5 Easy Steps To Surviving Your Release Day

You worked hard writing the love of your life and your big day has finally arrived. Here are five tips to make your release an epic success:
 

1. Don’t worry about sleep. You won’t need it: It’s not like you’ll need the energy for all the tweets, Facebook posts, emails you will be responding to throughout the day. I mean, sure you’ll want to thank everyone who congratulates you and let them rejoice in your big day, but isn’t that what an adrenalin rush is for? Unfortunately, the adrenalin rush won’t last long into the afternoon, but that’s okay, tip #4 will get you through the downward spiral.

2. Obsess over your rankings: Nothing makes your release day more complete than checking your ranking on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo (Canada), iBooks, every five minutes. Who cares if they are only updated hourly? You wouldn’t want to miss it when the numbers change. Right?

3. Prepare your acceptance speech for hitting the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists: It doesn’t matter that your publisher didn’t give you the PR support it gives its bestsellers. It doesn’t matter that bestselling authors aren’t tweeting and posting on Facebook that your book is better than anything by J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, combined. It doesn’t matter that no one has heard of your book before today, it will hit #1. Guaranteed. So instead of working on your next book (because really, who needs to write a second book anyway?), research the Academy Award winning actors you want to star in the movie adaptation. That is a much better use of your time.

4. Stock up on wine and chocolate and caffeine: Since you’ve skipped on the goodnight sleep, OD’ing on chocolate and caffeine will keep you awake when your adrenalin levels crash. And because you will be experiencing an emotional rollercoaster over the next few days, where one minute you’re happy and the next you’re weeping*, the wine and chocolate will help balance out your mood swings. 

5. Don’t do anything to prepare for your launch date: Or better yet, spam like crazy. Tweet every five minutes about how awesome your book is. Start doing this a month before your release day. Tweet EVERY SENTENCE from all your positive reviews. This way, readers don’t have to go to Goodreads or Amazon to read the full review. Tweet teaser pictures with pornographic photos. Mom’s just LOVE IT when those show up in their feeds as their kids walk into the room. They’re bound to buy your book after that. Tweet every link to every post that mentions your book, and do this at one-minute intervals. When conversing on Twitter with friends and other people you follow, make sure you slip in your title in every tweet. And while you’re at it, DM everyone you can about your new release. Repeat the same on Facebook. And don’t forget to mention your book on every blog and Facebook post you comment on.

*While the post is mocking what you shouldn’t do to celebrate your release day/week, the part about mood swings is true. I talked to several authors and they agreed that it happened to them, too. If we had known about it ahead of time, we would have known it’s normal to feel this way, and we wouldn’t have let it stress us out. 

This is your big day, enjoy it. Go out for dinner or do whatever it takes to make it special. You deserve it!

Do you have any advice for surviving the release day/week (both the dos and the don’ts)?

Stina Lindenblatt @StinaLL writes Young Adult and New Adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and can be found at her blog/website.  She is represented by Marisa Corvisiero, and finds it weird talking about herself in third person. Her debut New Adult contemporary romance TELL ME WHEN (Carina Press, HQN) is now available.