Scribe Book Launchby Scribe Media
About

Who makes this site, and how the planner works

Scribe Book Launch is a free resource made by Scribe Media, a book writing and publishing company in Austin, Texas that has published more than 3,000 books, including 23 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers.

Scribe sells book publishing and book marketing services, so you deserve to see how the advice here is made. This page explains the planner's rules in plain words, where the facts come from, and how we handle our own services.

How the planner builds your plan

  1. Launch week. The plan counts in weeks from launch week, which starts on the Monday on or before your launch day. Every task is pinned to a week, such as "10 weeks before launch" or "2 weeks after."
  2. Suggested date. If you leave the date empty, the planner suggests a Tuesday a set number of weeks from today: 14 if your files are ready, 24 if the manuscript is still in editing, 16 if a publisher is involved (who should give you the real date), and 6 for a relaunch push of a book that is already out. It says why on the plan.
  3. Showing and hiding tasks. Each task has conditions. Kindle preorder and final-file steps appear only if you chose an ebook and are publishing it yourself. Library of Congress PCN and IngramSpark steps appear only for print books you publish yourself, and only before publication. Audiobook steps appear only with an audiobook. Paid services (NetGalley, a Goodreads giveaway, trade reviews, ads, a price promotion) appear only at the budget levels where they fit. Podcast and media steps appear if your goals include speaking, credibility or leads, or you already have an audience. Event steps appear if you have the time or an audience for one. Client steps appear if you have a business.
  4. Time. Every task is marked essential, recommended or extra. With 2 to 3 hours a week you see only essentials; with about 5 hours, essentials and recommended; with 10 or more, everything.
  5. Late tasks. If a task's week has already passed, the planner either moves it to this week and marks it "catch up," or, when it is too late for it to work, drops it and tells you why. It drops the PCN with under about five weeks to go (the Library of Congress asks you to allow up to 30 days), advance copies with under three weeks, a NetGalley listing with under six, a Goodreads giveaway with under two, and pre-publication trade reviews with under fourteen (Publishers Weekly wants galleys three to four months ahead).
  6. Warnings. It also warns you if the manuscript is still in editing with under 16 weeks to go, if the runway is under six weeks, if IngramSpark's 30-day minimum is at risk, and if a publisher controls the date.
  7. Three most important moves. Chosen from your stage, goals and assets: production dates if they are at risk, getting the book to advance readers by a date, clients and prospects if you have a business, early pitching if you want to speak, your list, and personal notes on launch day.
  8. After launch. The 12 weeks after launch get a weekly rhythm chosen from your goals, and end with a 90-day review.

The plan is a starting point, not a guarantee. Platform rules change; each task links to the guide or official page it relies on, and you should check those before relying on a deadline.

Where the facts come from

Every rule, price and number on this site comes from a source we opened on October 20, 2026, and is linked where it is used. The main sources:

Editorial policy

  • No invented numbers. If we could not find a source for something, we left it out or said plainly that it varies.
  • Author results are examples. Results from Scribe authors are quoted exactly as published in their success stories on scribemedia.com and linked. One author's result is one example, never a typical result.
  • No shortcuts that break rules. We never recommend paid or incentivized reviews, review swaps or bought rankings.
  • Disclosure. Wherever Scribe's own services come up, we say that Scribe Media makes this site and sells them. Scribe's book marketing packages are available only to authors who published with Scribe; the planner and guides work for any author, however they publish.
  • Dates. Every guide shows the date its sources were checked. We update guides when platform rules change.

Your privacy

No cookies and no advertising trackers run on this site. Your planner answers stay in your browser. Read the privacy page for the details.

Talk to a person

If you would like someone at Scribe to look at your plan, you can book a free consult or call 512-325-0249.