Tips for Easier Launch Days

by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I was traditionally published, launch days felt incredibly stressful to me. That's because the publisher had a lot riding on the release…and for a fairly short period of time before bookstores started sending off returns.  Penguin liked to know what my plans for the launch were, how big my audience was, and if I needed the to schedule a blog tour.

While launches as a self-publishing author aren't nearly as stressful (and that's a good thing…I had 6 books release last year), they still create a real mix of feelings in me.  What I'd like to focus more on is the feeling of celebrating finishing another book. Maybe that should be a goal for this year.

Here's how I've tried to relieve the launch day pressure as much as possible: 

Make a list. Actually, a checklist and one that you can use for future releases is probably best here. I'm going to share my updated release day checklist on the blog in the next week or so. This way you can make sure you don't forget anything (I've had too many nights in the past where I woke up at 3 a.m. remembering I forgot to send thank you copies of the finished book to betas) and that alone is a big stress-reducer.

Schedule as much as possible in advance. This mainly pertains to social media or any blog posts you're doing to announce the release. The last thing you want to worry about on your launch day is tweaking images on Canva. Use a free program like Hootsuite to help you schedule ahead.

Write the all-important newsletter in advance. I do this wayyy in advance. My newsletter does promote the new book, of course, but I also use it as a way to share good books I've read and films I've watched, as well as a recipe. So when I do read or watch something great or make a good meal, I go ahead and save it as a draft in my newsletter. (I'm currently using MailerLite.)

Get everything else in your life under some semblance of control.  The thing about releases is that they can be all-consuming if you let them be. But we still have life going on in the background. I try to make sure that I'm caught up on any housework and errands and that there's food ready to eat in the fridge. It just means less stuff to worry over.

Have scheduled times of day to check in on social media. One of the things in the past that I've found most stressful has been staying on social media for too long during release days. It's great to quickly respond to reader comments, but then we can fall down a social media rabbit hole. Having planned times to check in on social is a great balance.  I find I do better if I completely close the social media tab and not have it run in the background.

Remember how important self-care is. This is probably the most important tip of all. If you know you're going to feel stressed (even happy stress), be sure to get enough sleep the night before, exercise the morning of the launch, eat well, and hydrate. It can help…a lot.

One additional important thing to remember is that publishing has a “long tail.” Our sales will take place over a long period of time…over the years of our careers.  Yes, the launch day is a big day, but not if we look at it as a small part of a big picture.

How do you handle launch day stress? Any other tips I've missed?

Tips for Reducing Release Day Stress:
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