“How should I plan my book launch? What should I do?”

This question came up recently in a community that I’m a member of, and not surprisingly, others who had already launched a book, or were involved professionally in supporting an author, were ready to help.

After all, a new book is an exciting achievement! You’ve worked so hard on getting your ideas into words, and getting ready for publication. It’s so tempting to jump right in and begin to:

• Search for book launch ideas…

• Write your book launch announcement…

• Brainstorm ideas for your book launching party…

Pretty much anyone and everyone who has ever published a book has advice for you.

But please, I beg you to pause

Why? You should not, must not plan your book launch, before you get clear on your goals, the type of book, and your resources (in the widest sense).

After a dozen years hanging out in author circles, here is what I know with certainty is true.

The best way to launch a book depends on:

1. What type of book it is (and what type of author you are)

2. Your goals for how this book fits into your writing life or business as a whole

3. Your available resources: time, skills, money, enthusiasm, and network

There is far too much generic advice on book launch ideas, and I want to empower you to filter it, so you only pay attention to the tactics that are most likely to get you the results you want.

Last year, I declined a collaboration for a book with a vague title like how to launch a book, because the coordinator hadn’t even acknowledged she was planning content mainly for fiction authors. Marketing your book is different for a novelist, versus an entrepreneur. As book marketing professionals, I fervently believe we need to step up and own the fact: one-size-fits-all advice is contrary to everything that underpins good marketing!

I invite you, therefore, to grab a cup of tea, possibly your journal or notebook, and make notes on each of these:

1. What type of book is it?

• Is your book fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, or for children?

• Is it your first book? Only book? One of many?

• Are you publishing traditionally, with a hybrid publisher, or independently?

• Do you identify primarily as an author, where your book(s) will be your primary source of income?

• Or do you identify as a business owner (entrepreneur), where this book shows your expertise and plays a supporting role?

Related: What kind of author are you?

2. Clarify your goals for how this book fits

Now move on to your goals for what this book needs to do for you. For example, goals might be:

• Sell loads of copies; make strong bottom-line profits from the book itself. (If you don’t identify primarily as an author, beware this goal!)

• Hit a bestseller list, even if you have to pay out from your own pocket in order to so so (and make no profit from this book).

• Position yourself as a credible author, ready for a long term author career, even if you make no money this time.

• See your book in a bookstore or featured in the media. (This goal might or might not be compatible with other goals.)

• Enjoy the book publishing process. Who knows, you might decide later to write many more, and make writing income long term (if not this time).

• Start a conversation or grow a movement with your book, to make a big difference to a relatively small audience.

• Simply publish something that you're intensely proud of, for your family to treasure. (I believe this is an entirely valid and worthwhile goal!)

And some goals that are strong contenders, if you identify as a business owner or entrepreneur:

• Use your book as a business card or warm up tool for new contacts and new leads, without actually making a penny from the book itself.

• Drive email signups from the book and grow your email list, by including links back to your website for the reader to access bonus resources.
  Related reading: 33 reader magnet ideas for authors

• Dip your toe into the water of "passive" income (actually, I hate that word - let's say scaleable income)

• Be a "published author" to validate your expertise + increase your chances of being picked for other business-building opportunities, like speaking, TEDx, TV, and so on

• Have a handy source of content that you can repurpose indefinitely, with an easy, affordable upsell when people engage with it

• Test out whether your audience will nibble for this topic, and might then buy something bigger like a course

Pick just a few main goals

Please don’t make the egotistical mistake of thinking you’ll be able to hit all (or most) of these goals with your first book.

Occasionally, an author might achieve many of these goals with a single book, but that is only really likely if you already have a big audience or you’re a celebrity.

3. Evaluate your resources

There are so many ways that you could promote your new release! As you sift through book launch ideas, I believe it’s essential to be honest about:

• How much time do you have in a typical week, for book promotion? Can you clear your calendar close to publication day, or not?

• How far ahead of publication are you? (You’ll see lots of advice about when to start, but in my view, this depends on all this other context.)

• Do you have the skills and enthusiasm for book marketing?

• What state are your marketing tools in?

  • Do you have a modern, well designed website? If not, consider hiring me.

  • Do you have an active, engaged email list? Do you know how to use your email marketing tool?
    Related reading: How to choose your author newsletter platform.

• Do you have budget to pay for professional help?

• What is your existing audience, personal network, and professional network?

  • How “warmed up” are these people? Do you have any superfans?

  • Is your social media audience engaged and likely to support you?

  • Have you been spending years building relationships, goodwill, and karma, or will you be coming out of nowhere, asking for favors?

  • And in turn, do these people have an audience of their own, or any kind of reach? The potential amplification of your own efforts can be immensely powerful.

One of my pet peeves is when an author says they want to promote their book, but they have neither time nor money to spend. Well, sorry, the blunt truth is, it takes either time, money, or a miracle to get traction with your book. And it’s best you don’t hope for the third.

Ready to pay to promote your book?

I offer only anecdotes here:

• Thinking of paying for a publicist? Unless your book is immensely topical and catches on fire in the media, most savvy authors who hire a publicist are doing it as an investment in their long-term author career, not with the hope of an easy return on investment

• I have experimented very little with paid adverts for my books. (I did have some BookBub sponsored deals, which worked well, but that was so long ago, it’s no longer fresh advice.) But the word on the street is: you need to invest time — or hire a pro — to make sure you know what you’re doing, to monitor, to analyze, and adjust. Otherwise, paying Amazon and Facebook for ads is an easy way to burn through a lot of money.

Use your answers to filter book launch advice

OK, so that was a lot to think about. But it’s vital that you do so. Once you have clarity on all of the above, you’re now in a strong position to tap into the masses of advice that’s out there on launching a book. As you aim to create your book launch checklist, take what you read, hear, and watch, and ask yourself:

• Is this advice intended for an author like you?

• Is this tactic recommended for a book like yours?

• Does this suggestion make sense, given your overall goals?

• In order to achieve your top one or two goals, is this tactic promising, or a distraction?

• Does this method fit with your overall resources and how you want to spend your time?

Examples of book launch ideas that might not be right for your goals:

• If you plan to send your new book for free to potential clients, having a lot of online reviews may not matter

• If you want to use your book to start a global movement, hosting a real-life launch party might not be useful

• If you’d love to see your book in your local bookstore, paying for Amazon ads isn’t the way to go

• If you need to bootstrap your publishing costs and immediately make a profit, hiring a book publicist could be the wrong move

Before you do anything, plan anything, ask for anything, or pay for anything, make sure your book launch tactics align with what’s right for you and your business.

And then, give yourself some time, and plan for a marathon, not a sprint. This way, I hope you’ll not only enjoy your book launch, but find it contributes to your author goals, too.

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Are you ready to sell more books?

If you’re serious about your book launch, you’re probably considering the central role that your author website plays. If you want a site that delights your readers, grows your audience, and sets you up for business results, let’s design, build, and launch your online home in just 2-3 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule a complimentary chat with me.

Other resources for supercharging your author website

• What to include on your author website

• How to use Squarespace for your author website

• How to add a book to your business website

• The best Squarespace author websites

• Why isn’t your website selling more books?

And for the essential steps in your website project, take a look at my free 50 Step Website Checklist.