TERRA INCOGNITA: ANATOMY OF A BOOK RELEASE This is the third of a four-part series about the release of Terra Incognita: THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (novel. Orbit Books) and Terra Incognita: BEYOND THE HORIZON (rock CD, ProgRock Records) on June 2. Part 3. Paying Attention to the Readers and Fans As we built toward the release of the novel and its accompanying rock CD, the buzz began to increase, week after week, as the word spread. Since Orbit had developed such an ambitious and beautiful widget containing sample chapters, sample songs, an author video, and animated cover art, we looked for ways to encourage...
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This is the second of a four-part series about the release of Terra Incognita: THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (novel. Orbit Books) and Terra Incognita: BEYOND THE HORIZON (rock CD, ProgRock Records) on June 2. Part 2. Music and Words—Epic Fantasy Novel, Epic Rock CD In Part 1, I described our efforts to begin building steam for the release of the novel Terra Incognita: THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, months before its release. However, I had actually begun another part of the project almost two years earlier, during the planning and research stages of the novel, which would make this...
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This will be a four-part series on the background efforts behind the release of a book. Part 1: Building Steam Writing the novel isn’t enough. In these days of numerous demands on the audience’s time and interest, an author can’t just deliver the finished manuscript to a publisher and trust that everything else will happen automatically. When the book itself is completed, a lot of the writer’s work is just beginning. Although I’m a prolific author, each new book release requires specific attention, a plan to ensure that the right audience knows about it, most particularly in certain cases where...
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Many aspiring writers send me e-mails asking for advice on many aspects of the publishing and writing business. Two blogs I would strongly encourage you to follow are by David Farland (Dave Wolverton) and Kristine Kathryn Rusch—both are bestselling, award-winning, and prolific authors, and both know what they're talking about. Kristine Kathryn Rusch posts a regular Freelancer's Survival Guide with topics that are spot on. You would be wise to read, and follow, what she says. Dave publishes his "Dave Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants," a thorough and interesting series of tips and observation. I hope you find them...
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