Prepare to Launch by Allison Symes

Thanks to all who supported my cyberlaunch for Tripping The Flash Fantastic. It was great to “see” many ACW people there.

When I started writing, nobody had heard of the term cyberlaunch. I was spending lots of time queuing in the Post Office to get manuscripts weighed and sent off by snail mail.

Most of what I needed to send to publishers would not fit in this box so a queue in the Post Office was something I got used to! Pixabay

I was still using Tippex though never on a manuscript I wanted to send to a publisher. I used it for my drafts when I didn’t need to type out the whole document again at that point. 

And yes, younger viewers, there were days before computers, cloud storage, cut and paste, email submissions, the internet, and smartphone! Don’t mention dinosaurs to me. There are times I feel like I am one… I’ll have you know I can hear you sniggering from here!.

So you’ve had to adapt, that’s what you’re telling us, Allison, isn’t it? Oh yes. (Cue the nodding dog from that annoying insurance advert).

Okay, go with that, we must all adapt.

The old school way of deducing an idea was not working out. Pixabay.

Some of us find this easier than others. This is where support, advice, and ideas from other writers helps enormously. (And something ACW does what it can to encourage). 

Don’t be afraid to share ideas on what you’ve found helpful or what went down as well as the proverbial lead balloon with other writers. They can run with that. 

You can run with the useful advice they share with you. There is a lot of truth in the saying “what goes around comes around” and it shows up well in the writing world.

Sharing ideas helps re-charge your own and other writers' ideas "store". Pixabay

I’ve gone from zero on the technological awareness scale to where I am now. (I’d say I’m a 7. I’m never going to be a “real techie” but am reasonably competent at what I know!).

For my first book, From Light to Dark and Back Again, my publisher held the cyberlaunch and I was co-host. That was a learning curve and a half but it prepared me for the launch I’ve just had where I ran the event myself.

The biggest thing I learned, and one that is always relevant to writers, is to prepare, prepare, prepare, and when you think you’re done, check and prepare again.

 

Good preparation is the key to making things happen. Pixabay.

I deliberately held my event as what was effectively a long Facebook post on one topic rather than as a Zoom or Facebook Live event.  

By holding a “post event”, I could share clips from music tracks, videos of me reading from my new book etc. I could prepare material and links in advance. It meant on the night  I could copy and paste my material, knowing it was good to go. I could then scroll down to respond to comments coming in (and it was amazing how well the Youtube clip of Monster Mash went down!). 

Probably better if you don't keep your notes on the PC quite like this! Pixabay

 

Doing the ground work does pay off. Your online event will flow better and you will be less stressed. 

A launch should be fun for you and your readers after all.

By holding a "long" Facebook post as my launch event, I could insert text, videos, and other interesting material and prep it all in advance. Pixabay.