The Edge of Solitude Pre-Publication Diary: 5 Months To Go
Proofs, plans & pitches - or, how making lists keeps me from screaming into the void
You know that moment on a rollercoaster: chugging to the top of the first big hill, you feel the kinetic energy building, the momentum gathering, and you know that any moment now, you’ll be hurtling down the track, twisting and turning and looping, carried through until you arrive – dizzy and buzzing with adrenaline – at the end?
That’s how I feel at the moment, five months out from publication of my second novel.
Up till now, it’s felt like all the pre-publication work I’ve been doing has just been laying the foundations. Getting my ducks in a row. Planning and making lists and thinking about what might need doing. The book is written, the publisher is working away under the surface like webbed feet propelling a swan across the lake, and slowly all the threads are drawing together.
Ok, I’m mixing far too many metaphors there, but you get the idea. Stuff has been happening on the quiet, and now suddenly, things are about to get LOUD.
What do I mean by that exactly? I mean that more conversations will start to happen beyond the bubble of me, the publisher and my agent. We’re pitching to festivals and bookshops. We’re sending out advance proof copies to other writers. And pretty soon, we’ll be sharing the cover on social media – and will be shouting from the rooftops BIG-TIME about the book.
So, with 5 months to go till publication, what have I been doing?
The observant readers among you (and if that’s you, thank you for following my Substack so attentively!) will have noticed that there was no ‘6 months to go’ post. This was partly because the 6-month mark was over the Christmas period. And partly because I took some time away from my desk for family reasons.
With that in mind, the past two months have involved:
Campaigns meeting: a conversation with everyone involved with campaigns for the book: publicity, marketing, my editor, my agent… A chance to make sure we were all on the same page (pun intended), and to get to grips with what we’re going to do next.
Zoom with Molly Aitken: I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: having a book out is so much easier when you have someone else going through the same thing. When My Name is Monster came out in 2019, I had a WhatsApp group of other debut writers. We would bounce worries and successes off each other, and became such a supportive space, and also somewhere to go if I was getting my knickers in a twist, or when I wasn’t sure if something was normal. Because, of course, none of us had ever published a novel before. Flash forward to my second novel, and I have a bit more of an idea what to expect – but talking it through with someone else who’s going through the same thing is still invaluable, and for me, that person is the wonderful writer Molly Aitken. (It also means we can work together to publicise our books – many hands make light work, and all that – but more on that later.)
Start posting book-related content on social media: this may be misleading, as I’ve been posting about the book ever since I started writing it. But now that publication is looming, I’m posting with more intention. Obviously I don’t mean just tweeting ‘buy my book’ every few days, because that gets annoying very quickly. But I’m posting Antarctica photos, posting updates about the publishing process – that sort of thing. For instance, in the run-up to Christmas, I posted an ‘Antarctic Advent Calendar’, where I shared a photo from my Antarctica travels every day.
Contact festivals: I’ve been contacting more festivals, pitching the book, and pitching myself for events. This is something the publicity team at Canongate are also doing – but there will always be some festivals they contact which I won’t, or events which aren’t on their books but which could benefit from direct author approach. Not to mention, there’s nothing wrong with a belt & braces approach.
Filmed a short info-video for Canongate to share with booksellers: this is something I hadn’t thought about doing myself, but was asked to do by the publisher. Every so often publishers ‘present’ to booksellers, to let them know about upcoming titles, and of course encourage them to stock the books abundance.
Proofs: on their way! They haven’t arrived yet from the printers, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing any proof-related work. Having made a list a couple of months ago of people I wanted to send copies to, I’ve now filled in the spreadsheet Canongate created, with their names and (where I have them) addresses. I’ve started contacting people I don’t have addresses for, and written notes & letters to enclose within the proof copies when they do start to go in the post. And, most excitingly of all, I’ve sent advance digital proofs to a couple of people – and had the first quotes back! I’ll be sharing these on social media further down the line, so keep an eye out for them!
Added pre-order link to my website: and yes, this is something I’ve finally got round to doing. So you can now pre-order the book not only via my social media, but also my website. And, incidentally, from this button right here:
What am I planning on doing next?
As I said, things are about to get LOUD, so it looks like February will be a fairly busy month…
Follow up from the campaigns meeting: send an email confirming all the things we talked about in the campaigns meeting, and starting to move forward with the various different bits of the campaign.
Cover reveal! I am so so SO excited for this! Canongate have produced the images for social media, and we’re just working out when we’ll be unleashing them on the world!
Proof unboxing! When the proofs do arrive (hopefully any day now!) I will be making an unboxing video, and posting it online. And then probably celebrating with a glass of something, because why not?
Proof drop around Cumbrian bookshops: this may happen in February, it may be March – it all depends on when those proofs arrive from the printers...
Plan a pre-launch proof party: remember what I said about teaming up with another writer, and many hands making light work? Well, Molly Aitken & I are planning a party! A proof party, to be exact. With bloggers and booktokers. No details as yet – we’re having a meeting about it this afternoon, actually – but it’s on the cards.
Plan book launch and other events around publication: and speaking of celebrations… I’m starting to plan events for around the time of the launch. Not all the events, as Canongate will be pitching some of these to certain festivals and bookshops etc. – but some. A local launch. Events with a couple of local bookshops. Events teaming up with other writers, or at particular non-bookshop venues that I think would work for the book. A mini-tour, if you like.
Pitch(es) for off-the-book writing: this is writing that happens around the book, but not directly from it. For instance, articles or features that link to topics or themes in the book. I’ll be honest, I’ve been putting this off for a while, but I think February might finally be the month to get down to it.
And that’s my plan! To be honest, writing this all out, it would be easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. But I have an amazing support team at Canongate, and I do so love to cross things off a list. Little by little, step by step. And after all, I’ve worked bloody hard on this book – the least I can do is send it out into the world with its best chance.
I love your posts Katie! I'm at the six month mark for The Ghost Lake, my advance copies are at the printer this week and I just came out of my first marketing meeting. You have such a great way of clarifying where you are in the middle of the process, it's genuinely helpful - I look at it and it calms my own nerves. Thanks for sharing x