BREAKING DOWN MY DAY: RELEASE DAY
I've talked before about my usual writing day (found here) and the days running up to release (found here) but I thought I would do the actual release day itself, and how my day usually goes. I've started this series simply because I feel like a lot of people don't realise just how much work goes on behind the scenes, and even though I won't be listing exact times nor exact things, I will give you some idea of how things go, for me, come release day.
06:00-09:00
I usually wake up around 6am, and will then do whatever work I need to that isn't linked to the release in this time, so either a chapter or some other piece of admin stuff that I've got in the planner to do. If I finish early, I'll watch some youtube videos and start checking things like ads and ARCs are all done. This is my pre-work stuff, even though I'm kinda working already at this point.
09:30-10:30
This hour is taken up by either scheduling or posting release day stuff on social media. I like to try and space it out so that it's seen by people at different times, and of course even though I'm in the UK, there's other parts of the world who I want to see my posts. This can take longer than an hour, I usually have the posts already done by that point, as in I've made the graphics and all of that so it's just the scheduling and cross-posting that take this time up.
11:00-12:30
I will chat with a friend, go over edits depending on whether I am in the process of preparing another book for release (in May release yes, in October release, no). I'll also try and take a bit of downtime here, and just monitor social media and emails and such with a bit of a hands off approach. Depending on how this time goes, I might even try and sneak a nap (yes releases take a lot of time, but I also have a chronic illness or two that doesn't like letting me actually sleep at night!) If I can nap, I'll only go for an hour or so, but if not, I'll push through.
13:00-15:00
This is the time I really struggle with. I'm checking posts, making more, and also checking ads in the US have gone through fine. I'm also usually already very very tired and it's hard to focus, but release day is all about pushing yourself a little further. I might try and set up in bed and do the work from there, but it really depends on how my body is acting. It can be a complete arse at times! If I am able to work, I'll be making sure reviews are posted, contacting other reviewers and setting up blog posts all over to make sure that the word is out. I'll also be following and reposting things from the hashtag for that book, either to my own feed, or just engaging with the posts themselves to make sure people know that I've seen it and appreciate it.
16:00 onwards
As early as this is for most people, by that point, I need my bed and nothing is going to keep me up. I'll unwind with a book, chat with a friend and crash out. Because I don't get a whole lot of time to do everything, I'll usually be carrying over stuff I didn't manage to the next day so that release week goes off without a hitch. It's a marathon not a sprint and sometimes you gotta let yourself rest.
So that's about it really for my release day. As I've said, a lot of this is estimates and will also take into account how I'm feeling that day. Sometimes I'm fine come release day, riding the adrenaline high and all okay, other times I'm in the midst of a flare and I can barely do anything. It's the joys of chronic illness!
Any questions or tips? Leave them in the comments!
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