by Kassandra Lamb ~ I always forget just how much work goes into releasing a new book. The whole process reminds me of being pregnant and having a baby.
First the Pregnancy
It starts off okay…a little bit of “morning sickness,” taking the form of anxiety over whether or not I will have enough plot points to fill up an entire novel.
Then I get into the flow and it’s not bad at all. The baby, I mean the book is growing, slowly but surely.
The “Third Trimester”
This is the editing stage. This is mostly fun at first, seeing how the book is shaping up nicely, filling out the skimpy spots. And really getting into anticipating its birth.
Then comes the middle of the night heartburn, when I wake up at 3 a.m. realizing there’s a plot hole you can drive a truck through in Chapter Six. Or not being able to find a comfortable position to get back to sleep, because I’m sure somewhere in that big, fat book, I’ve screwed up the timeline.
Oh, and this is the phase when the cover designer is working on that “bring baby home from the hospital” outfit.
Labor
Yay, the “baby” is all done, ready to come out into the world. But there’s a heck of a lot of work involved in making that happen.
My Pre-Launch Task List is two pages long!
First there’s writing the book description, one the the hardest things ever to write—how do you summarize an 80,000-word novel in a few short paragraphs? Then it’s time to upload the book everywhere for “preorder.” To me this is like the Braxton-Hicks false labor pains of the releasing a new book process.
It’s acting like it’s almost out there…but it’s not.
There’s a lot more labor to go through. For example, the long tedious process of doing word searches for overused words…Ugh! My favorites are “just” and “actually.” Actually, I use “just” on just about every page. Thank heavens for computerized word searches.
Setting up promotions happens in this stage as well. Buying ads, maybe planning a blog tour, writing the blog posts, promoting the preorder on social media, etc.
Then there’s the proofreading and the formatting. Sometimes, authors hire those tasks out, but you still have to do some checking after the files come back.
Delivery
Finally it’s the night before Release Day, and I’m double-checking my list to make sure nothing has been forgotten.
Then ooomph, one final push and it’s out there. My new book baby is born!
Two Final Similarities
One, it takes me about nine months to complete this entire process of writing, polishing, publishing, and releasing a new book.
Two, the memory of the pain and suffering involved in the birthing process fades quickly. That length of time, combined with how pleased I am with my adorable new book baby, means I forget just how hard the process of getting one out into the world really is.
And I foolishly do it all again! 😀
So without further ado, may I present to the world my New Book Baby!
Note: This series is a spinoff from the Kate Huntington Mysteries. Judith Anderson was the police lieutenant in that series. In case you haven’t read that series yet, I have the collection of Books 1-5 of the Kate books on sale right now, for 99 cents! (But it’s not necessary to have read that series to understand what’s going on in this book.)
LETHAL ASSUMPTIONS, A C.o.P. on the Scene Mystery
Judith Anderson’s no-nonsense attitude and confidence served her well in her climb to homicide lieutenant in the Baltimore County PD, but that confidence is shaken when she finds herself one step behind a serial killer—just eight days into her new job as Chief of Police in a small Florida city.
The first victim, a female college student, may be a case of wrong place, wrong time. But the bodies keep coming, with a mishmash of MOs, and the murders may be linked to various cases in nearby Jacksonville.
While Judith assumed the CoP job would be challenging, she’s finding it harder than she imagined to establish her authority without alienating and be more hands-on without micro-managing. Plus, evidence is staking up that there’s a leak in her department.
Who can she trust? If she makes the wrong assumption, the wrong decision, it may be her last. In a race to save lives, she’ll draw on every talent and instinct that made her a star in Baltimore. But will that be enough this time?
Fans of JA Jance’s Sheriff Joanna Brady and JD Robb’s Eve Dallas will love this new female cop on the scene!
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Posted by Kassandra Lamb. Kassandra is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida. She also writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale.
Misterio press produces an array of quality crime fiction. We post here twice a month, usually on Tuesdays, to alert you to new releases, to entertain, and to inform.
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