I thought I had a pretty good idea what to expect after signing a contract. After all, I joined RWA a long, long time ago and paid very close attention to discussions like that. I’ve kept notes from my writers loops and every article related to the topic. And I’m glad I did. But I don’t think that any of them really prepared me for the timeline, for how close together things would get the closer the pub date gets.
While Hunting Medusa is with the final line editor, I’m working on rewriting parts of the second book in the trilogy. But I’ve spent a fair amount of time this week in a panic about marketing and promotional ideas. That was silly, since I’ve saved so many notes and articles. Plus my agent was a huge help, and I have writer friends who have made some great suggestions. But now I’m thinking: Hunting Medusa will be available for sale in exactly four and a half months (yes, I just stood here with one of my sons and counted it off on the calendar). I’m going to need to start ramping up my promo efforts so that by January 28, lots more people know about Hunting Medusa and want to get a copy. That makes me nervous. Sure, I know friends and family are going to buy it no matter what. But I want more romance readers to want it and to fall in love with Andi and Kallan, too. Thinking about the possibility that they won’t makes me queasy.
So my new game plan is this: in addition to my revisions of Protecting Medusa, I am aiming to spend four hours every week working on promo for Hunting Medusa. Because I love this story, and I want all of you to love it, too. I’m going to need a lot of chocolate between now and the end of January. In fact, I think I need some now.Â
( Photo credit: Infomastern / Foter / CC BY-SA )
And I have enough to share!
I hop you all have a great weekend!