Ready To Launch Your Book? Don’t Publish Until You’ve Read These Strategies!

I’m not going to lie to you; I’ve never launched a book…yet. I considered waiting to discuss this topic until I had, but then I realized it didn’t matter. No one strategy for launching a book will work for everyone. Even if my first book launch is tremendously successful, there is no guarantee that yours will be if you follow my exact steps.

Therefore, I’m going to lay out a timeline with various options for book launches from my research, and I encourage you to look at the options and pick anything that gets you excited. Try those options. If it doesn’t work, then switch strategies for your next book. Getting book sales isn’t an exact science so don’t be afraid to do a little trial and error as you publish. Just remember, you are not a failure if you don’t have good book sales right off the bat. We all deal with that same issue. If anything, bad sales prove you’re one of us. It’s persevering and continuing to write that makes you a professional writer.

Book Launch Timeline

Ultimately, I decided to write this post now because I hear authors all the time complain about book sales. However, when I get into a conversation with them about how they promoted their book before releasing it, they all say the same thing. They wrote a book, told their friends and family, maybe did a few social media posts or put their book on Goodreads, and then they hit the publish button on whatever platform they chose to use. Over 4,000 books are published a day. What these authors do is equivalent to going to Times Square on New Year’s Eve and trying to get the crowd’s attention with nothing more than their voice. There are too many things calling for people’s attention so hardly anyone is going to look that way.

If you want a successful book launch, you have to put in the work BEFORE you release the book. You need to build up excitement around it so people want to buy the book the day it releases. I know after years of working on your manuscript, you’re just excited to have it out in the world. But I encourage you to slow down and prepare for the release to give the book its best chance at success. If you still have the time, you could do some of this planning while doing your edits. If you don’t, then push off that release a few months so people will know about your book before it launches.

Years Before Your Book Launch

I know some of you may be groaning reading this section’s title, but I assure you: it takes years of work to have a good book launch. If you don’t have a book out yet, you should already be working on building up excitement. However, it’s not excitement about that book. It’s excitement about you as an author.

While you’re working on your manuscript, get out into the world and let people know you are an author. Put out short stories to get people interested in your writing. Go to conferences or conventions and meet other writers and readers. Network with other professionals in the field. Go to other author’s events. Basically, just get involved in the writing world so you build up a community around you to help support you in your book launch.

Now, if you already have a book published and haven’t done this, it’s okay. It’s never too late to get out there. Find a local writers group to join or go to a writers conference. If these kinds of functions give you crippling anxiety, there are online platforms where writers gather and talk. Go on one of those and be active. Don’t just read what others post. Comment on their posts, write your own posts, and get involved in conversations. Building these relationships will help you get your name out there and perhaps find supporters.

6-12 Months Before Your Book Launch

As early as a year before your book launch, you can start planning. You will want to find avenues to announce your upcoming book so the world will hear about it. Start researching where you think will most benefit your book. Are their podcasts, author blogs, or radio shows that you could get on and put your book in front of your ideal readers? Think about what existing platforms have an audience that might like your book, and put them on a list to contact when you are close to publishing.

Next, think about places where you could apply for book reviews or awards. Most of these cost money, but it could be worth it for your book. Look at what visibility the award or review might give your book, and see if the exposure would outweigh the cost. I don’t have any personal experience with these platforms, but I have heard good things about the following: Kirkus Reviews, Indies Today, Readers’ Favorite, IndieReader, and Literary Titan. You could also do an online search and uncover tons of places to enter for an award or review. Make sure you check their reputation so you aren’t scammed.

Once you have those lists done, you can work on your own side of the book launch. Regardless of how you feel about social media, you’ll want to pick at least two platforms to announce your book. You should start ahead of time with designing graphics to promote the launch. If you are working with a traditional publisher, they may give you the graphics, but you can always create more yourself. Use these images on your social media, website, and in your newsletter when it gets closer to launch time. Getting them together early will help lighten the load later when you are drowning in all the little details of publishing.

You’ll also need to work on getting your teams together. One team is your ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) Readers who read your book before it launches and then post about it on launch day. ARC Readers shouldn’t be your friends and family. These are people with influence. Influencers on social media, established authors, and respected book review establishments. They will post reviews before the books comes out to build interest in it, and they’ll help you announce the book to the world on launch day. Again, if you are traditionally publishing, the publisher will have a list they use, but they typically ask you for suggestions as well.

