Book launch timeline: what to do when, counting back from launch day

The deadlines you cannot move

Start here, because these are set by other people and do not bend. Count back from your launch date and write each one into your calendar.

Then there are the human lead times, which are softer but just as real. Advance readers need weeks to read: Scribe Media's review guide says to send copies at least a month before release. And many podcasts record weeks before an episode airs, so an interview you want in launch week has to be pitched well before it.

16 to 12 weeks out: set up

• Write a one-page launch plan. The launch date, the one result that would make it a success (reviews, clients, invitations, sales), and the people who already know your work.
• Settle ISBNs. One per format. Your own from Bowker cost $125 for one or $295 for ten in the US; free ones from KDP or IngramSpark tie that edition to the platform.
• Apply for a Library of Congress PCN if you are publishing in print yourself. It is free, and authors and self-publishers can apply through PrePub Book Link. The number goes on your copyright page, so it needs to arrive before the files are final.
• If you want trade reviews, galleys must already be on their way to Publishers Weekly and Library Journal by now (see the table).
• Start or warm up your email list. See the launch email plan.
• Start the audiobook if you are making one. Recording, editing and ACX's quality review all come before an audiobook preorder can open.

12 to 8 weeks out: open the doors

• Set up the print edition on IngramSpark with matching publication and on-sale dates, which lets other retailers take preorders.
• Create the Kindle preorder with a draft file. Choose your three categories and seven keywords.
• Recruit your advance reader team, one personal invitation at a time. See advance readers and reviews.
• List and pitch podcasts your readers already listen to. See podcasts and media.
• Book a launch event venue or host. See planning a launch event.
• Consider paid reach if it fits your budget: a NetGalley listing or a Goodreads giveaway both need lead time. See the launch budget.

8 to 1 weeks out: get it read

• 8 weeks: advance copies out, with the honest-review wording.
• 6 weeks: schedule the KDP print release; claim your Amazon author profile in Author Central (free) and your Goodreads author profile; make one page on your own site for the book.
• 5 weeks: send event invitations.
• 4 weeks: check in with advance readers; submit the audiobook.
• 3 weeks: write the launch emails; add A+ Content to your Amazon page (allow up to 8 business days); order author copies for the event.
• 2 weeks: prepare launch week posts; write your list of 25 to 50 people to contact personally on launch day.
• 1 week: upload the final Kindle file (hard deadline 72 hours before release); check every retailer page; brief your advance readers.

Launch week

Launch day is for asking, personally: the launch-day email, personal notes, posts, and a thank-you to advance readers with the link to leave an honest review. Hold the event during the week, and send a short reminder before it ends. The launch week checklist goes day by day.

Scribe author Kyle Thiermann's launch of One Last Question Before You Go produced ~12 launch-week interviews and articles. One author's result, but it shows what months of pitching ahead of time can land in a single week.

After launch

Most books go quiet after launch week because their authors do. The 12 weeks after are when interviews air, reviews arrive, and the book starts doing its real work: winning clients, opening doors to stages, being handed from one reader to another. Plan a weekly rhythm and a 90-day review. The guide to the first 90 days covers it.

If you have less time

Scribe Media's book launch checklist says you need at least 6 weeks just to do the bare minimum, and recommends starting a few months in advance. With less time:

• Drop what cannot fit: the PCN if fewer than about five weeks remain, trade reviews, a long preorder.
• Keep what matters most: a small group of advance readers who promise to read now, your email list, personal notes on launch day.
• Move media and paid promotion to after launch, when you can point to reviews.
• Or move the date. A launch date you set yourself is a choice, not a promise to anyone.

The launch planner builds this timeline for your actual date, hides what does not apply to you, and warns you about any step your date leaves too little time for. Scribe Media makes this site and sells publishing and book marketing services; if you want to talk your plan through, book a free consult.