I will be a published author in 15 days!

Once upon a time, I said I’d write a new blog post once a month.

There are a lot of things I said I’d do in service to my book, once upon a time. In reality, I have done only a fraction of them.

The things I’ve been panicky about lately are all the little things you don’t have to do in preparation for your book’s launch, but which I see my fellow debuts doing and feel like if I don’t do the same, I am dooming my book.

Such as:

• ordering custom bookmarks
• ordering custom bookplates (stickers with art around them you can sign and mail to people so they can put them inside their books)
• commissioning and ordering custom character art
• setting up a preorder campaign, complete with swag
• calling local Barnes & Nobles and offering to sign stock
• calling local indie bookstores and offering to sign stock
• arranging your own book tour
• running your own giveaways
• Not to mention POSTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA CONSTANTLY

A confession: in my previous life, I was a social media director, among other things, in various marketing departments. So you’d think marketing, the thing I went to school for and used to do professionally, would be something I’d be good at.

And it’s not that I’m not good at it—it’s more I don’t want to do it anymore.

Why?

There’s the fact that my previous career burned me out so badly I never want to look at Instagram analytics ever again. The way everything’s shifted to video-first, which is not my forte. And that promoting yourself is a lot different than promoting a brand.

But my main issue has been TIME.

Marketing is a full-time job, and I am a full-time author, as well as a parent.

I don’t have time to do all three, and when I have to choose between writing and marketing, I choose the writing. (Both come after the children, of course.) Lately, that’s meant rewriting book 2. (More info on that book coming … soon? I hope!)

They say an author’s personal efforts rarely do anything to affect book sales in a big way, unless you are a celebrity or big-time influencer, of which I am neither. But still: this is my debut novel. I want to be able to look back and say I did everything I could to make sure it sells well, so I can keep doing this thing I love (and which I think I’m pretty good at, if I do say so myself.)

So here I am, writing my little newsletters and posting my little videos and emailing Barnes & Nobles near me asking to sign stock (to utter radio silence) because I need to at least try.

So now we come to the blatant promo part of the newsletter. If you’d like to help (and you’re already doing a ton by subscribing to my newsletter!) you can:

• Preorder GIRLS WHO BURN! (US preorder links, UK & Ireland preorder links, Australia preorder link)
• Request it from your local Barnes & Noble. The stores don’t carry every book, so asking for it will ensure they order some copies!
• Request it from your local indie bookstore! Ditto to what I said about B&Ns above
• Request it from your local library! Libraries pay publishers for their copies, so that helps authors out a lot.
• Once you read it, post a rating and review! Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon are all great places to leave reviews (which you can do at the latter two even if you didn’t purchase it there, though Amazon requires you to wait until after publication.)
• Tell your friends, on social media and in real life! Suggest it to your book clubs! Yell about it on the street! (just kidding on that last one, sort of)

If you’ve done all these things, THANK YOU!

If you haven’t, that’s okay, too! We’re all strapped for time, money, responsibilities, etc. But I still thank you for being here on this journey with me!

Current:

Read: I recently finished Till Death Do Us Part by my friend Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. It’s a dual-timeline thriller that takes place a Napa Valley vineyard, and it is the perfect summer read to pair with multiple glasses of wine—you’re going to want one while reading this book!

Watch: Bridgerton, obviously, like everyone else in the world. I admit that Colin is not my fave, but I adore Penelope.

Listen: I’ve gotten my daughter into Julie and the Phantoms, and now that’s all that’s ever on in our house, and I’m somewhat regretting it.

Eat: It’s summer salad time! My favorite is this: 2 cans of beans, a can of corn, a pepper, 4 scallions, as much jalapeno as you can stand, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/8 cup cilantro, 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup lime juice. Mix together and eat every day!

Project: I just finished Book 2! It’s with some critique partners right now—writer friends who will read and give me their honest feedback. After I get that feedback, I’ll revise it before sending to my agents, and then eventually, my editor. More on that very soon, I hope!