AuthorTube: Finalizing my Third Book for Release

 

If you prefer video format, you can watch it here. 

We are in the final stretch for my third book's release, and I can't wait to share the cover with you!

Formatting

I'm immensely proud of myself because the first two books I self-published took 8+ hours to format whereas this manuscript took 3 hours to format with minimal changes needed after reviewing the proof copy. I can't use Vellum because I don't use Apple, Atticus wasn't in the cards monetarily, and I lack the skills to use Adobe Photoshop. MS Word has been my formatting tool, and once I learned all the tricks, it because so much easier to use!

For the formatting changes, I made a list of everything that needed to get done before I move on to the file for IngramSpark. Firstly, the wrap: the words on the spine needed alignment, the cover image needed brightening, and the house logo on the back needed to be minimized to match my previous covers. After that, internally the gutter was too narrow so I'm widening that out and adjusting the font size on a singular page because I never fail to have at least one page in every proof copy that has a larger font size than the rest. 

I'm also not including the title and my name in the headers because I prefer the cleaner aesthetic and don't want to jam a bunch of words together (it's a 5" by 8" so space is valuable). Finally, I need to include the review request page as well as my social media handles in the back matter and see if I can improve the image quality of the section headers. 

After that, it's on to proofreading and making any last minute corrections to the pieces before I move on to create the files for the other platforms, of which I have a separate list. 

Final Tasks

In addition to IngramSpark, I need to create a file for KDP's Kindle (with Amazon links) and a file for Draft2Digital and Kobo Writing Life (with universal links). 

For social media, I already created 9 quote reels and 12 static posts that will go up during the preorder. I also need to create 4 face reels to gain traction with different audiences. My social media marketing will focus on Instagram and YouTube with some presence on Threads and Pinterest. 

The third week of July will see the ARC sign-up list go live for two weeks with the eARCs getting delivered on August 2nd. For my long form videos, I have 5 videos planned centered on this book that will being July 19th and end on the release day, August 23rd. 

Once the above formatting is completed, every other platform should take around 15 minutes from start to finish, and then all I need to focus on is uploading premade content to push sales. We're so close to the cover and title reveal, and I can't wait to share this dark collection with the world! Be sure to join us on Instagram for the Wheel of Fortune-styled game to guess the title beginning on July 14th!

See you soon!