What to do Before You're Published

Friends, today I'm delighted to have C. Lee McKenzie here to give us advice about what we can do before we're published. Lee's latest book, Double Negative, is available now!

What To Do Before You’re Published

by C. Lee McKenzie

When I started writing fiction, I didn’t know much of anything about the business. Let’s be honest. I didn’t know anything. So what I’ve set out here is all that I’ve learned since 2009 when my first book came out. I know it’s not complete, and if I write the same kind of article in the future, it will be different. One thing I’ve learned is publishing doesn’t stay the same. 

If I could start again, these are the things I’d do before I published a book.

1. Have a professional website and/or blog designed. 

• Be sure the navigation is easy and the pages easy to read.
• Buy a domain name. Mine’s cleemckenziebooks. I wish it were simply cleemckenzie. The simpler the better. 
• Don’t use music. People often browse in public places and music isn’t always appreciated.
• Be sure people can pull up your site on all their mobile devices.

2. Become visible on Social Networking Media

• Goodreads. Even if you don’t have a book, you’re probably a reader, so join in. In fact, this is where I interact more as a reader than a writer. 
• Shelfari. You can add in a list of your characters and a brief description. You can write a short blurb, and a longer summary. You can list your chapter titles. And because Shelfari is owned by Amazon, any changes you make here show up on your Amazon book page.
• Facebook. This can be a place to meet more writers who are struggling with the same issues you are. Join some groups. Contribute.
• Twitter. This is a great tool to point the way to your other pages. Join Chats about writing and books. Tweet and don’t forget to ReTweet. I like Tweetdeck (sometimes :-) because I can schedule Tweets days in advance. Planning ahead will be very important after you’re published.
• LinkedIn. This is a community that offers helpful Forums. You can ask a lot of questions and get some excellent answers. 
• Amazon. Poke around Amazon and see how it works. 

*Be aware of Authors Central and what you can do there once you’re published.
*Understand the pros and cons of KDP Select, in which you give Amazon a 90-day exclusive to sell your book. It has advocates and those who dislike it. Here’s a great discussion by Jane Friedman.
*Find out how to use Tags to your benefit. They’re important and can be tricky. One way to find out about them is to check out the “Also-Boughts" section. Find books like yours and see how authors have tagged them.
*Find out how to get Likes. They add to your chances of being noticed. I don’t do a lot of this, but if someone invites me to like them I do, if their site is appropriate. And I invite them to like me back. It doesn’t take that much time. Sometimes people invite me to a “Like Party.” If I’m in the mood, I’ll jump in, but it isn’t my favorite promotional tool.
*Find out about Lists and how they work to your benefit.

3. Get to know who reviews what and start a list with their links for easy reference. You can find reviewers who have read and reviewed books similar to yours on Amazon.

4. Find sites that promote books. Be ready to offer promotions such as giveaways on their sites. Here are a couple I like and they’re free for a basic listing: Book Daily and Ask David.

5. Investigate email marketing. Begin to collect emails of people who know you, know your work, are readers as well as writers. 

6. Think budget. How much do you plan to spend on promo and where? Book trailer? Facebook ads? Goodread ads/giveaways? Amazon free days?  (if you go with KDP Select) 

7. Find bloggers with a following. Follow them, support them when their books come out. Make your site interesting and not all about you and your forthcoming book. Above all, be honest. Show people who you are and what you’re about. Also never snark, unless it’s in jest. Even then be careful. 

8. Last suggestions: Remove any inactive blog from your profile. Remove Word Verification and set your blog to Must Approve. That will flash, “Your comment will become available after approval.” That’s so much better than WV.

That’s about it from me, but there’s so much I still haven’t pulled together. Some things I just will never have time to do. Some things I don’t want to do. My goal is to keep everything current. When I say I’ll do something on my blog or in any forum, I do it, or I explain why I can’t. Life does have other things going on besides books, and other writers understand.

Also don’t be discouraged when you publish and your book doesn’t hit the bestseller list. Do your promo, and if you’ve created a book people want to read, it will sell. Sometimes it skyrockets, then plunges in sales. Sometimes it sells at a steady but slow pace. While any of this is happening, keep your promo on track and write that next book.


Easy? Nope.

Fellow writers, what do you think about Lee's list? Have you done all of these things? Most of them? Does the list intimidate you? Anything else you'd like to add to the pre-published to-do list? Please share!

