here I was thinking I would front-load work for my book…nope! I just have more time to do the more things that need to get done.

I wrote a promotion plan right off the bat in August when I got the book deal, but I’ve been constantly revising it and coming up with a new draft just about every other month. Whereas once it was about 20 pages long, now it fits on just two pages (plus some appendixes, to be fair) because I’m doing the whole thing in shorthand. I’ve realized that no one else is ever going to lay eyes on the plan, so why go to the effort of grammar and complete sentences?

I’m slashing items off of it left and right as it becomes apparent what is really the best use of my time. I’m going to give up on Youtube vlogging for now. It was kind of fun and I think I might return to it someday, but I don’t have an audience there and teaching myself to video edit seems like a poor use of energy when I could be working on so many other things I’ve discovered about promoting books.

Speaking of, don’t forget that there’s still a Goodreads Giveaway happening for The Neverland Wars!

The next big thing on my agenda is finding reviewers though. I’m lucky I have a reasonably sized publisher, because they’re going to do their best to get me some reviews in trade journals and critical publications. I was just put in touch with my blog-tour-and-blitz coordinator, too, so I know I’ve got a baseline of blog reviews coming my way.

The ebook ARCs should be finished shortly, and once that happens I need to figure out how to maximize the amount of advanced reader copies I can get out to book bloggers, Amazon reviewers, and Goodreads reviewers. I’ve got lists and lists of book bloggers, but I’m sure I need to brace myself for a lot of rejection. Book bloggers probably get slammed with as many requests as agents get manuscripts…more or less. I’m banking on the fact that I have several book bloggers I really like who (I think) like me too, some that have even expressed interest, and others that I’ve just been following long enough to know that they would probably really like my book (If I can say that without sounding egotistical.)

Anyways, I’m equally dreading and looking forward to the process of finding reviewers. It will undoubtedly involve a lot of work and time spent crafting personal emails, plus the usual boatloads of rejection, but this is one of the best ways to get word out there about a book, so I’m moving forward, full of motivation.

ONWARD, TO VICTORY!