Re-releasing a book…or Stress 2.0.

Releasing a book into the world can be a dream come true. However, I don’t think I need to conduct a poll to determine that most authors also find it stressful. I don’t think I’ve met an author yet who has come to their release day without some level of stress. There’s a lot of pressure, no matter how you publish. People always ask me, “How do you celebrate those occasions?” Celebrate? I probably should celebrate, but I’m usually glued to the computer, making sure everything goes smoothly. That was the case when A Good Man, Handymen 1, released on June 9.

What I never anticipated was that re-releasing a book would be twice as stressful as the first time around. Now, I should make it clear, that stress has been self-induced. No one stood over me, hands on hips, making outrageous demands. In fact, everyone involved in my re-release of A Good Man has been encouraging and supportive.

But the stress still lives in my brain. It’s quite comfortable there, picking at my insides, and it’ll take some effort to force it out.

Why? Well, the book has a new publisher now, and if you follow me here, you’ll know there were times when I wasn’t sure I’d find a new publisher for the story.  When I saw my beloved book disappear from retail outlets, it broke my heart, so I came into this with a measure of fear and worry. I want to do well for my new publisher. I want them to be happy they took me on and I’d like for them to be pleased with my sales. So, yeah, it’s stressful.

Finding new readers can be a challenge for authors at the best of times, and in my case, there were some other concerns as well. After all, my book originally came out in 2017. People read it then. Would I be able to create enough interest that new readers would want to snag a copy? Yes, the book has been re-edited, rebranded and polished, and it’s my hope that new readers will want to take it home with them.

And then there’s the whole rollercoaster of promotion. Would I be able to craft promotions that were distinct from what I did back in 2017? Would I be shouting into the wilderness? I’m fortunate in that lots of good people in the romance community shared the news of my re-release, but I never took that for granted. A part of me always wondered if they’d look at my re-release and think, “Meh.”  Luckily, that didn’t happen, and I’m appreciative of every share, mention and review. (Really appreciative, I can’t even tell you how much.)

All in all, it’s going well, and the book is getting some wonderful new reviews. Has my stress disappeared? Not by a long shot. I try very hard to let it go and concentrate on writing the next book, but I check sales every day. I check my mentions every day. When I’m tagged in a review, I read it and I send blogger reviews to my publisher so they will appear on my author page on their site. (Okay, I also do it so they’ll like me, so they’ll really, really like me.) I don’t go looking for reviews, though. I learned not to indulge in that nonsense ages ago.

What has this blog post proven? Probably nothing more than the fact that I have the nerves of an injured squirrel. My hope is that anyone going through the process of republishing a book will experience a lot less pressure. Hopefully, I’m the only one living with a case of Stress 2.0. Have you ever re-released a book? What emotions did you experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any helpful tips for dealing with stress. Drop a comment here!

And if you haven’t picked up your copy of A Good Man, Handymen 1, you can do so here: https://books2read.com/u/m2Vzlj

This nervous squirrel appreciates every nut that comes her way.