A little scared. Maybe a lot.

I think everyone who has put their book out there, published or self-published, feels the same, JD. I was just addressing someone else who felt this way on the forums yesterday.
And I told them that my mantra that got me beyond this stage was "If I like it, then someone else out there will as well." Those are the folks I'm doing this for. I want to give them the same enjoyment I get out of reading stuff I like. That's how you have to pump yourself up to take the plunge.
100% there will be people who don't like it, that's life. But you didn't write this for them.

I'll happily write you a positive and honest review when it releases - because having read it, I liked it. (Unless you TOTALLY butchered it from the beta version I read that is, hehe. I kid, i kid) It's not your everyday time travel story, and it leans more heavily on the historical curiosity and immersion than most other tales of a similar style do. That's its USP. I would suggest strongly hinting at that in your blurb.

If you're going with Kindle - exclusive or no, the best advice I can give is to make sure you put it up for pre-orders first. That pre-release list on the Kindle store will get it WAY more exposure than if you just launch it and use advertising. Even if it doesn't garner many pre-orders, people will see it more and more as it rises to the top of the list, come release date. That's important eyeballs looking over it. Kindle Advertising is also the best place to cut your teeth in learning the ropes of how to market your book. The entire first six months was a learning curve for me, so I didn't beat myself up about the slip ups I made. That's important to keep in mind, too. Google, Facebook, and the others are messy, ill-thought-out, un-userfriendly pieces of hot garbage compared to Kindle marketing, and I would've given up the will to live if I hadn't known how some of that stuff worked first from Kindle.

But ill stop myself from going off on a tangent and finish up with this - the BEST thing about ebooks these days? Even if you fudge it up the first time, you can always re-upload a new version of your book. Your story is a lot better than most of the self-published Kindle books I've read, JD. Thinking about whether it is good enough is often half the problem. I chose to stop thinking and just do, and I'm glad I did. I hope you do, too.

I'm a little bit scared. Maybe a lot.

For the better part of three years, I've been working on a novel. I had an idea... well, my wife had an idea, and I had the determination to write a story around it (she's the smart one, you see; I get by with perseverance). I wrote, re-wrote, got feedback and encouragement from friends who are actual writers, polished, polished, and polished some more. Finally I contracted some artists to produce a cover and a couple of interior drawings. In short, I've done all the things.

Last night, I worked on final formatting, and with the exception of one niggling little formatting issue that no one else will notice and I can live with, the final package is finished. It's ready to publish.

Of course, there's more to do. I created a Facebook page, and started making some posts there, but I need to do more with that. And I need to figure out a roll-out campaign, find a handful of people to give free copies to so they can read and provide reviews, and maybe spend some money on advertising. There are checklists for all this and more, and I can follow directions.

But I'm scared. I've put a lot into this, and frankly I'm afraid it's not good enough. Oh, I know it's not GOOD WRITING, but I believe it's passable; better than a lot of what's self-published on the Kindle platform. But what if I have a giant blind spot, and the rest of the world thinks differently?

What if, in the final analysis, in the court of public opinion, my work has no value?

Part of me says that I have to take the leap. I have to take the risk, take the hit, learn from my mistakes, and keep at it. That's what the pros would tell me. It's what they're going to tell me. It's probably what's going to happen. Because (and those of you who really know me will verify this), I'm stubborn.

But I'm also scared.

Hey JD, maybe put that on the cover. It's definitely piqued my interest. The best intro to a novel I've seen in a long time. Include some of what Steve says and I'm sold. Let us know when the book is available. Congratulations on completion. Many aspire, few do.

All I can say is I'll be happy to be your first customer! Just point the way!

I was going to PM this, but seeing as other folk are reading and might be in the same boat.

Basically on ANY of the online retailers, after you've uploaded your book to them you have the choice of just making your book "go live" and up for sale, straight off the bat, or giving it a release date. If you look through the Kindle store's search functions, you'll find all the obvious categories for different genres, prices, etc, but there is also the "Upcoming/Pre-Released/Preorder" function (i forget its precise name), which lets folks see and pre-order upcoming books that aren't out yet. Most use it to look for their favourite authors, or (and here's the important part) if there's a new book coming out that catches their eye. The most ardent book lovers scour down that list religiously. It is free advertising for your book the closer to the release date it gets because the closest books to release are the highest on the list. It's also the BEST type of advertising because most people ignore normal adverts - whereas the people looking at that list are actively looking for things to read - your 100% target market. The longer your book is up for pre-order, the longer you will stay on that list; although, as i say, it will garner the most eyes just before your book is about to come out. So its a balancing act of how long you feel you can wait with it just sitting there doing nothing. If it's for the twelfth, that might just be enough if you give it a week minimum on the list.

As for how - You get on to the list simply by giving your book a date and not making it "go live" the instant you upload it.
Again, im not saying it will give you a billion pre-orders, not even that many perhaps, it's not a perfect science. But for your first book ever, it's important - because even if it garners just a few people buying the book at launch, and they like it, then they go on and tell their friends etc, or subscribe to your mailing list, or press that other important feature on Kindle, the "Follow Author" button.

I'll PM you with some tips I found along the way for the smaller details of Amazon Advertising.