We Hear the Dead launches on Saturday, and next week I’ll have my new novel on the shelves of bookstores! It’s an incredible feeling, as I know from my experience publishing the original edition of this book a few years back. I was a real newbie back then, and I think I’ve learned a few lessons from that experience. For any other pre-published authors out there, I have a few important tips to share!

Lesson 1: People are going to congratulate you and say things like, “I can’t wait to read your book!” In most cases, the phrase “can’t wait” is a figure of speech, and it doesn’t mean they will run out to the store before the sun sets that very day. So don’t embarrass yourself and these nice people by offering to sign the book for them tomorrow.

Lesson 2: People will stop you in the hallway at work to talk to you. Warning! This is another opportunity for you to embarrass yourself. People do not always want to talk about your book. Sometimes, they want to know where the staff meeting is, complain about your students’ behavior in the cafeteria, or tell you that you’ve got toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

Lesson 3: The only person besides you who is interested in your Amazon sales rank is (possibly) your spouse.

Lesson 4: If you type your first name into the Google search bar and your last name pops up, it means that you have Googled yourself too many times from that computer, NOT that you’re now famous.

Lesson 5: New mommies and daddies are not amused when you whip out a little jpg image of your book cover after they show off their baby pictures.

Lesson 6: Some people really WILL run out and buy your book, read it, email you about how much they liked it, recommend it to their book clubs, and/or review it on Amazon. They are not always the people you expect, but they are the people who make it all worthwhile!