By Frank DiBianca
Knowing new authors have many questions about the publication process, I am relating my experience with Iron Stream Fiction, an imprint of Iron Stream Media. One of the questions on the forms my publisher asked me to fill out in preparation for the publication of my suspense novel, Laser Trap (LT), was “Do you want to work with us to develop a book launch team?” I answered affirmatively and filled out some questions on the form. Sometime later, I was assigned to an Author Care Specialist (ACS), who modestly prefers anonymity, and several months before the release date (June 7, 2022), we started to work together regularly. Here is a brief outline of what we did.
One of the things the ACS and I did before the launch team started up was to find half a dozen or so people in the writing community who would read, and write endorsements for, LT. We were fortunate to enlist seven talented editors and/or published novelists who agreed to endorse the book. Their endorsements will be published in the front pages of LT.
The first launch task for me was to assemble a group of up to fifty people who would help promote and advertise the book—the basic purpose of the launch team. I contacted fellow writers, friends and family members, and most responded enthusiastically. We now have a team of thirty launch-team members. I communicate with them by weekly email bulletins and they respond with their questions or comments. Since nowadays people are very busy, the ACS and I agreed to limit my main activity requests to four things:
- Please read the Advance Reader Copy of Laser Trap provided by the publisher, and post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads;
- As you read, please jot down favorite lines and share them on social media;
- Please digitally distribute the brochure I compiled (based on material the publisher provided on the LT Amazon listing); and
- Please recommend LT to your social media contacts, friends, and family.
In the background, my ACS has been working on many other parallel tasks, such as preparing press releases and bookmarks, contacting book stores, news media, and influencers, and asking me and the rest of the team to make humorous memes advertising the book.
A month or so after the launch team had begun operating, I thought it would be nice to take a break for a few days. I’ve always enjoyed games that included things like logic, math, and geometry—simple, mind you. So, I dreamed up the game outlined below, called WHAT ARE WE? Each day I would release at 7:00a.m. Central time a fact and an accompanying clue. Team members could email me one guess per day, and the first five people who submitted correct answers would win prizes. The first four days of the game are shown below. The game lasted five days, but no more clues were added. A total of seven people played the game—it was a bit too difficult. Still, four people submitted correct answers.
I invite readers to submit your guesses along with any comments you may have. The day after this blog runs, I’ll tell you the answer.
WHAT ARE WE?
DAY FACT CLUE .
1 ONE OF US MAKES NOTHING. “MOST PEOPLE HAVE SEEN US.”
2 TWO OF US MAKE A ONE. “WE ARE USUALLY SMALL BUT INFLUENTIAL.”
3 THREE OF US MAKE A SEVEN. “YOU MAY SEE US IN THE KITCHEN, BEDROOM, AND FAMILY ROOM.”
4 SIX OF US MAKE A ZERO, SIX, “ EVERY DIGIT HAS SEVEN OF US, BUT WE ARE ALL TURNED ON ONLY
OR NINE. TO MAKE AN EIGHT. TO SEE OUR DETAILS, STAND CLOSE AND USE A MAGNIFIER.”
And now we go back to work.
A launch team provides solid support for writers like a launch pad does for astronauts. @fdibianca #ACFWBlogs #writetip #critiques #ACFWCommunity Click To Tweet
Frank A. DiBianca is a fiction writer and retired university professor. He received a Ph.D. in high-energy physics from Carnegie-Mellon University and later worked in biomedical engineering. Frank lives in Memphis with his author-wife, Kay, an award-winning mystery author. His debut suspense novel, Laser Trap, is scheduled for publication by Iron Stream Fiction, an imprint of Iron Stream Media.