Releasing a novel is easy. You just give it a little push on to the back cover and it waddles out into the wild, like freeing a fawn back into the forest. I'm being slightly sarcastic, because a book release is a prime time to put in some extra work to gain traction and capitalize on momentum. I've spent a lot of time this June working on the launch for She's Going to Kill You, which just released a few days ago. Here are some things I've learned over the four books I've released.
CHECKLIST: Regardless of what you decide to do or not do for your book release, I encourage you to make a checklist. I have one that maps out what I plan to do for the four days following the release. This will help keep you on track and you can make notes about what to add or do differently for the next release. My checklist covers about four days, and under each day, I've got a list of posts, advertisements, emails, and other tasks to complete.
RELEASE SALE & ADVERTS: I've found that this makes a tremendous difference in my initial sales. This is listed for day one on my checklist. I've had some poor luck with adverts that don't offer a sale, but these sales adverts always perform decently. While my book is out for proofreading, I put together some images for the release sale. Then, at a later date, I release the book on a Friday and have a sale over the weekend. That entire weekend, I'm running the adverts.
ASK FOR REVIEWS: Most of us will have a handful of people that read our work before publishing. That might be an editor, friend, family member, coworker, beta reader, or some stranger on the street. Regardless of who has read your work, ask them for a review on Amazon. They should disclose that they were a beta reader or what not, but the review will still be helpful in gaining traction. Most people are happy to help and love to share their opinions.
POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA & SEND OUT RELEASE EMAILS: If you don't have any social media or any kind of mailing list. I highly recommend starting immediately. Much of my sales come from my mailing list. As soon as a book drops, I send out an email about the new release sale to my subscribers. Then I post on all my social media channels each day until the sale is over. In these posts and emails, I'm using some of the same images I used for the adverts.
THE MORE: There's a lot more you can do for a new release, but these are some of my top tasks. Other options are things like giveaways, book trailers, etc. You'll need to find what works best for you and your audience through some trial and error.
I hope this is helpful and the best of luck to you on any current and future releases!

CURRENTLY LISTENING:
I suspect most people have heard of Ghost in the Shell. It's an international science fiction success with movies, series, manga, books, videogames, etc. If you haven't seen the Stand Alone Complex TV series, you're missing out on one of the best futuristic crime dramas that exist. Something as groundbreaking as the original Blade Runner. But I'm not here today to tell you about all that. I'm here to say that I'm listening to the OST of an old Ghost in the Shell Playstation game. I doubt many people have heard of it, yet alone, still listen to the soundtrack. It's not for everyone, and maybe I just like it for the nostalgic value. You can check it out here if you're interested.
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