This is a good time to follow up on the bound galleys that were sent to major reviewers. Usually the best approach is by telephone, but check their guidelines on the Web to be sure.
If you have an active Web site, the book should be listed and strongly promoted by now, with provisions in place for taking advance orders. You may want to also adopt a separate Web site just for the book. If you work with a fulfillment company such as Book Clearing House, make sure all the materials are provided for its site.
Finished books are likely to arrive from the printer at about this time. Ideally, you should already have media lists, press releases, and press kits ready to go, with or without review copies.
Mail the first round of review copies. Numbers will vary (from as few as twenty to as many as a thousand, sometimes more) depending on a great many considerations. A very carefully selected mail list is essential.
The nature of the press kit accompanying the review copies will also vary greatly. Depending on the situation, it may be just a press release and pitch letter enclosed with the book. In other cases it is worthwhile to create an attractive folder with many additional materials.
News releases should also be sent to many other media—usually at least 2,000. The preferred method for this is usually fax, but in some instances e-mail may also be acceptable. Regular mail has advantages, because one can enclose sidebars and other materials. In most cases, a review copy should be offered if the person receiving this material requests it.
The book should be listed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major Web stores. If the listings are minimal, supply the material needed for enhancements.
Be sure to send finished books to every major reviewer who received a bound galley, even if there is no review. Sometimes, this can make a last-minute difference, particularly if it's a very attractive book. At the very least, this is a courtesy to major reviewers whom you will be approaching again when you release another book.
By now you should know whether you are receiving reviews from the advance galleys you sent to library publications such as Library Journal and Booklist. If there are favorable reviews in these publications, start making arrangements to print fliers quoting the reviews to be mailed in library mailing programs. Small advertisements in library publications such as ALA quoting the reviews may also be worthwhile.
This is a good time to start making arrangements for book signings and talks at stores and other venues such as libraries.
As of this date, you can no longer use words such as "advance" and "forthcoming" in promoting the book, but you can still call it "new" for a few weeks or even months. This is a good day to tie up loose ends.
- Are there important magazines that haven't yet received review copies?
- Does it seem appropriate to fax a second press release to a new list?
- Did you remember to send a press release to your Alma Mater to include its alumni publications?
- How about your local weekly?
- Have you brought a book to the manager of your local bookstore and asked if a signing can be arranged?
- Have you followed up with contacts who have already received materials?
This is also a good time to take a new look at your publicity program, to see if any mid-course changes are in order. How you proceed from here depends in part on how your publicity has been received so far. (If everything has been disappointing so far, don't give up! We all want instant success, but, historically, some of the biggest-selling books have failed to become popular until years after publication.)
Publication day is also a good time to break out the champagne with your spouse/partner and anybody else who has been helpful and supportive. Don't forget to send thank-you notes and free copies to people who gave you cover quotes, provided information, or performed other good deeds to help make possible this great book.
If the author is an articulate speaker, start a campaign of broadcast appearances, which can continue as long as the book remains in print.
Bookstore signings and library readings can also continue long after the book is in print.
When people tell you they like the book, encourage them to write a review for Amazon and BN.Com.
Monitor the media. If a news event occurs that overlaps with the book's subject matter, contact journalists covering the events and fax news releases with your author's comments. If the subject is back in the news frequently, consider faxes with new angles once a month or more.
Consider listing your author in the various reference books and on Web sites of experts available for interview by journalists.
Consider subscribing to a service such as Profnet.com , which connects journalists with experts (your authors). If you have only one or two authors who are likely to benefit, then it will probably be less expensive to work with a PR company that subscribes to the service.
If you did not receive early reviews from major library publications, work hard to get write-ups in other publications that are respected by librarians. Some of them will review books after the publication date. With appropriate reviews you'll be able to sell thousands of books to libraries. Without the reviews you'll sell almost none.
If a book has suffered from inadequate early promotion, it is possible to undertake a media blitz for an older title. If a book has done well early on but sales have declined sharply, create new promotions to revive public interest. It's never too late to launch a new publicity campaign for a book that is well written and well produced, with information that is still valid.
We wish you all the best.
and manufacturing using solar energy 