Tag Archives: manuscript to market

From Manuscript to Market: A List of Essentials

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by @AnnieDaylon

Manuscript to MarketFinished your manuscript?
Turned it over to your spectacularly brilliant copy-editor/designer wizard?
Breathing a sigh of relief, are you?
Well, suck that breath back in! It’s time to get your pre-publication kit together!

Hopefully, you’ve been filing info as you go: organization makes the final stages easier. Right now, I am in the middle of gathering pre-production information for my novel, OF SEA AND SEED, The Kerrigan Chronicles # 1.
 While I’m at it, I’m sharing it because most of what I need, you will too.

Here is my list:

  • Acknowledgements. It takes a village. Remember to thank every member.

  • Author Bio. Keep the bio short.

  • Author Headshot. Make it professional.

  • Bibliography. This is a maybe,  necessary for me, as my literary suspense series is set in historical Newfoundland.

  • Book Endorsements. You need a blurb or two or three for the cover of your book. So write a few authors and make a request. Ask and ye shall receive, or not. But ask anyway.(One of my favorite quotes comes from Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”)

  • Call to Action. In the back of your book, include some or all of the following: a link to your homepage and social media, a bonus offer if they sign to your mailing list, a chapter of your next book, a letter asking for review.

  • Cover Image. Use a stock image or hire an artist. (The image for my above cover mock-up comes from Shutterstock.) In your book, credit source of image.

  • Dedication. (for Mom? Dad? Dog? Place?)

  • Disclaimer. “A statement that is meant to prevent an incorrect understanding of something (such as a book, a movie, or an advertisement”~ Miriam-Webster Dictionary (This is standard in all fiction. For examples, just check the front pages of any novel.)

  • Epigraph. Short quote for front, if you plan to use one. Caution here: think Public Domain.

  • Flap Copy.  Brief synopsis for back cover, one that will draw reader in.

  • Key Words for SEO. Brainstorm. Check genre. 

  • List of other Publications. All other books written by you.

  • Map ? (Maybe you need a map inside the cover? I plan to use a map of Newfoundland as a frame of reference for readers.)

  • Pricing Strategy. Check others in your genre.

  • Questions for Reading Clubs. Compile a list and put it in the back.

Am I forgetting anything?  Please share any info you have!!

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My best to you,

Annie Signature Light Blue