Your other team will be the Launch Team. These can be friends, family, authors, readers, super fans, etc. These people will support you and be counted on to blast information about your book to the world. They will also read the book before it launches, but they are more invested in creating buzz about the book than giving reviews. (Though I highly recommend you have them leave a review on GoodReads or Amazon or whatever platform to help the algorithm promote your book!) Typically, being on a Launch Team means they get perks, like exclusive material from the story or book swag. If you want to learn more about this team, you can read the post I did on Launch Teams.

3-6 Months Before Your Book Launch

Up until now, you’ve mostly been researching and creating lists for your book launch. Now is the time to start putting everything in motion. The very first step is to make sure your book is up for preorder. If you are traditionally publishing, the publisher typically won’t let you start talking publicly about the book until it’s up for preorder. If readers get excited about your book, it’s best they have an actionable step (signing up for preorder) instead of letting them forget about the book. After the book has been up for preorder for a couple of months, I’ve seen authors do preorder incentives where buyers also get some book swag with their book if they order early. These can be bookmarks, map copies, character art, etc.

Once the book is set up for preorder, you can start releasing information about the book and getting people excited. Do a title reveal, a cover reveal, share the book blurb, introduce the protagonist, share character art, etc. Anything that will get people interested in the story without giving away the plot can be shared in slow increments. Be consistent in putting out new information on the book. It’s said someone has to see something seven times to remember it. Make sure you are giving the world a steady stream of reminders about your book so they are more likely to buy it.

Looking back at your lists, it’s time to start reaching out to everyone you want to help you with the launch. Apply for book awards and book reviews. Reach out to people about book tours (online or in bookstores), interviews, and guest appearances on podcasts. Start reaching out to ARC Readers and potential Launch Team members to see if they are interested in helping you. It can take people a while to get back to you so make sure you build in time to wait on their answers.

Another step you can start now is setting up book giveaways. Websites like GoodReads can run giveaways, or you can do one yourself on social media. Some authors use ARC Copies for these giveaways in hopes that readers will leave reviews early and get the buzz started on how much they like the story.

Month Of Your Book Launch

The weeks around your book launch are crunch time. Hopefully some of those book tours and interviews you asked for have come through. You should be on as many platforms as possible to get yourself and your book noticed. Continue posting on social media and sending newsletters, but also show up on new platforms. You could even partner with an author in your genre and cross promote each other.

If you really want to push the book, you could get on a website for author swaps and group promotions. Again, I’ve never done this, but I’ve heard good things about NetGalley, BookFunnel, and StoryOrigin. Generally, this allows you to grow your email list while also getting your book out there to new readers.

Right before launch day, reach out to your launch team and make sure they are ready to post the day of release. Have them leave reviews, talk about it on social media, etc. You want everyone to be talking about the book online on launch day so the algorithms will think the topic is trending and promote it for you.

And, of course, the most important part of a book lunch is the Launch Party! While this is a great opportunity to get the hype up about your book, the launch party is all about you. You’ve done all this hard work, and now it’s time to celebrate. You can have a huge gathering or just your family. It can be catered or just your sister’s amazing cookies. The point is to surround yourself with people excited about what you’ve accomplished and enjoy it. If you want to make it more about promoting the book, you can do a Q&A, share your story board, or do an interview with your editor, agent, or a fellow author. If throwing a party stresses you out, have someone else arrange it. Or, do an online party over video call. Just make sure you celebrate your amazing accomplishment!

3 Months After Your Book Launch

After your book has launched, you can’t just drop off the face of the Earth. Two weeks after your launch, you should still be promoting it as hard as you were right before it. Continue those book tours, interviews, etc. Keep posting on social media and re-post what others are saying about the book. If you had an ARC Reader or a launch team member review the book late, highlight that new review. Also, if you won any of those book awards you applied for, now is the time to boast about them. Show the world how worthy your book is of being read. You can also do Q&As with readers after they finish the book or give some insights to your writing or editing process.

After your book has been out in the world a month, you can slow down your promotions some but not completely. Make sure you are still really pushing that book for at least three months after it published. Obviously, you never want to stop promoting it, but it can be a more relaxed schedule by then.

Final Thoughts

I know this is a lot to take in, but remember you don’t have to do it all. Start with bite size pieces if you are overwhelmed. What feels the most exciting to you? A book tour? Trying group promotions? Getting book awards? Doing a social media campaign? Pick one area to really focus on, and then select at least two other areas as supplemental promotion. The more you do, the more you can get your name out there, but it’s not worth it if everything you do is half-hearted. Pick things to do well, and commit to it all the way. No matter what you pick, it’s not likely you’ll have an instant bestseller, but hopefully you won’t just hear crickets on Launch Day.

Thanks for reading!

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