About Double Negative: Sixteen-year-old Hutch McQueen is a smart kid who can barely read. He makes one bad choice after another, trying to find a way to escape his rotten life at home and at school. Each time he gets into more trouble.

Winners!

The two winners of C. Lee McKenzie's book, Alligators Overhead are Karen Gowen & Loree Huebner! Congratulations, ladies. I'll forward your email addresses to C. Lee. Thanks so much for stopping by and supporting her book release.

Interview With Author C. Lee McKenzie

Today, the lovely C. Lee McKenzie is here to answer a few questions about her writing experience, and to fill us in on her latest book publication, Alligators Overhead.

A hundred years ago the Hadley mansion vanished. Now it's back, and Pete Riley, the town rascal, is in trouble! When his aunt disappears and the Ornofree alligators threaten war, it's up to Pete to save his aunt and stop that war. But how? (Check out the fun trailer at the bottom of this post)

And now, heeeeere's Lee!

1. Lee, from idea to final product, how did Alligators Overhead come to be?

I've been carrying around this title in my head for years. All I needed was a story to go with it, and lucky for me one sought me out. I've been meaning to write something with "magick" and a touch of spookiness that would appeal to kids. So when Pete Riley popped into my awareness along with his sidekick, Weasel, I was ecstatic. All I needed to do was figure out how to fly a few alligators and make readers suspend their disbelief enough to enjoy the idea. So with this book I kind of worked backwards. Title first. Characters second. Plot last.

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

Mostly I'm an in between, I guess. I start with an idea that's about as solid as Jello before it goes into the fridge, and then I work on creating a single sentence (or two) that gives me a "Through Line." That way I have a guide while I'm writing. I put that sentence in the header and adjust the story or the sentence(s) as needed. Sometimes I write the end first, then work my way to it. Other times I write scenes that I want in the book and connect them up. It's always a surprising process and it's never the same for any book.

3. You independently published Alligators Overhead through Outskirts Press. Can you tell us a bit about this experience?

I've been traditionally published by a small press two times. It was less work, I can tell you, than doing it all by yourself. Of course, Alligators Overhead is my first experience with Indie Publishing, so maybe next time will be easier. I hope so. I like the control I have as an Independent, and I'm scared to death I'm making all kinds of mistakes, so you can see where I am most of the time: elated with success, then miserable with self-doubt.

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

So far I'm totally impressed and quite possibly in love with Mark Coker at Smashwords. I like his approach to do-it-yourself publishing and his Style Guide was a great help. I'm published there as well as on Amazon and B & N, but I have't passed the second phase for Premium Status yet. I'm hoping it won't be long or that I won't have a lot more code issues to resolve.

I like Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads, so I focus on those. Of course, I'm a Moderator at YAlitchat and that group is very supportive of their writers, so I use that as well. The bloggers are wonderful and I think they are excellent at spreading the word about new books. Besides so many have become online friends, so I feel very comfortable "talking" to them about my books. 

I stopped thinking about printing and giving away bookmarks. I know a lot of people prefer paper books, but so many are turning to eBooks that I didn't see the point in spending money on anything involving printing and mailing. Besides, I think my sales will be mostly digital anyway.

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

Take vitamins and try to get good sleep. This is not a job for those without energy. If you're depressed, take a walk or stand on your head. Those two things seem to help me through slumps. You aren't alone and that's a good thing as well as a bad one. You have all kinds of support out there if you ask, but you have all kinds of competition, too. Be prepared for a long haul and, above all, keep your sense of humor.

Excellent advice, right? Big thanks to C. Lee McKenzie for stopping by and sharing her wisdom with us. She's kindly giving away to copies of Alligators Overhead. Simply leave a comment, and we'll draw two winners at random.

Tell us...how does your writing process compare to Lee's? Have you ever had the title first, characters second, and plot last?

Alligators Overhead is available at...

Smashwords
Amazon
Barns & Noble

Visit C. Lee McKenzie at...

Facebook
Twitter
And her website

C. Lee is a writer who captures the pulse of adolescent confusion in her Young Adult fiction, Sliding on the Edge and The Princess of Las Pulgas. She admits to revealing a lot of her Old Adult confusion while doing that. Alligators Overhead is her first Middle Grade novel. She lives in California with her husband and assorted animals at the edge of a redwood forest.