What’s publication week like?

Launching a new novel can be many things

Welcome to the free newsletter of David (D. V.) Bishop, author of the Cesare Aldo historical thrillers set in Renaissance Italy. This time: publication week shenanigans…

Shadow of Madness unleashed

My new novel Shadow of Madness is officially published this Thursday, July 9^th, but plenty of shops have been selling early copies of the lush hardback edition. For those who prefer an audiobook, the wonderful reading by actor Mark Meadows is released on Thursday, as is the ebook across the various digital platforms.

It is almost exactly a year since I finished an initial draft of the novel, so what seems brand new to readers and listeners… well, to me it’s something I did in the first six months of 2025. Plenty has transpired since, so the experience of crafting the novel seems a bit of a distant memory now – but that’s the way of traditional publishing.

While prepping this newsletter I was told that the Sunday Times newspaper named Shadow of Madness as one of its historical novels of the month for July (see above), which is a lovely surprise. The Aspects of History website included my novel in its summer read recommendations, another unexpected delight ahead of publication day.

I was in That Fancy London last week to present a prize at the 2026 Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards dinner. I used the trip to visit wonderful indie Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court and sign several big stacks of pre-ordered Shadow of Madness hardbacks. I signed a dozen extra copies for them but those have already sold out.

Since this is publication week, I thought it might be worth talking about what’s involved for authors. From the outside it seems like seven days of celebrations and smiles; the reality is not so glamorous, but the experience varies from author to author and even from book to book. So, here’s what my week will be like…

Money and road trips abound

Most traditional publishing deals split the advance you get paid into several segments: one when you sign the contract, another when the manuscript for that book is accepted by your editor, and the rest when the novel gets published. Where both hardback and paperbacks are issued, the remaining advance is divided between them.

This week I received my hardback publication payment for Shadow of Madness, which is a quarter of the total advance for that novel (the final quarter will come when the paperback edition is published in 2027). I’ve already had my ten complimentary hardback author copies, and you can witness my ham-fisted unboxing video here:

Some books get a big, fancy launch event, while for others publication day is just another day at the office. Shadow of Madness is more the latter, although my local indie The Biggar Bookshop (formerly known as Atkinson-Pryce Books) is hosting an informal gathering for it this Thursday in Biggar from 5.30pm-ish.

On Friday I’m driving round bookshops in Edinburgh to sign their hardback copies and any stock they have of previous Aldo novels. I’ve got a questionnaire to fill in for a website preview, but most of the promotional activity for Shadow of Madness has spilled out across the rest of July. Call it the slow burn approach.

Next week I’m touring Glasgow bookshops on Tuesday 14^th before an early evening event at Bookpoint Dunoon (get tickets here). The next day I’m driving to England for an event at Forum Books in Corbridge on Wednesday 15^th (get tickets for that here). But it’s the week after where things get a bit frantic.

Tuesday 21^st July takes me to Serenity Booksellers in Romiley near Stockport for an event starting at 6.30pm (get tickets for this event here). Wednesday 22^nd I’m at Manchester Central Library from 6pm for Crime Central, and from Thursday 24^th I’m in Harrogate for crime festival shenanigans (details for these in a future newsletter).

How does it feel?

Those are the facts, but how does it feel? In truth, there’s often a mix of elation and deflation with a book launch. Yay, my novel is out, people are reading and hopefully enjoying it. However, chances are the book isn’t an instant bestseller, and probably never will be. Your brain knows these as facts, but the heart wants what it wants.

I want it all, and I want it now… • Photo by Alexis Fauvet on Unsplash

I’d be lying to say I don’t crave one of my novels becoming a bestseller one day. I’d be lying to say I don’t want a special edition hardback to be published with sprayed edges. I’d be lying to say I didn’t hope it would make the longlist for this year’s McIlvanney Prize (it didn’t, breaking a three year streak of being longlisted - sigh!).

There will always be other books with bigger promo budgets, novels that get more attention, and authors that appear on radio and television or get large features in newspapers and magazines. Most of the time that doesn’t apply to you or your book. Learning to live with the disappointment of this reality is part of being an author.

That said, my Cesare Aldo novels do get published in gorgeous hardbacks and the audiobooks are a pure joy. Pan Macmillan does a great job of getting the books in shops, and I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts made by so many people to spread the word about my series. In so many respects, I am a very fortunate author.

As for special editions, spredges and bestseller appearances… well, maybe next year. My 2027 book will be an all-new standalone, a great place for new readers to try my writing, and thus the literary equivalent of a first night. You never know, it might be the book that finally breaks out to find an even bigger audience. Fingers crossed!

Progress report

I’m writing this on Monday 6th with 74,000 words of WIP written. I like to have a complete rough draft of next year’s book done before this year’s is published, but time is against me. Nonetheless, I’m confident of typing The End very soon. Onwards!

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