💡 I Finished Draft 3 — And Here’s the Chaos Behind a Book Launch
My new book is out to beta readers! Here are some behind-the-scenes...
This past Saturday, I closed my laptop at 3:07pm with the quiet satisfaction of someone who has finally wrestled a wild animal into submission. That animal? My book.
Not just any book — the book I’ve been teasing for months. The book that was supposed to be a simple, updated edition of my previous nonfiction book, Six-Figure Freelance Writer. A quick glow-up, right? Add a few chapters, tweak the tips, expand some sections, and boom. Done.
Except… nope. Somewhere in the process of revising, I tore the whole house down to the studs and rebuilt it into an entirely new address. Same spirit, new bones. It’s an entirely new book, not a facelift — and it might be the most ambitious thing I’ve ever written.
And now? Draft three is done. Out of my hands. Into the inboxes of my beta readers (if that’s you, hi, thank you, and I love you!) 💕
While you’re reading, I’m doing something that’s both exhilarating and mildly terrifying: pulling the levers behind the scenes to make sure this book actually finds you — and the thousands of readers like you — when it goes live this January.
Let me take you inside the laboratory.
📚 The Book Isn’t the Only Beast
Writers love to romanticize “The End.” Cue the violins, the champagne toast, the Instagram post with a laptop and a latte. But here’s the thing nobody tells you: finishing the book is only half the climb.
The other half? The launch. The marketing. The PR. The endless positioning and strategy calls that make you feel like you accidentally got hired as your own CMO.
Here’s what my week looks like after hitting “send” on the draft:
PR blitz prep. Haley Raymond, my PR pro, and I are deep in positioning. We’re crafting messaging and pulling together a hit list of podcasts and media outlets. Think: a podcast tour that will eat your morning commute alive. She’s done a great job being really thorough with all of the different angles and considerations with the audience.
Marketing machine. Enter Renee Puvvada, book marketing genius. Her focus? Self-published authors who want their book to be more than a paperweight — something that actually builds businesses and communities. We’ve been working on everything from keyword research for Amazon to crafting a description that will hype up the book to potential readers. Renee has group programs and a community element to her book coaching as well as VIP 1:1 support, so go check out her offerings if you need help with your nonfiction book launch.
Landing page design. KL at Mushaboom Studios is designing a book landing page that doesn’t just say “Buy my book” but feels like an experience that makes it exciting for readers to pre-ordering. Something worth bookmarking. Something that makes you go, Oh damn, she came to play.
Surprise gifts. I’m partnering with a few more designers to create pre-order bonuses that will make early supporters feel like VIPs. Think exclusive, not-just-another-PDF gifts. (More on that soon.)
All of this is happening simultaneously while I’m fielding feedback from beta readers and trying to remember to, you know, also remember to touch grass and get some sleep from time to time.
⚡️ Why I Chose the Self-Publishing Gauntlet
Quick soapbox moment: self-publishing isn’t a consolation prize. It’s the future.
Here’s why:
Control = creativity. In traditional publishing, you’re often stuck with one format — hardcover or paperback, not both for most authors (which is a bummer!). Print runs vanish into the ether. And forget about creative control: you’re lucky if you get to veto a cover that looks like a Canva template gone rogue.
Math matters. Traditionally published authors get pennies per copy. Meanwhile, they’re doing 10x the work: launching, touring, hustling to sell more books just to break even. In self-publishing? The margins are better — you don’t need a huge audience to earn a living, and you have way more creative control (and nobody telling you what you can and can’t write!)
Speed + risk-taking. When you own the process, you move faster, take bolder risks, and serve your audience instead of a boardroom.
End rant. (But also, not really — we’ll come back to this in a future post.)
💻 Building the Book Marketing Scaffolding While Writing
Confession: I didn’t plan it this way. I thought I was revising an old book. So, naturally, I green-lit the marketing engine early — while still writing what I assumed would be “minor updates.”
Then the updates turned into a full rewrite. Then the rewrite turned into a brand-new book. And suddenly, I was juggling the first two rounds of revisions and keyword spreadsheets like some deranged literary octopus.
Would I recommend this? Only if you enjoy stress as a hobby. But in some twisted way, I love it.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
Deadlines outside yourself matter. When you’re self-published, you can move dates endlessly. That’s how manuscripts die in drawers. Having a team say, “Amy, where’s the draft?” kept me honest.
Marketing isn’t an afterthought. Especially for nonfiction. Your book isn’t just words — it’s scaffolding. Podcast bookings, press pitches, landing pages — these take months. You can’t just hit “publish” and hope things work out. (I’ve done that before. And while it actually did work out in the long run, I won’t recommend it as a strategy.)
📆 What’s Next?
Right now, I’m in the holding-your-breath phase: waiting for beta reader feedback, tweaking positioning, plotting announcements I can’t share yet without ruining the surprise.
January is circled in red on every calendar in this house. Between now and then, I’ll take you behind the scenes — the PR strategy, the podcast pitches, the marketing experiments that work (and the ones that flop spectacularly.)
If you’ve ever thought about writing a book — or if you just want to see what happens when a writer puts on her book launch cap — you’re in the right place.
For now: the book exists. Draft three is real. It’s messy and raw and thrilling, and I can’t wait for you to read it.
If you’re a beta reader? Thank you. Truly. I’m equal parts excited and terrified to hear what you think.
Stay tuned. The fun (and chaos) is just getting started.
❓Questions for you…
🔥 Your turn: Curious about self-publishing? Are you working on a book of your own? Drop your Amazon links, book updates, or any questions in the comments — I’ll weave them into upcoming posts.