I started with a manuscript, and ended it with a book. In between, a quick summary of the year shows that things were eventful. The first book deal occurred in April, then the manuscript was released in June. After a few months of negotiation with various publishing houses I went with a small games publisher who released it in December.
The main problem with the launch was the snow, which no one could have expected. Sicne the books were stuck in a snow drift, with the publisher, printer and distributor snowed in, they weren't available on shelves. To recover this, I sent out author copies for review in early December but I only had a limited number. One bright spot was the launch reviews; to be honest, they've been better than I hoped or expected for a first novel.
Arrival, a short story I tweeted, pulled over 6,000 readers on various channels. It's now up on Smashwords as a free e-book, and has gained over 500 downloads and ten times that reading online. Post Christmas it should show up in the Premium Catalog - that's Kobo, Barnes and Noble and a few others - which might draw even more readers.
Next year looks promising. Now the publisher and distributor have their copies things should start to move. I know they are talking to bookstores, so we will have to see if central distribution can be arranged. Other events going on:
- A presence at Salute 2011
- More reviews coming out
- Magazine and genre coverage
- Bookstore and Library events being arranged
All in all, the new year is going to be an interesting time.
Merry Christmas!
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