Part of the book cover – more to come!
My book Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is slated for a soft launch on July 6th, less than a month away. And, yes, I’m super nervous and stressed because there’s so much to do!
Breathe.
I announced a few weeks ago that I’ve committed to being a full-time writer for at least the next year. My goal is to make a living out of the craft I’ve wanted to pursue seriously since age 15. I’m incredibly fortunate that I can afford to jump in like this, and, well, I have decades of writing to catch up on.
To jumpstart this exciting and nerve-wracking career, I’ve decided to re-release an updated version of a book I wrote in 2008 called Rock Gods of Acht – now called Rock Gods & Messy Monsters.
I’m doing this for a couple of reasons. First, I felt so depressed from all the publisher and agent rejections I got back then that I essentially gave up on novel writing. I convinced myself that blog writing was enough of a creative outlet. (It’s not.) I also had such low, low, low self-esteem around my writing that I didn’t promote Rock Gods after I’d decided to indie publish the book.
A good friend I hadn’t seen in many years contacted me a couple of months ago to say she’d read my original book.
She was so moved by the story that it prompted her to quit her six-figure job. She’s now pursuing the career she wanted to do for many years.
She commented that I had the point of the book all wrong. I always thought the story was about the demise of the corporate music industry in the 1990s, but she opened my eyes to the meaning behind the words.
Yes, the novel is set in a record company, but it’s not about the music industry. The book is a cautionary tale about how our dreams can sometimes be nightmares when they manifest. It’s a reminder that we create our own reality, and we have the power to change through courage, commitment, and self-love.
I’m currently developing a new marketing plan and will be indie publishing the updated version in July. Proof copies are in the mail as I type this.
I’ve chosen to start with a soft launch to take some pressure off. If you haven’t heard the term before, soft launch is similar to beta testing. The book will go up online and be available to buy, but I won’t do any big promotion or push behind it just yet. That will give me time to get reviews and blurbs, fix any mistakes I might find, and finalize my marketing efforts.
And that leads me to the point of this post. If you’ve read this far and have always wanted to help promote a book, or if you know me and are dying to help out, I’m looking for up to twenty people to be part of the Messy Monsters Street Team. When I worked in the music industry, street teams would do guerilla marketing – like hang band posters up around town (without permission), call radio stations to request songs, etc.
Publishing now uses street teams also. I’m looking for people who’d be willing to read the book and write an honest review and/or help with some marketing decisions like the target audience and what swag to make.
If you’d like to help, please fill out my Messy Monsters form. I’ll get back to you in a week or two with more info.
And whether or not being part of a marketing team interests you, I’ll keep you updated on the book and its progress. If you aren’t a subscriber to Next Draft yet, please sign up – this is the official Rock Gods hangout to get news and info, so you’ll hear everything first here.
Thanks!