Genesis of a Novel – RELEASE DAY!

This is it.

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This is the day I’ve been working toward for over a year. The release day of my novel! Of course, this day is rather anticlimactic, as if I am smart, I’ll have done most of my work already with the ARCs and review requests, setting up ads, etc.

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However, I still need to shout it out from the treetops. I write a blog post, make announcements in various places – my Facebook page, Twitter, Linkedin, any other social networking platforms. I email my ARC recipients to remind them to please post their reviews. I check on any bloggers that are hosting me today.

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Then I wait.

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Then I refresh that Amazon link, looking for both sales and reviews. And again. And again. Several times per hour. Why isn’t it moving? Where are all my reviewers? ARGH! Oh, wait! There’s my first review, and it’s 5 stars, wooohoo!!!!  And I made more sales.

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My publisher said I made 147 sales in pre-order, so the opening day sales aren’t huge. I expect that now. Most people who wanted the novel had already bought it. Now they’re all reading it (hopefully) and enjoying it (even more hopefully).

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My baby has finally flown the nest (sniff!).  I hope they can fly.

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Another review! Two! Two whole reviews! Mwahahahah!

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More refreshes. A few more sales trickle in.

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That evening, I get ready for my Facebook Release Party. This is an online discussion at a particular time that anyone can join. Often other authors are invited in a ‘takeover’ format, so their fans can become your fans and vice versa. Prizes, discussions, etc. occur. Hilarity and even minor amusement.

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Then that’s over. Three reviews now, all five star. Yay! But what happened to the other 15 people that got ARCs? Some may not be done with the book. Some may have never read it. Some may have forgotten. I email them a reminder several days later – one had thought she’d posted a review, and hadn’t, so she fixed that right away.

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Now, 5 days after release, I’ve got 6 lovely reviews, including one that said those who love Outlander and Mists of Avalon would love my series. Gotta love that!

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And now my book goes back up to full price, and I start concentrating on the next novel coming out.

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I don’t forget about this one, of course. None of your books are ever ‘done’. The promotion and advertising is ongoing. They’re like children who have gone off to college, but you still have to bail them out when their car breaks down or they need to do their laundry. They’re always your children.

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And that’s it – the full Novel Cycle as given by me, a new author who loves to dive in head first.

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I hope the information has been helpful and enlightening!

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And perhaps, the next time you balk at the price of a novel being $4.99, you might just think of all the hours, work, and sweat that goes into that book.

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More parts!

Part I – The Beginning

Part II – Research

Part III – Place

Part IV – Scenes

Part V – Opening Lines

Part VI – Characters going Awry

Part VII – Scene by Scene

Part VIII – The Boggy Middle

Part IX – Procrastination and NaNoWriMo

Part X – More Procrastination and First Draft Done!

Part XI – Beta Readers

Part XII – Beta Edits

Part XIII – Submission!

Part XIV – Acceptance!

Part XV – First Round of Edits

Part XVI – Last Round of Edits and Cover Art

Part XVII – Artist Package, ARCs and Review Requests, Oh, My!

About Green Dragon Artist

Celtic Fairies, Fables, and Folklore! Bestselling author (top #100 Amazon Canada, #1 in Paranormal Fantasy, Amazon Canada) Christy Nicholas, also known as Green Dragon, is an author, artist and accountant. After she failed to become an airline pilot, she quit her ceaseless pursuit of careers that begin with 'A', and decided to concentrate on her writing. Since she has Project Completion Disorder, she is one of the few authors with NO unfinished novels. Christy has her hands in many crafts, including digital art, beaded jewelry, writing, and photography. In real life, she's a CPA, but having grown up with art all around her (her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are/were all artists), it sort of infected her, as it were. She wants to expose the incredible beauty in this world, hidden beneath the everyday grime of familiarity and habit, and share it with others. She uses characters out of time and places infused with magic and myth. Combine this love of beauty with a bit of financial sense and you get an art business. She does local art and craft shows, as well as sending her art to various science fiction conventions throughout the country and abroad. Facebook: www.facebook.com/greendragonauthor Homepage: www.greendragonartist.com Blog: www.greendragonartist.net Twitter: www.twitter.com/greendragon9